Would you buy now (yes) or wait (no): Poll

[Gsxr150]

Hi guys! I just received my 8-steps but after looking through the forums, I'm seeing a lot of front drivetrain, clunk issues, wind noise issues squeeking, and bed cover issues. Seems like if you take delivery now, you should pretty much plan on service (from what I'm reading). This doesnt instil much confidence... I am 100% buying a Rivian, but in no rush emotionally. I could buy now or wait 6-8 months.

Emotions aside, if you guys were in my shoes would you simmer down and let Rivian work on polishing the weak points and sharpening up production a bit more? Maybe hang tight for a 2023? Or just say nope 11000 or so is plenty of time to work out a majority of the bigger bugs/issues.

I'd like to lower my early adoption tax, but perhaps nows a safe time to jump in?

Thoughts?

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[R1Tom]

Based solely on your description, I would advise wait.

But for me, the thrill of owning my R1T in the beginning has been worth all of the early adopter tax. And then some. I figure I won't have another chance to again feel like I have something from the future that is so much better than anything else on the market by so much, ever again.

So I wouldn't personally hesitate to do it all over and jump right in and pay the tax.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Well I might be biased because my truck is getting delivered Friday but I say do it now. First off if you have early pricing you're basically saving 20Kish and even if you have to get some repairs that savings is worth it. Second, there's no guarantee that your truck will be any better 6 months from now compared to the one you get today.

Third, and most importantly, forums like this are heavily biased towards the negative. We know from VIN #'s that there are 11K plus Rivians out there and on here there are only a handful of those catastrophic failures. All the thousands of people who've had no major problems aren't nearly as motivated to talk about their trouble free trucks as the few who've had significant failures. If you read forums for pretty much any vehicle you're going to find many of the same sort of complaints.

I've gotten a lemon from an established brand new car before and I've heard of plenty of massive failures from quite a few brands. It's a crap shoot, and it sounds like Rivian has better odds than say Land Rover does and Land Rover has been around forever.

Based solely on your description, I would advise wait.

But for me, the thrill of owning my R1T in the beginning has been worth all of the early adopter tax. And then some. I figure I won't have another chance to again feel like I have something from the future that is so much better than anything else on the market by so much, ever again.

So I wouldn't personally hesitate to do it all over and jump right in and pay the tax.

Another good point, being on the cutting edge has its own benefits as well as its drawbacks. If you want to have the new advanced technologies that very few other people have and reap the benefits you have to be prepared for growing pains as that tech gets refined.

 

[Bttrylfe]

I'm in the 9900's with no issues. The tonneau cover has not given me a lot of confidence but after joining the lube party it helped. I have also heard from the service center about a new tonneau design so I'm confident if it breaks it will be replaced with a better one.
It has been fun being on the early side and seeing major software updates, you just need to be prepared to wait for a software feature you want but is not available yet.

 

[milliemc]

Hi guys! I just received my 8-steps but after looking through the forums, I'm seeing a lot of front drivetrain, clunk issues, wind noise issues squeeking, and bed cover issues. Seems like if you take delivery now, you should pretty much plan on service (from what I'm reading). This doesnt instil much confidence... I am 100% buying a Rivian, but in no rush emotionally. I could buy now or wait 6-8 months.

Emotions aside, if you guys were in my shoes would you simmer down and let Rivian work on polishing the weak points and sharpening up production a bit more? Maybe hang tight for a 2023? Or just say nope 11000 or so is plenty of time to work out a majority of the bigger bugs/issues.

I'd like to lower my early adoption tax, but perhaps nows a safe time to jump in?

Thoughts?

For me, I would go ahead. We really are waiting on a truck. But, that is me.

 

[Quattro Powers]

The answer depends on your risk tolerance and how close you live to a service center.

 

[ajdelange]

If you buy now you WILL wait.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Hi guys! I just received my 8-steps but after looking through the forums, I'm seeing a lot of front drivetrain, clunk issues, wind noise issues squeeking, and bed cover issues. Seems like if you take delivery now, you should pretty much plan on service (from what I'm reading). This doesnt instil much confidence... I am 100% buying a Rivian, but in no rush emotionally. I could buy now or wait 6-8 months.

Emotions aside, if you guys were in my shoes would you simmer down and let Rivian work on polishing the weak points and sharpening up production a bit more? Maybe hang tight for a 2023? Or just say nope 11000 or so is plenty of time to work out a majority of the bigger bugs/issues.

I'd like to lower my early adoption tax, but perhaps nows a safe time to jump in?

Thoughts?

I see you own several Tesla's. I do too, and I jumped in early. Sure my car lived at the SC for panel gaps, misalignments, MCU replacement, axel replacements, AC compressor replacement, water leaks, wind noise, interior trim droops, pieces not fully installed....actually half of them were on my 2019. The quality sort of got better but not really.

Then you figure, I have free lifetime charging. I got a free power wall, power wheels for my kids, several sets of free wheels. I also still have some higher end touches - glossy seat backs on my Model X that were eliminated for cost. But I also had an AP1 MX that I got rid of for a AP2 MX.

There's Pros and Cons to jumping in, its a tough call. With these newer good enough production methods, it'll never be good, just good enough. Which means there's never a perfect time to jump in.

 

[ironpig]

My VIN is in the 4500s and the only issue I have had is the tonneau cover which is an issue everyone has. There's no reason to wait. And if there is a problem with the truck, Rivian will fix it.

 

[moosetags]

Get it now. Life is short.

Brian

 

[Gsxr150]

Thank you guys for the response so far! I am reading each person's response very carefully.

 

[Engi_Nerd]

Not a popular sentiment I'm sure, but seeing Kyle's latest video on drivetrain backlash really has me losing the faith. My view of being an early adopter means getting a price break to deal with manufacturing and software bugs like panel gaps, paint quality, bad sensors, squeaks and rattles, doors and windows, new ADAS, and even occasionally getting stranded, so long as Rivian service was up to the task. For me, being an early adopter does NOT mean accepting a very expensive electric vehicle with WORSE drivetrain refinement than a Toyota Yaris. Sure, 800 HP and 15 inches of ground clearance are great, but most people aren't using that 99% of the time. Hearing that both Kyle's test and personal trucks had rapidly worsening drivetrain noise, and that it's coming back after being fixed means the design of their driveline is either not finished or knowingly inadequate. I also don't like how Rivian is giving people the runaround with the issue, telling folks it's normal.

 

[jjswan33]

So I answered ’yes’ but that is assuming that you will be keeping at least one other car or happy to drive an Enterprise rental car (or get Uber credits). I notice you live in Minnesota so not sure where the nearest service center is.

Maybe I have got a lemon but I have needed many service visits and many of them have meant a tow over 3 hours to Bellevue WA. Also the R1T is my only vehicle and a rental car sucks because it means I have to change my lifestyle significantly.

So in my experience your Rivian will need service, they will try really hard to make things right but it is still a PIA.

 

[atebit]

Poll question is poorly phrased; am I answering the “buy now” or “wait” question?

 

[CGM55082]

Here's a perspective not yet mentioned -- and from someone who lives 200+ miles from a service center and has an R1T that has been into service a few times already (it's actually at a service center now). I'd recommend getting the vehicle now.

First, it's important to note that major problems with the vehicle, those that impact driveability, appear to be pretty rare. However, you'll likely have some relatively minor issues that will need to be fixed at a service center. While they are annoyances, the good news is you can pretty much get those worked through and resolved by the service center within a month or two. And at that point you'll have a solid vehicle well before you would if you waited six months. In addition, even if you waited six months or so, there's no guarantee you won't have to go through a similar process getting kinks and/or issues ironed out at that time.

I've had my frustrations with some of the issues I've had not getting resolved as fast or as seamlessly as I would like. However, I love the truck and the issues are getting worked through, so I have to keep it all in context. If I knew prior to taking delivery what I know now, I would still get my truck when I did.

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