Bellevue Pickup (Get it?) 3/31/2022

[Spiffster]

Reminds me of my Model 3 delivery back in late 2018... But more panel gaps and weather stripping than actual paint damage.

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[Sdvictor]

@Sdvictor I'm actually bringing my truck to get the front ppf'd with Stek Dynoshield and coated with Ceramic Pro...Hopefully the shop can get all of it out...otherwise I might need some of it recoated. How I do tell if there's an acoustic film layer?

It's typically sandwiched between the glass, so it's almost impossible to tell, but higher end luxury cars have acoustic layers.

Which shop are you using? I've been looking around and am thinking about STEK Dynoshield or mattshield (for offroading), since I park my car outside 24/7. in seattle proper, a lot of the garages on older homes can't fit a car of this size.

The shop I spoke to was in Monroe, but am open to other shops if they do a good job. I also need to figure out if i can reasonably run the Dynoshield through a brown bear car wash since i get the car dirty quite often.

 

[ironpig]

Congrats on taking delivery and thanks for sharing all the issues. These are the kinds of things I'm expecting with a new company and especially one on a delivery Push. Tesla is STILL delivering cars in worse shape than this sometimes.

Hope you get it all fixed to your satisfaction and continue to enjoy it.

 

[r1vlife]

@Sdvictor I am going to APC Auto Spa in Monroe. They walked me through Stek vs Kavaca and had samples on hand that you can try take to compare the differences. I did contact a few others that was dropped on these forums but either they had 1 or 2 layers of ceramic or were crazy expensive for what they were offering. APC Auto was in between in pricing but I liked that this would go on Carfax which would make insurance claims easier.

 

[Sdvictor]

@Sdvictor I am going to APC Auto Spa in Monroe. They walked me through Stek vs Kavaca and had samples on hand that you can try take to compare the differences. I did contact a few others that was dropped on these forums but either they had 1 or 2 layers of ceramic or were crazy expensive for what they were offering. APC Auto was in between in pricing but I liked that this would go on Carfax which would make insurance claims easier.

That’s great! I spoke with them too. When you get it done, is it possible if you double check about the car wash thing? There is a DIY car wash here in Seattle at the brown bear HQ, but otherwise it’s pretty hard to wash your car in Seattle unless it’s an automatic car wash

 

[User433]

What is APC charging for PPF and ceramic? I'm really torn on whether ceramic is worth it. Seems like a high maintenance pain in the ass. Twice monthly hand washing plus deacon every 6mo.

 

[SeaGeo]

@Sdvictor I am going to APC Auto Spa in Monroe. They walked me through Stek vs Kavaca and had samples on hand that you can try take to compare the differences. I did contact a few others that was dropped on these forums but either they had 1 or 2 layers of ceramic or were crazy expensive for what they were offering. APC Auto was in between in pricing but I liked that this would go on Carfax which would make insurance claims easier.

Apc was the favorite of the ones I've contacted so far too. Just based on their email responses so far. It's interesting we are landing on the same shop.

 

[r1vlife]

@User433 Here's the email response I received from them. I also asked for full vehicle ppf quote and it was 8500 for Stek. Note these quoted prices are before sales tax. I ended up going with Stek full front, ceramic gold, and ceramic interior.

 

[User433]

Have you gotten your truck back yet? How's is look?

I've got a qoute from Metropolitan in Redmond for $2500 for putting STEK DYNOSHIELD on full front. So couple hundred bucks more than your qoute.

What do you get with their annual maintenance? Sounds like some kind of car washer subscription but how often do you get a car wash.

 

[r1vlife]

Have you gotten your truck back yet? How's is look?

I've got a qoute from Metropolitan in Redmond for $2500 for putting STEK DYNOSHIELD on full front. So couple hundred bucks more than your qoute.

What do you get with their annual maintenance? Sounds like some kind of car washer subscription but how often do you get a car wash.

I'm bringing it in Monday morning so I'll be happy to send you all pictures when it is complete.

I'm no expert at ppf or ceramics. This is actually the first vehicle I care about protecting based on price and the first vehicle I am putting ppf and ceramic on.

My decision of not going with Metropolitan was purely based on their email response. They would be taking off the badge and would need the cost of a new badge in addition to the $2500, and frankly I'm not sure I would care about that level of detail. In addition, they had a much more expensive ceramic cost. There's also no mention of what they recommend doing to take care of it.

APCs annual maintenance is purely optional. I like the fact that they detailed out what the annual maintenance process looks like (hand wash + recoat of ceramic). I usually don't get car washes, but I figured I should treat the R1T a bit nicer and have experts give it a bath once a year. I do understand I'll be paying the equivalent of ceramic coating the car again every 10 years, but since I've been moving a lot, it's nice that I can go to other Ceramic Pro Auto Spas to preserve the warranty.

Doing the full frontal + ceramic gold + ceramic interior at APC ($2200 + $2200*0.7 + $275) = $4015 before taxes was a much better proposition to me than $5500 for full frontal + CQuartz ceramic at Metropolitan. I rather save the difference for the kitchen and tent.

 

[Gabe1aron]

Congratulations and thank you for sharing all of these little issues that came up for you. It sounds a lot like some of the problems that Tesla Has/had been going through, and they still have fit and finish issues.
the Software is going to take a while for them to iron out the bugs. This is part of the price we pay for being early adopters. The good news is is that a lot of these things should get ironed out over time. The manufacturer has to deliver lots of vehicles for problems to crop up that they can address.
some of these issues are also problems that come up from getting direct delivery from the manufacturer. My dad used to work for Subaru and he told me that they received lots of vehicles with defects from the manufacturer. They had to repair them before delivering them to customers. So the good news is lots of car companies deliver vehicles with problems, they just get filtered out a little bit better buy a dealership network. I’m not advocating for the dealership network, I’m just saying that these are some benefits that come with that type of system.
The nice thing here is that Rivian has great customer service and that will help keep the experience pleasant for most

 

[r1vlife]

That’s great! I spoke with them too. When you get it done, is it possible if you double check about the car wash thing? There is a DIY car wash here in Seattle at the brown bear HQ, but otherwise it’s pretty hard to wash your car in Seattle unless it’s an automatic car wash

I just dropped it off today and asked about car wash. They said handwash and touchless is okay.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

If you care about your paint and finish, never use an automatic car wash. The big roller things pick up all sorts of dust and dirt and will absolutely scratch your vehicle. It's even worse if you have any acrylic parts anywhere. I scratched the shit out of the top of my Velar just taking it in one time, because I had the white bottom/Acrylic black top. It was pretty bad. Luckily didn't get docked for it when I sold the car back to the dealer.

There aren't many options in DT Seattle for self hand-washing, but there are a few. There used to be a place on 15th just out past the Brown Bear, but I don't think it's open anymore? I'm lucky in that my building has a spot reserved for car washing and a hose connection right there too.

You could also consider a detailing shop that does hand washes. Will definitely be more expensive, but maybe palatable if you don't have to do it too often?

 

[astonius]

If you care about your paint and finish, never use an automatic car wash. The big roller things pick up all sorts of dust and dirt and will absolutely scratch your vehicle. It's even worse if you have any acrylic parts anywhere. I scratched the shit out of the top of my Velar just taking it in one time, because I had the white bottom/Acrylic black top. It was pretty bad. Luckily didn't get docked for it when I sold the car back to the dealer.

There aren't many options in DT Seattle for self hand-washing, but there are a few. There used to be a place on 15th just out past the Brown Bear, but I don't think it's open anymore? I'm lucky in that my building has a spot reserved for car washing and a hose connection right there too.

You could also consider a detailing shop that does hand washes. Will definitely be more expensive, but maybe palatable if you don't have to do it too often?

Touchless automatic is just fine. Not the best at cleaning, but it won't cause scratches.

 

[sam decker]

That sure is a tight fit! Congrats on the new ride!

How is the stock at the Bellevue center? I’ve been trying to go over details with my wife on our configuration, and she’s [reasonably] said she just needs to see things in person to make decisions. I know we won’t be able to compare trims, interiors, or even models, but seeing most colors and the truck itself would go a long way.

I went there and they would not let me see the trucks up close.....The guy said they had 50 trucks there and that was just before the first....

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