Ideal Gen1 Preowned

[triathlete107]

Given the continued incremental improvements we have seen over the lifespan of the Gen 1 R1Ts, was wondering if there might be a different approach to buying a Preowned than your typical legacy automaker experience.

Do you think there was a sweet spot in the life cycle that might offer the best value and reliability when looking at a used vehicle? Certainly not an easy task to assess even within model years.

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[Donald Stanfield]

You're going to get different opinions here, but in my opinion, the best ones to get would be the '22 year with the Meridian sound. Meridian sound was better than the current, and I still had extra wood trim Rivian removed in the Adventure trim. Best balance of content and lowest price due to year.

 

[Riviot]

You're going to get different opinions here, but in my opinion, the best ones to get would be the '22 year with the Meridian sound. Meridian sound was better than the current, and I still had extra wood trim Rivian removed in the Adventure trim. Best balance of content and lowest price due to year.

Another '22 advocate here; it has more plugs all around.

 

[DayTripping]

As others mentioned, the 22's have the Meridian sound systems. Some '23's may have those as well. At the same time, some of the 23's have the updated suspension with the cast subframe. I'll personally take that over the Meridian sound as the car feels tighter overall.

I have a '23 R1T with the non-Meridian sound system. With the most recent updates, a little tweaking of the EQ (based on some posts here by an audio engineer), I am quite happy with it. For the music I listen to, I think it sounds better. Bass could be better in both systems. YMMV of course.

I'll throw another thought out there. If you are financing a 2023 you may qualify for a new car rate if the miles are low enough. Also more factory warranty left. I went with a '2023 and saved almost a point on the APR with Navy Federal since I got the new car rate. It went from the 5's to the 4's since it was new enough.

I think I hit the sweet spot as I have the power ports they started to remove as well as the upgrades suspension. No real changes I can see from the 2024's. I saved over 50k vs a new tri motor which made my Gen1 a bargain as far as I am concerned. I did shop new ones too but the cost differential for a few upgrades that aren't that important to me made the lightly used one I bought an awesome option.

 

[COdogman]

I have a ‘23 with 12v under the dash (not in the frunk) and Meridian, so those are out there too - you would just have to check each listing. I believe it was a small fraction of 23s that have those features. Essentially it’s more of a ’22 than not. Mine has been extremely reliable so far.

I think a higher VIN ‘22 or early VIN ‘23 are good bets all around. Rivian had worked through much of their early building quality issues by then.

If the 12v and stereo aren’t that important to you, any higher VIN ‘22 through the end of Gen 1 is probably going to be good.

 

[dradam]

I was a late 23 build/delivery. I had one half shaft service issue that was minor and some software bugs--which continue to improve. The car has otherwise been flawless. To me, end 23 may have been the sweet spot where earlier issues were already adressed. While the a/c is noisy at startup there is no vibration in the car, The rivian sound system is good IMO. Would have liked a 12v in the dash, but my front undercarriage is the newer version and wins over that. I drove a Trimax and other than the cameras found the changes not enough to warrant an extra 30k+. Happy hunting !

 

[Noplacelikeloam]

Agreed with everyone here. The unicorn is a late (built Nov/Dec 22, registered Jan/Feb 23), low milage (15K max) 22 with Meridian. Probably wont have PTC, but some say thats a win. Youll probably end up at the SC to upgrade dampers (warranty) to 23 spec but thats just time. Youll save a lot of money and get a truck thats better than a 23 or IMO a gen 2.

 

[Killer95Stang]

Agreed with everyone here. The unicorn is a late (built Nov/Dec 22, registered Jan/Feb 23), low milage (15K max) 22 with Meridian. Probably wont have PTC, but some say thats a win. Youll probably end up at the SC to upgrade dampers (warranty) to 23 spec but thats just time. Youll save a lot of money and get a truck thats better than a 23 or IMO a gen 2.

I think the Jan 2023 might be the unicorn... the Dec 2022 still had welded front sub frame. 12v was deleted from frank, but wiring harness still had provisions for it. 12v under dash was still there. Our March 2023 had the new sunframe, but neither of the 12v outlets. Also, the 12v is deleted from the harness. 12/2022 had meridian, but our march 2023 did not.

Also, if you have the welded subframe and have issues, they will swap out for the new one.

 

[Gravy Train]

'22s and early '23s (through February, maybe?) also had dual-tone horns installed. Mine is a January-built 2023 model with Meridian, the under-dash 12V outlet, noisy dampers and welded front subframe.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Given the continued incremental improvements we have seen over the lifespan of the Gen 1 R1Ts, was wondering if there might be a different approach to buying a Preowned than your typical legacy automaker experience.

Do you think there was a sweet spot in the life cycle that might offer the best value and reliability when looking at a used vehicle? Certainly not an easy task to assess even within model years.

I would pick Performance Dual Motor + Max Pack.

 

[DayTripping]

I would pick Performance Dual Motor + Max Pack.

It all comes down to what is important. I'd never buy the dual motor as I enjoy the torque vectoring of the quad. The Gen1 quad with a large pack doesn't have a battery much smaller than the max pack. Conserve mode gets me efficiency pretty close to the dual. However, if I went with a dual, I'd absolutely go with the PDM version.

It really is what are your priorities. If I wanted a max range EV, I wouldn't be driving a Rivian. I typically go that far on a charge and carry around more battery (and its weight), for the limited time I'd need it would be wasteful for me. It would hurt my overall performance and accelerate wear on everything else (tires, brakes, etc.). They really should have made the max pack bigger like the intended for those people that might actually need the range.

 

[Schroederhc]

I would pick Performance Dual Motor + Max Pack.

2023 or 24?

 

[usulio]

Another potential problem with the earliest builds was the double 12V batteries, which changed to a single 12V battery plus a capacitor sometime in early 2023.

 

[usulio]

I would say that the individual vehicle's history is more important than its build date. Is it a borderline lemon that was in and out of the service center every couple months, or has it made it 10k-20k miles with no mechanical issues? If so, it's a winner.

I feel real lucky with our April-ish 2023 build Quad Large R1S. No Meridian sound, but I don't mind that. Haven't missed the 12V ports under the dash or in the frunk, and wouldn't be too hard to add them if needed. Don't need to worry about subframe issues or weird double-12V battery wiring. Only one horn, but I added a second horn from a kit.

I agree with above that for me, Gen 1 PDM Max pack would not give enough range benefit over Gen 1 Quad Large in conserve mode to be worth it. No more than 30 extra highway miles.

Edit: forgot to mention extra long warranty on Gen 1 Quad. 8 year / 175k miles for the battery and drivetrain I believe.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

2023 or 24?

Doesn't matter. Mid-'23 produced vehicles undergoing active campaign to replace the 12V, but Dual Motor of any kind were not in production until Fall/Winter of that year.

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