Poll: Would you buy your Rivian again?

[norivian]

Yes and Yes. Gen 2 and my Rivian Service Center is very responsive to my service needs. People going to the same SC will certainly recognize the names Lynne/Drake (Service Mgrs) and Marlon (Service Tech) but the SC as a whole is good.

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[SoCal Rob]

Point taken. It’s not a money saver for ME. It seems like everybody in my hood is driving a Cullinan nowadays. Not sure if that’s a money saver either. What I do know is that they always park in the red zone.

I guess they figure they can afford the ticket?

 

[narmstrong79]

There needs to be a "depends" option. I love my Rivian R1S Gen 1 and would 100% do it again under the same conditions (perfect configuration for me + 20% pre-order voucher). The current green dual large and higher are to rich for my blood, I would just wait for R2 in that case.

 

[TollKeeper]

The culture is off putting??? Too much positivity? If the Rivian culture isn't for you I'm glad I don't know you.

If you were talking about the Rivian brand itself, then I dont have a problem... The problem is that some fail to realize I didnt buy a Rivian, or any other car I have ever bought, to make a political statement, or to be part of a political movement. I am a gearhead, a car guy. My wife, and kids, are too.

I fully support Rivian as a brand, as I know how how hard it is to break into the US Auto Market. There have been many Auto Makers that have tried thru the years, and almost as many that have failed.

I joined a car club, THIS car club to enjoy my Rivian, and hopefully to enjoy it along side with every other owner. To learn about the truck, to help others, and myself, with the truck.

In my profession, I have learned there are 2 things you dont talk about openly... Religion and politics, as most will be very guarded, and defensive of them. And thats fine. I dont want to convert anyone, thats not my job, and thats not why I am here. Afterall, this is a Automotive forum last I checked.

 

[comtns]

I wonder the need for quad motor. My lowest version R1S has insane power accelerating, even compared to the Model 3 that I traded in. Perhaps if you have to tow something very heavy.

 

[Dave711]

I would buy it at the original price. I may not buy it at full price.

 

[djjr50]

I, a R1S preorder (originally wanted the R1T but the bed was too small for me), would buy it again at the price I paid for the quad. Love the performance and relative comfort and features. Also, it was one of the two vehicles that could fit my frame (6'9" and well over 300lbs, though the door opening is relatively small).

In today's market, I would have to consider the dual motor, but the other options with Android Auto and some other features we value more as a family, it would be a more competitive choice to make. If I had to buy today, I'd get a full size truck (probably the GMC Sierra EV) and maybe a R1S DM or Jeep Wagoneer S or Chevy Blazer EV.

 

[ads75]

R1T:Yes. Only concern would be if I could afford to.

I am getting 319 votes total, but poll shows 300. Also, at first glance I thought 54.6% of R1T owners chose yes, but I think 54.6% of respondents are R1T owners who responded yes, where as 88.8% of R1T owners who responded said yes. And 92% of S owners. Or am I missing something? Pretty positive numbers (of course, will change as more votes come in).

A lot of people with neutral or negative experiences won't continue to visit a manufacturer specific forum, I would be shocked if the poll wasn't overwhelmingly positive.

 

[Irish76]

I'm aware those with issues are more vocal on forums than those without.

My family wants a third-row vehicle and we love the concept of an EV. While we can afford to budget around $60k, we can't afford mistakes with big purchases and a lot of the common gripes on this forum do make us nervous.

But the styling, interior comfort, and off-road capabilities keep us coming back to the R1S. If we eventually decided to move forward, it'd be for a used 2022-2023 R1S, hopefully quad-motor.

The biggest issues as I understand them are:
1. Vampire drain/sudden death due to 12v battery that is too small (yes, I see trickle charge solutions, but having to do this for a supposed 'luxury SUV' feels absurd). This seems catastrophic if the 12v suddenly fails while on a camping trip, or stopped for a rest on a road trip in remote area, etc, though it appears the issue affects R1T more than R1S? (true/false?). And that a dead EV shuts down the vehicle entirely (cant access interior, battery compartment, etc).
2. A service network that is less extensive than other major car manufacturers (less of an issue for us as we live in SoCal which has numerous service centers within ~25mi radius). But - you never know where life will take you and perhaps eventually we're in an underserved area.
3. Early model years that hadn't quite ironed out kinks regarding suspension, drivetrain, even simple fit/finish compared to newer 2024-25 models (which are too expensive for us).

And categorically, its always nerve-wracking to be shopping for relatively young new cars from a startup manufacturer. It's hard not to wonder "whats wrong" with a particular car when people are looking to get out of it after just a couple years. Are we overthinking this, or is the due diligence warranted here?


Perhaps the simplest way to assess these concerns is asking owners:
If you could go back in time... Would you buy your Rivian again?

Yes absolutely. Drove Teslas for 7 years before switching. I can tell you that the Gen 2 vehicle doesn’t have many of these Gen 1 issues that you mention. If $ are your principle driver, perhaps you could wait a year or two and get a better deal on a preowned 2025. Also, why the quad motor? Depends on what you want to do with the car, but the dual and trimotors are great. I personally have a dual max and it’s everything I wanted and more…

 

[AlanP]

I, a R1S preorder (originally wanted the R1T but the bed was too small for me), would buy it again at the price I paid for the quad. Love the performance and relative comfort and features. Also, it was one of the two vehicles that could fit my frame (6'9" and well over 300lbs, though the door opening is relatively small).

In today's market, I would have to consider the dual motor, but the other options with Android Auto and some other features we value more as a family, it would be a more competitive choice to make. If I had to buy today, I'd get a full size truck (probably the GMC Sierra EV) and maybe a R1S DM or Jeep Wagoneer S or Chevy Blazer EV.

At your size car manufacturers should employ you for seating comfort evaluation . I’m 6’2 and many a time had to get a different rental car because I couldn’t fit. Great news is Rivians have plenty of power to haul us big guys around.

 

[Hillbilly]

No option for those with both that would buy them both again?

 

[akc5247]

Only gripe is the lack of captain's chairs. A good thing that we are leasing as we have R2 reservation and would switch to that, when the time comes.

Other than that, we love the R1S. Of course, if there is an extended wheelbase version with captain's chairs, would swap for that in a heartbeat.

 

[Rivianero]

I'm a Yes on my 2023 R1T dual perf max.

Fully agree with the many observations others have made, both positive (ride, capability, power, utility) and negative quirks (door locks, ventilation, infotainment). Nonetheless, this is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned. It has replaced 4 others (pickup, hybrid SUV, 2 convertibles). I have found it to be highly reliable. Maintenance is trivial. It is plenty capable for our little hobby ranch and adventuring. It's a clean vehicle that outperforms most muscle cars. Quirks aside, it gets better with each software update. My experiences with Rivian Service have all been great.

I would qualify my "yes" by stating that I would not pay full price for any vehicle. I got into my R1T for $30k by restoring a salvage yard find that the original owner had backed into twin palm trees. It had 2300 miles on it. Although it incurred only cosmetic and sensor damage, it was "totalled" due to the cost of body repair (those long side panels). I fully repaired it functionally for under $3k, then paid Rivian another $4k for damage to hydraulics caused by the salvage yard. Right to repair, loss of warranty coverage and access to technical information has been challenging, but I'm delighted with the vehicle.

If I lost my R1T tomorrow, I would be searching salvage yards for another R1T (gen 2 preferably) or perhaps a GM EV pickup.

 

[DaveInCA]

I'm aware those with issues are more vocal on forums than those without.

My family wants a third-row vehicle and we love the concept of an EV. While we can afford to budget around $60k, we can't afford mistakes with big purchases and a lot of the common gripes on this forum do make us nervous.

But the styling, interior comfort, and off-road capabilities keep us coming back to the R1S. If we eventually decided to move forward, it'd be for a used 2022-2023 R1S, hopefully quad-motor.

The biggest issues as I understand them are:
1. Vampire drain/sudden death due to 12v battery that is too small (yes, I see trickle charge solutions, but having to do this for a supposed 'luxury SUV' feels absurd). This seems catastrophic if the 12v suddenly fails while on a camping trip, or stopped for a rest on a road trip in remote area, etc, though it appears the issue affects R1T more than R1S? (true/false?). And that a dead EV shuts down the vehicle entirely (cant access interior, battery compartment, etc).
2. A service network that is less extensive than other major car manufacturers (less of an issue for us as we live in SoCal which has numerous service centers within ~25mi radius). But - you never know where life will take you and perhaps eventually we're in an underserved area.
3. Early model years that hadn't quite ironed out kinks regarding suspension, drivetrain, even simple fit/finish compared to newer 2024-25 models (which are too expensive for us).

And categorically, its always nerve-wracking to be shopping for relatively young new cars from a startup manufacturer. It's hard not to wonder "whats wrong" with a particular car when people are looking to get out of it after just a couple years. Are we overthinking this, or is the due diligence warranted here?


Perhaps the simplest way to assess these concerns is asking owners:
If you could go back in time... Would you buy your Rivian again?

Your poll's math doesn't work! It's dividing the responses between the R1S & R1T. It needs to add the "yeses" and "nos". When I looked, it was R1T 56.8% + R1S 30.1% = 86.9% yes!! vs 8.2% no.

 

[Rivianero]

Have to remark that I am skeptical of the claims seen here that the upcoming Scout will be more affordable. Track record for all other EV pickups is that final actual price is 150-250% of what the manufacturer originally promised.

We shall see.

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