Rivian doesn't cost less to drive on long trips

[CharonPDX]

This is a little misleading; prices for electricity vary more drastically than gasoline. Many of the DCFC are $.36 per kWh , and home charging for many is $.14 or less per kWh.

Heck, both electric and liquid fuel prices vary wildly. And I’d say that electric is *LESS* variable. On my recent month-long trip, most of the charging stations I stopped at were $0.30-$0.40/kWh. With both Electrify America and EVgo‘s “pay a few bucks a month” price at $0.36/kWh for basically every station I stopped at of theirs. And Rivian’s Adventure Network stations are likewise $0.36/kWh.

Gasoline? I saw everything from $2.50/gal to $8.00/gal at stations I passed on my trip.

For my trip, the first portion was done caravanning with a diesel F-250, both of us towing travel trailers. I paid less for my whole round trip than the F-250 driver paid for diesel for just the ”outbound” leg.

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[defcon888]

Do you guys have SacMUD up in Auburn? I’m imagining not, but their rates are SO LOW compared to PG&E. Infuriating that if you live in an adjacent service area, you’re effectively paying triple for electricity. Maddening.

No we are with PG&E….SMUD would be nice. PG&E is making us pay for their incompetence

 

[NCRivian]

Every time folks from California start talking about their electric rates I thank God I’m in NC. My time of use rate from 10 pm-6am is $.03/kWh. I drive 4,000 miles a month and my electric bill has been on average $30/month higher than it used to be. This is based on 7 months of ownership. This versus the $800/month o was spending on gasoline for my 2021 Silverado.

 

[Lisa & Bob]

At RAN chargers you’re paying .36kw. EVGo and EA it’s .48 to .56. Home charger in Escalante is 5.5 cents overnight. 0-100 % is $7.25. Since most trips are on a 90% SOC (200 mile RT) we’re not missing gasoline even at <$3.00 gallon. On long trips (southern Utah to San Diego) we leave home 90% SOC and can stop at two RAN Chargers so we’re not complaining.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

What I like about electricity cost is you have better control over it.

If the cost of electricity goes up you can look into making your own (solar, wind, etc). At least if you own a home and the majority of your driving is local.

With gas you're at the mercy of others.

As a low efficiency EV owner I don't expect to save money over a gas equivalent in every situation. I knew when I was getting it that it simply wouldn't have the efficiency of something like a Hyundai Ioniq 6. That it would be the hummer of EV's if there wasn't already a hummer of an EV.

In my situation it does save my money over what my cost would have been with my Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

Charging at home is cheap with electricity around $.10 per kwh
The road trip to my Oregon coast home is about 215 miles each way which I can do without charging on the way. This means that my round trip cost is roughly around $20 to $25 despite the Oregon Coast house having slightly more expensive energy.

I do that trip to the coast on average about twice a month and each time it saves me about $100.

That's $200 a month in savings.

But, its kind of fake savings because I wouldn't have bought the coast house unless I had a cheap way to get there.

So all the Rivian did was cost me money.

 

[downranger12]

Now that I've observed the vehicle on longer trips I'm realizing that there isn't much difference in cost per mile vs our V8 powered 2007 Lexus GX470 here in CA.

GX: $5 per gal / 20mpg= .25 per mile
R1S: $.50 per kw dcfc / 2 mi per kwh = .25 per mile

What's everyone else seeing? Home charging costs about half as much so it's like a 40mpg SUV in that case. Although it's classified as 75mpge, you have to fill it with $8-$16 per gal "gas."

On a five hundred mile trip out and back totaling 1000, my R1T in the winter is half the cost to drive, but at the cost of 1 hr 20, each way, to charge and about the same amount of time getting signed in to the chargers in addition to that.
I now take my ICE Nissan Frontier on those hunting trips, but both trucks are very reliable.
Wintertime, the Rivian uses more juice, but electricity is very cheap.
5000 miles of All Purpose is running 1.81 at average of 34 mph this fall and winter on 21s.

 

[ImAI]

This is a little misleading; prices for electricity vary more drastically than gasoline. Many of the DCFC are $.36 per kWh , and home charging for many is $.14 or less per kWh.

no it is not misleading. read the f..g title OP used. "long trips" only. means he is relying on EA and EVGo and other suckers.

 

[HaveBlue]

I think the GX470 would be reasonable as long as you are having it reflect the capabilities (I counted it as a lifted ‘yota)but even then it’s hard to capture the full spectrum of capacity (speed, trail behavior, storage)

is the friend having to charge only in the afternoon?
Last I saw as of 2024 TOU -Prime (SCE EV) is cheaper at every rate than regular TOU and the tiered rates only seem to benefit folks with extremely low usage

For off-road the GX would be the choice. It has armour and an arb locking diff coupled with Toyota reliability. Also old and cheaper to fix that junk but our 16 year old inherited it so I'd have to pry it out of him.

The problem with the tou is that he has people at home during the day and his air conditioning bill is already huge. At .66 or whatever it would be a disaster for him from 4-9.

 

[HaveBlue]

Not necessarily BS. His experience was probably similar to mine with the SQ5. Just a quick look at some old records...

When they wanted $1,500 for the front brakes at 40,000 miles, I was done.

Dealer quoted me $800 a corner too on my A7. I was just curious as power stop rotors and carbon ceramic pads was where I was headed anyway. They get people because you need a vagcom cable to retract the parking brake and almost nobody has those. But the Audi is solid as long as you can avoid the dealer... And EA.

 

[godfodder0901]

no it is not misleading. read the f..g title OP used. "long trips" only. means he is relying on EA and EVGo and other suckers.

Read the f..g language I used. I said "a little". The price he quoted for DCFC is much higher than others see in much of the country.

 

[Doug]

It's not. If you don't drive, the vampire drain costs money, while my gas cars don't. Not to mention the upfront cost. It also adds an hour or more to long trips. Charging times are one thing, finding charger, waiting for it to be available, going out of the way to find the charger all are not convenient.

Also to all who say maintenance is cheaper, see this. It's only cheaper if you buy a new car every few years and don't drive a oot. https://insideevs.com/news/699413/highest-mileage-tesla-model-s-3-batteries-14-motors/

I bought Rivian because I like it and prefer it over gas cars. I believe it's safer too.

We drive quite a bit and I think over the life of the Truck it will be cheaper then a gas truck. 24000 miles and so far just a couple tire rotations. In a gas truck that would have needed several oil changes and tire rotation. As both age I think a gas truck's maintenance will be quite a bit more. I will see as I plan on keeping my R1T for 250,000 miles or more if it lasts. Some argue you have to buy tires sooner. In my Toyota which I bought new I had to replace the tires at 35,000 miles and that is about what it looks like I will get out of my 21's on the Rivian. I also prefer the Rivian so all other factors aside I still like it better than any other truck I have seen.

 

[CrazyOne]

We drive quite a bit and I think over the life of the Truck it will be cheaper then a gas truck. 24000 miles and so far just a couple tire rotations. In a gas truck that would have needed several oil changes and tire rotation. As both age I think a gas truck's maintenance will be quite a bit more. I will see as I plan on keeping my R1T for 250,000 miles or more if it lasts. Some argue you have to buy tires sooner. In my Toyota which I bought new I had to replace the tires at 35,000 miles and that is about what it looks like I will get out of my 21's on the Rivian. I also prefer the Rivian so all other factors aside I still like it better than any other truck I have seen.

Oil changes including rotation cost about $90 at the dealer. A little less if you take quality oil and ask them to use it. I was using Mobil 1 and switched to Pennzoil Ultra Platinum. It's over 2k to replace those 21' tire. ICE tires cost less than that. Tire costs alone will offset that price of maintenance. EVs still need tire rotation and brake fluid changes. The coolant and coolant oil will need change at some point in the life of the vehicle. Rivian charges $60 for tire rotation, which should be done at about the same frequency as oil changes. Yes, you can go to discount tire and there are cheaper places to change oil.

Also, I was referring to the big ticket items. A battery pack will likely be 20k. Motor on Teslas is over 7k to 20k. I wouldn't expect Rivian to be any cheaper. ICE engine /transmission would cost 5-10k in most cases. Unless you have a 2005 BMW M5 V10 ?. I wanted that, but the engine/trans cost 25k each and are known to blow up.

EVs have 1 moving part(4 for quad motors). But there are 7776 cells and thermal issue in any one of them can require pack replacement.

 

[Doug]

Oil changes including rotation cost about $90 at the dealer. A little less if you take quality oil and ask them to use it. I was using Mobil 1 and switched to Pennzoil Ultra Platinum. It's over 2k to replace those 21' tire. ICE tires cost less than that. Tire costs alone will offset that price of maintenance. EVs still need tire rotation and brake fluid changes. The coolant and coolant oil will need change at some point in the life of the vehicle. Rivian charges $60 for tire rotation, which should be done at about the same frequency as oil changes. Yes, you can go to discount tire and there are cheaper places to change oil.

Also, I was referring to the big ticket items. A battery pack will likely be 20k. Motor on Teslas is over 7k to 20k. I wouldn't expect Rivian to be any cheaper. ICE engine /transmission would cost 5-10k in most cases. Unless you have a 2005 BMW M5 V10 ?. I wanted that, but the engine/trans cost 25k each and are known to blow up.

EVs have 1 moving part(4 for quad motors). But there are 7776 cells and thermal issue in any one of them can require pack replacement.

I agree with you there will definitely be some maintenance cost over the life of the R1T. How much will be interesting to see. This is my first EV so I may be a little ignorant yet to some of the cost. I do think it will vary EV to Ev to a certain extent just like ICE trucks or cars. I had a Toyota with over 300,000 miles with one car repair over that span and I bought a Ford Sporttrac new and had many repairs over 200,000 miles. Granted I drove the Sporttrac like an adventure vehicle thus the need for the Rivian. The batteries in EV's are designed to last the life of the EV was my understanding but how much they degrade over time is yet to be seen with R1's. Also like everything just because they are designed to last does not mean they will. Like others have said I did not buy the Rivian just to save money. If that was my goal a Volt may have been better. I love the truck and many of its features and it is getting better with updates.

 

[elektrode]

it's not about the money

 

[SANZC02]

Oil changes including rotation cost about $90 at the dealer. A little less if you take quality oil and ask them to use it. I was using Mobil 1 and switched to Pennzoil Ultra Platinum. It's over 2k to replace those 21' tire. ICE tires cost less than that. Tire costs alone will offset that price of maintenance. EVs still need tire rotation and brake fluid changes. The coolant and coolant oil will need change at some point in the life of the vehicle. Rivian charges $60 for tire rotation, which should be done at about the same frequency as oil changes. Yes, you can go to discount tire and there are cheaper places to change oil.

Also, I was referring to the big ticket items. A battery pack will likely be 20k. Motor on Teslas is over 7k to 20k. I wouldn't expect Rivian to be any cheaper. ICE engine /transmission would cost 5-10k in most cases. Unless you have a 2005 BMW M5 V10 ?. I wanted that, but the engine/trans cost 25k each and are known to blow up.

EVs have 1 moving part(4 for quad motors). But there are 7776 cells and thermal issue in any one of them can require pack replacement.

Everything is expensive these days, my buddy just had to replace the tranny at 105k miles on his 2020 F150, set him back 10k.

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