A Tale of Two Windshield Replacements - Service Center vs. Safelite

[Mark_AZR1T]

"I'm waiting for a call back from Safelite to confirm the windshield price. Has anyone else verified the $789 cost?"

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[TollKeeper]

 

[CrazyOne]

Show me one report for $4k, it's never been that much. Rivian has been charging ~$1800+tax since at least Jan2023.

One report on Reddit isn't much, but this was in news and more credible. Likely Rivian did something to reduce prices a bit after this.
https://carlist.com/rivian-repair-costs-shock-ceo-raise-questions/?amp=1

 

[Riviot]

One report on Reddit isn't much, but this was in news and more credible. Likely Rivian did something to reduce prices a bit after this.
https://carlist.com/rivian-repair-costs-shock-ceo-raise-questions/?amp=1

That's at a collision center, not at Rivian. Of course they're going to mark it up. Below is Rivian cost to repair.

 

[Riviot]

This is great news. I don't care about the price, insurance covers, but the third party availability!

 

[CrazyOne]

That's at a collision center, not at Rivian. Of course they're going to mark it up. Below is Rivian cost to repair.

Have you considered they they went to collision center because Rivian refused or was booked out too far?

 

[Magicbus]

That's all good but doesn't appear to include recalibration which, while not overly expensive, is a real pain in the rear when your service center is 4 hours away! My collision center was $100 more than Rivian but included a wash and detail.

 

[Riviot]

Have you considered they they went to collision center because Rivian refused or was booked out too far?

I have; Rivian doesn't refuse to replace a windshield, and an extended repair timeline doesn't change the Rivian cost. You said "Rivian windshield replacements," but provided a Reddit anecdote without proof for a collision center windshield replacement.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

You said "Rivian windshield replacements," but provided a Reddit anecdote without proof for a collision center windshield replacement.

crazy...

 

[Redmond Chad]

My R1S got hit by a rock this morning...there's now an 8" crack in the upper right that goes from the right edge to the top edge, so I need to get the windshield replaced.

Safelite will come to me for free and replace it in my garage. They have appointments as early as tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon - I can't make that one, but they'll come out on Monday instead.

Price breakdown:

Parts and labor	$708.69
Recycling	$39.99
Wiper blades	$69.98
Save $50 on blades	($50.00)
Subtotal	$768.66
Plus sales tax	Of course

I'm glad that they recycle the glass, and I'm sure it needs special handling due to the construction, but the fact that the $39.99 for recycling didn't show up in their quotes until it was time to pay was really annoying.

I normally wouldn't have a 3rd party change my wiper blades, but they happen to be due for a change and it's currently "on sale" for $19.98 (the $50 savings on the next line only applies to the wiper blades) so I can handle that.

 

[bbqdevil]

My R1S got hit by a rock this morning...there's now an 8" crack in the upper right that goes from the right edge to the top edge, so I need to get the windshield replaced.

Safelite will come to me for free and replace it in my garage. They have appointments as early as tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon - I can't make that one, but they'll come out on Monday instead.

Price breakdown:

Parts and labor	$708.69
Recycling	$39.99
Wiper blades	$69.98
Save $50 on blades	($50.00)
Subtotal	$768.66
Plus sales tax	Of course

I'm glad that they recycle the glass, and I'm sure it needs special handling due to the construction, but the fact that the $39.99 for recycling didn't show up in their quotes until it was time to pay was really annoying.

I normally wouldn't have a 3rd party change my wiper blades, but they happen to be due for a change and it's currently "on sale" for $19.98 (the $50 savings on the next line only applies to the wiper blades) so I can handle that.

If you go most of the way into booking with Safelite and then back out, they’ll email you a code for $50 off the total price.

 

[Redmond Chad]

My R1S got hit by a rock this morning [...] Safelite will come to me for free and replace it in my garage [...] $768.66+tax

Other than the "surprise!" $40 recycling fee, Safelite was fantastic to deal with. Reasonably priced, very easy to schedule, very available, they arrived on time, clearly explained what they were doing, and the new windshield looks great.

Now I need Rivian to recalibrate. I tried scheduling an appointment with the app, but couldn't - every time I enter a request, it sits for a minute and then says there was an error. I tried chatting with support on the web site, but that gets you to corporate and they can't schedule an appointment for this, I need to talk to the service center. The local service center never answers their phone, but they did call me back after a day (which is an improvement in itself). They say that mobile appointments are not available at all, so I'll have to bring it in. And their first appointment is over 6 weeks away. Sigh.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Other than the "surprise!" $40 recycling fee, Safelite was fantastic to deal with. Reasonably priced, very easy to schedule, very available, they arrived on time, clearly explained what they were doing, and the new windshield looks great.

Now I need Rivian to recalibrate. I tried scheduling an appointment with the app, but couldn't - every time I enter a request, it sits for a minute and then says there was an error. I tried chatting with support on the web site, but that gets you to corporate and they can't schedule an appointment for this, I need to talk to the service center. The local service center never answers their phone, but they did call me back after a day (which is an improvement in itself). They say that mobile appointments are not available at all, so I'll have to bring it in. And their first appointment is over 6 weeks away. Sigh.

Without calibrating, what exactly is lost? ADAS?

 

[Redmond Chad]

Yes. As far as I know it will still kinda mostly work, but you don't want to rely on it as it might not be accurate. Which is kind of a big deal for ADAS; so the official recommendation is to not use it until you get the recalibration done.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Yes. As far as I know it will still kinda mostly work, but you don't want to rely on it as it might not be accurate. Which is kind of a big deal for ADAS; so the official recommendation is to not use it until you get the recalibration done.

Thanks for confirmation. I rarely use ADAS or even cruise. Nice to know Safelite could be a workable alternative, at least for the glass itself.

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