Rivian Overseas Service

[Larry T]

Dear Rivian Service,

We are a group on Rivian owners located in the Cayman Islands. There are 6 Rivian’s on island, and the owners communicate regularly via chat group. We love our vehicles, and what Rivian stands for as a company. Many of us would like to purchase a second Rivian or reserve an R2, but cannot under the present circumstances.

We all assumed a certain level of risk when we exported our vehicles overseas. Major accidents and warranty faults aside, we should not be forced to ship them back to the USA every time there is a minor issue, like a 12V battery replacement, a screen issue, suspension fault, or other minor repairs/ software issues. To date, Rivian is unwilling to offer us any support, not even a remote login to check the vehicles OTA, and insists we ship every vehicle back to the USA for every issue. Two have already been shipped back, likely unnecessarily.

We have requested to fly in a mobile service technician at our expense, which has been denied repeatedly. We are a short one-hour flight from Miami, and would gladly cover airfare, hotel & expenses, and they could even have a “mini-vacation” while here.

We have a local mechanics shop on island capable of the basic repairs and service. Their head mechanic is amazing, he handles everything from Ferrari to Maserati, and is also Tesla certified. They service the 200+ Tesla’s on island along with most other electric vehicles. They are willing to do training/ certification with Rivian. As a group, we would be willing to purchase any computer/ diagnostic equipment needed for basic service (within reason.)

But we need Rivian’s help. We cannot pay the $10,000+ round trip expense every time a vehicle has a minor issue, that could likely be fixed remotely. If Rivian cannot extend us a basic level of remote service, we will all be forced to ship our vehicles back, have them serviced, and stick them on the used car market. Cayman is a small but wealthy market; Rivian’s could have a strong presence here if owners could have a basic level of confidence with service and support.

Please Rivian, help us service our vehicles remotely. Please PM me for further discussion.

Signed,


Edward & Noraine Thompson
R1S – XXXXXXXX4PN006598

Leslie & Pamela Harvey
R1S – XXXXXXXXX9NN000406
R1T – XXXXXXXX5PN025358

Kevin & Andrea Higgo
RIT – XXXXXXXXNN010764

Tim Peck
R1T – XXXXXXXX9NN000803

Simon Hinshelwood
R1T – XXXXXXXX8PN017206

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[RNFinCA]

Add Turks & Caicos’s Providenciales to the list. Rivians would be perfect for this island as well. Gas prices are crazy high, solar is pervasive. Range anxiety would never be a factor. Back home, I recently had to take one of my R1Ts in for the battery thing. How would I do that simple thing on the island? I totally get Rivian is hard pressed to offer good service in many of their major US markets. But how about a franchise model? Seeing more Rivians on the road is the best marketing there is.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

You signed up for this when you brought your vehicles out of the country. Rivian can't keep reasonable service times for those of us who have vehicles stateside, yet you want us to stretch their resources further to serve all of you who've chosen to leave that area. I agree they should be able to provide remote diagnostics, but setting up some international plan to fly mechanics out isn't something they should be doing.

If they do it for you, they will need to do it for the R1s in Germany, Dubai, The Netherlands, and anywhere else someone has taken one. Rivian doesn't have the resources to do that, so they've told you no.

 

[RNFinCA]

That’s - why - the - franchise - suggestion. Look up how it works in other vehicle industries. Farm equipment, Caterpillar, etc, Tesla had the funding to avoid it. Rivian doesn’t.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

That’s - why - the - franchise - suggestion. Look up how it works in other vehicle industries. Farm equipment, Caterpillar, etc, Tesla had the funding to avoid it. Rivian doesn’t.

Will that require resources from Rivian? Yes or No? If yes, Rivian needs to solve the problems in the market they've chosen to operate in before trying to franchise.

 

[RNFinCA]

No. That’s the point. Go down to your local, traditional vehicle dealer. Any but Tesla will do. Do you think GM/Ford/Jeep furnishes the service people? The salespeople? The showroom? No. They have “certified” mechanics. How? The franchisee hires the people and send them through the same training as the manufacturer’s. This is exactly the reason the franchise model came about. it specifically addresses this issue. Tesla had the funding and it still nearly killed them. Even now, Tesla service is the absolute worst. The premise has been EV’s require far less service. Right, but that only works to a point.

Rivian is trying to the same thing, but they cannot grow fast enough without the service support. If they are unable to adequately service all the high point in the US, how will they ever address all of Europe let alone what we are talking about. R2 and R3 can add the badly needed volume, but it just makes the service support more critical.

One likely scenario is VW realizes they are in a lot worse shape than they care to believe. They adopt Rivian and provide service out of their existing franchise network. Of course, servicing a Rivian has very little in common with servicing a VW except maybe changing windshield wiper blades and rotating tires. But at least the structure will be in place.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

No. That’s the point. Go down to your local, traditional vehicle dealer. Any but Tesla will do. Do you think GM/Ford/Jeep furnishes the service people? The salespeople? The showroom? No. They have “certified” mechanics. How? The franchisee hires the people and send them through the same training as the manufacturer’s. This is exactly the reason the franchise model came about. it specifically addresses this issue. Tesla had the funding and it still nearly killed them. Even now, Tesla service is the absolute worst. The premise has been EV’s require far less service. Right, but that only works to a point.

Rivian is trying to the same thing, but they cannot grow fast enough without the service support. If they are unable to adequately service all the high point in the US, how will they ever address all of Europe let alone what we are talking about. R2 and R3 can add the badly needed volume, but it just makes the service support more critical.

One likely scenario is VW realizes they are in a lot worse shape than they care to believe. They adopt Rivian and provide service out of their existing franchise network. Of course, servicing a Rivian has very little in common with servicing a VW except maybe changing windshield wiper blades and rotating tires. But at least the structure will be in place.

Oh, you mean dealerships. No thanks one of the best things about Rivian is they don’t have dealerships.

 

[COdogman]

No. That’s the point. Go down to your local, traditional vehicle dealer. Any but Tesla will do. Do you think GM/Ford/Jeep furnishes the service people? The salespeople? The showroom? No. They have “certified” mechanics. How? The franchisee hires the people and send them through the same training as the manufacturer’s. This is exactly the reason the franchise model came about. it specifically addresses this issue. Tesla had the funding and it still nearly killed them. Even now, Tesla service is the absolute worst. The premise has been EV’s require far less service. Right, but that only works to a point.

Rivian is trying to the same thing, but they cannot grow fast enough without the service support. If they are unable to adequately service all the high point in the US, how will they ever address all of Europe let alone what we are talking about. R2 and R3 can add the badly needed volume, but it just makes the service support more critical.

One likely scenario is VW realizes they are in a lot worse shape than they care to believe. They adopt Rivian and provide service out of their existing franchise network. Of course, servicing a Rivian has very little in common with servicing a VW except maybe changing windshield wiper blades and rotating tires. But at least the structure will be in place.

Ford was founded in 1903.
John Deere was founded in 1837.
Caterpillar in 1925.
Rivian was founded in 2009, delivered it’s first vehicles in 2021.

I don’t blame anyone for asking for help, but I am a bit confused as to why a new company who is struggling to gain a foothold on the continent they decided to start their business on is expected to “franchise” operations in places they had no intention of operating in at this point.

Rivian is having trouble hiring enough Techs in North America so why would they send one to a location outside the country with 5 vehicles? Owners offering to pay for the trip is irrelevant when that employee is needed at home. They purchased knowing Rivian had no operations where they chose to take their vehicles. Now they expect Rivian to save them from themselves. Rivian should explain this to them and offer to schedule them an appointment at Miami SC. How they get the vehicles there is their problem.

 

[RNFinCA]

Dealerships and franchises are similar but one is a variety of the other. Dealerships in the US have three departments: new sales, used sales: service. You might be interested to know that, on average, profit is generated primarily by the last two. In far off locations, all three would be welcomed with open arms because getting them there would be a big plus. In the US, it could easily be a different mix depending on location.

At the end of the day, poor service will kill a brand. They have to avoid that at all cost. It becomes a race between volume and service. That has to be solved.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Dealerships and franchises are similar but one is a variety of the other. Dealerships in the US have three departments: new sales, used sales: service. You might be interested to know that, on average, profit is generated primarily by the last two. In far off locations, all three would be welcomed with open arms because getting them there would be a big plus. In the US, it could easily be a different mix depending on location.

At the end of the day, poor service will kill a brand. They have to avoid that at all cost. It becomes a race between volume and service. That has to be solved.

I agree that Rivian needs to expand its service, and they are doing so as we speak. New service centers are opening every year. Rivian going to a dealership model will ruin one of the significant benefits of buying a Rivian. They could license third-party service centers and should consider that option long before franchising sales.

For now, Rivian's best move in addressing the deficit is to stay the course and continue its service expansion, concentrating on the areas where Rivian does business. After they get that under control, Rivian can consider expansion. When they do, they'd be best served targeting a larger market than the Cayman Islands.

 

[Riviot]

I have little sympathy for rich islanders who bitch about scuff marks on their deck during safety and law enforcement boardings, but try this: https://rivianservicetools.com/

Tell your Ferrari Maserati Tesla repairman to request access to the Third Party Partner Portal: https://rivian.com/support/article/can-i-take-my-rivian-vehicle-to-a-third-party-repair-shop

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/third-party-repair-shop-partner-portal.35414/

 

[mikehmb]

Pool your repairs - find a mainland US independent Rivian-certified shop who is willing to send someone to you to do inspections, determine components required, etc, then go back, get the parts, return, do the repairs, then go home.

Is this cheap? No. But under your circumstances, it might be cheaper than the 10k r/t service visit.

Or - work with a local shop to source a few totaled Rivians for parts, plus spare OE-like replacements for things like 12V batteries.

 

[RNFinCA]

I agree that Rivian needs to expand its service, and they are doing so as we speak. New service centers are opening every year. Rivian going to a dealership model will ruin one of the significant benefits of buying a Rivian. They could license third-party service centers and should consider that option long before franchising sales.

For now, Rivian's best move in addressing the deficit is to stay the course and continue its service expansion, concentrating on the areas where Rivian does business. After they get that under control, Rivian can consider expansion. When they do, they'd be best served targeting a larger market than the Cayman Islands.

I agree that Rivian needs to expand its service, and they are doing so as we speak. New service centers are opening every year. Rivian going to a dealership model will ruin one of the significant benefits of buying a Rivian. They could license third-party service centers and should consider that option long before franchising sales.

For now, Rivian's best move in addressing the deficit is to stay the course and continue its service expansion, concentrating on the areas where Rivian does business. After they get that under control, Rivian can consider expansion. When they do, they'd be best served targeting a larger market than the Cayman Islands.

You’re missing the whole point and maybe that’s intentional. No one is suggesting dealerships in the US. Have you ever taken one of your vehicles to a service shop that wasn’t a dealership? At least in So CA, they are very good.

The only folks bitching about Rivian is this thread complaining about inadequate service in certain US locations. Stay the course. How’s that working out for them? What do you think would have happened if they did not sell their technology for a $5B capital infusion? Do you think they wanted to do that? I hope Rivian leadership has a greater ability to consider all the alternatives than this group. Otherwise, getting a service appointments will be the least of the concerns.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

You’re missing the whole point and maybe that’s intentional. No one is suggesting dealerships in the US. Have you ever taken one of your vehicles to a service shop that wasn’t a dealership? At least in So CA, they are very good.

The only folks bitching about Rivian is this thread complaining about inadequate service in certain US locations. Stay the course. How’s that working out for them? What do you think would have happened if they did not sell their technology for a $5B capital infusion? Do you think they wanted to do that? I hope Rivian leadership has a greater ability to consider all the alternatives than this group. Otherwise, getting a service appointments will be the least of the concerns.

Once vehicles are out of warranty service will be a revenue generator. Not only that but Rivian would have to reimburse third party shops for performing warranty work at a greater cost to them than providing the service themselves. So as a company it’s the right call.

I’m glad the leadership isn’t willing to cut their nose off to spite their face as you’re suggesting.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

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