Demo Rivians Now for Sale

[jambaman84]

Just spoke to a Rivian guide who said these vehicles will qualify for the EV tax credit as long as they are under the price of 80k...
But it won't be at point of purchase.. you'll have to file the $3750 during next years tax return.

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[mcarver316]

Demo vehicles cannot be registered in MA, OR, CO, NV, VA, UT, MD.

To save folks some time.

Below is the response from a Rivian rep when asked about purchase and registration restriction* of demo vehicles in Maryland. If anyone purchased and successfully registered a demo Rivian vehicle in MD, please let us know.

“Hi Mike,

Thanks for your message.

If you find a vehicle that fits your preferences under 7,500 miles, the State should allow us to process that purchase/registration. Feel free to select any vehicle available and also place a new R1T reservation. We'll work to have this paired with your order to review that selection and confirm the configuration/deposit.

Let me know if you have any additional questions or schedule some time on my calendar for this week and I'll be happy to call out.

Take care.

Your fellow adventurer,
Conor”

*my question to Rivian: “

Hi,

I searched for possible restrictions from registering an R1T in Maryland but only found the one below. It seems the R1T should be registrable in Maryland for R1Ts that are less than 7,500 miles on the odometer. Could you please confirm what other restrictions there might be for registering a demo Rivian in Maryland?

"H. Demonstrator Vehicle. (1) Demonstrator vehicles are considered used vehicles if they have been driven for more than 7,500 miles."

https://casetext.com/regulation/maryland-administrative-code/title-11-department-of-transportation/subtitle-12-motor-vehicle-administration-licensing-of-businesses-and-occupation/chapter-111201-dealers-and-salesmen/section-11120114-dealers-advertising-and-trade-practices

Demo R1Ts for sale:
https://demovehicles.rivian.com/collections/all?filter.v.availability=1”

 

[sillyME]

Just placed an order from the demo inventory for a R1T with 100 mile, which listed as "new" and not "demo". This will be my 2nd R1T.

Maybe this is too early for anyone to answer (since this demo sale program is new), but what if the vehicle condition is not up to our standard for whatever reason, can we still reject it during the delivery?

Also, since this is a 2022 model year R1T, would we be eligible for $7500 tax credit, or the $3750 (I am just not sure whether the tax credit amount is based on the model year of the vehicle, or the year the vehicle is purchased).

Lastly, during the checkout, I put down my home address as the billing address, and in the confirmation email I received, it shows my billing address is also the shipping address, so does this mean that the vehicle will be transported to my home from Normal, IL (versus I go pick it up at a service center close to me)?

Thank you

 

[Purkinje]

To

Just placed an order from the demo inventory for a R1T with 100 mile, which listed as "new" and not "demo". This will be my 2nd R1T.

Maybe this is too early for anyone to answer (since this demo sale program is new), but what if the vehicle condition is not up to our standard for whatever reason, can we still reject it during the delivery?

Also, since this is a 2022 model year R1T, would we be eligible for $7500 tax credit, or the $3750 (I am just not sure whether the tax credit amount is based on the model year of the vehicle, or the year the vehicle is purchased).

Lastly, during the checkout, I put down my home address as the billing address, and in the confirmation email I received, it shows my billing address is also the shipping address, so does this mean that the vehicle will be transported to my home from Normal, IL (versus I go pick it up at a service center close to me)?

Thank you

Can only help with the last part. They were able to transfer from SC to SC for me (though pretty close from Austin to Houston) but it would be an extra $1000 to go directly to my house.

 

[sillyME]

To


Can only help with the last part. They were able to transfer from SC to SC for me (though pretty close from Austin to Houston) but it would be an extra $1000 to go directly to my house.

Thanks on the shipping info. How soon were you contacted by the Guide after placing your order from the demo inventory?

 

[Dark-Fx]

Also, since this is a 2022 model year R1T, would we be eligible for $7500 tax credit, or the $3750 (I am just not sure whether the tax credit amount is based on the model year of the vehicle, or the year the vehicle is purchased).

$3750, rules are based at time of purchase.

 

[mcarver316]

$3750, rules are based at time of purchase.

Rivian is not doing point of sale fed ev tax credit- not sure how claiming the tax credit is going to work since 2024 condition include input from the manufacturer, which Rivian is not doing (at least during the purchase process). If anyone can clarify*, please chime in.

*Or from someone who already purchased a Rivian demo vehicle, were you able to claim the EV credit at time of purchase?

 

[Eric85255]

Every time I refresh, more inventory pops up. I think people are backing out after reserving initially. Anyone know if these can be leased?

 

[Purkinje]

Thanks on the shipping info. How soon were you contacted by the Guide after placing your order from the demo inventory?

About 48 hours. Some hiccups so far along the way. Ideally should be making the official purchase tomorrow

 

[Purkinje]

Every time I refresh, more inventory pops up. I think people are backing out after reserving initially. Anyone know if these can be leased?

It costs $0 to reserve so I'm sure there were a number of people who reserved and are now being released

 

[ng9887]

Below is the response from a Rivian rep when asked about purchase and registration restriction* of demo vehicles in Maryland. If anyone purchased and successfully registered a demo Rivian vehicle in MD, please let us know.

“Hi Mike,

Thanks for your message.

If you find a vehicle that fits your preferences under 7,500 miles, the State should allow us to process that purchase/registration. Feel free to select any vehicle available and also place a new R1T reservation. We'll work to have this paired with your order to review that selection and confirm the configuration/deposit.

Let me know if you have any additional questions or schedule some time on my calendar for this week and I'll be happy to call out.

Take care.

Your fellow adventurer,
Conor”

*my question to Rivian: “

Hi,

I searched for possible restrictions from registering an R1T in Maryland but only found the one below. It seems the R1T should be registrable in Maryland for R1Ts that are less than 7,500 miles on the odometer. Could you please confirm what other restrictions there might be for registering a demo Rivian in Maryland?

"H. Demonstrator Vehicle. (1) Demonstrator vehicles are considered used vehicles if they have been driven for more than 7,500 miles."

https://casetext.com/regulation/maryland-administrative-code/title-11-department-of-transportation/subtitle-12-motor-vehicle-administration-licensing-of-businesses-and-occupation/chapter-111201-dealers-and-salesmen/section-11120114-dealers-advertising-and-trade-practices

Demo R1Ts for sale:
https://demovehicles.rivian.com/collections/all?filter.v.availability=1”

Interesting, I'm in NoVA and would purchase a demo from Gaithersburg in a heart beat. I'm looking at Virginia code on this and found:
https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/46.2-1530/
§ 46.2-1530. (Effective until July 1, 2024) Buyer's order:
Section D: Except for trailers, if the buyer's order is for a new motor vehicle that had accumulated, at the time of the sale, mileage in excess of 750 miles as a demonstrator or as a result of delivery to a prospective purchaser who never took title to the new motor vehicle and returned it, the vehicle may be sold as new.

There is no mention of not being allowed to register in VA. Might be calling the SC on this.

 

[mcarver316]

You can email below Rivian your VA law finding. Please post here what their response is.

[email protected]

 

[cjg817]

To my knowledge Rivian doesn't do that except on the lease because they have too (or nobody gets it). But I guess I didn't ask them about it either. Just covered my quarterly estimate so I got it immediately either way.

I get that they didn’t apply it at POS but what do you mean by the $3,750 just covered your quarterly estimate?

 

[Golfer04]

I get that they didn’t apply it at POS but what do you mean by the $3,750 just covered your quarterly estimate?

I pay a quarterly tax estimate every 90 days because I operate a small farm in addition to my regular job. I can use the credit in lieu of making a payment.

 

[onesoil]

tl;dr - If Rivian wants to succeed, I think they need to overhaul how they sell their vehicles! I'm a motivated buyer (purchasing for a business), with money lined up—it shouldn't be this hard to buy the dang thing ? It's one thing when demand is high and supply is short, but all things point to their circumstances having flipped to them being long on inventory at the moment, so transaction times should be fast right now. My experience has indicated this not to be the case so far.

• It's been 2 weeks since I reserved my demo R1T, and I still haven't been able to part with my money and get my vehicle en route.
• Every time I have engaged with my "inside sales guide," it has been a very friendly but typically somewhat disorganized and/or disappointing experience.
• I can't reach my sales guide directly, even though his emails provide a phone number. It just goes to a general mailbox that says I will be contacted within 1 business day. My guide claims he does get calls and voicemails on that general box, but sometimes days go by after emailing/attempting to call before he gets back to me.
• Rivian has gone from having a supply-short, demand-heavy sales environment to now being in the opposite scenario—they need to pivot to a more conventional sales team approach and adopt some of the conventional practices that successful sales departments teach/implement.
  • The customer is always right (even when they aren't).
  • Unless a customer specifically indicates that they would like you back off, frequent check-ins throughout the process are appreciated (whether to explain how the process is proceeding, or to answer any lingering questions).
  • Reachability/responsiveness is key: a direct line to call/text and prompt responsiveness should be mandatory for all salespeople. Nameless/faceless (the Tesla approach), is problematic for multiple reasons.
  • Rivian is selling cars—not widgets or phones. If I am buying a $70k+ item sight unseen, I should be able to talk to the same individual from start to finish.
  • With the opening of the demo shop, and presumably a used shop sometime in the future, Rivian should be able to put you in touch with a person who can actually put their hands on the vehicle you intend to purchase—whether that is to send detailed photos at your request, conduct a video walkthrough, or confirm any unit-specific questions a customer might have (just like any used car dealer should be able to do).
• A request to speak with someone's manager should be promptly made available. I requested to speak with my sales guide's manager (making it very clear that I wasn't upset with him, but I just wanted to ask someone who might be in a better position to answer my question). He informed me that it would be 2-3 days, and now 7 days later (and a few successive requests later), this still hasn't happened. Sales managers need to occasionally interact with their customers to better inform their management and structuring of their team!

Has anyone actually successfully purchased a demo vehicle one yet? I reserved mine on the night of 3/6 when I first learned about the page. At that point, the 4 R1S had been reserved, which was what I had been hoping to snag.

I snagged a FG/FE/20" Dark w/ powered tonneau because I have been going back and forth about R1T vs R1S for a while, and that was basically my ideal spec (everything but the RUS, even though I probably won't need it here in New England).

I was contacted the next day by the same Rivian "Fellow Adventurer" ("Sales" guy) named Luis who had been working with me to find the right spec R1S a few months ago. I already had a $1000 refundable deposit down for an R1S, but Luis had mostly gone silent after I turned down a few vehicles that didn't match my non-negotiables. He informed me that my $1000 deposit was non-transferrable, and that I had to place a new order within 24 hours for an R1T to lock the demo in, and they could cancel and refund my other order (for the R1S).

I asked Luis if I could see photos of the actual truck and to confirm whether or not it had a powered tonneau (the spec page didn't say, and he didn't know). He initially told me that he wouldn't be able to get photos and that I should look on the demo page. My truck had been taken down, which he eventually got re-added (as a "sold out" item). I also asked him if he knew of any green (LE or FG) on green R1Ss that would be added (or if he could find out), since that was my preference. He told me that he had no way of knowing and suggested I just refresh the page often. I refreshed the page a lot, and kept missing R1Ss (a few that met my ideal spec). I swear some of them popped up already "sold" because multiple vehicles would be "sold out" within minutes of page refreshes. This frustrated me, but I decided after the R2 release that this R1T would probably be a placeholder for a couple years, so I've mostly made peace with it.

As soon as I was able to see photos of the actual truck, I signed the demo vehicle document and placed the new order (they promptly refunded me for my first $1k deposit). He explained that they would then link this truck to my order, at which point the price would be a pre-march price, minus a discount for being a demo. After several days, the reservation page changed, but the price was over $10k more than it was supposed to be.

I contacted Luis, and he informed me that I had to delete this order (they would refund) and place another order (on 3/13). They had made some mistake with the discount and had applied it to a current MSRP instead of a pre-march one ? At this point, I politely requested that I be able to speak with a sales manager/supervisor equivalent (or whatever title that would be in Rivianese ?). I wanted to ask someone more likely to know why they can't find me an R1S demo vehicle when clearly more and more of them are trickling into the demo shop as the weeks go by, some of which had my ideal specs. I also wanted to review the hiccups of this purchase experience with someone whose job it is to lead a sales team—if I were a sales manager, I would want to hear about my experience thus far—especially since, at the outset, Luis made it clear that they are trying to get these sold before Q1-end. From what I can tell, there has been a lot of wasted time in this transaction, even with what seems to be the best of intentions on Luis' part.

I emailed Luis on Monday (3/18) because I hadn't heard from him after placing my third deposit, and the account portal page hadn't changed yet to indicate my match with the demo truck's VIN. He didn't respond. I called but didn't get through, so I decided to reserve a scheduled call in his calendar yesterday. Luis called promptly at the scheduled time, but with zero acknowledgment that 5 days had gone by since his last call wherein he indicated that I needed to act swiftly with my third deposit.

I'm motivated to buy this truck as soon as they will let me. I hope my experience is an exception, but I have my doubts unfortunately...

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