In 4th year of waiting ... beginning to question if the wait is worth it

[cc84]

...... I am anticipating delivery in summer of next year if all goes well. It would be nice to get it in May for my 90 BD !!!

The quote above is by the OP back on Aug 3, 2020. He certainly has the right to question whether it's worth the wait. Rivian should pay attention here, IMO. Maybe they will.

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[moosetags]

I don't mind the wait (I know they're trying to fix the bugs) but am not sure I can wait much longer. I have an early December '18 reservation with the Max pack. Through the years my old Silverado has become a very old unreliable one. I'm currently waiting for it to be towed to the mechanic for the fourth time in the last six months. Two of those were with a horse trailer behind me. Another year and a half is a long time. ?‍

We have a November 28, 2018 reservation, but have a first half of 2023 delivery because of what we ordered. We are more fortunate that you as we replaced our old Silverado in March of 2020 with a brand new 2020 Silverado 2500. We were lucky to get this truck right before everything went to crap due to the Covid debacle. This puts us in an ideal position to wait for our R1T Explore. Our 2020 Silverado purchase was blind luck. We scored a beautiful new Duramax at a deeply discounted price. We were recently at the Chevrolet dealer where we purchased the truck. I was offered more than I paid for the truck two years ago, which I declined since I need the truck.

We have an additional break when it comes to seeing and driving a Rivian. Our youngest son placed a reservation on the same day we did. He ordered a Launch Edition R1S. His delivery window is April/May, 2022. We will have a year or so to play with a Rivian before we get ours.

SuEllyn and Brian

 

[R1Tr8000]

With the delays on the Max Pack…and possible design, engineering, pricing, performance and/or supply chain issues with it..my confidence in a late 2023 delivery has dwindled. That’s in addition to weight, towing range and recharging-while-towing concerns I have.

I’m probably expecting too much all-around ability for a first generation EV of this type, especially with current power pack technology…

So I’ve gone with plan B and will be getting a new full SUV next week to tide me over a couple years and see how this plays out. I really didn’t want to do it..but I think it’s a decent option for my needs right now.

I still have the R1T reservation and hopefully we will all have a much better idea of Max Pack deliveries and real world experience by, say, mid next year.

 

[sierraskier]

Hello potential Rivan buyers,
I am a reporter at the New York Times and I am eager to talk to Rivian customers. I wanted to better understand the market for Rivian vehicles and find out why you'd want a Rivian R1T or R1S over other EVs that are on the market or coming to market. And I wanted to get a sense of how long you might wait. Please email me on [email protected] if you can chat. THANKS A LOT! Peter

I'll spell it out here, it's easier. There are 2 primary areas of differentiation for me personally: 1) Capabilities/Functionality and 2) Brand/Styling

There really is no other EV on the market now (or coming to market) that has the capabilities of a Rivian:

• 0-60 in ~3.2sec, 835 HP, 908lb-ft torque
• Up to 15" ground clearance, 3' wading depth with adjustable ride height
• Handles like a sportscar, adaptive suspension
• More off-road capability than vast majority of dedicated, purpose-built off-road vehicles
• Luxury interior and features
• 300-400mi range
• Comfortable seating for 4+

In fact, there is really no other VEHICLE with these capabilities (ICE or EV).

Brand / Styling is completely subjective, but:

• Fresh, unique and different, but not obnoxious/robotic (unlike a Tesla Cybertruck)
• Modern, innovative, but still slightly rugged (unlike Tesla)
• Luxurious, higher ed, stylish, but functional

Bottom line is I don't want to buy an EV truck/SUV from a legacy ICE manufacturer like GM or Toyota...and I want a Tesla Cybertruck even less. I want to buy an EV truck/SUV from a clean-sheet, innovative manufacturer that wants to evolve the old, tired automobile industry experience that sits somewhere in between Tesla and GM...and Rivian is that manufacturer.

As to how long I'd wait... as of next month it'll be 3yrs, and I'm betting I'll wait at least another 6 months or so beyond that before I take delivery of a Rivian R1T. Unfortunately for us, at this moment there is really no other vehicle/manufacturer that is anywhere near delivering all of the things mentioned above. Considering I've owned my current daily driver for just under 10yrs, and have been very happy with it, waiting even another year to get the right vehicle pencils out.

 

[mkg3]

Just a quick glance through this thread implies that most of you guys are willing to wait, albeit disgruntled and unhappy about it.... Some of you are even willing to buy an interim vehicle only to replace it with a Rivian when finally delivers.

You all are true fans and enthusiasts for this brand. But you all are also a very concentrated group of people who has enough interest in the vehicles to join this forum (I suppose myself included) and actively participate in the discussion so it is not a surprise.

On the other hand, the vast majority of Rivian preorder holders are non-forum members (probably 90+%) and the question is will they continue to wait. What I've noticed is that significant portion of preorders for Rivian, also have preorders for GM, Ford and so on. I believe that behavior is probably very common regardless of this forum participation. The difference is that most will accept the 1st vehicle that bring them closer to actually taking a delivery.

The actual backlog numbers for ANY EV SUV/Truck are over inflated and who knows what the actual delivery dates are until we start to see the deliveries become non-news event by at least one of the automakers.

So, is it worth the wait? Maybe, maybe not based on your value proposition and circumstances, but in reality, its a function of what is the available choices/options that fill most of your needs.

 

[crashmtb]

Just a quick glance through this thread implies that most of you guys are willing to wait, albeit disgruntled and unhappy about it.... Some of you are even willing to buy an interim vehicle only to replace it with a Rivian when finally delivers

if something else manages to appear out of the ether with identical features and performance before my R1T can be delivered, I’ll buy that instead.

but so far there is nothing else that ticks all the same boxes.

 

[cohall]

I sold my car last march, which now appears to have been unwise. I sold my motorcycle at the start of winter, which now also appears to have been unwise. So now my household is down to 1 transportation option. It's less than ideal and I honestly can't wait much longer. According to CS I'm scheduled for an April delivery. I can make that work. If it slips much more into spring/summer - I will have no choice but to sadly find an alternative.

 

[EVTrucking]

If you want an EV truck regardless of who makes it you will have to wait. IMO the wait will get longer as more manufacturers enter production due to shortages of batteries, chips and you name it.

Some fortunate early reservation folks will get their EV trucks sooner but the vast majority will wait.

My observation is that no manufacturer will equitably produce vehicles for their customers. They will choose what best suits their needs. The same goes for communication.

The EV revolution is unfolding smack dab in the middle of a complete breakdown of the worldwide supply chain and covid induced consequences.

 

[Joints4Sale]

I sold my car last march, which now appears to have been unwise. I sold my motorcycle at the start of winter, which now also appears to have been unwise. So now my household is down to 1 transportation option. It's less than ideal and I honestly can't wait much longer. According to CS I'm scheduled for an April delivery. I can make that work. If it slips much more into spring/summer - I will have no choice but to sadly find an alternative.

I'm tempted to sell my Ram because of the current market for used vehicles but am eagerly waiting to see what the trade in value from Rivian will be as there is an added benefit of a sales tax discount by trading it rather than selling it outright in Maryland.

I could always be persuaded to buy another motorcycle though. ?

 

[Craigins]

I was happy to wait because the charging infrastructure isn't where I need it to be. I was hoping the RAN would have made some progress by now, but silence as usual.

Now I'm debating keeping my Ram when I get my R1T until the RAN is built out or Elon follows through and opens up the supercharger network.

 

[Joints4Sale]

I was happy to wait because the charging infrastructure isn't where I need it to be. I was hoping the RAN would have made some progress by now, but silence as usual.

Now I'm debating keeping my Ram when I get my R1T until the RAN is built out or Elon follows through and opens up the supercharger network.

My wife wants me to keep the Ram but I don't see the point in having two trucks. If the R1T doesn't suit me, I'll just sell it. I did go and order a new Ram just in case. My local Ram dealer was more than happy to do so knowing that if I don't buy it he has another truck available to sell.

 

[stynes]

Like most everyone here, I'm disappointed in the wait. I ordered the R1S on 12/3/18 and was originally hoping for a late 2020, maybe that slides into early 2021 delivery. Then COVID and mid-2021 promises. Disappointed, but I understood. The the push back to Sept for the truck with the SUV shortly thereafter. And now I have a May-June 2022 delivery date that I'm not going to put my money on them hitting. I sincerely hope they do but I'm not betting on it at this point.

All that said -there's nothing out there close as an alternative with regards to features, performance, styling, cost, availability timeline, brand image, etc. It's not like I can go buy something else instead. There's literally nothing else out there that hits the above sweet spots for me like the R1S does. So I wait.

The biggest disappoint for me is in the company's lack of clear, consistent communication (I've never received a guide contact, or any other personal touch point from the company in 3+ years as order #29xx), but also, if I'm being honest, in myself. RJ has been described as the anti-Elon. I believed in him, I've rooted for him, and I'm not going to say that's misplaced, I'm not painting him as a bad guy, but like many, I think he underestimated the complexities of the challenge and I let my expectations get too high.

At this point, I wait. I read articles and watch videos about the R1T and I'm excited for @Iwantatesla and a few other deliveries I've seen. I try to be optimistic for @godfodder0901 and others I know are in line ahead of me. I complain sometimes. I read these forums and I'm entertained by all of you guys. I complain sometimes. And I wait.

 

[Iwantatesla]

Like most everyone here, I'm disappointed in the wait. I ordered the R1S on 12/3/18 and was originally hoping for a late 2020, maybe that slides into early 2021 delivery. Then COVID and mid-2021 promises. Disappointed, but I understood. The the push back to Sept for the truck with the SUV shortly thereafter. And now I have a May-June 2022 delivery date that I'm not going to put my money on them hitting. I sincerely hope they do but I'm not betting on it at this point.

All that said -there's nothing out there close as an alternative with regards to features, performance, styling, cost, availability timeline, brand image, etc. It's not like I can go buy something else instead. There's literally nothing else out there that hits the above sweet spots for me like the R1S does. So I wait.

The biggest disappoint for me is in the company's lack of clear, consistent communication (I've never received a guide contact, or any other personal touch point from the company in 3+ years as order #29xx), but also, if I'm being honest, in myself. RJ has been described as the anti-Elon. I believed in him, I've rooted for him, and I'm not going to say that's misplaced, I'm not painting him as a bad guy, but like many, I think he underestimated the complexities of the challenge and I let my expectations get too high.

At this point, I wait. I read articles and watch videos about the R1T and I'm excited for @Iwantatesla and a few other deliveries I've seen. I try to be optimistic for @godfodder0901 and others I know are in line ahead of me. I complain sometimes. I read these forums and I'm entertained by all of you guys. I complain sometimes. And I wait.

I know this is hard to believe but (I understand). A lot of this is due to the fact that the world kind of took a dump with COVID and having worked in manufacturing there's just too many variables at play with suppliers and not everyone has an A team.

With that said, if I were in your shoes just wait and take delivery of the R1S when the time comes-- to your point there's not much close (A Model X is fantastic but it's not a box so the third row is comprimised, a Telluride is cool but it's gas). Take delivery and if you hate it, then sell it make some coin, but you really won't hate it.

I'm hoping not having the truck/suv doesn't affect your day to day activity nor does having a $1,000 deposit held on by Rivian.

Most of the reason why I make content is to help ease the wait. Even in its current state (with software and such) it's totally and completely worth it but what's great is you're going to have a car with more features via software by the time you get it.

 

[stynes]

I know this is hard to believe but (I understand). A lot of this is due to the fact that the world kind of took a dump with COVID and having worked in manufacturing there's just too many variables at play with suppliers and not everyone has an A team.

We'll agree to disagree on this one. I know Covid has sucked but I also feel like at this point the world blames Covid for everything. We're 2 years into this thing and people have to adjust to this as now normal even though obviously none of like it.

With that said, if I were in your shoes just wait and take delivery of the R1S when the time comes-- to your point there's not much close (A Model X is fantastic but it's not a box so the third row is comprimised, a Telluride is cool but it's gas). Take delivery and if you hate it, then sell it make some coin, but you really won't hate it.

The X doesn't do it for me. It doesn't look or perform enough like an SUV. It's a cross over at best. Also, the cost for a similarly equipped X is >$120K and (as of 2 mins ago) they're estimating a January 2023 delivery date. So again... I wait for my R1S.

Most of the reason why I make content is to help ease the wait. Even in its current state (with software and such) it's totally and completely worth it but what's great is you're going to have a car with more features via software by the time you get it.

And we appreciate you for it!

 

[Inkedsphynx]

We'll agree to disagree on this one. I know Covid has sucked but I also feel like at this point the world blames Covid for everything. We're 2 years into this thing and people have to adjust to this as now normal even though obviously none of like it.

You're right, and that applies to everyone, including you. You have to get used to this being the new normal.

Right now, what is normal is for operations to suffer double-digit percentages of man-hours lost to lack of workers or workers out sick due to COVID. This impacts everything from the rate of production on an assembly line to how many trucks drive across the country hauling freight.

It's asinine to expect companies to be delivering to you at the rate/schedule of the old normal given the above is their new normal. Sure, they need to adjust their expectations - but so do you.

It's not unreasonable to point out why we are all adjusting to 'new normal'. It's COVID. It's also not unreasonable to have difficulty projecting a situation that is in a constant state of variance and flux. Just look at the case rates for the last month since Omicron hit the scene.

If you were projecting trends based on the data before Omicron, you'd be up a creek right now. Nobody is perfect, and nobody is prescient.

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