Rivian’s Sales Approach

[MidnightRun]

I kinda agree with whoever posted above that was waved off, if you’re expecting a white glove pamper me service experience this ain’t your brand. I had that at Audi, it was nice and I enjoyed the coffee until the warranty ran out and I was paying. I am sad to hear they are tossing folks the keys and saying have fun as it was not my experience as an early reservation holder. I got cold feet buying a $90k vehicle w/o driving it when my reservation came up, scheduled a drive and had an extremely knowledgeable service person ride along and point out everything (even though I had many months of internet knowledge). The new space in Austin is top notch, maybe come down for the weekend and ask away if they don’t have one in DFW yet.

It was so easy for us to make a trip to Austin without kids but oh how things have changed. Even with the current car situation, I wouldn’t drive my ISF to Austin alone even. Not because it’s not reliable, but I’ve lowered it a bit and it has some aftermarket carbon fiber goodies that I’m sure would get destroyed on a trip like that. lol Oh how I miss my CT.

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[MidnightRun]

I'm the biggest toyota/lexus fanboy you'll meet. And my opinions on the company as of now is this. It's a very boring brand. reliability. That's all they have going for them. Used to be price, but toyota has really priced themselves way higher than they should IMO. You seem to have owned the some of the best products they make, so I'm sure you were like me lol.

I was going to buy a prius because my lovely company made us go back to the office two day a week. I'm 55 miles one way to work. But I said screw it, and went all EV. Bought our model Y and we freakin love it. it's so cheap to run and its very fun to drive (and i don't even have the performance model). Fast forward to now, we decided to turn my Raptor and our 8 year old Sienna to one vehicle - a 3 row SUV that can hit some dirt. Now you get why rivian was on my radar. I hate gas cars now. they seem very archaic and horrible lol.

Rivian's reliability (again my toyota background) scared me a lot. But you can't deny the quality. I'm not going to compare my Y to the R1 - it's a 60k difference in price. But boy am I impressed 2 days in. With Gen 2 you can tell they tried to smooth things out. It rides very smooth. But i'll be honest- if rivian couldn't use tesla SC's I wouldn't have gone Rivian. The 3rd party chargers are trash and tesla's are fantastic. We looked at Yukon's, Expeditions, the GX and the Sequoia. For your needs the GX will work, and it isn't a bad option to consider. But man is EV awesome! (sorry for the long post lol) hit me up in IM whenever. I love talking cars!

Oh man… you’ve hit the nail on the head on so many things. I value reliability but I too have been leaning toward EVs since we test drove the R1S Gen 1 about 2 months ago.

My wife very much as the sentiment that gas cars are just boring now. We’ve got a lot going on project wise with a pool build and solar project that unexpectedly shopping for a car has been a lot to take in with very little time to do so.

We’ve been considering a Y as a temporary family car with the idea to get a Model X or R1S in a year or two and make the Y our second car. We’d gotten to the point that my wife just kept telling me to order it so I went and test drove a Performance Y and I was ok with it. I took her to test drive the Y and X back to back a few days later with the intention of confirming the Y order, but she couldn’t get over the upgrades in the X. It just felt like a smoother ride, quieter, and more refined. Plus she loves the doors for our kids.

So we’ve been back to square one. lol. She likes the R1S too but doesn’t like how big it is or how high it sits, both things I do like. She also doesn’t like the heavy 2nd row and lack of captain chairs.

Ultimately, I drive us 99% of the time so my wife is leaving the final decision up to me. We are sort of just waiting for the right car to come available for either of those 3 options.

 

[PaythePiper]

Oh man… you’ve hit the nail on the head on so many things. I value reliability but I too have been leaning toward EVs since we test drove the R1S Gen 1 about 2 months ago.

My wife very much as the sentiment that gas cars are just boring now. We’ve got a lot going on project wise with a pool build and solar project that unexpectedly shopping for a car has been a lot to take in with very little time to do so.

We’ve been considering a Y as a temporary family car with the idea to get a Model X or R1S in a year or two and make the Y our second car. We’d gotten to the point that my wife just kept telling me to order it so I went and test drove a Performance Y and I was ok with it. I took her to test drive the Y and X back to back a few days later with the intention of confirming the Y order, but she couldn’t get over the upgrades in the X. It just felt like a smoother ride, quieter, and more refined. Plus she loves the doors for our kids.

So we’ve been back to square one. lol. She likes the R1S too but doesn’t like how big it is or how high it sits, both things I do like. She also doesn’t like the heavy 2nd row and lack of captain chairs.

Ultimately, I drive us 99% of the time so my wife is leaving the final decision up to me. We are sort of just waiting for the right car to come available for either of those 3 options.

I guess it comes down to budget. The X is awesome. I'd take an X over a Y any day, but for us our Y is a taxi for teenagers and gets me to work 2 days a week lol. but the fact that the Y has 7800 miles on it and i've spent $315 dollars to run it that far is insane to me (Rivian will cost more in this regard as well).

The captains chairs thing was a big issue for us. with 3 kids, one would have to be in the 3rd row at all times. When it came to space, that would mean only one seat could be down back there to make room for luggage and stuff. That's a no go for us, hence why the rivian worked for our needs - plus the frunk is awesome for space.

As for size, the rivian is the same length as our sienna give or take like 2 inches. I wouldn't see the size being a thing after she drove it for a while.

As for the R1S, it feels more like a regular car to me versus the Y. There's a lot of things tesla does to make it feel more futuristic IMO. The thing is a blast to drive on our crappy freeways here in Phx. Haven't taken the R1 on that commute yet, but will after I get PPF done and such next week. But two days in, I love that thing. Screams quality. And yesterday when we picked it up, my car buddy and I combed over that thing with a fine tooth comb. This is why i'm saying the noise on this forum might not be what most experience.

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

I guess it comes down to budget. The X is awesome. I'd take an X over a Y any day, but for us our Y is a taxi for teenagers and gets me to work 2 days a week lol. but the fact that the Y has 7800 miles on it and i've spent $315 dollars to run it that far is insane to me (Rivian will cost more in this regard as well).

The captains chairs thing was a big issue for us. with 3 kids, one would have to be in the 3rd row at all times. When it came to space, that would mean only one seat could be down back there to make room for luggage and stuff. That's a no go for us, hence why the rivian worked for our needs - plus the frunk is awesome for space.

As for size, the rivian is the same length as our sienna give or take like 2 inches. I wouldn't see the size being a thing after she drove it for a while.

As for the R1S, it feels more like a regular car to me versus the Y. There's a lot of things tesla does to make it feel more futuristic IMO. The thing is a blast to drive on our crappy freeways here in Phx. Haven't taken the R1 on that commute yet, but will after I get PPF done and such next week. But two days in, I love that thing. Screams quality. And yesterday when we picked it up, my car buddy and I combed over that thing with a fine tooth comb. This is why i'm saying the noise on this forum might not be what most experience.

This is an interesting take and goes to show you, there is a reason why we have so many options and choice in life.

We were born and raised in California, and we generally find the Phoenix freeway system to be excellent. My wife had a Tesla Model Y for five months, but she quickly grew tired of it. So, as soon as our R1S delivery was confirmed, we sold the Model Y without hesitation, essentially saying 'good riddance.'

We've always been a Toyota/Lexus family, and there's no doubt in our minds that Lexus far surpasses Rivian in terms of reliability, luxury, and service. When Lexus releases an SUV with a 350+ mile range, we'll definitely be tempted.

If you're used to the Lexus standard of living, Rivian might disappoint you. I say this as someone who has owned 10 Lexus vehicles, driven over 50,000 miles in my R1T, and now also owns a low-mileage R1S, not to mention running a Rivian-related business.

That said, we approached Rivian with the mindset of a startup (I've been part of five startups in my career), so our expectations were in check. My R1T has been outstanding, the R1S has been flawless, and we’re thoroughly enjoying our Rivian vehicles.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

We visited the Rivian Space in Seattle several times, and we took two Demo Drives in Portland (two months and one month before we took delivery on our first Rivian).

What made the Demo Drives convincing was that we were accompanied each time by a knowledgeable Rivian employee who stayed in the passenger seat, calmly showing us that Rivian had thought through the answers to all our questions.

I think a "here's the keys, bring it back in 25 minutes" test drive would have been far less convincing.

I hope you wind up with a vehicle that's well matched to your needs. Very best wishes!

 

[md2023]

I absolutely love the sales model. I recently purchased a low-cost Subaru and went and looked at two other car brands. It was awful.

 

[Jeep Addict]

That happened to me when I went to test drive the Gen 1 RS at the Dallas SC. The girl literally told me, I don’t think Rivian can meet your service and reliability expectations after I asked a few questions about how Rivian handles major issues given I come from a top notch Lexus service experience for the last 15 years.

I have two decades of experience in Sales and Marketing for a Fortune 10 company, so it’s sometimes cringeworthy to see how little effort they are putting into that part of the process.

I believe that the transparency is welcome. Setting expectations at the start of the buying process is key to customer satisfaction. The majority of vehicle buying experience is based on advertising, past experience, referral, and the dealership experience.

Direct to consumer vehicle purchase is a relative novelty in comparison to traditional vehicle purchasing. The scope of manufacturers' presence through the dealership model as well as a deep and robust third party repair presence is enormously different than the Rivian purchase and ownership experience, and it is indeed not going to satisfy many traditional vehicle customers, especially those with a "high touch" or concierge expectation.

This is going to be a significant obstacle to long term growth of Rivian. A single service center in major metropolitan areas is not going to suffice the "mainstream" customer. As volume grows with the introduction of vehicles at lower price points the demand on thin resources will increase.

I understand the challenge of a startup; balancing cashflow while building profitable revenue streams. I also realize many startups don't succeed despite having a "killer" offering. It's far too easy to get "too far over your skies" with disastrous results.

Without forethought on building a better customer experience it will create impediments to volume growth and profitability. I've described my purchase experience as "stupid", pre-sales, test drive, purchase and delivery were all among the the worst I've experienced, and not worthy of a vehicle with a $100k + price tag.

 

[Wispitgood]

I’ve been to the Rivian SC twice to test drive a Gen 1 R1S and most recently a Gen 2 R1S.

Maybe I’m not used to the direct to consumer model for buying a vehicle, but both times I came away thinking I wonder how many more units Rivian would sell if they had a solid sales staff and strategy.

The pros of the experience are that you get a 25-minute test drive to really drive and experience the car, which is more than most new car dealers.

The cons are pretty much everything else. You’re simply expected to know everything about the car. The only question I was asked both times is if I’ve ever driven an EV before. I wasn’t given an overview of the car I was driving.

Oddly the person who walks you to the car and hands you the keys isn’t readily available when you come back. I suspected the R1S we drove has standard audio which was poor but I was unable to confirm Rivian team on site.

My wife was trying to figure out how to get the R1S into kneel mode so she could see how much it helped her feeling like she doesn’t have to climb into the car, but with no one available to help, we gave up.

I understand some folks buy sight unseen. Others might be heavily influenced by marketing or social media influencers. Others buy based on a personal recommendation.

What role did the SC test drive play in your buying decision?

I didn't test drive two weeks ago and ordered last week a 2025 R1T. In my opinion, the new way to buy a car, like most anything else, works. The Internet, with reviews and videos, has all the information you need to make a decision, and a 25-minute test drive by yourself without a commissioned salesperson pressuring you is great. If you have questions after the drive, ask them there, or find the answers on the net.

I’ve been to the Rivian SC twice to test drive a Gen 1 R1S and most recently a Gen 2 R1S.

Maybe I’m not used to the direct to consumer model for buying a vehicle, but both times I came away thinking I wonder how many more units Rivian would sell if they had a solid sales staff and strategy.

The pros of the experience are that you get a 25 minute test drive to really drive and experience the car, which is more than most new car dealers.

The cons are pretty much everything else. You’re simply expected to know everything about the car. The only question I was asked both times is if I’ve ever driven an EV before. I wasn’t given an overview of the car I was driving.

Oddly the person who walks you to the car and hands you the keys isn’t readily available when you come back. I suspected the R1S we drove has standard audio which was poor but I was unable to confirm Rivian team on site.

My wife was trying to figure out how to get the R1S into kneel mode so she could see how much it helped her feeling like she doesn’t have to climb into the car, but with no one available to help, we gave up.

I understand some folks buy sight unseen. Others might be heavily influenced by marketing or social media influencers. Others buy based on a personal recommendation.

What role did the SC test drive play in your buying decision?

I find the new direct purchasing with a commissioned salesperson is better and meets the times we live in today. Every piece of information before a test drive and after a test drive is available on the net for education or answering any.ligering question. Between videos and reviews, there is far more information on every topic of anything you buy these days on the net versus what a high-pressure salesman will have in his or her head. Without the adjectives and adverbs.

I drove an R1t 2025 two weeks ago and ordered last week. The week in between was going to the net.a few questions left after the test drive. The person who handled my test drive was busy with other test drivers, but more than one there at the Richmond service center worked as a team.

I haven't bought anything from a ten-dollar item to 10s of thousands of dollar items for the last many years without a thorough check of reviews and information from the Net.

 

[PaythePiper]

This is an interesting take and goes to show you, there is a reason why we have so many options and choice in life.

We were born and raised in California, and we generally find the Phoenix freeway system to be excellent. My wife had a Tesla Model Y for five months, but she quickly grew tired of it. So, as soon as our R1S delivery was confirmed, we sold the Model Y without hesitation, essentially saying 'good riddance.'

We've always been a Toyota/Lexus family, and there's no doubt in our minds that Lexus far surpasses Rivian in terms of reliability, luxury, and service. When Lexus releases an SUV with a 350+ mile range, we'll definitely be tempted.

If you're used to the Lexus standard of living, Rivian might disappoint you. I say this as someone who has owned 10 Lexus vehicles, driven over 50,000 miles in my R1T, and now also owns a low-mileage R1S, not to mention running a Rivian-related business.

That said, we approached Rivian with the mindset of a startup (I've been part of five startups in my career), so our expectations were in check. My R1T has been outstanding, the R1S has been flawless, and we’re thoroughly enjoying our Rivian vehicles.

What spurned the change in mindset with Toyota was the Tundra. I was very underwhelmed with the new gen. Very disappointed in their changes. So what did I do? Bought a ford lol. And let me tell you. The Raptor changed me. What a vehicle. Made my tundra feel like a POS. It was then that I realized being so brand loyal was a mistake. Reliability is important. I get it. But there’s more to life and driving than that. And over the years I’ve come to realize if you take care of your vehicles, they tend to take care of you.

As for the Rivian vs the GX, I’ll have more fun in the Rivian (off-road) so I was willing to risk some reliability. Toyotas are great. They’ll last you 300k miles- but it will be a boring 300k…..

 

[Type_R]

We visited the Rivian Space in Seattle several times, and we took two Demo Drives in Portland (two months and one month before we took delivery on our first Rivian).

What made the Demo Drives convincing was that we were accompanied each time by a knowledgeable Rivian employee who stayed in the passenger seat, calmly showing us that Rivian had thought through the answers to all our questions.

I think a "here's the keys, bring it back in 25 minutes" test drive would have been far less convincing.

I hope you wind up with a vehicle that's well matched to your needs. Very best wishes!

It's a shame, that they're going to close the Seattle Space location this Sunday 9/22/24.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I’ve been to the Rivian SC twice to test drive a Gen 1 R1S and most recently a Gen 2 R1S.

Maybe I’m not used to the direct to consumer model for buying a vehicle, but both times I came away thinking I wonder how many more units Rivian would sell if they had a solid sales staff and strategy.

The pros of the experience are that you get a 25 minute test drive to really drive and experience the car, which is more than most new car dealers.

The cons are pretty much everything else. You’re simply expected to know everything about the car. The only question I was asked both times is if I’ve ever driven an EV before. I wasn’t given an overview of the car I was driving.

Oddly the person who walks you to the car and hands you the keys isn’t readily available when you come back. I suspected the R1S we drove has standard audio which was poor but I was unable to confirm Rivian team on site.

My wife was trying to figure out how to get the R1S into kneel mode so she could see how much it helped her feeling like she doesn’t have to climb into the car, but with no one available to help, we gave up.

I understand some folks buy sight unseen. Others might be heavily influenced by marketing or social media influencers. Others buy based on a personal recommendation.

What role did the SC test drive play in your buying decision?

I see that you're in Texas. Texas doesn't allow Rivian to sell vehicles direct to consumer. Having "sales people" on staff probably opens them up to problems.

 

[MidnightRun]

I see that you're in Texas. Texas doesn't allow Rivian to sell vehicles direct to consumer. Having "sales people" on staff probably opens them up to problems.

I’m not familiar with the law in Texas, but the Rivian experience was still vastly different than what the local Tesla and Lucid shops provided (which I assume are subject to the same restrictions).

I think Rivian would benefit from guides who aren’t necessarily there to pressure prospects into a purchase, but rather be available to be experts on the vehicle, its features, and generally provide a memorable experience for prospects.

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