R2 Test Drives Begin in June [Official]

[Dreadknight25]

Buying direct is absolutely superior to the bullshit you put up with at dealerships. Although when buying direct they do still charge you a destination fee (by law) and a document fee (by choice), which varies by state. At least it’s all up front and you can put your money down and pay all of your fees in advance. Then you just have to go to the showroom, sign a few papers, and you’re good to go. You’re not trapped at the dealership “negotiating” (ie waiting for one or more parties to be worn down before the deal is complete) for hours on end. Hard pass. I’m never going back to that nonsense.

Buying your primary residence needs to move in this direction. I say primary residence because investors would own everything if there weren’t stop-measures and caps to slow them down. They’re the ones artificially driving the cost of homes up, by exchanging properties with one another. It’s the same circular spending that’s funding AI.

Yea i’m looking forward to it, although I never had a problem dealing with them, I’d actually volunteer to help family and friends w/dealerships . I worked in the mortgage industry so you’re 100% right sadly. So many hands in the cookie jar all wanting their cut.

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[Dave Cundiff]

Before Rivians, I purchased vehicles the way the government does -- with closed bids.

I invited multiple dealers to submit bids, as low as each could go and still be happy they're doing business with me. I promised I wouldn't tell any of them what any of the others had bid. I said I'd take the most advantageous bid, and I didn't specify what "advantage" was most important other than price.

The first time I did this was in 1987, in Indianapolis. Five dealers gave me an angry lecture about how this was the wrong way to buy a car. The sixth gave me a great price, thousands less than the other five were asking. I thought that was a pretty good return on my time and psychological investment.

Now every dealer has an "Internet salesperson" who understands the competitive bid concept. About half the dealers bid high -- often very close to list price. About half bid low, and they are pretty competitive with each other.

In all cases, when I went to pick up the agreed-upon vehicle, I expected zero negotiation. If anyone didn't honor their bid exactly, I left quickly.

***

A closed-bid system requires hours of work from home, but it's generally simple at the point of purchase. We bring payment. We see the car and drive it briefly. We sign contracts. We politely decline extras. We're done. In and out in 1-2 hours.

The one exception, out of 10-12 purchases, was in 2012, buying our daughter's Honda. (1) We called the Honda salesman in Bremerton to confirm our arrival time and he said his new sales manager had found an error and forced him to increase the price by $1000. (2) We said thanks, but we will buy elsewhere, and headed for the #2 bidder in Olympia. (3) Before we got to Olympia, dealer #1 called back; the salesman had appealed to the General Manager, who said, "Even if we make a mistake, we keep our word," and reinstated the original bid. (4) We told dealer #1 we were sorry, but we were now committed to dealer #2. (5) Dealer #2 insisted on charging us an extra $50 for a floor mat that wasn't in the original bid, and wouldn't remove the floor mat from the car or the invoice. (6) We told dealer #2 that we wouldn't play anymore because of their lack of integrity. (7) We called dealer #1, and confirmed they would sell us the car at the first bid price. (8) We bought from Dealer #1 (West Hills Honda, Bremerton WA) and were very happy with the car for many years.

Notice that even in this scenario, neither of the dealers was controlling our time. We couldn't control them, but we could control ourselves and we always had a workable "Plan B" if they messed with us. So we felt good about the process despite adversity.

***

Rivian's prepayment system, and complex purchase contracts, troubled us at first. As Rivian earned our trust, that didn't bother us again.

We now really appreciate Rivian's manufacturer-to-consumer sales model. And I don't miss the 8-12 hours it took to solicit 6-12 bids from different dealers for each new car.

If R2 doesn't require a "vehicle exit safety briefing" for any rear-seat passengers, I look forward to becoming an all-Rivian household sometime in 2026.

***

Best to all!

 

[Deleted member 30034]

No Rivian Love for New Mexico. Either Arizona or Colorado. Again, we are the unwanted step-child of the "cooler" states.

 

[cbrcanuck]

Before Rivians, I purchased vehicles the way the government does -- with closed bids.

Did the same thing with a couple of vehicles and had the same experience. Most dealers were jerks about the process and didn't want to participate, but each time had one dealer that was happy to play and got the business. Was a quick and easy sale for both of us. Win-win.

 

[VSG]

No Rivian Love for New Mexico.

I mean maybe if your state allowed Rivian to sell and service vehicles then the story might be different. What are you, personally, as a resident of NM doing about that?

New Mexico is the problem here.

So before you buy a Rivian make sure you're aware of how your state's dealership laws will affect your purchase and your ability to get service in the future. If you live 6 hours from the nearest service center then consider that before your purchase rather than blaming Rivian after the fact.

[ Yet another attempt to modify New Mexico's dealership laws was recently rejected: https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=S&legtype=B&legno=22&year=26
It was sponsored by Senator Harold Pope who represents Albuquerque (Bernalillo County) - he is your representative. Perhaps you can contact his office and see how you can help? Rivian is spending millions of dollars every year trying to fight these kinds of state restrictions, but if the "locals" don't care to change the restrictions then the situation isn't going to change. ]

 

[AlphaSnowbordergirl]

I mean maybe if your state allowed Rivian to sell and service vehicles then the story might be different. What are you, personally, as a resident of NM doing about that?

New Mexico is the problem here.

So before you buy a Rivian make sure you're aware of how your state's dealership laws will affect your purchase and your ability to get service in the future. If you live 6 hours from the nearest service center then consider that before your purchase rather than blaming Rivian after the fact.

[ Yet another attempt to modify New Mexico's dealership laws was recently rejected: https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=S&legtype=B&legno=22&year=26
It was sponsored by Senator Harold Pope who represents Albuquerque (Bernalillo County) - he is your representative. Perhaps you can contact his office and see how you can help? Rivian is spending millions of dollars every year trying to fight these kinds of state restrictions, but if the "locals" don't care to change the restrictions then the situation isn't going to change. ]

I think you could say that better. the DMV allows direct sales and has a space, but they never travel to this location either.

 

[VSG]

I think you could say that better. the DMV allows direct sales and has a space, but they never travel to this location either.

I answered a specific comment about New Mexico with a specific response that applies to New Mexico. I never claimed a comprehensive answer to everyone's problems. I don't even know specifically what your complaint is, but it doesn't sound like it's about "R2 Test Drives" (the topic of this thread) which in New Mexico are a sales activity specifically forbidden by law for Rivian.

 

[mkg3]

Before Rivians, I purchased vehicles the way the government does -- with closed bids.

I invited multiple dealers to submit bids, as low as each could go and still be happy they're doing business with me. I promised I wouldn't tell any of them what any of the others had bid. I said I'd take the most advantageous bid, and I didn't specify what "advantage" was most important other than price.

The first time I did this was in 1987, in Indianapolis. Five dealers gave me an angry lecture about how this was the wrong way to buy a car. The sixth gave me a great price, thousands less than the other five were asking. I thought that was a pretty good return on my time and psychological investment.

Now every dealer has an "Internet salesperson" who understands the competitive bid concept. About half the dealers bid high -- often very close to list price. About half bid low, and they are pretty competitive with each other.

In all cases, when I went to pick up the agreed-upon vehicle, I expected zero negotiation. If anyone didn't honor their bid exactly, I left quickly.

***

A closed-bid system requires hours of work from home, but it's generally simple at the point of purchase. We bring payment. We see the car and drive it briefly. We sign contracts. We politely decline extras. We're done. In and out in 1-2 hours.

The one exception, out of 10-12 purchases, was in 2012, buying our daughter's Honda. (1) We called the Honda salesman in Bremerton to confirm our arrival time and he said his new sales manager had found an error and forced him to increase the price by $1000. (2) We said thanks, but we will buy elsewhere, and headed for the #2 bidder in Olympia. (3) Before we got to Olympia, dealer #1 called back; the salesman had appealed to the General Manager, who said, "Even if we make a mistake, we keep our word," and reinstated the original bid. (4) We told dealer #1 we were sorry, but we were now committed to dealer #2. (5) Dealer #2 insisted on charging us an extra $50 for a floor mat that wasn't in the original bid, and wouldn't remove the floor mat from the car or the invoice. (6) We told dealer #2 that we wouldn't play anymore because of their lack of integrity. (7) We called dealer #1, and confirmed they would sell us the car at the first bid price. (8) We bought from Dealer #1 (West Hills Honda, Bremerton WA) and were very happy with the car for many years.

Notice that even in this scenario, neither of the dealers was controlling our time. We couldn't control them, but we could control ourselves and we always had a workable "Plan B" if they messed with us. So we felt good about the process despite adversity.

***

Rivian's prepayment system, and complex purchase contracts, troubled us at first. As Rivian earned our trust, that didn't bother us again.

We now really appreciate Rivian's manufacturer-to-consumer sales model. And I don't miss the 8-12 hours it took to solicit 6-12 bids from different dealers for each new car.

If R2 doesn't require a "vehicle exit safety briefing" for any rear-seat passengers, I look forward to becoming an all-Rivian household sometime in 2026.

***

Best to all!

What you say is, process aside, being able to buy the vehicle at a agreed to price without any haggling at a lower price.

I have used Costco auto program where the vehicle is essentially at the dealer invoice and all interfaces are done via fleet manager. No haggling whatsoever. I even ordered a vehicle to my spec using Costco auto program once.

It was simple compared to what you've articulated. Perhaps you may gotten a better deal than just using Costco (just as if one is willing to haggle).

Both Tesla and Rivian are very straightforward and easy without any of the dealer pain stuff.

 

[Mikey]

How fair will Rivian be if I want to do a trade-in?

 

[VandalSibs]

How fair will Rivian be if I want to do a trade-in?

Pre or post trade-in office acceptance?

If you are talking about the $$ amount that Rivian will offer, that's highly variable based on a whole host of factors. I got a pretty good deal (to me) when I traded in my Model Y in 2024, but I also didn't shop around all that much.

There are lots of posts and comments in this forum where one person complains that Rivian low-balled them compared to Carmax or other places while others have the opposite experience.

After you accept an offer from Rivian, they pretty much just take the vehicle sight-unseen. Consensus is that all the non-Rivian trade-ins they get all get sold to used car auction companies, so Rivian doesn't care about the nitty-gritty conditions of the vehicle. Rivian isn't in the business of selling non-Rivian used cars after all...

 

[Mikey]

Pre or post trade-in office acceptance?

If you are talking about the $$ amount that Rivian will offer, that's highly variable based on a whole host of factors. I got a pretty good deal (to me) when I traded in my Model Y in 2024, but I also didn't shop around all that much.

There are lots of posts and comments in this forum where one person complains that Rivian low-balled them compared to Carmax or other places while others have the opposite experience.

After you accept an offer from Rivian, they pretty much just take the vehicle sight-unseen. Consensus is that all the non-Rivian trade-ins they get all get sold to used car auction companies, so Rivian doesn't care about the nitty-gritty conditions of the vehicle. Rivian isn't in the business of selling non-Rivian used cars after all...

Thanks. I have an almost new Honda Passport TSE with about 4500 miles. I only got low 30's for my 2024 Tesla MYLR from Honda, but it was when Musk-rat wasn't real popular.
I'm at the age where I just don't want to hassle over valuation and get the deal done as long as I'm not low-balled!

 

[VandalSibs]

Thanks. I have an almost new Honda Passport TSE with about 4500 miles. I only got low 30's for my 2024 Tesla MYLR from Honda, but it was when Musk-rat wasn't real popular.
I'm at the age where I just don't want to hassle over valuation and get the deal done as long as I'm not low-balled!

I think I got 36k or so for my Model Y... It was higher than what I owed on the it, so that was enough for me to just trade it in with Rivian.

 

[Great Gatsby]

Thanks. I have an almost new Honda Passport TSE with about 4500 miles. I only got low 30's for my 2024 Tesla MYLR from Honda, but it was when Musk-rat wasn't real popular.
I'm at the age where I just don't want to hassle over valuation and get the deal done as long as I'm not low-balled!

Carvana and Carmax have both been very easy to sell to, in my experience. The offer also varies greatly from week to week. Some weeks Carvana offered more, others they lowballed hard. Carmax might ask you to go in person and appraise the vehicle. They gave me more than expected so I ended up selling my R1 to them.

Compared to the trade in offer I got from Rivian, they were at least in the ballpark of Carvana. I'd expect maybe a variance of a few thousand between the three. Those are probably your best bets IMO

 

[Praxis]

Carvana and Carmax have both been very easy to sell to, in my experience. The offer also varies greatly from week to week. Some weeks Carvana offered more, others they lowballed hard. Carmax might ask you to go in person and appraise the vehicle. They gave me more than expected so I ended up selling my R1 to them.

Compared to the trade in offer I got from Rivian, they were at least in the ballpark of Carvana. I'd expect maybe a variance of a few thousand between the three. Those are probably your best bets IMO

May go without saying, but the big benefit to direct trade during sale is, in most states, your taxable amount on the new vehicle sale is reduced by your trade-in value.. which could mean paying hardly any sales tax on the new Rivian if your trade in value is close to the sale price of the new vehicle..

 

[EV-overland]

How fair will Rivian be if I want to do a trade-in?

I think you’ll always get more money private party but from what I’ve seen, Rivian is pretty competitive with other dealerships and companies like Carmax.

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