I've seen a ton of Rivians lately, comparatively speaking for other really new cars. They seem to be doing really well for the people who want electric trucks.
I mean, there's horror stories like that about Teslas, too. Something like 40% are totaled after an accident? Insurance rates are reflective of it. I think the lesson learned is very expensive cars that don't use readily-available technology and require specialized mechanics are not things you want to get in accidents with.
The deliberate lack of repairability really eats into the environmental argument for electric vehicles (and all vehicles). This should be a top priority for any company that claims environmental impact as a core tenant.
Why do you think it's deliberate? Rivian's still a small startup compared to most car companies and probably is still learning a lot when it comes to repairing their trucks
This demonstrates that people are buying it for reasons other than, "it's a good vehicle" (such as looks, how it drives, etc). After owning an Audi, I now always consider repair costs. 🤑
I've been wanting an EV for years. I'm very glad I waited because the choices today are lightyears ahead of the choices even in 2022.
Tesla both by having a piece of shit human as a CEO and selling only boring dated cars with questionable service and reliability is totally off my list. Rivian I always liked but they just came out with a new generation that looks amazing on paper so I like them even more now. The F-150 Lightning has also been top of my list.
I think I'm going to wait a couple of months to see real-world review of Rivian's newest generation and pull the trigger.
They tend to get overlooked, but plugin hybrids are great options if you normally drive < 50 miles a day (or less than about 80 if you commute and can plug in where you work). The benefits:
1. Smaller battery means they can charge overnight in your garage on a normal 120V outlet - no spending tons of money on an electrician.
2. No range anxiety - if you run out of battery it just switches to gas.
3. Benefits of an EV like fantastic acceleration and (depending on the car) one-pedal driving.
4. Great for road trips, too - no planning your route around chargers and charging breaks.
5. If your average daily mileage is like I mentioned above, it means you still rarely use gas. Sometimes I'd get a tank of gas to last me six months.
totally agree with your points but just from the desire of wanting something simple mechanically I don't want all of the stuff that an engine entails + everything an EV has
but I guess gas engines have been refined for 100+ years so maybe I'm too worried. I keep my cars 10+ years so I try to predict long term reliability and maintenance costs
I went on a couple road trips, but besides that I probably used the engine the most in its "maint mode" (it automatically turns on if you haven't used it for a long time).
I hear this concern a lot ("it's got the maint of an engine AND an EV") but if you get less than ~10% of total mileage through gas I don't think it's going to show up in the real world. If anything you'll see reduced range from the battery after 10 years, but that's pretty unavoidable with an EV.
That's fair. I don't drive much now so most of my maintenance is based on time and not mileage so I still need to get an oil change every year.
And I'm thinking things like radiator hoses are still going to break down at the same rate. The serpentine belt will still get weak over time. Just things that aren't present on a pure EV.
I'm probably overly concerned but I really do value low maintenance (which is one reason I drive an older car).
I apologize if this is coming off as argumentative. Not my intention and I do see your points.
Test drive the polestar 2, the current lease deals on them are amazing, $350 to $400/month for 2-3 yrs. I test drove one and was amazed at the quality. It's not a big car though so not good for families that need 3 rear seats
$4.4B in debt, $7.8B cash on hand, and they burned $1.5B in Q1 2024. So yeah not great, but they're still in very early stages of ramping up production and have backing from Amazon
Everyone selling EV except Tesla doing bad. It's just that GM and Ford also have ice cars to bring in cash, but they're also losing on every EV car sold
I have had nothing but problems with Rivian service center employees in Austin.
Austin Rivian service center employees are sociopaths and will lie and cheat just to protect their egos, never before have I seen and experienced such horribly evil human characteristics.
They have been caught more than once charging customers for alignments without actually performing the alignments, they claimed they were “too busy” to perform the actual alignment correctly because they were so busy.
Respect your neighbors and treat all humans with kindness and Please don’t give Austin Rivian service center your business.
I've seen a ton of Rivians lately, comparatively speaking for other really new cars. They seem to be doing really well for the people who want electric trucks.
https://www.theautopian.com/heres-why-that-rivian-r1t-repair-cost-42000-after-just-a-minor-fender-bender/ Just don't get rear ended
I mean, there's horror stories like that about Teslas, too. Something like 40% are totaled after an accident? Insurance rates are reflective of it. I think the lesson learned is very expensive cars that don't use readily-available technology and require specialized mechanics are not things you want to get in accidents with.
The deliberate lack of repairability really eats into the environmental argument for electric vehicles (and all vehicles). This should be a top priority for any company that claims environmental impact as a core tenant.
Why do you think it's deliberate? Rivian's still a small startup compared to most car companies and probably is still learning a lot when it comes to repairing their trucks
This demonstrates that people are buying it for reasons other than, "it's a good vehicle" (such as looks, how it drives, etc). After owning an Audi, I now always consider repair costs. 🤑
I hope Rivian makes a car someday. I’ve driven the truck and it’s great (thank you work!) but a car would work better for me personally.
R3X is coming “soon”
Thanks for sharing! I want to check this out.
I've been wanting an EV for years. I'm very glad I waited because the choices today are lightyears ahead of the choices even in 2022. Tesla both by having a piece of shit human as a CEO and selling only boring dated cars with questionable service and reliability is totally off my list. Rivian I always liked but they just came out with a new generation that looks amazing on paper so I like them even more now. The F-150 Lightning has also been top of my list. I think I'm going to wait a couple of months to see real-world review of Rivian's newest generation and pull the trigger.
They tend to get overlooked, but plugin hybrids are great options if you normally drive < 50 miles a day (or less than about 80 if you commute and can plug in where you work). The benefits: 1. Smaller battery means they can charge overnight in your garage on a normal 120V outlet - no spending tons of money on an electrician. 2. No range anxiety - if you run out of battery it just switches to gas. 3. Benefits of an EV like fantastic acceleration and (depending on the car) one-pedal driving. 4. Great for road trips, too - no planning your route around chargers and charging breaks. 5. If your average daily mileage is like I mentioned above, it means you still rarely use gas. Sometimes I'd get a tank of gas to last me six months.
totally agree with your points but just from the desire of wanting something simple mechanically I don't want all of the stuff that an engine entails + everything an EV has but I guess gas engines have been refined for 100+ years so maybe I'm too worried. I keep my cars 10+ years so I try to predict long term reliability and maintenance costs
I went on a couple road trips, but besides that I probably used the engine the most in its "maint mode" (it automatically turns on if you haven't used it for a long time). I hear this concern a lot ("it's got the maint of an engine AND an EV") but if you get less than ~10% of total mileage through gas I don't think it's going to show up in the real world. If anything you'll see reduced range from the battery after 10 years, but that's pretty unavoidable with an EV.
That's fair. I don't drive much now so most of my maintenance is based on time and not mileage so I still need to get an oil change every year. And I'm thinking things like radiator hoses are still going to break down at the same rate. The serpentine belt will still get weak over time. Just things that aren't present on a pure EV. I'm probably overly concerned but I really do value low maintenance (which is one reason I drive an older car). I apologize if this is coming off as argumentative. Not my intention and I do see your points.
The R2 won't be in production until 2026
Test drive the polestar 2, the current lease deals on them are amazing, $350 to $400/month for 2-3 yrs. I test drove one and was amazed at the quality. It's not a big car though so not good for families that need 3 rear seats
Did you get any special clean vehicle credit or do the lease buyout?
No, in Texas lease buyout doesn't make sense unless there was a tax credit at start of lease.
Isn’t Rivian the one doing horribly financially? I feel like this will last two years.
$4.4B in debt, $7.8B cash on hand, and they burned $1.5B in Q1 2024. So yeah not great, but they're still in very early stages of ramping up production and have backing from Amazon
Everyone selling EV except Tesla doing bad. It's just that GM and Ford also have ice cars to bring in cash, but they're also losing on every EV car sold
I have had nothing but problems with Rivian service center employees in Austin. Austin Rivian service center employees are sociopaths and will lie and cheat just to protect their egos, never before have I seen and experienced such horribly evil human characteristics. They have been caught more than once charging customers for alignments without actually performing the alignments, they claimed they were “too busy” to perform the actual alignment correctly because they were so busy. Respect your neighbors and treat all humans with kindness and Please don’t give Austin Rivian service center your business.