Maintenance costs pricing is high

[R1ship]

Just had my gen 2 r1s in the sc for some maintenance. Got the tire roation, inspection and air filter ($312) and an alignment ($287). How on earth does an alignment cost less than the inspection, tire rotation, and air filter? Not complaining about the cost overall but, shocked at how its priced lol.

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[Singletracker]

For the record, I had to have my SC do an alignment on my ‘23 R1T. It was also $287.

 

[VSG]

Tire rotation is $60. Air filter is $30 from Rivian, but you have to pay them something like $250/hour to install it - you can get an aftermarket filter and install it yourself for considerably less. You could also rotate yourself or have it done at a tire shop for free under certain circumstances (if you buy tires from them, or a road protection package, etc.)

But these are frankly trivial amounts compared to frequent oil changes in an ICE vehicle and the equivalent rotation/air filter/inspection costs. My Honda dealer recently wanted $600 for an inspection of my wife's car - no thanks.

I think the Rivian inspection is reasonable and a good thing to do. I wouldn't do it every 18,000 miles like they currently recommend, but I'm certainly going to do it in advance of any expiring warranty period. For example, some things have a 36 mo/36,000 miles warranty, so make sure you get the inspection before then to identify things that might need to be fixed under warranty.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Just had my gen 2 r1s in the sc for some maintenance. Got the tire roation, inspection and air filter ($312) and an alignment ($287). How on earth does an alignment cost less than the inspection, tire rotation, and air filter? Not complaining about the cost overall but, shocked at how its priced lol.

Go to the subreddit. You'll find people moaning about paying $200+ for alignment. I'm amazed no one there has complained about cost of breathing air.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

My Honda dealer recently wanted $600 for an inspection of my wife's car - no thanks.

Can you find a new Honda dealer? In an expensive area, every inspection has been free for me for 10 years. I’ve spent maybe $2000 maintaining that car over -
10 years and 80000 miles, and I do every service. I have found that the avg ICE maintenance costs are really not much higher, if not cheaper, than premium EV brands.

 

[VSG]

Both Rivian and Honda have a free multi-point inspection, which consists of checking things like wiper fluid etc., and they also have more comprehensive inspections recommended at different mileage milestones. Those are the ones you have to pay for.

I don't normally use a dealer for these other things, since they charge too much. But when I had the Honda in for recall work they tried to sell me on their 60,000 service package or something like that.

The advantage of paying for the Rivian inspection is that there are customer service bulletins and other work that they will do for free if you have the car in, so you get pre-emptive maintenance for known issues. Like replacing the dampers if they notice they're leaking ...

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

Both Rivian and Honda have a free multi-point inspection, which consists of checking things like wiper fluid etc., and they also have more comprehensive inspections recommended at different mileage milestones. Those are the ones you have to pay for.

I don't normally use a dealer for these other things, since they charge too much. But when I had the car in for recall work they tried to sell me on their 60,000 service package or something like that.

The advantage of paying for the Rivian inspection is that there are customer service bulletins and other work that they will do for free if you have the car in, so you get pre-emptive maintenance for known issues. Like replacing the dampers if they notice they're leaking ...

Selling you on service that the car manual says is not needed is so annoying. It’s easy to just point to the maintenance schedule and move on, but stop with that crap.

 

[CANCERDOC]

SoCal here. The inspection alone was $300 for me. Whether they actually did it I have no clue since the report said everything was ok at 40,000 miles.

 

[R1T Preds Fan]

Discount tire was $100 for lifetime balance/rotate/repair on my original stock tires and free on the other 2 sets I’ve purchased through them! Cabin filter and wipers are just the cost of the item if you can follow easily along with a YouTube video instruction to replace. I think I’m still sub $300 for total service not counting tire costs over 77k!

I will actually take it in soon for the brake fluid flush and refill to ensure that’s done by them… Freaking love this truck!!!

 

[loqueid]

Discount Tire does alignment for free... Why would you pay?

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Discount Tire does alignment for free... Why would you pay?

Not all DT locations

 

[SwampNut]

I thought it was common knowledge that you never take vehicles to a brand dealership for optional maintenance. Only warranty. In particular, why would you choose to pay to have someone replace the filter???

 

[SwampNut]

Discount Tire does alignment for free... Why would you pay?

No, they do not. You get free rotation/balance for tires you buy there, or cover with their protection package. They do free tire patching. They will CHECK alignment free. Having an alignment service done is $90-200 depending on the car. They said the Rivian would be closer to the $200 mark but didn't give an exact number.

 

[mkg3]

Just had my gen 2 r1s in the sc for some maintenance. Got the tire roation, inspection and air filter ($312) and an alignment ($287). How on earth does an alignment cost less than the inspection, tire rotation, and air filter? Not complaining about the cost overall but, shocked at how its priced lol.

Must seem like dumb question. Why do you need an alignment?

- Was the vehicle pulling to one side or the other?
- Uneven tire wear (outside or inside wearing more than the other, sculpting wear)?
- Was some mishap that involved wheels?

In all the years with nearly 20 vehicles I've owned, I never had any alignment done, just because I bough at new set of tires (if old set did not have unusual wea) or that its been X thousands of miles. In some cars, I've had camber change done for handling purposes so that qualifies as an alignment but that's about it.

 

[loqueid]

No, they do not. You get free rotation/balance for tires you buy there, or cover with their protection package. They do free tire patching. They will CHECK alignment free. Having an alignment service done is $90-200 depending on the car. They said the Rivian would be closer to the $200 mark but didn't give an exact number.

Unsung most be right, then. My local DT did mine for free. Then again, barely any EVs in my neck of the woods, so maybe they consider it a privilege ..?

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