Should Rivian honor this request or am I in the wrong?

[gladewater]

At the end of 2023 I was waiting on an R1S with 21s and PPF. A sales agent reached out a few days before 12/31 to say we have the color you want with 22s and no PPF, but if you take delivery before the 31st we will give you a set of 21s when they are available (you can keep the 22s) and add me to the list for the ppf. I took the deal.

Fast forward to May and I haven't heard from Rivian about either. I called and pushed a little harder and got a date to pick up the wheels and a text saying to go to the ppf company's website and type in "I have a due bill from Rivian", and someone will reach out.

Wheel pickup went smoothly, and a local ppf company scheduled me and applied the ppf.

Now the ppf company having trouble getting paid. My guide just called me to tell me I was never promised ppf for free, being put on the list was just a "price match" list. I probably wouldn't have gotten the ppf if I didnt get the text with the instructions to go to this certain website and say I had a due bill from rivian, but my guide says that agent was just confused. My guide also told me I was deliberately misinterpreting what had been said but that he couldn't share the transcripts of past conversations because those were private. No one ever said anything about paying or price matching for the ppf, but my guide also says they never said the word complementary. I feel bad for the local installer and feel like my sales agent and guide may have been deliberately vague with me. AITAH?

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[Schroederhc]

Pay for the PPF they are the ones getting hosed. Don't do business with Rivian again.

 

[MrMusAddict]

As with any one-sided story, I say this with a gigantic asterisk; (*if your account of the events are wholly correct then) I would say Rivian's in the wrong.

What's interesting to me is your description of the guide saying you were being deliberately misrepresentative. That's oddly direct of them. Taking that at face value could have 3 different meanings, which I'll list from least-likely to most-likely;

1. The guide is trying to cover up a mistake of a an earlier employee, and being very aggressive about it. (Rivian's in the wrong)
2. You were offered something, but the guide has no concrete proof that you've been offered anything, and as such is holding you to their current standards. (Rivian's at fault, but you realistically have no recourse)
3. You thought you knew what you were being offered, but your understanding did not align with what the previous rep actually said. (Both of you are at fault, but to Rivian nothing was offered and to you something was)

Then again, it's interesting they are unwilling to offer you transcripts on account of privacy. Those transcripts are between a customer and a Rivian representative, not between a customer and a nobody.

 

[gladewater]

Thanks. Yeah Im inclined to pay for it myself if Rivian doesn own up but think I should at least speak with a manager to make sure they understand my perspective and why I think Rivian is on the hook. I think #3 is probably what happened. Though they accused me of being underhanded I think they may also have been deliberately vague. Its been six months and today is the first day it occurred to me we weren't on the same page.

 

[COdogman]

I feel like there might be more to the story here. Is there any documentation at all about the offer for wheels and PPF? If not how did the wheels eventually get confirmed and delivered to you?

Has your PPF installer done business with Rivian this way before? I'm just wondering why they would complete a project without more assurance than a third party saying they will pay the bill?

 

[Kidentist]

As we say in healthcare............"if you didn't write it down....it did not happen"...........just my $0.02

 

[ksurfier]

Isn't this very simple? What am I missing?

" At the end of 2023 I was waiting on an R1S with 21s and PPF. A sales agent reached out a few days before 12/31 to say we have the color you want with 22s and no PPF, but if you take delivery before the 31st we will give you a set of 21s when they are available (you can keep the 22s) and add me to the list for the ppf. I took the deal. "

" get the text with the instructions to go to this certain website and say I had a due bill from rivian, but my guide says that agent was just confused. "

A-You took the offer that Rivian gave you and others.
B-You received the text with info on how to redeem the offer.
C-Both you and the shop had the PPF installed at Rivians direction per offer.

OFFER - Take delivery by December 31st and receive:
-22" Rims plus extra set of 21" rims at a later point.
-PPF installed at Rivians expense.

Both you and the shop have recourse, unless of course the shop told you that Rivian will not cover the cost and you agreed to pay yourself...

Here's a letter you could send them:
Demand letter

 

[Killer95Stang]

I say Rivian Guide messed up and told you to go to the PPF place with a promise of payment from Rivian. He was acting as an agent on the behalf of Rivian when he sent out that text. If you have a copy of the text, threaten to take them to small claims court. In the meantime, I'd probably pay the PPF shop or work out a deal with the owner to at least partially pay for his real expenses while this all pans out.

 

[gladewater]

Thanks for helping me think this through everyone. I have an email from the sales agent stating they would give me the wheels post delivery. I then asked "would the ppf be added later?" to which the agent replied "Yes, that would be added post delivery". Is it Rivian's practice to not charge for the ppf, or only charge if it can be done before delivery? When he said he would add it later but didnt charge me or say anything about paying, I took it as it was free. I called them multiple times in the spring about it, to which the response was "We see it, youve been added to the list". Then in May I got the "Go to this website and say you have a due bill" text. I showed the installer the text chain and he believed it would come through so he did the job. Then my guide calls me today saying I missunderstood...

 

[FrankieJ]

At the end of 2023 I was waiting on an R1S with 21s and PPF. A sales agent reached out a few days before 12/31 to say we have the color you want with 22s and no PPF, but if you take delivery before the 31st we will give you a set of 21s when they are available (you can keep the 22s) and add me to the list for the ppf. I took the deal.

Fast forward to May and I haven't heard from Rivian about either. I called and pushed a little harder and got a date to pick up the wheels and a text saying to go to the ppf company's website and type in "I have a due bill from Rivian", and someone will reach out.

Wheel pickup went smoothly, and a local ppf company scheduled me and applied the ppf.

Now the ppf company having trouble getting paid. My guide just called me to tell me I was never promised ppf for free, being put on the list was just a "price match" list. I probably wouldn't have gotten the ppf if I didnt get the text with the instructions to go to this certain website and say I had a due bill from rivian, but my guide says that agent was just confused. My guide also told me I was deliberately misinterpreting what had been said but that he couldn't share the transcripts of past conversations because those were private. No one ever said anything about paying or price matching for the ppf, but my guide also says they never said the word complementary. I feel bad for the local installer and feel like my sales agent and guide may have been deliberately vague with me. AITAH?

At the end of 2023 I was waiting on an R1S with 21s and PPF. A sales agent reached out a few days before 12/31 to say we have the color you want with 22s and no PPF, but if you take delivery before the 31st we will give you a set of 21s when they are available (you can keep the 22s) and add me to the list for the ppf. I took the deal.

Fast forward to May and I haven't heard from Rivian about either. I called and pushed a little harder and got a date to pick up the wheels and a text saying to go to the ppf company's website and type in "I have a due bill from Rivian", and someone will reach out.

Wheel pickup went smoothly, and a local ppf company scheduled me and applied the ppf.

Now the ppf company having trouble getting paid. My guide just called me to tell me I was never promised ppf for free, being put on the list was just a "price match" list. I probably wouldn't have gotten the ppf if I didnt get the text with the instructions to go to this certain website and say I had a due bill from rivian, but my guide says that agent was just confused. My guide also told me I was deliberately misinterpreting what had been said but that he couldn't share the transcripts of past conversations because those were private. No one ever said anything about paying or price matching for the ppf, but my guide also says they never said the word complementary. I feel bad for the local installer and feel like my sales agent and guide may have been deliberately vague with me. AITAH?

I didn’t read anything in the message from Rivian saying the ppf would be free. You got a free set of wheels isn’t that enough? A threat to take legal seems to be the way too many people want to resolve matters like this. Don’t leave the installation company holding the bag just pay up!

 

[ksurfier]

Thanks for helping me think this through everyone. I have an email from the sales agent stating they would give me the wheels post delivery. I then asked "would the ppf be added later?" to which the agent replied "Yes, that would be added post delivery". Is it Rivian's practice to not charge for the ppf, or only charge if it can be done before delivery? When he said he would add it later but didnt charge me or say anything about paying, I took it as it was free. I called them multiple times in the spring about it, to which the response was "We see it, youve been added to the list". Then in May I got the "Go to this website and say you have a due bill" text. I showed the installer the text chain and he believed it would come through so he did the job. Then my guide calls me today saying I missunderstood...

Looks like Coco135 got the same end of 2023 deal...

"

timeslip said:
Why did they give you the 20AT wheels and PPF? Just forget to charge or something happen?

My original order was without those 2 but was scheduled to arrive on 1/1/24 and that car was available for pickup on 12/31 so I guess they wanted to make another sale for the year of 23. End of year rush. "

 

[DuoRivian]

You got a good deal - pay for the PPF.

 

[SoCal Rob]

Thanks for helping me think this through everyone. I have an email from the sales agent stating they would give me the wheels post delivery. I then asked "would the ppf be added later?" to which the agent replied "Yes, that would be added post delivery". Is it Rivian's practice to not charge for the ppf, or only charge if it can be done before delivery? When he said he would add it later but didnt charge me or say anything about paying, I took it as it was free. I called them multiple times in the spring about it, to which the response was "We see it, youve been added to the list". Then in May I got the "Go to this website and say you have a due bill" text. I showed the installer the text chain and he believed it would come through so he did the job. Then my guide calls me today saying I missunderstood...

Were you provided with a Due Bill from Rivian? Every other vehicle I’ve purchased where something was missing or promised included a Due Bill at time of delivery making it clear what was still due to the customer. Our Rivian was the same since our Launch Edition came with a wrist band which didn’t arrive with the Rivian. I was given a Due Bill stating that.

However, even without an official Due Bill, it sounds like you have the statement in writing that Rivian was providing the wheels and PPF to you as part of the promotion at that time. If there was no mention of cost to you in that communication then I suspect that Rivian is obligated to provide them to you.

 

[jambaman84]

I would agree with everyone else. Getting a set of 21s for free is a win in itself. Unless Rivian actually said we'll pay for your PPF at a later time, and have it in writing. I think you won't get it done by them.

 

[BeanEW]

You paid for what you got; there is no way Rivian would throw in a ppf and another set of wheels for free. There was a miscommunication somewhere.

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