Failed Delivery Due to Suspension Failure

[hieeeeee]

Hi all -- long time lurker from faarrrr behind the peanut gallery. Making my first post in light of a pretty important day -- delivery! -- that didn't go as anticipated.

I'm a 2019 Quad Motor Compass Yellow R1T reservation holder due for delivery this past Friday (9/22/23). I completed payment and did all the paperwork I could prior to scheduled delivery -- then received a phone call the morning of about a "suspension failure" caught at staging. Since then, I've tried to get additional details and answers to some questions (listed below) from my guide, general Rivian customer support, and the local service center but no dice. Some questions/concerns I've shared with Rivan that I'm turning to you all with:

1. The car has a March 2023 (confirmed by guide) VIN of 20xxx. I assume this was a failed delivery at least once before; is this cause for concern? My guide stated that it was probably that the prior purchaser got cold feet for the color and walked away. Does that seem right (especially given it's been 6 months)?
2. What in the world is "suspension failure" and how serious is that (or could that be)? I've asked for details from Rivian and haven't yet learned anything beyond: "...since its end of quarter, our team hasnt had the resources to dedicate to your car. Its not a reflection on the state of the car. It is compass yellow and dont anticipate any additional hold up. I reached out to them [service?] again and hope to get an answer tomorrow." Should I be fighting hard for a new VIN? Is this reason to walk away from delivery in the worst case?
3. I tried asking for a new VIN to which my guide said I should expect to keep my VIN; This is a lot of money and would be my first EV, but the pushback I'm getting from Rivian makes me feel like I'm putting up an unreasonable ask. Do any of you have experience asking for a new VIN and/or opinions on whether I'm just bananas?
4. They've refused to give me shop access (which makes sense if they're going to stick me to the same VIN) and haven't directly responded to my questions about sending my money back if it's going to take awhile for delivery. Should I push harder for either?

I fully expect to be a Rivian R1T owner at some point. I've saved and waited a long time for this truck. But as excited as I am to finally drive in my own Rivian, I want to make sure I'm not letting my excitement for the car override some level of rational behavior and if I'm being (un)reasonable. Appreciate all thoughts and opinions.

Thanks all!

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[kyunam]

You are being reasonable. 6 month old.. it smells. You as a customer must be satisfied.

 

[LoneStar]

Crazy! new to RIvian buyers are getting R1T's in just a couple months or even faster.

Tell them you want to exercise the 7-day return for full refund. They will try to scare you by saying you cannot get your spot in line back but who cares. Brand new buyers are getting a truck way ahead of you already.

Shed that suspect vehicle, get your money back and place another R1T deposit. Rivian won't 'black list' you and deny selling another R1T to you.

 

[Guy]

Crazy! new to RIvian buyers are getting R1T's in just a couple months or even faster.

Tell them you want to exercise the 7-day return for full refund. They will try to scare you by saying you cannot get your spot in line back but who cares. Brand new buyers are getting a truck way ahead of you already.

Shed that suspect vehicle, get your money back and place another R1T deposit. Rivian won't 'black list' you and deny selling another R1T to you.

If he does that he will lose the pre March 2022 pricing. I agree it is not great being a six month old vehicle. My September pick up was a June manufactured vehicle as a point of reference (was a shop vehicle).

 

[LoneStar]

If he does that he will lose the pre March 2022 pricing. I agree it is not great being a six month old vehicle. My September pick up was a June manufactured vehicle as a point of reference (was a shop vehicle).

True. Frankly I'd be fine if I had to get a new Dual-motor R1 and enjoy the longer range

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I'd just let them fix it personally. They have to warranty it the same as if it was off the line for 10 minutes. They are cars not bananas. Mine had a drive unit failure on delivery inspection and that caused a 12v failure. They fixed it and a year later its been solid. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[COdogman]

I understand why everyone gets nervous with an older VIN, but IMHO 6 months is not that old in the grand scheme, especially if it was turned down once already. And the truth is no one will know (or know one will tell you) why it was turned down. It could be as simple as someone got cold feet because it’s a crazy economy. Or they decided they don’t want to buy from such a new company. Or it could be that it had some mechanical issue that scared someone off. The same issue could potentially come up if your VIN was fresh out of the factory.

I guess my point is that trusting Rivian to fix it and that it was just a single issue that came up is still possible if you are comfortable with it. You have to go with your gut!

 

[EVTrukHog]

My 12-mo old R1T had a suspension failure about month 4 of ownership... turns out it was water in the air compressor. They took it to the SC and fixed it within 7 days... never had a problem since then. I would not be too worried about their ability to repair it. YMMV.

 

[hieeeeee]

If he does that he will lose the pre March 2022 pricing. I agree it is not great being a six month old vehicle. My September pick up was a June manufactured vehicle as a point of reference (was a shop vehicle).

That's right, losing my pre-March pricing would hurt pretty bad. Definitely not where I'd like for this journey to end and while I won't ever say never, odds would be that I'd have to pull my purchase after a looong chat w the wife if I had to get back in line for the higher price.

I know it hasn't been long, but any regrets on taking the VIN?

 

[hieeeeee]

I'd just let them fix it personally. They have to warranty it the same as if it was off the line for 10 minutes. They are cars not bananas. Mine had a drive unit failure on delivery inspection and that caused a 12v failure. They fixed it and a year later its been solid. I wouldn't worry about it.

I understand why everyone gets nervous with an older VIN, but IMHO 6 months is not that old in the grand scheme, especially if it was turned down once already. And the truth is no one will know (or know one will tell you) why it was turned down. It could be as simple as someone got cold feet because it’s a crazy economy. Or they decided they don’t want to buy from such a new company. Or it could be that it had some mechanical issue that scared someone off. The same issue could potentially come up if your VIN was fresh out of the factory.

I guess my point is that trusting Rivian to fix it and that it was just a single issue that came up is still possible if you are comfortable with it. You have to go with your gut!

My 12-mo old R1T had a suspension failure about month 4 of ownership... turns out it was water in the air compressor. They took it to the SC and fixed it within 7 days... never had a problem since then. I would not be too worried about their ability to repair it. YMMV.

The positive feedback on service/repair and vehicle performance since is good to read about after all the horror stories you read elsewhere.

I'm going to push harder with them in hopes they give me more info on what the failure was and/or if there were other issues but your experiences put me at some ease.

 

[hieeeeee]

Crazy! new to RIvian buyers are getting R1T's in just a couple months or even faster.

Tell them you want to exercise the 7-day return for full refund. They will try to scare you by saying you cannot get your spot in line back but who cares. Brand new buyers are getting a truck way ahead of you already.

Shed that suspect vehicle, get your money back and place another R1T deposit. Rivian won't 'black list' you and deny selling another R1T to you.

Thanks -- I hope it doesn't get to that but if I refuse delivery on this, I agree they'll pull that card (which means I lose the yellow and the pre-Mar pricing).

Just wondering given you're the most negative on accepting delivery; do you know of others that have picked up old VINs and have had resulting problems? Or is it more the idea of it (which I agree isn't ideal for nearly 100k of my hard earned money).

 

[Donald Stanfield]

The positive feedback on service/repair and vehicle performance since is good to read about after all the horror stories you read elsewhere.

I'm going to push harder with them in hopes they give me more info on what the failure was and/or if there were other issues but your experiences put me at some ease.

From what I've seen there have been very few "Rivian wouldn't fix this" stories. Most people who are angry with a service center are angry about it taking a really long time or that the failure happened to begin with. I think most people who have had a legitimate mechanical failure have been made whole by Rivian.

 

[Buckets0fun]

Suspension failure typically means that the tenneco / Monroe system has a fault. could be low pressure from a leak, could be a blown strut from shipping it incorrectly, could be a faulty component in the system.

I'd run from it. Unless your RSC has service appointments available.

 

[VSG]

Almost certainly this ended up in the shop because the original reservation holder picked a different configuration from the shop rather than waiting for this one that was being made for him. And there aren't a lot of people choosing yellow, so much so that they've discontinued the color, so it's been sitting around waiting for its forever home. If that's what you want, I suggest taking it because you may not get another chance.

EDIT: Oh wait, you didn't get it from the shop. Nevermind ...
I still wouldn't worry about it. This is probably a simple fix, a leak or something - there are a certain number of failures on any vehicle that happen early on when the vehicles are first used, so be glad they caught it before delivery. When they fix it it will be better than the average suspension out of the factory because it will have gone through more checks and inspections.

I've never once noticed or known the build date of a vehicle I got off the lot, so I have no idea whether they were just built or had been sitting there. But it's sold as a new car and has a new car warranty so it should be just as good as any other random car out of the factory.

 

[Guy]

That's right, losing my pre-March pricing would hurt pretty bad. Definitely not where I'd like for this journey to end and while I won't ever say never, odds would be that I'd have to pull my purchase after a looong chat w the wife if I had to get back in line for the higher price.

I know it hasn't been long, but any regrets on taking the VIN?

I have been happy - I drove back from Normal to PA so have over 1000 miles in under three weeks. No mechanical or electrical issues and happy with the vehicle. Still trying to find a great ride/handling balance since the latest update.

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