I had two Audi A6's - Audi was, back then, lauded for what they were doing to create elegant, complex shapes stamped from single, large swaths or aluminum and steel. Which was great in practice, but was $4000 to remove dents and scratches. You shouldn't expect Honda Civic repair costs for a $100,000 vehicle.
Part of this was due to Tesla accident cost and occurrence data finally catching up (vs. earlier rates being based more on "comparative data"), and that data informed a lot of the cost increases.
Thank you for saying this. Every time I read an article meant to ignite outrage regarding the repair cost of Rivians, I just want to shake the person who wrote it and remind them that Rivians aren't Corollas. They easily go for 3-4x the cost, and repairs scale likewise. Rivian could probably work on improving repairability, but no one baulks at a Mercedes costing $3k to repair a broken light or paying $10k+ for a claim regarding a Porsche.
Our Hyundai Ionic 5 had a low speed parking lot encounter. It was fairly early in their production cycle. It took 7 months to fix, and $12k. Plus, Hyundai was basically worthless helping us. I liked the car, but sold it (resale was good back then) and won’t buy another Hyundai. I have an Audi Q8 Etron with an R2 on order.
True. That said, if one thinks about it, the labor to fix $30K vehicle is the same is fixing $200K vehicle, in terms of removing a dent. What is different is the parts costs and paint process.
No OEM is obligated to "help" you with collision repairs. All they do is make and sell the replacement parts. Unless they also operate the collision repair center, it's outside of their scope of business. And no OEM is going to alter production plans just for sake of one lone customer. You just can't run a large scale manufacturing business the same way you could a small one.
One of many reasons. If you want to get granular... the wave of catalytic converter theft also had an impact.
I get that the carscoops source is maybe not that reputable, but it's clear many here did not read the article or other posts in this thread.
True, BUT I was assigned a “guide” by Hyundai whose task it was to expedite the repairs. She basically gave up after a couple of months. And, it seems to me that a company with the manufacturing expertise of Hyundai would realize that some number of their vehicles would be damaged and require parts, and plan for that. It’s not just “one lone customer.” In contrast, someone hit my 2024 Equinox EV only a few months after I acquired it, and GM was able to supply everything that was needed expeditiously. Had to wait an extra week for a replacement wheel. The difference. in service was astounding. So, at least for me, no more Hyundai’s. To each his own.
Hyundai is a massive company. It sold over 4 million cars in 2025. You expect one customer service rep to have power to change its production plans... for just you? C'mon.
Appreciate your comment and the take. The point I was making is that for any given vehicle, similar repair should not depend on the original cost of the vehicle. There were comments made that because the price of vehicles, as the reason for repairs cost more (true statement as I originally acknowledged). Not explicitly about how Rivian panels are designed or intricacy. As I noted, parts costs more and may require more intensive process to repair.
Not to get too "into the weeds", just feels like there's a ton of low-quality engagement-farming sites out there now. This AI overview sums it up fairly well:
