R1T Damaged at Costa Mesa service center (by a tech)

[Jazbojenkins]

Well, I Received a phone call this afternoon regarding some bad news about my Gen 1 R1T that was in for service at the Costa Mesa service center. My service writer (very apologetically) stated that my truck had received some damage while pulling it out of the bay by one of the technicians. She said it only affected the front driver door. I told her accidents happen and not a big deal. She said that they will be sending it to a certified rivian collision Center and it will be covered completely by Rivian. I drove over to the SC this afternoon to gather some belongings and take some pictures of the damage. The door is pretty creased, it looks like a door replacement might be in order. The truck is ceramic coated and the windows are tinted. Beside making sure they will cover the ceramic coating where the repair is made and where the paint is applied, also making sure they cover tint on the glass if a new door is installed, I asked the manager if there will be a Carfax report of an accident and she said there will NOT be a report. is there anything else I need to be aware of, any other questions to ask? TIA

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[COdogman]

Damn, that is frustrating. Kudos to you for handling it like an adult, though. I can’t think of anything else I would have asked them in your situation. The Carfax would be my main concern, so as long as the repairs are done properly you should be good to go whenever that process is complete (which will also try your patience).

 

[SadHill]

Agreed. Man that stinks. And you didn’t blow a gasket. I would hope I would have acted the same way but hopefully I won’t have the chance to see.
good luck! Curious, will they cover the loaner for the period it is in the body shop too? My thought would be yes but that would be something I would make sure. I would also make sure I got a Rivian loaner, not an enterprise.

 

[Killer95Stang]

If they replace the door, it will be a hollow door and all your components will go in it, including your tinted glass.

I originally would use Costa Mesa for service before Eastvale opened. They also damaged and dented my side doors while making adjustments. In my case, they tried to return it with dents and poorly touched up paint on the edges of the door. They then used a bodyshop that tried to rush my car out and did the worst cut and buff job ever... like swirl city and a burn through in the clear on the center of the door. They tried to return it like that and it was so obvious, I don't know what they were thinking. Ultimately, they had to repaint the door a second time. They use two body shops apparently, but the good one is real busy, so they send some work to a second shop... which did the terrible work on my car.

They pack the cars in like Sardines at Costa Mesa, so I can see why accidents happen so often. Eastvale on the otherhand has been great and the facility is a lot more spread out.

 

[KRG]

I did this same thing (myself) on a support post in my garage when backing out.

They ordered a new door shell and transferred everything over from the old door, including the tinted glass as was mentioned above. It sucks, but you’ll def get a new door, so luckily not extensive bodywork.

One thing I noticed post repair was the new door didn’t have the small support post at the bottom corner. Rivian said they had redesigned the doors and removed this. Figured I’d mention in case you happen to notice the same thing.

Id be inclined to ask for a Rivian loaner bc it could take a while.

 

[cohall]

That stinks. Sounds like the SC is taking good care of you (as they should). Hopefully the repair process goes smoothly.

Last time i took my vehicle to our local service center, a Tech pulled a truck in front of me into the bays while the automatic door was coming down. Smashed the roof, ripped off the antenna and exploded the rear spoiler of some poor customer’s truck. Also put a good-sized dent in the garage door. Definitely a sad thing to witness.

 

[81637]

How does Rivian plan to handle the DIMINISHED VALUE?

Despite not appearing on a CarFax report, this accident/repair will forever be tied to your VIN at Rivian and you can't lie when asked if the vehicle was ever in an accident.

https://legalclarity.org/how-to-file-a-diminished-value-claim-in-california/

 

[Mathme]

This falls into the category of "Things like this happen."

I had a similar incident at the San Jose SC about a year ago when I picked up my truck and it had a new divot in the rear bumper that wasn't there when I dropped it off. They were good about ordering the part and fixing it with a new one.

Things I'd ask:
Ask for a Rivian Loaner (if you don't have one)while yours is being fixed. Offer to come down and exchange the rental for a Rivian. This will undoubtedly be a better drive than an Enterprise.

Ask how many layers of clear coat they install at the factory and ask for the same number to be applied here. I has a blemish on my hood when I took delivery and Rivian repainted it at a Rivian authorized body shop and that area of paint has very thin clear coat on it and has more blemishes now 2.5 years later than any other section of the truck.

 

[mkg3]

Very sorry to hear. New door panel and painting.

They can match the paint easy enough. The hard part is how the metallic particles cures versus how the rest of the vehicle has cured. All Rivian paints, except the Glacier White, have metallic mixed into it.

Again, sorry to hear. Good luck.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Like most gen 1 owners in the area I did my First Mile and took delivery at CM. Aside from the guides who handle those sessions, CM has never left a good impression and I held off requesting service until more than a year after, once Lake Forest SC opened. The two appointments there, January and this past week, have been stellar. The only downside is the Enterprise nearby is very small and selection is limited.

CM gets their rentals from SNA Enterprise, far greater selection of rentals. Even exotics if you are willing to pay the difference. Rivian loaners are rarely available. Loaner fleet is not large. Moot to press for it. More important to press for repairs to be done to high standards. Unless you upgrade to exotics, Rivian will be covering rental fees and refueling upon return. So even length of time with rental is not that important.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

That sucks, but as someone else mentioned, kudos for handling it like an adult.

Please let us know when you get it back, how long it took and how the experience was? Good luck!

 

[captainjp]

Hopefully their repairs are better than their driving…

 

[Jazbojenkins]

Thank you for the suggestions and replies, I forgot to mention that they gave me the school bus yellow R1T which is kind of fun to drive. I will have the loaner as long as long as it takes to complete the repair. So at least there's that. I will keep monitoring this post and let you guys know whenever I get the truck back. Which I imagine will be mid-January at the earliest. Happy holidays!

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