About to take delivery - but should I wait?

[RMSko]

The only current incentive for a dual max battery R1S is a $5,000 leasing credit (and you only get this if you take the upgraded performance package). Am I right that just last month they offered a $6,500 "Endless Adventure Bonus" rebate for this same configuration? If so, that would have been in addition to the $7,500 EV credit. It just seems a bit odd that Rivian would choose to decrease its incentives at the same time the EV credit is disappearing. Is my information correct? If so, I’m thinking I should delay getting the car since I would expect better incentives next month or in December. Anyone have any thoughts?

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[Scottski]

This is all new territory, none of us would know what the incentives will look like going forward. If you like it for the price you see it at, buy it. If not, wait it out. The vehicles aren't going to get worse, but the incentives might.

 

[RMSko]

This is all new territory, none of us would know what the incentives will look like going forward. If you like it for the price you see it at, buy it. If not, wait it out. The vehicles aren't going to get worse, but the incentives might.

I actually think there is no chance that the incentives will get worse. They may not get better, but I don’t see how they will be worse since there really is almost no incentive right now. If they got even worse then I don’t see how they would ever hit their sales targets.

 

[Scottski]

It's your gamble to make bud, I secured my $7500 tax credit in July and the incentives they offered at the time.

 

[beatle]

Incentive changes depend on how much Rivian values the sale vs. profit on each one. For your sake, hopefully there's a sales manager at Rivian saying, "Yeah guys, I know we lose money on every sale, but we make up for it in volume!"

 

[RMSko]

Incentive changes depend on how much Rivian values the sale vs. profit on each one. For your sake, hopefully there's a sales manager at Rivian saying, "Yeah guys, I know we lose money on every sale, but we make up for it in volume!"

I’m not a newbie to this and I’ve been in finance for decades and so I know how it works. This is one area where you can actually make it up on volume bc in the auto industry it’s all about scale. I’ve also read a lot of analyst reports and it is clear that EV manufacturers will need to find much better efficiencies and/or reduce their prices to survive. Companies like GM can just sell ICE vehicles, but companies like Rivian, Lucid and Tesla have nothing else to fall back on. Plus, I’m sure you know that Amazon didn’t make money for years and that is not unusual.

 

[beatle]

I know, it was a joke, but also kind of true. The thing is you don't know what that point is where they will sacrifice in the short term for long term sales numbers. If I were a betting man, I don't think they'll adjust their incentives much until closer to the end of the quarter/year.

 

[CANCERDOC]

I understand why incentives might help w Rivian sales, but for a manufacturer to essentially take a $7500 hit on every vehicle is a tough expectation. When it was someone else's money, it was all fun and games. I'm sure they have analysts figuring out what the number should me to move vehicles and the entire train along so they have enough runway to get the R2 up and going.

 

[BigSkies]

Prices might get better and they might get worse. You might have better luck with incentives towards the end of the quarter if you want to bet on normal industry trends applying. But it's really an unknown.

Also consider whether the options you want are available today. You might get better incentives later, but not have the color options, motor options, or packages that are important to you. Consider if you have strong feelings on certain features are REALLY important. Rivian is known to batch-manufacture different configurations at the same time, so some trims might become rare for a month or two.

 

[RMSko]

I understand why incentives might help w Rivian sales, but for a manufacturer to essentially take a $7500 hit on every vehicle is a tough expectation.

I’m really not referring to the $7,500 EV credit. I’m talking about the additional $6,500 rebate offered last month by Rivian that was coupled with the credit. It just seems nonsensical for Rivian to reduce this amount at the same time the other credit is going away. So, I don’t believe it is a tough expectation to expect them to at least maintain the same incentives, especially when the leasing costs are going up by $7,500. In comparison, Lucid increased their incentives this month.

 

[Eeyore]

Every day you delay getting your Rivian is a day lost that you could be driving it.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

For me, this is a quality of life/ vanity purchase. The sticker on my trimax was 113k plus tax. I could have purchased a vehicle for less than half that cost to satisfy my transportation needs. I lit 60-70K on fire by buying the R1S because I wanted that over a budget option. Worrying about whether they were going to give me an extra couple of thousand dollars seemed like a waste of time, given that perspective.

 

[tdrew55]

I’m really not referring to the $7,500 EV credit. I’m talking about the additional $6,500 rebate offered last month by Rivian that was coupled with the credit. It just seems nonsensical for Rivian to reduce this amount at the same time the other credit is going away. So, I don’t believe it is a tough expectation to expect them to at least maintain the same incentives, especially when the leasing costs are going up by $7,500. In comparison, Lucid increased their incentives this month.

Sounds like your mind is made up. Don't buy, and see what happens.

 

[RMSko]

Sounds like your mind is made up. Don't buy, and see what happens.

Actually that’s not correct, I’m taking delivery tomorrow. I was actually just asking an honest question since I’m new to Rivian.

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