Frustrated 2018 preorder holder

[Gator42]

Lol. This is such a dumb thread. I get that OP has been waiting a long time, but he could answer his own question very easily by just glancing at some of the other R1S threads going on to know they are only delivering LE and it is ridiculous to be that upset due to the fact they've only been delivering LE's for like 2 months. They haven't even hit 1000 VINs yet.

I hear this...yah, since so few of us have trucks the forums have beat to death all the angles and frustrations Rivian has doled out to its preorders, but its also kind of dumb and more than a little frustrating to listen to recent preorders lecturing 2018s to be patient. Also, way back in the day nobody told the OP early non LEs would be sick of seeing 2022 orders writing up 'first impressions' posts before Rivian had a truck for them.

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[mabowden]

I hear this...yah, since so few of us have trucks the forums have beat to death all the angles and frustrations Rivian has doled out to its preorders, but its also kind of dumb and more than a little frustrating to listen to recent preorders lecturing 2018s to be patient. Also, way back in the day nobody told the OP early non LEs would be sick of seeing 2022 orders writing up 'first impressions' posts before Rivian had a truck for them.

I'm not lecturing anyone to be patient. I'm saying be realistic. They are only delivering LEs. Of course that is not OPs fault, that is just the reality. I'm sure if he knew at the time he would have ordered LE, but he didn't- no one did. But hell, in 2018 Rivian had a slim chance of ever making it to production. I'm not saying he doesn't have a right to be upset, he's just not being realistic on his 1st post on the forums.

 

[SoCal Rob]

I hear this...yah, since so few of us have trucks the forums have beat to death all the angles and frustrations Rivian has doled out to its preorders, but its also kind of dumb and more than a little frustrating to listen to recent preorders lecturing 2018s to be patient. Also, way back in the day nobody told the OP early non LEs would be sick of seeing 2022 orders writing up 'first impressions' posts before Rivian had a truck for them.

Under the best circumstances Rivian was silly to set the expectation of delivering vehicles in the exact order reservations were placed given the variables involved. On top of that, we haven’t been anywhere CLOSE to the best circumstances for manufacturing since early 2020.

 

[LDBH]

So - having started this - here is some further explanation:
- I am not saying I should have already taken delivery.
- The frustration is from not even having a place in line - not even getting any communication outside the generalized stuff they send everybody - which we’ve all learned is usually not accurate.
- having undoubtedly been one of the first PO‘s, in the fall of 2022, it’s not unreasonable that I would have a guide or some indication of whether I am in the queue. Maybe that seems unreasonable to some, and apparently it is to Rivian management.
- incidentally, I was originally an LE. However, it turns out that (without telling anybody) If you changed your order from the truck to the SUV, you automatically lost LE status. That is what the Rivian rep told me via phone. So Rivian unilaterally stripped my LE status. Still, that doesn’t change my November 2018 order status.
- once again, I am right in the middle of a major service Netwerk, my order includes the under body armor and the 20 inch wheels.
- so, am I frustrated? Rivian’s ongoing silence to its earliest, risk-taking PO’s feels like a big fat “I don’t care.”
- We all have to hope that the production and maintenance teams are many times more competent and conscientious than the communications team. Ultimately, that has to be the big worry. Personally, I am holding onto that hope but it seems a bit irrational.

 

[ironpig]

So - having started this - here is some further explanation:
- I am not saying I should have already taken delivery.
- The frustration is from not even having a place in line - not even getting any communication outside the generalized stuff they send everybody - which we’ve all learned is usually not accurate.
- having undoubtedly been one of the first PO‘s, in the fall of 2022, it’s not unreasonable that I would have a guide or some indication of whether I am in the queue. Maybe that seems unreasonable to some, and apparently it is to Rivian management.
- incidentally, I was originally an LE. However, it turns out that (without telling anybody) If you changed your order from the truck to the SUV, you automatically lost LE status. That is what the Rivian rep told me via phone. So Rivian unilaterally stripped my LE status. Still, that doesn’t change my November 2018 order status.
- once again, I am right in the middle of a major service Netwerk, my order includes the under body armor and the 20 inch wheels.
- so, am I frustrated? Rivian’s ongoing silence to its earliest, risk-taking PO’s feels like a big fat “I don’t care.”
- We all have to hope that the production and maintenance teams are many times more competent and conscientious than the communications team. Ultimately, that has to be the big worry. Personally, I am holding onto that hope but it seems a bit irrational.

Here's what I would suggest - Call Rivian CS and ask for a CS Lead - They are the only ones that can really do anything. Tell them your whole story and how long you've waited and ask if you can just be connected to a guide so you can get a sense of timeline.

There are probably a lot of reasons why you don't have a timeline yet - but the guides can sometimes see what's coming - like a batch of black trucks etc. They also might change you to a launch edition as they did with many early R1T deliveries.

 

[LDBH]

Ironpig
That’s a great idea. I’ll do exactly that.

 

[slider2828]

So you switched from a R1T to an R1S. And its a Black on Black , which from my knowledge and sample size on the road, I have yet to see a black Rivian. Let alone a black SUV.

Why not just ask is there anything I can do to speed things up if you are in a hurry, but they are producing these in a batch, not mass customization. I am waiting for Ocean Coast interior R1S being prepared to wait 6 months to a year delayed compared to other R1S.....

You gotta balance out the config with your own internal timeline....

 

[MountainBikeDude]

Ironpig
That’s a great idea. I’ll do exactly that.

To follow up on Ironpig I would suggest a calm level approach not getting irate about not having a vehicle, but asking to have your LE reinstated as it wasn't explained previously it would be lost if you swapped models. That alone should move you up to the front of the pack.

 

[Mcdubjr]

- incidentally, I was originally an LE. However, it turns out that (without telling anybody) If you changed your order from the truck to the SUV, you automatically lost LE status. That is what the Rivian rep told me via phone.

This is not true at all unless you made the mistake when making the change on the website. Source: me, a former R1S LE reservation and current R1T LE Owner.

 

[Tsunami]

1,394 days and counting. My order never changed, is not a unicorn, I live less than 2 miles from SC in a major metro area, and my order was confirmed back in April.

Other than having an Oct.-Dec. window and Guide confirmation that I should get the R1S in my stated window, all I can do is wait. At this point, I am just hoping that I can take delivery before my 4-year anniversary of initial deposit.

Like many, I have gone through a lot of emotions that include frustration, excitement, and helplessness. As I have said in other posts, I am happy for those that have taken delivery of their R1S, but it really is not comforting seeing so many early deliveries to much later deposit holders, coupled with Rivian's complete communication breakdown.

Staying positive and excited for delivery, and hoping the delay means that I have fewer production and software issues. I have dream.

 

[Tsunami]

So close, but yet so far. This is my setup at local SC

but this one had the extra underbody shield.

 

[emoore]

So close, but yet so far. This is my setup at local SC

but this one had the extra underbody shield.

Seems like they are following the R1T path and delivering only ones with underbody sheilds. That would explain why you don't have your yet.

 

[BrentInCO]

I have yet to see a black Rivian. Let alone a black SUV.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/midnight-black-rivian-club-photos.2124/

 

[Trandall]

I understand your frustration, but what can Rivian do to change things quickly?

The situation we have today for people who live, say, 2 hours from a service center, seems impractical from a cost perspective. That’s 4 hours out and back or half a work day just in travel to dispatch Rivian mobile service from a service center. If they need to bring a truck in for service then that’s a full 8-hour work day devoted to transporting a vehicle that they don’t have to spend on someone who lives within 30 minutes of their SC. We’ve seen people here complain that either they have to travel long distances to get to a Rivian SC if their truck is safe to drive or they are unhappy that they have to hand their vehicle over to an independent hauler. The independent who lowers transportation costs to Rivian isn’t as invested in protecting their truck, and Rivian’s reputation, as we‘d want.

I thought Rivian’s plan for trucks needing service far from a service center was to use third-party mobile service like Cox Automotive in the U.S. but that hasn’t happened yet as far as I know. It could be that is coming once some condition is met or that it wasn’t as practical to do that as originally thought.

It seems like delivering first to people close to an operational SC is the most rational strategy to contain costs and manage reputation. Even then, there are potential issues when those geographically desirable delivery owners take road trips far off the beaten path and something breaks. Given Rivian’s adventure vehicle marketing they can’t do much about this.

As a new manufacturer building out their new service organization, they probably never should’ve set the expectation that vehicles would be delivered in the order reservations were received.

Your point here makes a lot of sense but in reality Rivian seems to be implementing this inconsistently. My LE R1T with FE interior order date 02/2020 was delivered 4+ hours from the Brooklyn service center back in May. I offered factory or Brooklyn pick up and my guide said they preferred to deliver to my driveway so they could improve their process. It is seeming like I may be a fairly lucky outlier since I've chatted with a few others in far upstate/ Western NY and they are still waiting. One thing is for sure service centers will need to scale massively by this time next year if they are to deliver 50K consumer R1's in 2023... I believe that is still the plan. Another thing Rivian should be considering is that these are "adventure vehicles" so a delivery out of Bellevue Wa. won't only be used in the Seattle metro area. My point to that is that there are not a ton of 2018/ 2019 preorders so if a configuration is being built matching a 2018 order holder in Idaho my opinion is Rivian should deliver as it's not like there is no possibility that the Bellevue delivery won't break down near Nampa Id.
As far as the OP case in this thread I would say It has been fairly clear since the configurator bank opened (November 2020) that LE orders would come before adventure trims so it shouldn't be shocking that you don't have your Adventure trim R1S. I would however expect an invitation to the R1 shop. Either way I would say to anyone in a similar situation hang in there and do NOT cancel the hype is real, the product is amazing. Had mine for almost 10K miles now have not needed service and it has only gotten better with OTA updates.

 

[R1SChi]

They are terrible at communication. That’s all there is to it. You can manage anything in this environment if you are open, honest and try to understand your customers. I’ve been given and now missed 2 delivery windows. I’m sure they could have accommodated early reservation holders orders, but I understand that they are doing this in batches for efficiency and it makes sense. SO… they should have just told us that months ago and said sorry, you won’t get yours until X date unless you change 1 or 2 things about your config. But they didn’t. I think more people are upset because the communication is bad. It just puts more pressure on the quality of the build and their execution later as they diminish customer goodwill.

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