Processing estimate: Give us your info

[lmr]

I guess I should do my part and actually figure out which states won't let Rivian do direct sales and also where all the service centers are. It's a big country.

Per Rivian's S-1 filing on page 139:

eight states prohibit us, as a manufacturer, from directly or indirectly owning or operating a service center providing warranty service. Those states are Alabama, Louisiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

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[Speedrye]

Another NC guy- Triad area, 9/21, OC R1S

 

[genepopemt]

I went from delivery in Q4 of 2022 to "Processing estimate": "We plan to refresh your estimate every three months. Currently, those updates are planned for January, April, July, and October of each calendar year." Given the pattern that means that at the end of January I will be told that I only need to wait another 3 months before they give me another update which tells me I need to wait another 3 months and so on. Order date October 2020. Unfortunately the recession that is impacting everything and used car prices starting to drop like a rock so I sold my 2019 Landcruiser while the getting out was good so now we are a one car family. I guess I'll have to buy something else while waiting for some distant future delivery of the R1S.

 

[Atlrivian]

Placed my Order for an R1S in July 2021. Went through the same circus as others, i.e.

• "upgrade package to get earlier delivery date",
• "delivery date expected any day now",
• "fiasco w/ price increase scare then decrease based on blowback",
• "confirm order & sign purchase agreement" to secure $7,500 FED credit
• "option selections changed/removed w/o notice",
• and now "Processing Estimate" email/status as they let us know that proximity to Service Center (SC) is more important than packages, order dates, etc.

I'm in Charlotte, NC and I've seen references to "laws" that may be preventing deliveries .. not sure what laws we're talking about since:

1. Tesla has been in the state for some time and has a SC here in CLT (they did have to "fight" to be able to sell direct .. 7 yrs ago .. we bought a 2020 MY in the midst of COVID shut down and still managed to get the car in 5 months.
2. A month ago we took delivery of a Lucid Air (sold by Lucid directly to us - ordered in May).
3. Lucid SC (Tysons Corner,VA) is farther away from us than 2 of the Rivian SCs (Atlanta and Richmond)
4. There are a number of R1Ts that have been already delivered in NC (and a handful right here in Charlotte)... why would they not require a nearby SC ??

I'm beyond ticked off as we've put off replacing our SUV for over a year and don't even know when, if ever, we can expect delivery (2023? 2024? 2025? +)

In the meantime, our latest EV purchase (Lucid Air, ordered in May 2022) was delivered in 4 mos. from order (well w/in the 2-5 month estimate we were given) and at this pace, the Fisker Ocean One (ordered in April 2022 which begins manufacturing on Nov. 17) may be here before the R1S graces us with an estimate. Ridiculous!

Careful with the Lucid comparison. A friend of mine here in Atlanta bought a Lucid and has had a devil of a time getting service because of how far the nearest SC is. She is so upset she is selling it. Rivian has clearly decided they want to avoid those costs / optics when they have more orders than they can handle.

 

[RivianNC]

Careful with the Lucid comparison. A friend of mine here in Atlanta bought a Lucid and has had a devil of a time getting service because of how far the nearest SC is. She is so upset she is selling it. Rivian has clearly decided they want to avoid those costs / optics when they have more orders than they can handle.

Thanks, but I assure you that there are no rose colored glasses here.

That's why I pointed out that the fact that Lucid was able to deliver a car to me (and supposedly be able to Service it) despite having a SC farther away than 2 Rivian SC's should not be used to infer that the Lucid model is perfect, but rather should be looked at by Rivian to see whether or not Lucid is doing something that may be worth emulating.

As for Lucid, I'm a bit closer to a SC than someone in Atlanta despite the fact that there are more Lucids in Atlanta and Charlotte than in Florida (where there is a SC). So far, they've been able to service my issues and I hope they can continue to do so since I'm rooting for these "new" EV manufacturers and their business model. (I recently sold my Tesla, took delivery of my Lucid last month, will be one of the first Fisker Ocean One owners, and have had a Rivian reservation since mid 2021).

This EV ownership (especially from startups) is not for the faint of heart and there will be growing pains, but I'm willing to do my part to provide the customer support needed to propel the industry forward (I tell everyone that the first folks to own ICE vehicles did not have it easy either).

Unfortunately, the Service model these companies have chosen is also flawed and difficult for both customer and manufacturer (3 weeks ago a friend of mine in Alabama just had a drive system fault with his Tesla M3 and the car had to go to Atlanta; was there for a number of weeks, and he had to pay to have it sent back .. now, despite loving the car, he's selling it because of the Service model).

That said, communications by these companies needs to be constant, consistent, honest and transparent. This latest email (putting me in limbo for an undetermined amount of time w/o detail) is just not acceptable.

For us it's not a "couple of months" scenario, its a half-a-decade scenario. The irony is that if Rivian had been more honest with us, we would've ordered an interim car and be happy to sit in the queue, instead they've been taunting us with "any day now" notifications and now leave us with no idea if we'll ever get our R1S.

 

[Atlrivian]

Thanks, but I assure you that there are no rose colored glasses here.

That's why I pointed out that the fact that Lucid was able to deliver a car to me (and supposedly be able to Service it) despite having a SC farther away than 2 Rivian SC's should not be used to infer that the Lucid model is perfect, but rather should be looked at by Rivian to see whether or not Lucid is doing something that may be worth emulating.

As for Lucid, I'm a bit closer to a SC than someone in Atlanta despite the fact that there are more Lucids in Atlanta and Charlotte than in Florida (where there is a SC). So far, they've been able to service my issues and I hope they can continue to do so since I'm rooting for these "new" EV manufacturers and their business model. (I recently sold my Tesla, took delivery of my Lucid last month, will be one of the first Fisker Ocean One owners, and have had a Rivian reservation since mid 2021).

This EV ownership (especially from startups) is not for the faint of heart and there will be growing pains, but I'm willing to do my part to provide the customer support needed to propel the industry forward (I tell everyone that the first folks to own ICE vehicles did not have it easy either).

Unfortunately, the Service model these companies have chosen is also flawed and difficult for both customer and manufacturer (3 weeks ago a friend of mine in Alabama just had a drive system fault with his Tesla M3 and the car had to go to Atlanta; was there for a number of weeks, and he had to pay to have it sent back .. now, despite loving the car, he's selling it because of the Service model).

That said, communications by these companies needs to be constant, consistent, honest and transparent. This latest email (putting me in limbo for an undetermined amount of time w/o detail) is just not acceptable.

For us it's not a "couple of months" scenario, its a half-a-decade scenario. The irony is that if Rivian had been more honest with us, we would've ordered an interim car and be happy to sit in the queue, instead they've been taunting us with "any day now" notifications and now leave us with no idea if we'll ever get our R1S.

I'm 100% with you on feeling some combination of bait and switched and screwed with. I really wanted a Max pack, but eventually switched to Large because I came to believe the Max was never going to happen.

Currently I'm in car registration hell. I have 9 days left on my temp tags and Rivian / RegUSA hasn't even submitted my registration info to GA. I bring this up to illustrate the growing pains even those fortunate enough to take possession a Rivian are feeling.

With all the twists and turns, my wife is currently very disinterested in owning 2 Rivians without a backup vehicle. Depending on how the company has evolved by next July-Sept (my latest R1S window) we may or may not keep the S. By then several more 7 seat options will have been announced / OTW including Volvo EX90, Kia EV9, and Ioniq 7.

 

[Runamok]

Really bummed about the "processing estimate" too. I'm 120 miles (2 hr) from service center. Definitely tracking the EV9 progress.

A question for those of us that signed a purchase agreement. What happens if Rivian continues to drag it's feet? What does exit look like? Just out $100, or worse?

 

[RivianNC]

Really bummed about the "processing estimate" too. I'm 120 miles (2 hr) from service center. Definitely tracking the EV9 progress.

A question for those of us that signed a purchase agreement. What happens if Rivian continues to drag it's feet? What does exit look like? Just out $100, or worse?

I've been wondering the same thing.
Just added a Volvo EX90 reservation to my Hummer EV SUV reservation .. at this point, whichever comes in first is what we'll get. If Rivian deliveries are halted and fail to materialize in NC/SC, then one of the others it will be. .. frustrating!

 

[Joe schmoe]

October 6, 2019 R1S preorder in Memphis, TN. Just under 5 miles from the Memphis service center.

LA Silver, Black Mountain, 20" AT. Address hasn't changed, only configuration change since day one was a switch to 20" wheels at the beginning of this year.

Was "first half 2023" before the 10/28 update, got the "we'll have an update when we finalize plans for a service center in your area."

It seems clearly to be a mistake, but have gotten no followup after two weeks. Have reached out by email, chat and phone.

 

[Lysdexic]

I was one who got the “processing estimate” at the Oct update. My original window was Oct-Dec.

Guide assigned last week. Completed the 8 steps and the truck is at the Richmond SC. I did have to compromise on my configuration - namely no tonneau cover, no spare and 21” wheels. Still haven’t decided if I will buy the 20” dark wheels after the fact. Rivian service states that they are available.

Just FYI

 

[JRK308]

I was one who got the “processing estimate” at the Oct update. My original window was Oct-Dec.

Guide assigned last week. Completed the 8 steps and the truck is at the Richmond SC. I did have to compromise on my configuration - namely no tonneau cover, no spare and 21” wheels. Still haven’t decided if I will buy the 20” dark wheels after the fact. Rivian service states that they are available.

Just FYI

I'm in the exact same boat as you were. Original delivery estimate Oct-Dec '22 now with a processing estimate status.

Did you get the email about being too far from a service center in Oct as well or do you know why you were set to processing estimate? Just wondering if I have any chance at a delivery before the January update...

 

[Lysdexic]

I'm in the exact same boat as you were. Original delivery estimate Oct-Dec '22 now with a processing estimate status.

Did you get the email about being too far from a service center in Oct as well or do you know why you were set to processing estimate? Just wondering if I have any chance at a delivery before the January update...

Yep. This was the verbiage:

“The delivery window estimate in your Account has been temporarily set to “Processing new estimate” as we finalize plans for when we’ll have a Service Center in your area. We plan to update your Account with a delivery window in January 2023.”

Then boom- last week I received the “It’s time to confirm your configuration” email.

The truck is scheduled for delivery at 1:30 this Saturday.

Obviously, the North Carolina legislature didn’t over turn the dealer protection laws and Rivian built a service center here in the past month. So, who knows?

 

[JRK308]

Yep. This was the verbiage:

“The delivery window estimate in your Account has been temporarily set to “Processing new estimate” as we finalize plans for when we’ll have a Service Center in your area. We plan to update your Account with a delivery window in January 2023.”

Then boom- last week I received the “It’s time to confirm your configuration” email.

The truck is scheduled for delivery at 1:30 this Saturday.

Obviously, the North Carolina legislature didn’t over turn the dealer protection laws and Rivian built a service center here in the past month. So, who knows?

How far are you away from a service center now then? I'm about 290 miles from the one in KC. Not sure how much closer one will get in the next 5 years...

 

[Lysdexic]

Ha! Google maps informs me that I am, also, 290 miles from the service center. Go figure.

 

[JRK308]

Ha! Google maps informs me that I am, also, 290 miles from the service center. Go figure.

So you're saying there's a chance...?

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