They've never ever done this for anyone. Only way you can get your eyes on the problem is popping into the SC. And if it's inside, they're going to have a big issue with that.
dang okay, ill post the picture later if they send. got a gut feeling they will send it to me haha.
Really appreciate you taking the time. I'm going to just wait until the rescheduled date and see in person. I'm just annoyed cause last second notice and a lot of replacement needed to actually fix supposedly a brand new vehicle. All they said is front fascia replacement, light bar and what about other panels? that's what I'm worried about.I had a related experience where the delivery center was proactive in calling out their concerns over the condition of the clear coat on our midnight black R1S before delivery. This likely stemmed from a previous experience with a complaint or a customer rejecting delivery.
I don't know if the local delivery team tried to correct the paint or if it was a result of passing through multiple hands since it was produced. Either way, Rivian offered to pay for a body shop that was local to me to fix the issue. I have many years of experience in paint finishing, so not only was I not concerned with the condition of the clear coat, I was also confident that I could complete the work myself. My personal experience over the last 25 years with body shops is that they would rather not be doing paint correction. This isn't the case at every body shop, but it's not the first place I think of when it comes to multistep paint correction (especially with the influx of extremely capable mobile or small brick and mortar detailers).
Considering how accommodating Rivian was during our end of second quarter buying experience, I'm confident they would've allowed me to choose a detailer to do the work instead of a body shop if I would've asked. I really just wanted to get it home and correct it myself, which I did about two weeks after we took delivery.
The car looked great from 5-10 feet away, but nearly all painted surfaces contained haze and/or scratches. The haze was obviously created by a rotary or random orbital buffer. It's hard for me to say which variable led to the issues (e.g. type of buff pad, type of compound, cleanliness of the process, operator technique, etc.). Either way, the person doing the work didn't do a good job. Regarding the scratches, the list of possible causes is long but well known to most.
You can watch any number of YouTube channels regarding proper prep, buffing, and ceramic coating a car. I just wanted to give you an idea of what I was dealing with. You can see the scratches (which are actually mild despite how they look in the picture) as well as the haze that was created by someone that didn't know what they were doing. The haze is located more toward the center of the hood in this photo. This was after the car was fully prepped for paint correction.
You can see the haze better in this photo. You can see the path the person was following with their buffer as well.
I also took a pic out of the direct sunlight for comparison. The scratches and haze are far less noticeable, but you can see them toward the center of the picture in the reflection of the garage door window.
This was after a few passes with a medium cut wool pad and buffing compound.
Here's the finish after the full two step buff (compound and polish along with the appropriate pads) as well as ceramic coating. You can see that most all of the scratches are gone as well as the haze that existed before.
I didn't post this to prove that the OP is right or wrong, nor did I show this to say that Rivian should have invested the time to correct the paint to this level. As with so many other things in life, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.
Regarding our R1S, I can understand if someone would've rejected delivery and I also know that some would've driven away happily and returned the car 2-3 years later without mentioning it. I fully realize I'm probably not the typical customer that would both recognize this issue and still drive away with a big smile on my face.
yeah i agree. i might really need to do a inspection before accepting it. just because all these replacements blah blah. i know its not a big deal and I'm happy they're proactive about it. but same time new car need all these fixes just doesn't seem right (can be common but now i know about it just don't have the warm fussy feeling) . but that's just me. most people will be fine I'm sure of.
I'm not trying to whin or anything. they don't have another VIN that has same spec unless i go for 2026 NACS car without the incentives. so that's out the window. Especially 2025 vs 2026 are the same only difference is charging port. don't think i will want to pay more for just that function.
oh I'm not gonna take it if its not up to standards. everyone would do the same
Of course! You have high standards. There's no way you're going to let them get away with fixing an issue they noticed before delivery. The nerve of them to even try that and tell you about it!
heck yeah they don't got any. not as bad as needing take whole front end car apart and put it back together
