My Rivian R1T Repurchase / Buyback Experience & Replacement

[s4wrxttcs]

My bias is that I don't like white, and I'm happy the OP threw that back.

Haha.

More seriously though the 14 day is past the typical rejection period of 7 days or 1K miles (if I recall correctly).

I'm glad Rivian at least has 7 days because it's hard to reject a vehicle at delivery. So many issues don't really present themselves until driving it or the first wash.

I didn't spot any issues when I picked up mine. But, I did have some minor issues after. Then later on I ran into the "can't schedule service for 3+ months" issue.

The one time I almost rejected a vehicle was a Tesla Model 3 Performance where the fender was protruding on one side by at least a half an inch or more. I pondered rejecting, but after deliberating it inside my head I decided to go the IOU route. I was mostly pissed that they wasted my time and seriously expected me to sign off on such incompetency.

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[connoisseurr]

Thanks!

I'm glad that Rivian gave you the new truck without too much hassle (?)

Your new truck seems more expensive than the old one. Did you pay more just to grab anything available?

We were glad the hassle was minimal.

The only cost difference was paint and wheel color, and then less the difference between powered and manual tonneau.

 

[Riviot]

So did you technically buy two EVs in 2022? Thus qualifying for another tax credit?

Something smells Trumpy here...

 

[kizamybute']

My bias is that I don't like white, and I'm happy the OP threw that back.

Haha.

More seriously though the 14 day is past the typical rejection period of 7 days or 1K miles (if I recall correctly).

I'm glad Rivian at least has 7 days because it's hard to reject a vehicle at delivery. So many issues don't really present themselves until driving it or the first wash.

I didn't spot any issues when I picked up mine. But, I did have some minor issues after. Then later on I ran into the "can't schedule service for 3+ months" issue.

The one time I almost rejected a vehicle was a Tesla Model 3 Performance where the fender was protruding on one side by at least a half an inch or more. I pondered rejecting, but after deliberating it inside my head I decided to go the IOU route. I was mostly pissed that they wasted my time and seriously expected me to sign off on such incompetency.

I went through the same thing with a Tesla Model 3. One of the first ones they delivered. Had a dent in the LR fender. They didn't even want to give me a "Due Bill" to fix it. Just said, bring it in and we will. Nothing in writing. So now way for me to stop them from saying, "you got the dent after you purchased it". I had to get tough on that one as there was no way I was doing that. TWO FRIGGEN HOURS LATER, they finally sent me an e-mail to confirm that the car was damaged pre-delivery and would be repaired by Tesla. Really not a great experience. I understand that crap happens, but at least when it does, they should be more consoling to the buyer and make it an easy fix and not putting the buyer through hell because they screwed up!

I love my truck. But, after 9 years with various Tesla's, I got Tesla'd out and was just done with them. Partially because I was tired of looking at the same general car (despite owning several different ones) for 9 years, but more so because I was fed up with Tesla's attitude. Their heads have grown way too big and are just flat rude now. Sadly, Rivian is following in the same footsteps, yet trying to skip the "white glove" service period that we got from Tesla in the early years in some cases. They're not nearly as bad as Tesla is, but the signs are there that they're trying to skip steps to catch up to where Tesla is and with some things, their attitude isn't the greatest.

 

[willferrel]

Hey been a R1T owner for a few months, VIN in the low 11000 range, adventure pack with AT’s. Have been mostly displeased with the vehicle and saw this post and am pursuing potential buy back, and wanted to share some gripes. Realize I am super lucky to have experienced ownership in terms of affording the truck and being picked in the delivery lottery. Baltimore based so no service centers near. City driving on crappy Bmore street but not offroading.

Initial delivery:
Multiple fit and finish issues, wind noise, malfunctioning/non-charging camp speaker, still drove well. Service ticket made and told I needed to drive to NYC for service.Scheduled for months out

Weeks in:
Warning light saying there was a motor malfunction, pretty consistently 10-20min into each drive. Support solution was to keep hard resetting the car and it would return to normal for variable amounts of time. Didn’t get the Out of Spec/Kyle treatment where a team of engineers were going through my logs to perform diagnostic in real time. Closed ticket

Months in:
Now car suspension and computer malfunctioning on every drive and now unsafe to drive at all. 10-15 min into each drive (no speed or suspension correlation), car will go into multi system failure. Driving in all purpose/auto height, stiff, max regen car will drop suspension to lowest setting suddenly, all camera sensors go off line so no early forward collision, braking, Driver+, auto headlights, touch to open charge port, back up cross traffic detection, lane assist, blind spot warning. Called and they suggest hard reset which fixes the problem for 10-15 min.

First time it happened was on a freeway with Driver+ on, going 75mph and the glitch happened dropping the suspension and disengaging the Driver+ without warning. Hands were on the wheel but not a cool feeling on a curve to have it suddenly turn off. Suspension struggles to get out of lowest setting and now is uneven- front driver side will not increase in height with other tires and all sensors off line. Additional service tickets made, tech person super nice and apologetic but no still Out of Spec deep dive diagnostic real time investigation (I did capture diagnostics and pictures of screen warnings). Hard reset offers 10min or normal driving. Suggestion: stop driving car as it is unsafe and they will schedule a tow to a service station 3-4hrs away in the next month or so. I realize it’s a first world problem but I feel kinda shafted with this purchase. Luckily still have an additional car to drive but if not then the headache would be significantly worse. Guide has been switched up a few times but am now inquiring about possibly offloading the vehicle back to Rivian

 

[connoisseurr]

Hey been a R1T owner for a few months, VIN in the low 11000 range, adventure pack with AT’s. Have been mostly displeased with the vehicle and saw this post and am pursuing potential buy back, and wanted to share some gripes. Realize I am super lucky to have experienced ownership in terms of affording the truck and being picked in the delivery lottery. Baltimore based so no service centers near. City driving on crappy Bmore street but not offroading.

Initial delivery:
Multiple fit and finish issues, wind noise, malfunctioning/non-charging camp speaker, still drove well. Service ticket made and told I needed to drive to NYC for service.Scheduled for months out

Weeks in:
Warning light saying there was a motor malfunction, pretty consistently 10-20min into each drive. Support solution was to keep hard resetting the car and it would return to normal for variable amounts of time. Didn’t get the Out of Spec/Kyle treatment where a team of engineers were going through my logs to perform diagnostic in real time. Closed ticket

Months in:
Now car suspension and computer malfunctioning on every drive and now unsafe to drive at all. 10-15 min into each drive (no speed or suspension correlation), car will go into multi system failure. Driving in all purpose/auto height, stiff, max regen car will drop suspension to lowest setting suddenly, all camera sensors go off line so no early forward collision, braking, Driver+, auto headlights, touch to open charge port, back up cross traffic detection, lane assist, blind spot warning. Called and they suggest hard reset which fixes the problem for 10-15 min.

First time it happened was on a freeway with Driver+ on, going 75mph and the glitch happened dropping the suspension and disengaging the Driver+ without warning. Hands were on the wheel but not a cool feeling on a curve to have it suddenly turn off. Suspension struggles to get out of lowest setting and now is uneven- front driver side will not increase in height with other tires and all sensors off line. Additional service tickets made, tech person super nice and apologetic but no still Out of Spec deep dive diagnostic real time investigation (I did capture diagnostics and pictures of screen warnings). Hard reset offers 10min or normal driving. Suggestion: stop driving car as it is unsafe and they will schedule a tow to a service station 3-4hrs away in the next month or so. I realize it’s a first world problem but I feel kinda shafted with this purchase. Luckily still have an additional car to drive but if not then the headache would be significantly worse. Guide has been switched up a few times but am now inquiring about possibly offloading the vehicle back to Rivian

I may suggest allowing service to make the repairs, and the flip it. If you approach Rivian for a buyback, you MAY get a full-price buy back. At least letting it get fixed and selling privately would net you a few $$$. Something to consider.

 

[crashmtb]

My advice, thoroughly inspect your vehicles upon delivery. A lot of this could have been avoided if we simply 'rejected' our delivery due to the paint issues, but to our deficit, it was raining and I didn't see but 1 paint defect on delivery day. Second, if you have issues after delivery that aren't being remedied by your Service Center, push for a replacement and don't take NO for an answer. Please consider using this Delivery Day Inspection Checklist I made from elements found in other community-created checklists as well as points of my own to consider.

It's silly that this is what people must resort to. When buying a new vehicle, one has generally already paid a decent chunk of money for PDI(included with "destination" charges generally).

 

[connoisseurr]

It's silly that this is what people must resort to. When buying a new vehicle, one has generally already paid a decent chunk of money for PDI(included with "destination" charges generally).

And the irony is I emailed the service center asking them to check alignment on my replacement R1T before it was dispatched to me. They had 2 weeks to look at it and I didn't get a response. New truck shows up with alignment issues; go figure.

This country has been building vehicles for over a century, and they can't get an alignment right... what gives

 

[s4wrxttcs]

I went through the same thing with a Tesla Model 3. One of the first ones they delivered. Had a dent in the LR fender. They didn't even want to give me a "Due Bill" to fix it. Just said, bring it in and we will. Nothing in writing. So now way for me to stop them from saying, "you got the dent after you purchased it". I had to get tough on that one as there was no way I was doing that. TWO FRIGGEN HOURS LATER, they finally sent me an e-mail to confirm that the car was damaged pre-delivery and would be repaired by Tesla. Really not a great experience. I understand that crap happens, but at least when it does, they should be more consoling to the buyer and make it an easy fix and not putting the buyer through hell because they screwed up!

I love my truck. But, after 9 years with various Tesla's, I got Tesla'd out and was just done with them. Partially because I was tired of looking at the same general car (despite owning several different ones) for 9 years, but more so because I was fed up with Tesla's attitude. Their heads have grown way too big and are just flat rude now. Sadly, Rivian is following in the same footsteps, yet trying to skip the "white glove" service period that we got from Tesla in the early years in some cases. They're not nearly as bad as Tesla is, but the signs are there that they're trying to skip steps to catch up to where Tesla is and with some things, their attitude isn't the greatest.

Ultimately what led me to Rivian was general boredom of passenger EV's and I wanted something different. Plus as you mentioned Tesla's are everywhere.

I'm not sure what will happen to Rivian.

I don't feel like they're following the same footsteps as Tesla. But, instead it feels like they're completely slammed.

Slammed with new deliveries
Slammed with repairs to things they don't have actual fixes yet.
Bleeding money due to some idiotic choices

As an owner I have mixed feelings.

I enjoy aspects of my truck, but not all the noises. I thought Tesla made a lot of funky noises, but Rivian takes the cakes. You can't even walk past the truck without it beeping or doing something even proximity is off, and gear guard is off. It still detects the phone and wakes.

I also have the tok issue when accelerating or decelerating.

The vents in the front also make an annoying sound when they open or close, and every nearby goes "is that normal?"

Driving wise neither the steering nor the throttle response is as tight as I want.

 

[Tanquen]

This story was posted in another thread of mine, but did want it to catch some traction on its own.

Background Info: January 2019 preorder holder, changed from Max Pack to Large Pack mid-September, had a VIN, 8-steps, and delivery scheduled in 3 days.

We had an R1T delivery set for September 30, so last day of Q3. Rivian was pumping units out to meet sales and delivery goals. I've mentioned this elsewhere but they definitely chose quantity over quality. The vehicle was delivered with a handful of issues: suspension cycling, alignment, front-right corner lower than rest of vehicle, steering wheel fit and finish, center display fit and finish, gear tunnel missing PPF, and MOST important, the driver-side rear door was REPLACED at the factory prior to being delivered.

Paint was broken on the hinges and whoever installed the door, just slapped it on. It had no alignment done whatsoever. The replacement door had 3 paint defects that the service center tried to fix twice - they essentially spit-shined it and called it OK. Yeah... not for me. Two of the spots had torched clear coat; there was no chance of recovering it aside from getting repainted, which was something I didn't want on a brand new vehicle.

I sent a request for replacement to my guide, coupled with my list of grievances. The first response stated the message was being forwarded to the appropriate team for response. Crickets for a week. I sent a follow-up and was then contacted by a NEW guide a few days later stating they will start the process of repurchase and delivery of a new unit. It took about 1-month for Rivian get the process completed for repurchase of my first R1T, as we had some issues with retracting the original dispatched title & registration packet to Delaware (DE moves STUPID slow).

We're under an impression a vague assumption that the first R1T was rejected once by another pre-order holder, and that's why they were so quick to take it back, but only Rivian will know...

Rivian treated the repurchase as a trade-in, so they paid off the remainder of my loan, and used the equity as trade-in credit for the new purchase. The negative to the story is that because I couldn't just swap a VIN with my credit union, we had to launch a whole new purchase process, which led to an interest rate 0.5% higher. No sweat though, hoping we can refinance in a year or two, or just have the thing paid off. I make a decent amount of side-cash day trading crypto

My advice, thoroughly inspect your vehicles upon delivery. A lot of this could have been avoided if we simply 'rejected' our delivery due to the paint issues, but to our deficit, it was raining and I didn't see but 1 paint defect on delivery day. Second, if you have issues after delivery that aren't being remedied by your Service Center, push for a replacement and don't take NO for an answer. Please consider using this Delivery Day Inspection Checklist I made from elements found in other community-created checklists as well as points of my own to consider.

I feel your pain.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...r1t-ocean-coast-today-some-small-issues.8574/

 

[ghorse]

My guide told me today that on delivery day there is 45 minutes for a new owner to thoroughly inspect vehicle and either accept or reject current condition of the vehicle. If vehicle is rejected, repairs will be completed prior to another attempt at delivery.
I know guides…have variable levels of understanding with company policies so take this with a grain of salt.
I plan to thoroughly inspect for the common imperfections I have seen.

 

[connoisseurr]

My guide told me today that on delivery day there is 45 minutes for a new owner to thoroughly inspect vehicle and either accept or reject current condition of the vehicle. If vehicle is rejected, repairs will be completed prior to another attempt at delivery.
I know guides…have variable levels of understanding with company policies so take this with a grain of salt.
I plan to thoroughly inspect for the common imperfections I have seen.

Delivery day checklist:

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...g-rivian-r1t-delivery.6504/page-2#post-237503

 

[Tanquen]

We were glad the hassle was minimal.

The only cost difference was paint and wheel color, and then less the difference between powered and manual tonneau.

They had mine for 2 months to fix a list of issues, including paint. Now getting ready to do it again as some issues were not fixed and more were added. Issues were there from day one but they would not do a buyback.

If you can do a buyback what about the original lower price for the truck that has now gone up?

What about the tax credit?

Do they still make them with the launch edition badging or features?

A new truck now will not have the power outlet in the front and will not have the auto tonneau. Don't care too much about the loss of the power outlet or extra magnet but didn't they say that truck built now without the auto tonneau will not be able to add it later when/if they get a better design.

 

[Eticket99]

They had mine for 2 months to fix a list of issues, including paint. Now getting ready to do it again as some issues were not fixed and more were added. Issues were there from day one but they would not do a buyback.

If you can do a buyback what about the original lower price for the truck that has now gone up?

What about the tax credit?

Do they still make them with the launch edition badging or features?

A new truck now will not have the power outlet in the front and will not have the auto tonneau. Don't care too much about the loss of the power outlet or extra magnet but didn't they say that truck built now without the auto tonneau will not be able to add it later when/if they get a better design.

Guess in California you can always Lemon the car .... I have an issue with my hood having a flex and dent at high speeds, going in for round 2 of repairs.... what's "reasonable" amount of repairs to claim? You get to choose for the dealer to replace or refund... given most of us like aspects of the truck and the pre-raise pricing i know which way I'd lean.

2 months? Did they give you a Rivian loaner? It's sad that you can't reserve a Rivian loaner, its on a "first come" basis, even if willing to wait.

 

[Tanquen]

Guess in California you can always Lemon the car .... I have an issue with my hood having a flex and dent at high speeds, going in for round 2 of repairs.... what's "reasonable" amount of repairs to claim? You get to choose for the dealer to replace or refund... given most of us like aspects of the truck and the pre-raise pricing i know which way I'd lean.

2 months? Did they give you a Rivian loaner? It's sad that you can't reserve a Rivian loaner, its on a "first come" basis, even if willing to wait.

Not sure about the lemon law as the truck is functional. Although, after getting it back, the the right side mirror no longer moves. It's also now stuck with a failed firmware update that will not let me restore saved seat and mirror settings.

They did give me a new loaner that had never been used.

It did not have the paint issues but also pulled to the right and got stuck in turtle mode after the first few days.

Not sure what to do. If I can get them to replace it, the new one may have issues too and would not and never have the auto tonneau.

This has for sure sucked all the fun out of getting a new vehicle.

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