Would you still buy your Rivian today?

[2kwik4u]

364 days, 23.5k miles, 1 set of tires, and 10 service visits into my ownership experience.

I would NOT purchase again if I knew then what I know now.

I traded my Q7, and was cross shopping with a Porsche Cayenne and an Audi SQ7. I think either of those would have delivered me a better experience over the last 12 mo. I have 24mo left on my Rivian R1T (dual motor, large pack, 20in AT) lease, so I'm hoping the Rivian proves me wrong on this front soon.

The Bad:

• PaaK sucks and is an asinine system. Even when it randomly works, it's the wrong design decision
• Non-Opening sunroof is more of a dealbreaker than I thought it would be.
• HVAC Vents through the screen are infuriating at best.
• Dual Motor engagement delay/clunk is annoying and kills the EV driveline experience
• 10 service visits in 12 months time.
• Unacceptable clunking from front suspension that is "normal"
• So many updates that change stuff for the sake of change (Pick a font and color Rivian!)

The Good:

• Driveline is overall, quite excellent. Good power, well tuned throttle. One pedal driving is seemless and easy.
• Suspension system (though more rattly than a 1820's haywagon) is very well tuned. Loads of adjustability and capability. Easily moves between Corvette and Jeep modes.
• Frunk+gear tunnel is an unparalleled storage experience in a pickup form factor. This is really a very rewarding experience.
• Infotainment system is quite nice, responsive, clear, and leaps above everyone except Tesla. I don't relish moving away from it when my lease is up.
• Driver Aid systems are in the Goldilocks Zone IMO. The right amount of assist, and the right amount of "pay attention" nannies. I quite like them.
• Customer service is exceptionally great (even though I shouldn't need to use it 10 times a year).
• The updates are largely improvements on the machine in general. More goods than bads even though about 3/4 of the "features" that they bring I don't use.

Overall, I think I would have been happier with an SQ7 instead of my Rivian. There are a lot of things to love about the truck, but the few things that I absolutely HATE about it, gatekeep me from the rest of the great experience. PaaK and HVAC vents in particular are such common touchpoints that are done so poorly I rarely walk away from the truck with a "I want more" feeling.

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[dleepnw]

Tough one to answer for us early customers since we got the pre-price hike price. Not sure I would spend $100k (or more) on a similarly equipped R1T that I got for $73k.

There's been a lot of minor issues and a couple of major ones which Rivian took care of but the wait queue for service is still crazy in Seattle (3-6 months).

The software, while adding so many new features is amazing, its gotten slower and more unstable over time. Plus they tweaked the sound for the Meridian Elevation system, which didn't need it, and its never gotten back to where it was.

Also, pretty disappointed by the cameras and ADAS. Rivian promised way more than they were able to deliver because of the h/w limitations in Gen1.

Amazing vehicles, but I would not buy the one I have today for $100k.

 

[SwampNut]

I got a Rivian because I needed a truck, and the other EV trucks are a joke. I'm not willing to drive ICE ever again. But if I only needed a car/SUV I would buy a Tesla, period. There are still drawbacks to every other EV option. I even faced one of them yesterday.

 

[mkg3]

...For people who own a Rivian, would you buy your car again?
If yes, what (if any) changes would you make?
If no, why?

Short answer: No. Too big and heavy, needs more refinements at the current price points compared to alternatives.

That said, it's a multi-dimensional question and I think the answer would be different depending on if you bought it vs leased it, and what led you to get it in the first place. Residual value for EVs are terrible and not clear on the demand for used EVs... Sort of like used laptops. Technology changes too fast.

In my case, we bough R1S gen 1 outright and it's my wife's daily vehicle. Just over 2 years and 30k miles. It's been our family road trip vehicle too. We've done 5 trips over 1,500 miles each.

We did not replace an existing vehicle when we got our R1S. She wanted a SUV and we like EVs in general. We also own a Tesla that I use a commuter.

When time comes to replace, in 2~3 years assuming its trouble free, it will be up to her to make the decision but I will certainly provide opinions and options then. I am expecting SSB, 800V architecture, dual motor, and more agile vehicle.

 

[moosetags]

We were very early adopters (11/28/2018). SuEllyn thought that Rivian would be something special from the very beginning. The wait was long. We attended a Rivian private expo in Denver in the Summer of 2019. We were very impressed with the prototypes on display. We got to talk directly with RJ and some of the other top Rivian engineers. The wait continued. When actual production finally began, we were somewhat disappointed that Rivian had scrapped the Explore version and had decided to produce only the Adventure version. Even with the higher cost, we stuck with it. The main two advanced items in the Adventure version were the motorized tonneau caver and the camp speaker. Both of these turned out to be junk.

We plodded on in pursuit of our Rivian. Despite our very early customer number, we were pushed back on the delivery list because we lived in a rural area far from any big city. It seemed like Rivian was moving away from their "adventure vehicle" beginnings into a "big city" vehicle. Rivian has seemingly morphed into a two motor SUV soccer mom vehicle.

We eventually took Factory delivery of our long awaited R1T in April of 2023. We named her Opal and have loved her ever since. She has done very well for the last two and a half years with only a couple of minor issues. Opal pulls our Airstream travel trailer very well, but the range (+/- 100 miles) is disappointing. We ended up paying $66,500 for Opal when the tax rebate is considered.

Would we purchase Opal again? Probably so as it has been our adventure into the world of EV's. We like the concept, but not sure that it is ready for serious cross country travel with a trailer in tow.

Brian

 

[sfvR1S]

I placed my Rivian order in 2/22 and received it 10/23. At that time, the R1S was the only EV with off-road capabilities and a lot of cargo room (3rd row seating). FF to 10/25 and it's still the only off-road capable EV with significant room in the back.

Would I buy it again? Probably because the vehicle has been mostly trouble free, but with a caveat. I've yet to take it for an off-road shakedown run since I haven't found viable sliders, which bums me out.

 

[theonetruestripes]

Same R1S same price? Sure. I “just” bought it six months ago, and I’ve enjoyed it greatly.

If I had a choice to buy “a R1” depending on the price difference I might choose a larger battery, towing my trailer long distances isn’t great with the smallest battery. Other driving is fine with the little battery (even long trips so far).

I have the J117-CCS charge port, would prefer the NACS port, given how many non-NACS chargers are around here I would still need an adaptor a lot of the time, but NACS is a little bit self aligning, so it would be nice to have that at home rather then the extra fumbling with J1772.

(Prior to the R1S I had a Tesla model Y which I enjoyed a lot of things about, but I really like the R1 way more, my wife disliked the model Y and loves the R1)

 

[Rade]

Yes, I most certainly would. I am of an age where I don't trust my driving abilities, and the features in the R1T have been eased up my anxieties over driving. I would expect that, if my financial outlook remains consistent, when the R2T finally gets rolling, I might "downsize" into that in a few years. We have an R2S reserved.

That said, we just took delivery of a Tesla Model Y Juniper; the husband needed a new daily driver for work and we snagged one before the EV tax credits disappear on September 30. We spent a month looking at every EV available out there (including the R1S) and just felt that (removing politics from the decision), the Model Y was the best of breed for the price point we were looking at.

My R1T has become ubiquitous; it's my daily driver for errands and hauling home stuff. I have a few technical gremlins, though, that have been starting to nag at me, but have a service appointment scheduled in a couple of weeks.

 

[CANCERDOC]

My first R1S (delivered March 2024) had a catastrophic failure not 20 miles down the road driving home and needed a rear motor replacement among other things. I ended up getting a manufactuers buy back for that one and they replaced it with an identical model in May 2024. Now approximately 31k miles later, I've had about a dozen service center and mobile visits and for now the vehicle appears to be running on all cylinders (ok, battery cells?). The reliability issues are something all new Rivian owners need to be aware of, and if this is a vehicle you drive everyday and you absolutely need the vehicle to work (I work in healthcare), this might not be the vehicle for you. The service experience has been first class, and its not the service center's fault the vehicles were not put together correctly as the factory. I'm hoping they offer Riviancare for California at some point as I would be the first in line for it.

 

[dradam]

Yes, I would buy it again. Amazing vehicle at the preorder pricing. Minimal maintainence and huge gas savings. I never want to drive ICE again. When ordered I wanted to replace my 18 year old LX470. There was nothing , and still is nothing like it other than the S. I know the tech is already outdated and 800v may come, but for my use it has been great.

My only concern is future mintainence/ repair. I tend to keep my cars for a very long time and i hope rivian service will be there and be reasonable.

 

[drivetorun]

Definitely a qualified answer here, but ultimately, yes, would buy again. However, would likely be looking at used over new given I was able to get my R1S at the pre-order pricing and take advantage of the $7,500 tax credit (before income limits kicked in).

Still would like to see Rivian offer a manufacturer-backed extended warranty in CA, and I have general nervousness about the location and availability of service centers. However, in my two years of ownership, nothing catastrophic has happened, and any small issues were able to be addressed by a mobile repair visit (which are generally scheduled ~1 month out).

 

[Eticket99]

I would not buy my truck again at today's prices .... firmly believe the old pricing was pretty solid, but now can't justify 6 figures for the number of issues my truck has had and the lack of customer service in dealing with those issues from Rivian.

 

[Dark-Fx]

No. why would I want an almost 4 year old truck?

 

[joem]

Yes I would. Scout is dead in the water.

How so?

 

[hsctiger]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful responses.

My wife has set a budget where I'm going to have to go used if I get one. No problem. Seems like low mileage used inventory is pretty healthy but it also looks like I should focus on Gen 2. Don't need serious off-road capability but will likely tow some but not long distances.

Appreciate the negative thoughts as well. Your comments were specific and focused on the issues. She probably won't like to hear the issues with the A/C. That's a problem in my Model S today- not enough fan motor for her liking.

When I first picked up my Model S in 2014, Tesla was a different company. The service center here in Richmond was service-focused, friendly, well-trained, but most importantly not too busy. When I had an issue- no matter how small- they took care of me. The online scheduling and the fact I could get most of the work done remotely was a huge pickup and I hope it would be the same with Rivian.

Today, the Tesla Richmond VA service center is beyond its capacity but I'm pretty sure the VADA is legally keeping them to one location and I doubt they'd move to a larger one (a West End and a Southside location would make more sense). Remarkably, my scheduling issues with them are equal parts work load and the age of my car. Not many Tesla technicians are trained on older Model S cars. So, I have to wait for "the guy" to become available which also stinks. I imagine "the guy" is like that older IT programmer who's the last one on earth who knows how to work an outdated computer language and I hope he/she's making bank for it.

I'm going to schedule a visit and test drive at the Rivian RVA SC in October. Are there any questions I should ask the person as I make my appointment? Would I get an honest answer if I asked how busy their SC was?

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