Brand New R1S Repainted Before Delivery

[shimps1]

New vehicles are sold as new all the time with previously repaired damage. It's still "new" until it is titled to someone. I bought a 2019 Yukon that had the rear 1/3rd repainted. Some damage or something happened, and they fixed it prior to placing it for sale. I didn't notice until I got home, and I was SOL, GM doesn't have the generous 7 day window that Rivian does. Rivian is not out of line for selling it as is.

It still has the full warranty and is still a new car. If it drives fine and there is nothing else wrong, I would request paint correction be covered (or potentially reimbursed if you have someone you'd like to do it), rather than returning it.

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[derichio02]

New vehicles are sold as new all the time with previously repaired damage. It's still "new" until it is titled to someone. I bought a 2019 Yukon that had the rear 1/3rd repainted. Some damage or something happened, and they fixed it prior to placing it for sale. I didn't notice until I got home, and I was SOL, GM doesn't have the generous 7 day window that Rivian does. Rivian is not out of line for selling it as is.

It still has the full warranty and is still a new car. If it drives fine and there is nothing else wrong, I would request paint correction be covered (or potentially reimbursed if you have someone you'd like to do it), rather than returning it.

Never said they were out of line and I know this happens all of the time. This fix would essentially cover the whole passenger side and replacing ppf. Additionally that side of the vehicle rattles quite a bit and the roof panel is lifted by a half inch on the rear quarter panel as well. That was in my service ticket as well.

Overall to each their own. I have owned multiple 100k+ vehicles and expected a bit more fit and finish. It’s a young company and there will be some gremlins but this shouldn’t be it in my opinion.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Mishaps can happen during transit from factory to delivery. Repaired (expertly or not) and then put back into inventory. I've experience this once with a prior vehicle purchase. Did not realize until when I sold the car and was told by the buying dealer that it had major repairs done. Took a bath on that sale.

If not totaled, per law, I don't think manufacturers are required to disclose. I too had a chance to buy from the Shop, right up to the point where there was a predictive match in production. I chose to go with the match for this reason. There's no telling what you're getting from the Shop—a canceled delivery due to mishap during transit, or just an innocent extra build from one of the production batches.

Hope Rivian comes though with buy-back and restore your faith in the company.

 

[Florida Panhandler]

My R1S VIN assigned to me for Jan 20 delivery last week was somehow damaged and they assigned me a newer VIN. That must have been some damage on my first VIN to cause them to pull that unit from the delivery process. Perhaps it has been sent to a body shop waiting in line for repair… And the line is long.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

A repaint itself wouldn't bother me. A repaint like that would have me sending the truck back too. That's not acceptable to give to someone it looks like I let my 13 year old try his hand at painting.

 

[rmalzo]

Hey All,

Picked up my 2023 R1S Quad from the El Segundo CA service center last Thursday. It was a shop order built in 9/23. When picking it up it seemed to have some sap on the rear passenger quarter panel and door. I thought, oh well I’ll just get it detailed”.

Come to find out, when speaking with 2 reputable auto detailers, the entire rear quarter panel and rear door have been repainted and the sap is actually overspray. There are also swirls, small dimples, and fish eyes in the paint.

I’m beyond disappointed with this finding. I am going to contact customer service but I don’t feel there would be an adequate resolution. Service appointment scheduled in Costa Mesa but I don’t really want them painting it again…

Has anyone had to deal with this?

Update(1/5): Contacted CS and was notified that even thought its day 8, since I reached out to the Guide(with no response) and Service before 7 days, and given it was over the New Years holiday which some services were down that I am eligible for a buy back and I guess I will try my luck again. Will keep the thread updated in case anyone encounters a similar situation.

You said two reliable dealers. Sounds like an oxymoron

 

[TerryInHouston]

Hey All,

Picked up my 2023 R1S Quad from the El Segundo CA service center last Thursday. It was a shop order built in 9/23. When picking it up it seemed to have some sap on the rear passenger quarter panel and door. I thought, oh well I’ll just get it detailed”.

Come to find out, when speaking with 2 reputable auto detailers, the entire rear quarter panel and rear door have been repainted and the sap is actually overspray. There are also swirls, small dimples, and fish eyes in the paint.

I’m beyond disappointed with this finding. I am going to contact customer service but I don’t feel there would be an adequate resolution. Service appointment scheduled in Costa Mesa but I don’t really want them painting it again…

Has anyone had to deal with this?

Update(1/5): Contacted CS and was notified that even thought its day 8, since I reached out to the Guide(with no response) and Service before 7 days, and given it was over the New Years holiday which some services were down that I am eligible for a buy back and I guess I will try my luck again. Will keep the thread updated in case anyone encounters a similar situation.

HIRE AN ATTORNEY !!!!! They sold you a used vehicle !!!!

 

[SoCal Rob]

You said two reliable dealers. Sounds like an oxymoron

I get the well-earned dig at car dealers, but where did @derichio02 write that? The closest thing I could find in what you quoted was, “Come to find out, when speaking with 2 reputable auto detailers,” (emphasis added) but maybe I’m missing something?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[rmalzo]

I get the well-earned dig at car dealers, but where did @derichio02 write that? The closest thing I could find in what you quoted was, “Come to find out, when speaking with 2 reputable auto detailers,” (emphasis added) but maybe I’m missing something?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Reputable, reliable….tomatoe tomato

 

[SoCal Rob]

Reputable, reliable….tomatoe tomato

A detailer is NOT a dealer. Detailers clean, restore, and protect finishes and surfaces; mostly aesthetic issues. Dealers sell cars.

 

[R1SPilot85]

Adding some pics, very hard to capture some of it on camera

I had a similar issue at delivery with paint issues. I tried to get Rivian to just pay for a ppf in matte but they refused. They insisted it needed to get repainted at a local body shop. The shop took over 4 weeks and swirled/scratched the majority of the paint even areas they didn’t work on since they never cleaned the car. Got my car back after 5 weeks and only owning it 3 weeks prior. What I can tell you is if you push Rivian they will
Absolutely make it right. I came out very satisfied with the resolution I got. I would tell you though that I wouldn’t get your car repainted. No matter how much they tell you it will be better than delivery or whatever they say it’s just not true. There are ways to tell if a car was repainted. You can ask them to buy it back from you and get you assigned a new vin at the price you had.

 

[bigsky]

Hey All,

Picked up my 2023 R1S Quad from the El Segundo CA service center last Thursday. It was a shop order built in 9/23. When picking it up it seemed to have some sap on the rear passenger quarter panel and door. I thought, oh well I’ll just get it detailed”.

Come to find out, when speaking with 2 reputable auto detailers, the entire rear quarter panel and rear door have been repainted and the sap is actually overspray. There are also swirls, small dimples, and fish eyes in the paint.

I’m beyond disappointed with this finding. I am going to contact customer service but I don’t feel there would be an adequate resolution. Service appointment scheduled in Costa Mesa but I don’t really want them painting it again…

Has anyone had to deal with this?

Update(1/5): Contacted CS and was notified that even thought its day 8, since I reached out to the Guide(with no response) and Service before 7 days, and given it was over the New Years holiday which some services were down that I am eligible for a buy back and I guess I will try my luck again. Will keep the thread updated in case anyone encounters a similar situation.

My R1S was delivered on Jan 5, and turns out it has been repainted also. Upon delivery, I noticed some misalignment of the driver door lower trim with the rear door lower trim. I left it to assembly quality issues. I also noticed that the rear door was binding with the driver door. Made an appointment with the nearest SC 300 miles away for end of February.
Have not driven the truck even 200 miles as it has been sitting in my garage waiting for full PPF.
While waiting, I did notice paint chipped off the bolts on the door mounting brackets at both ends (frame side and door side), and I also noticed that the position of the brackets was shifted as there was primer color around the bracket edges. All of this a telltale sign that Rivian had perhaps noticed and attempted to fix this before delivery. I left it at that.
Took it today to PPF installer; he refused to install PPF on the doors until the binding is fixed for obvious reasons, but more worrisome were his findings. After inspecting the doors, he let me know that the doors have been repainted!
I realize that damage may occur during transport, but I suppose auto manufacturers do not have to tell you what repairs have been done to the vehicle before delivery. Have reached out to Rivian for answers, want to know everything that was done to the vehicle and what the damage has been prior to delivery. Will wait for Rivian to disclose the damage information (good luck with that?) to decide what to do next.

 

[mini2nut]

Take Rivian up on the buy back offer.

Repainting in a typical auto body shop is never as durable as a factory applied baked on paint finish.

 

[Dark-Fx]

My R1S was delivered on Jan 5, and turns out it has been repainted also. Upon delivery, I noticed some misalignment of the driver door lower trim with the rear door lower trim. I left it to assembly quality issues. I also noticed that the rear door was binding with the driver door. Made an appointment with the nearest SC 300 miles away for end of February.
Have not driven the truck even 200 miles as it has been sitting in my garage waiting for full PPF.
While waiting, I did notice paint chipped off the bolts on the door mounting brackets at both ends (frame side and door side), and I also noticed that the position of the brackets was shifted as there was primer color around the bracket edges. All of this a telltale sign that Rivian had perhaps noticed and attempted to fix this before delivery. I left it at that.
Took it today to PPF installer; he refused to install PPF on the doors until the binding is fixed for obvious reasons, but more worrisome were his findings. After inspecting the doors, he let me know that the doors have been repainted!
I realize that damage may occur during transport, but I suppose auto manufacturers do not have to tell you what repairs have been done to the vehicle before delivery. Have reached out to Rivian for answers, want to know everything that was done to the vehicle and what the damage has been prior to delivery. Will wait for Rivian to disclose the damage information (good luck with that?) to decide what to do next.

This isn't indicative of accident repair. That stuff is all painted while the doors are installed. Sometimes they don't get aligned properly to begin with and they get corrected before delivery if it's causing issues.

 

[bigsky]

While upsetting, I don't want to get all bent out of shape over this should it be just a sloppy misalignment and perhaps damage during transport. At the same time, I want to know why the driver door was repainted. If transport-related, I know that the paint film will hide any paint issues and protect the paint, anyway. Resale value or diminished value may be another story, but I do not plan on selling it. Like it an awful lot.
At any rate, my local XPEL installer just wanted me to know about this; he fixed the doors misalignment to get the film on; ceramic coating afterward. Want to know what Rivian says.

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