OT: Rivian $42k Repair Bill

[SteelCurtain74]

At first I thought this story was a joke but apparently not. I can't imagine dropping $90k+ on a vehicle only to have a repair bill on a fender bender to cost almost half of what I paid.

Here’s Why That Rivian R1T Repair Cost $42,000 After Just A Minor Fender-Bender - The Autopian

Last week, a pretty common and minor-looking fender-bender ended up going viral on the Rivian Owners’ Forum. The wreck, a relatively low-speed rear-end collision involving a Lexus RX330 bumping an electric Rivian R1T’s passenger side rear corner, resulted in what looked like minor damage. A bent...

www.theautopian.com

 

[mstateglfr]

Ha, I was pushed a different article about this. It said the insurance company offered $1500 before it was discovered that some main pillar or sometjing had to be replaced, and to do that, the whole 17ing vehicle had to be torn apart.

Fender benders costing over $40k- not sure how insurance will account for this sort of new reality, if it becomes a new reality.

 

[ChE1997]

Ha, I was pushed a different article about this. It said the insurance company offered $1500 before it was discovered that some main pillar or sometjing had to be replaced, and to do that, the whole 17ing vehicle had to be torn apart.

Fender benders costing over $40k- not sure how insurance will account for this sort of new reality, if it becomes a new reality.

Note to self: Do not drive anywhere close to a Rivian

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

Those who bought it, and those who insured it,

Own it!, Ha ha.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

Insurance for EVs is high. Any damage to the batteries is a big expense. Plus, they are so heavy they cause more damage to other cars.

But this Rivian thing sounds like a structural issue. Maybe they were trying to save on body weight?

 

[Maroon13]

Travel dad friend of mine, has one. Our first tournament was 4 hrs away. He stopped for dinner, 2 hrs in, charged and finished the trip. Next tournament was 5 hrs, he was driving the gas vehicle. He didn't drive the Rivian because "I didn't want to stop to charge it ."

 

[Dawgbite]

I’ve read that the batteries in a Tesla are part of the structure of the car and are not replaceable so in the event of even a minor accident they total the car. Even if the batteries seem undamaged they can’t inspect them because they are built into the car.

 

[57stratdawg]

I switched from a sports car to an EV a few months back.

Insurance is higher on the EV.

 

[Johnnie Come Lately]

I’ve read that the batteries in a Tesla are part of the structure of the car and are not replaceable so in the event of even a minor accident they total the car. Even if the batteries seem undamaged they can’t inspect them because they are built into the car.

Aside from wealthy folks who simply have more money than sense, I still don’t understand why anyone would want to buy one of those damn things.

 

[mstateglfr]

Aside from wealthy folks who simply have more money than sense, I still don’t understand why anyone would want to buy one of those damn things.

If you are referring to a Tesla- I understand.
If you are referring to an EV- we tried to buy a Hyundai EV for months and practically begged dealers in other states to sell one, since EVs aren't sold in my state due to the lack of emissions standards. Had we bought one, I bet it would have been excellent for our use.
It wouldn't have worked for us even 5 years ago, but would have been perfect now and moving forward.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Aside from wealthy folks who simply have more money than sense, I still don’t understand why anyone would want to buy one of those damn things.

The same reason people buy houses when a trailer serves the same function at a fraction of the cost. They like them more and offer some features the buyer likes.

 

[Johnnie Come Lately]

If you are referring to a Tesla- I understand.
If you are referring to an EV- we tried to buy a Hyundai EV for months and practically begged dealers in other states to sell one, since EVs aren't sold in my state due to the lack of emissions standards. Had we bought one, I bet it would have been excellent for our use.
It wouldn't have worked for us even 5 years ago, but would have been perfect now and moving forward.

I don’t know enough about Teslas vs other EV’s to make a comparison, but my comment was specific to Tesla. I think paying almost six digits for a vehicle that can be totaled for a minor accident is complete nonsense. If I am forking out that kind of money for a sedan, it best be able to take a pounding from a goddamn battering ram. If all EV’s will be like that it seems like insurance rates will sky rocket.

 

[BingleCocktail]

Aside from wealthy folks who simply have more money than sense, I still don’t understand why anyone would want to buy one of those damn things.

YSB. AYB?

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I think it's a bad move to go straight EV, unless you're just rich. Will be a while before there is enough infrastructure to support them (affordably).

Hybrids are the way to go.

 

[GloryDawg]

Insurance for EVs is high. Any damage to the batteries is a big expense. Plus, they are so heavy they cause more damage to other cars.

But this Rivian thing sounds like a structural issue. Maybe they were trying to save on body weight?

And certain counties in Miss makes the insurance hirer. Hinds' county is really bad.

 

[Hot Rock]

I rarely drive 200 miles at a time. Check… when I do, am I willing to plan my stops, yes.. check… is it saving me money to own, it’s not a huge difference until you get years into ownership, then the savings start piling up. Five dollar gas won’t bother me.

All you need is a 50amp plug installed at your house and charger and my fuel expense dropped 75% or more plus no oil changes, brakes last forever, regenerative braking slows u down.

Yes, Tesla is a luxury line of vehicles and expensive but they have sports car speed and luxurious features. They are not the only EV car and competition will get better and better.

I think these EVs work great for specific purposes. Once it becomes apparent that companies can save money using them, they will be more a thing. I am happy with mine, which is my two cents.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

I rarely drive 200 miles at a time. Check… when I do, am I willing to plan my stops, yes.. check… is it saving me money to own, it’s not a huge difference until you get years into ownership, then the savings start piling up. Five dollar gas won’t bother me.

All you need is a 50amp plug installed at your house and charger and my fuel expense dropped 75% or more plus no oil changes, brakes last forever, regenerative braking slows u down.

Yes, Tesla is a luxury line of vehicles and expensive but they have sports car speed and luxurious features. They are not the only EV car and competition will get better and better.

I think these EVs work great for specific purposes. Once it becomes apparent that companies can save money using them, they will be more a thing. I am happy with mine, which is my two cents.

Your dream of low cost energy replenishment is going to go away when it catches on a bit more. The government is going to figure out how to tax the hell out of it, as they do gas. The power companies will also be raising rates once there are more people dependent upon it. Let's also not forget the US is losing on acquiring the natural resources necessary to control the batteries market. Better brush up on your Mandarin.

When the large satellite dishes came out those early folks had access to all the channels being sent into the sky. They figured out how to stop that and tax it and they went away.

 

[Rupert Jenkins]

Everyone will be spending more for electricity thanks to having to expand and improve the grid to accommodate all the charging. Plus added insurance costs will be dread to everyone. It would be nice to avoid buying gas and oil tho.

 

[Perd Hapley]

Insurance for EVs is high. Any damage to the batteries is a big expense. Plus, they are so heavy they cause more damage to other cars.

But this Rivian thing sounds like a structural issue. Maybe they were trying to save on body weight?

Yeah, this has nothing to do with it being an EV at all. Battery was unscathed. Just an extremely poor design for body repairability by a start-up company that’s already proven it doesn’t know its a$$ from a hole in the ground in multiple other areas as well.

 

[mstateglfr]

Oh, I see the electrical grid doomsdayers have entered the chat.

 

[Perd Hapley]

Plus added insurance costs will be dread to everyone.

No kidding. Insurance on my 2 late model straight gas burners that have a combined 320,000 miles between the two of them has gone up about $50 per month over the past 2 years. No tickets, no accidents, no claims. Just a straight $600 per year bill for jack squat other than just subsidizing everyone else’s tastes in expensive vehicles….whether they are EV’s or not.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

EV's are the future but this is just another example of not ready for prime time.

 

[Xenomorph]

Coming soon for everybody is the VMT… Vehicle Miles Traveled tax.

Oregon and Utah are already testing and Vermont is getting ready to implement it.

 

[bolddogge]

The same reason people buy houses when a trailer serves the same function at a fraction of the cost. They like them more and offer some features the buyer likes.

I bought a house to live in instead of a trailer because they go up in value, not down. I also look for the same thing when I'm vehicle shopping for myself since I rarely sell or trade them. With 1 exception when I was young and dumb and purchased new, I find a good deal on a used vehicle that should be collectible and keep it maintained. Some have gone up and some just hold their value better. Mrs. Bold is different. She gets something comfortable that she thinks is pretty.

 

[Captain Ron]

Aside from wealthy folks who simply have more money than sense, I still don’t understand why anyone would want to buy one of those damn things.

I have had my Model 3 for almost exactly 5 years now. Insurance CAN be a lot higher, or not. We went from 2 VW,s to now a plug in hybrid Jeep and the 3. It isn’t out of line with my neighbors who have ICE vehicles. We did shop around though and I am sure it depends on the state.

Again, 5 years in and have no desire to go back to ICE, although I have no issue with a gas car at all. The Model 3 has and continues to provide less maintenance, fuel stops etc, so it works for me.

 

[ChE1997]

I’ve read that the batteries in a Tesla are part of the structure of the car and are not replaceable so in the event of even a minor accident they total the car. Even if the batteries seem undamaged they can’t inspect them because they are built into the car.

I have a tesla. Currently, No EV has the battery as part of the structure. That is what Elon wants to extended the battery range is add the frame to the battery pack.
It's great for what I use a car for. Driving to and from the office and around town. My longest driving day is well below the battery range, which is the smallest pack. If you drove more, frequently take long trips ( Long being over 300 miles one way), or only have one car, I dont think it's the best option.

My insurance went down on my Tesla from my last car, an Audi

 

[ChE1997]

Your dream of low cost energy replenishment is going to go away when it catches on a bit more. The government is going to figure out how to tax the hell out of it, as they do gas. The power companies will also be raising rates once there are more people dependent upon it. Let's also not forget the US is losing on acquiring the natural resources necessary to control the batteries market. Better brush up on your Mandarin.

When the large satellite dishes came out those early folks had access to all the channels being sent into the sky. They figured out how to stop that and tax it and they went away.

You know we are opening new lithium mines and battery plants here? And that most of the lithium comes from south america?

THe biden administration allowed Thacker pass to be opened. which will brine mine lithium in the USA.

Also Lithium salts are commonly present in the oil and gas water byproduct. Processing that brine for those metals would be easy if the market is there.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

I bought a house to live in instead of a trailer because they go up in value, not down. I also look for the same thing when I'm vehicle shopping for myself since I rarely sell or trade them. With 1 exception when I was young and dumb and purchased new, I find a good deal on a used vehicle that should be collectible and keep it maintained. Some have gone up and some just hold their value better. Mrs. Bold is different. She gets something comfortable that she thinks is pretty.

So you bought a house because it offered some things a trailer doesn’t even though a trailer serves the utilitarian function of shelter for a lower price than a house? That’s a similar to why some people buy nicer cars than the cheapest thing that gets them from A to B.

 

[NWADawg]

I think it's a bad move to go straight EV, unless you're just rich. Will be a while before there is enough infrastructure to support them (affordably).

Hybrids are the way to go.

I drive a f150 with the hybrid and I love it. Tons of power and good gas mileage (for a truck). At the end of the day, if the EV battery and mechanicals die, I still crank my gas motor and drive away.

 

[ChE1997]

I don’t know enough about Teslas vs other EV’s to make a comparison, but my comment was specific to Tesla. I think paying almost six digits for a vehicle that can be totaled for a minor accident is complete nonsense. If I am forking out that kind of money for a sedan, it best be able to take a pounding from a goddamn battering ram. If all EV’s will be like that it seems like insurance rates will sky rocket.

Tesla doesn't like you to know this for marketing reasons, but you can own a tesla model 3 for under $45k. I got mine for under $40. 3 years old and only maintenance has been a set of tires and washer fluid. Uped my power bill by about $50 a month.

 

[ChE1997]

Oh, I see the electrical grid doomsdayers have entered the chat.

EV's or not.
We need a massive investment in our infrastructure in the US.

Updating the electrical grid is part of it.

 

[SchrodingersDawg]

People are paying $90K for a pickup truck? What the 17?!?

 

[Dawgzilla2]

Travel dad friend of mine, has one. Our first tournament was 4 hrs away. He stopped for dinner, 2 hrs in, charged and finished the trip. Next tournament was 5 hrs, he was driving the gas vehicle. He didn't drive the Rivian because "I didn't want to stop to charge it ."

Read up on the solid state batteries being introduced by Toyota, Porsche, and Mercedes. 750+ mile ranges, 10 minute charge times. These will be available late next year or in 2025.

Plus, there will likely be changes from lithium ion to sodium, or some other readily available material.

There has been promising research in making structural batteries, where parts of a vehicle car frame would actually be batteries. AFAIK, that is not available yet. Until just now, I never really considered the danger of an accident where your structural battery was damaged.

 

[Dawgzilla2]

And, while we definitely need more infrastructure for EVs, people tend to overestimate the increase in demand for electricity. It is not as if everyone will be charging their cars at the same time. Most charging will be done at night -- when overall demand is low -- and most people won't need to charge every night.

With a range of 750 miles or more, most people wouldn't need more than 1 or 2 charges per month.

 

[L4Dawg]

I rarely drive 200 miles at a time. Check… when I do, am I willing to plan my stops, yes.. check… is it saving me money to own, it’s not a huge difference until you get years into ownership, then the savings start piling up. Five dollar gas won’t bother me.

All you need is a 50amp plug installed at your house and charger and my fuel expense dropped 75% or more plus no oil changes, brakes last forever, regenerative braking slows u down.

Yes, Tesla is a luxury line of vehicles and expensive but they have sports car speed and luxurious features. They are not the only EV car and competition will get better and better.

I think these EVs work great for specific purposes. Once it becomes apparent that companies can save money using them, they will be more a thing. I am happy with mine, which is my two cents.

I make 200-300 mile round trips during high school football season. Try finding a charging station in some small town in Mississippi. I make those kind of trips at other times too. Current EVs wouldn't work for me. For everyday use it would be fine, but I can't afford to have two cars just for myself.

 

[L4Dawg]

Oh, I see the electrical grid doomsdayers have entered the chat.

As currently constituted, there are almost no neighborhood grids in the country that could handle 2+ cars charging every night at every house. That's just fact.

 

[Hot Rock]

For the doomsday prophets over the electrical grid. A few points:

This is going to be gradual change, it's not happening overnight. It will be years if not decades before the majority of cars are EV's.

The demand for energy (all forms) by 2035 is going to be so great, I think will need all forms of energy. I hate being tied to OPEC for mine and like it or not, they control a big portion of the world supply and therefore the pricing.

There was a far greater demand on the electrical grid when people started air-conditioning everything. Imagine that drain on the grid.

Most people charge at night during times of less demand. Electric companies can give discounts to off peak hours to encourage this behavior or raise rates during peak hrs, however you want to put it.

Personally, I have a buddy that installs solar panel systems, I am planning on getting one of those before I retire in the next few years. Remember, most people will charge at home, and drive less than 50 miles a day. Keep on hating, but if it saves money, people will gravitate toward it.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

I make 200-300 mile round trips during high school football season. Try finding a charging station in some small town in Mississippi. I make those kind of trips at other times too. Current EVs wouldn't work for me. For everyday use it would be fine, but I can't afford to have two cars just for myself.

I hear you, but you might be surprised where charging stations are popping up. I had the same thought about going to my uncle’s cabin in middle of nowhere Arkansas. Then Tesla built a charging station halfway between my house and the cabin. Almost like they were monitoring my tweets**

 

[L4Dawg]

For the doomsday prophets over the electrical grid. A few points:

This is going to be gradual change, it's not happening overnight. It will be years if not decades before the majority of cars are EV's.

The demand for energy (all forms) by 2035 is going to be so great, I think will need all forms of energy. I hate being tied to OPEC for mine and like it or not, they control a big portion of the world supply and therefore the pricing.

There was a far greater demand on the electrical grid when people started air-conditioning everything. Imagine that drain on the grid.

Most people charge at night during times of less demand. Electric companies can give discounts to off peak hours to encourage this behavior or raise rates during peak hrs, however you want to put it.

Personally, I have a buddy that installs solar panel systems, I am planning on getting one of those before I retire in the next few years. Remember, most people will charge at home, and drive less than 50 miles a day. Keep on hating, but if it saves money, people will gravitate toward it.

IF it actually saves money they will. That has to include the initial price point as well.

 

[L4Dawg]

I hear you, but you might be surprised where charging stations are popping up. I had the same thought about going to my uncle’s cabin in middle of nowhere Arkansas. Then Tesla built a charging station halfway between my house and the cabin. Almost like they were monitoring my tweets**

I bet there are a ton of them in places like Hollendale.