R1T repurchase and replacement - what to expect?

[Rivtony]

In a cruel twist of fate, I was supposed to take delivery of the replacement today. Apparently, it was backed into something at the service center and damaged yesterday.

That's sad.
With all the sensors and cameras I don't understand how people can drive "into something"

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[rcampos1990]

OP, so they gave you the trade-in value of your old vehicle at MSRP to apply to your new configuration? That included tax, etc.? Depending on your configuration, did you pay the difference or get a refund? Sorry for all the questions; I am going through the process as we speak. My issue is that the value paid for my R1S is significantly less than that of the current configurations. I'm trying to understand what that may mean financially. I'm still super early in the process, but I hope they match me with a like-for-like configuration (regardless of cost difference).

 

[MailmanOdd]

OP, so they gave you the trade-in value of your old vehicle at MSRP to apply to your new configuration? That included tax, etc.? Depending on your configuration, did you pay the difference or get a refund? Sorry for all the questions; I am going through the process as we speak. My issue is that the value paid for my R1S is significantly less than that of the current configurations. I'm trying to understand what that may mean financially. I'm still super early in the process, but I hope they match me with a like-for-like configuration (regardless of cost difference).

Feel free to DM me and I’ll share the details. It was very painful and took a lot of back and forth.

 

[rcampos1990]

Feel free to DM me and I’ll share the details. It was very painful and took a lot of back and forth.

Done

 

[max powers]

Even if ones state lemon law doesn't apply you can still try to recover under Magnuson moss (some refer to it as the federal lemon law).

Rivian should give you an offer for your existing vehicle. They are pretty tight lipped about the process. Once they agree to repurchase it has to go through a legal compliance review. Most manufacturers use a 3rd party to do this.

After all that and assuming you accept their offer they will put a reservation in the system for you.

As far as the loan not much they can do about that. You may be able to recover interest paid on the current loan but that's about it. Have you discussed the possibility of a VIN Adjustment/Collateral swap with your lender?

The problem I see at least for folks in California is that if Rivian takes your old vehicle and treats it like a trade in then your not getting what you paid in state tax back. depending on the make and model thats around 8K to 12K and if you repurchase another Rivan its treated as a new transaction so you have to pay state tax again so basically your out nearly 20K at that point just in state tax if they treat it like a trade in. Not sure what can be done, im trying to go through this myself but if they treat it like a trade in in CA your screwed.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

The problem I see at least for folks in California is that if Rivian takes your old vehicle and treats it like a trade in then your not getting what you paid in state tax back. depending on the make and model thats around 8K to 12K and if you repurchase another Rivan its treated as a new transaction so you have to pay state tax again so basically your out nearly 20K at that point just in state tax if they treat it like a trade in. Not sure what can be done, im trying to go through this myself but if they treat it like a trade in in CA your screwed.

I am not sure how Rivian handles it in different states. You shouldn't be losing all that $$$ if you have a lemon situation.

Here in Maryland, if both vehicles are part of the same transaction you only pay sales tax on the difference in value between the two. So for example if the trade is worth 50k and the new vehicle is sold for 75k you only pay tax on 25k. If Rivian replaces the vehicle you should get the full amount back and the same price on the new which means no tax would be due...again that's here and not sure about CA.

 

[MailmanOdd]

Agree with above post. When Rivian replaced my vehicle, they did it in such a way that I was not losing tons of money. In the end i think I did lose out on a few thousand ( <$5000) but given I had 12k miles on the truck over 18 months, that seemed more than fair.

 

[brij patel]

they repurchase my 23 quad..and put my reservation with pre price..i just took a delivery of 25 dual standard..have to redo loan..which is higher now.

 

[Mathme]

I'm not sure why there's a discussion of IL lemon law when the OP is based in WA State...he would fall under WA State laws.

I've had one car fall under the CA lemon law and in that instance, it was 18 months or 18k miles to first report the issue. If it's a major/safety issue, the manufacturer has 2 chances to make it right, if it's another issue, then they haver 4 attempts to make it right. In CA, they then took all the prices I paid at delivery (sales price, taxes, DMV, other fees) + interest on the loan paid to date - (minus) a usage fee that's outlined in the law that's a factor of mileage from when the issue was first reported to get the refund price. In my case the manufacturer was dealing with the issue off & on for over 3+ years so even thought I had 48k on it when it was lemoned, the mileage factor was back when it had about 11k miles on it.

As for the financing rate, it's all based on what the current rates are at the time of purchase on the new vehicle. My suggestion is to shop around and check out other online places and maybe even a local credit union for a better rate than what Rivian may give on the replacement.

 

[godfodder0901]

I'm not sure why there's a discussion of IL lemon law when the OP is based in WA State...he would fall under WA State laws.

Covered several times. WA State doesn't allow direct sales, so Rivians aren't sold 'in' WA State.

 

[bijlee]

I’m trying to lemon my dual motor 2024 R1T due to recurring 12V failure; customer service rep claims that Rivian stopped buy-back as of Aug 2024. How can that be? They are not above the lemon law Is she lying? Is there a loophole here?

 

[mudito]

I’m trying to lemon my dual motor 2024 R1T due to recurring 12V failure; customer service rep claims that Rivian stopped buy-back as of Aug 2024. How can that be? They are not above the lemon law Is she lying? Is there a loophole here?

I'm no expert, but buyback ≠ lemon law.

I'm aware many Rivians were bought back by Rivian directly. This is to avoid a lemon law which must be disclosed at the resell or title. Maybe that's what the rep was referring to.

(I actually have a strong suspension that my R1T was a Rivian buyback, but I can't confirm)

 

[MailmanOdd]

I’m trying to lemon my dual motor 2024 R1T due to recurring 12V failure; customer service rep claims that Rivian stopped buy-back as of Aug 2024. How can that be? They are not above the lemon law Is she lying? Is there a loophole here?

Yeah, doesn't make sense. Customer service has no idea what they are talking about. You will need to either:

a. Get an attorney to send a letter to them (or follow your states lemon law instructions, which may not require a attorney).
b. Send an email to them saying you are requesting a buyback or replacement.

12v failure seems like a...tough...case for a buyback. Unless this has happened many, many times.

 

[TXR1SMD]

Following this.

My R1T has been in service 45+ days over its 22 month life. I have about 14.9k miles on it. It recently had a critical battery error when charging and completely shut down. The 12v's had been replaced back in the summer and a week before this, it had been in service for 8 days getting new jounce lines and control arms. When this last error occurred, the vehicle went completely dead. Could not open the doors, frunk, gear tunnel, etc. Could not wake the truck with any methods advised by service - buttons, fob, app. It had to be but on slides and drug out of my garage by the tow company. It has been sitting at the SC since then, now 20 days. As of yesterday, they still don't have an ETA on parts or repairs beginning. I reached out to customer service and asked for a buyback. They got back to me and said they have essentially a Committee of Legal and Service leadership that reviews these cases and they've submitted my information. I really do not want to have to get a Lemmon Law attorney, but right now there's no end in sight on this repair.

I honestly love this vehicle and even with this issue, I would absolutely buy another and have an R2 on reservation. Texas Lemon Law is pretty clear, but the only questionable point is if they will claim they have provided me with "comparable transportation" during the down time. I have had an Enterprise Audi Q3, not even remotely similar. The Enterprise near me does not offer any EVs or even PHEVs. I've asked my SC if any loaners become available, please let me know and I'd be there ASAP but they say that is unlikely to happen. In a side note, I live about 1mi from my SC and I can actively see my R1T sitting in the corner of the lot, squatting down presumably because the air suspension hasn't powered on in weeks, from the neighboring In-N-Out drive thru.

I feel like this is a pretty reasonable request. I just don't know what to expect.

 

[portdirect]

Following this.

My R1T has been in service 45+ days over its 22 month life. I have about 14.9k miles on it. It recently had a critical battery error when charging and completely shut down. The 12v's had been replaced back in the summer and a week before this, it had been in service for 8 days getting new jounce lines and control arms. When this last error occurred, the vehicle went completely dead. Could not open the doors, frunk, gear tunnel, etc. Could not wake the truck with any methods advised by service - buttons, fob, app. It had to be but on slides and drug out of my garage by the tow company. It has been sitting at the SC since then, now 20 days. As of yesterday, they still don't have an ETA on parts or repairs beginning. I reached out to customer service and asked for a buyback. They got back to me and said they have essentially a Committee of Legal and Service leadership that reviews these cases and they've submitted my information. I really do not want to have to get a Lemmon Law attorney, but right now there's no end in sight on this repair.

I honestly love this vehicle and even with this issue, I would absolutely buy another and have an R2 on reservation. Texas Lemon Law is pretty clear, but the only questionable point is if they will claim they have provided me with "comparable transportation" during the down time. I have had an Enterprise Audi Q3, not even remotely similar. The Enterprise near me does not offer any EVs or even PHEVs. I've asked my SC if any loaners become available, please let me know and I'd be there ASAP but they say that is unlikely to happen. In a side note, I live about 1mi from my SC and I can actively see my R1T sitting in the corner of the lot, squatting down presumably because the air suspension hasn't powered on in weeks, from the neighboring In-N-Out drive thru.

I feel like this is a pretty reasonable request. I just don't know what to expect.

I recently went through a similar process: 69 days in service so far over 17 months for an issue present, and reported, prior to even signing for the Truck at the Normal Factory SC. The committee came back offering a buy-back: like you I don't want to get lawyers involved; as ultimately they just end up costing everyone more (and our case is fairly clear). Unfortunately the paperwork they sent through over the weekend did not match the previous commitments they had made; hopefully just an oversight/miscommunication, but have started the clock on when we escalate to formal processes and wash our hands of the whole thing. Where it really hurts emotionally is that we are only in this situation as the truck was damaged multiple times whist in Rivian's care, and the paintwork is now arguably worse than when it was originally taken in for warranty work: We honestly just want the truck back that we had ~120 days ago at this point, but without a Time Machine that's not happening, and as it stands we no longer trust the truck following the history it has had since then.

With regard to the loaner its important to document/note this early - for example we had a number of loaner and rental vehicles throughout our issues but: none of them permitted traveling more than 200 miles in a day, meaning the utility of the substitute vehicle was severely curtailed as we could not travel any reasonable distance (ie visit family), additionally we purchased a R1T in large part to transport sports equipment which was not possible on any of the vehicles provided, again demising their utility.

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