A Rivian owner said his R1T electric pickup truck cost about $42,000 to fix after it was hit at a stoplight earlier this year, according to a report The New York Times.
The accident damaged more then just the fender:
A key reason is that the accident damaged a sleek panel that extends from the truck’s rear to front roof pillars. Repairing and repainting it set off a cascade of pricey work, including removing the interior ceiling material, known as the headliner, and front windshield.
Yeah, that “fender bender” was the driver crushing the roof under a streetlight, requiring a rebuild of the unibody…
Really? Even in the article it makes it seem like someone failed to brake at a red light
You can do a lot of damage by hitting a car stopped at a light. In this case, more than just the fender was damaged.
Sounds like the shop owner is a crook and is just trying to take advantage of the extremely limited amount of rivian certified shops. Their stated reason for the absurd cost being the windshield needed to be removed and headliner dropped is insane, that’s everyday shit for a body shop.
Looks more like it’s just pisspoor design/forethought on Rivian parts.
Here is their post on the rivian forum. If the entire back of the truck had to come off for a bumper, and maybe a rear fender something is wrong with the design.
Most of the comments are parroting what I’ve said above… just because that’s what the shop chose to do does not mean it was the correct plan of action.
There isn’t a lot of latitude in properly fixing a car. Cars go together in a certain way, and there are a lot of instances where you don’t have a choice in how much you have to remove to access what you need to.
Is the shop supposed to either not do the job correctly, and end up with a pissed off customer, and a pissed off manufacturer (possibly losing the approved shop status) or do it correctly and let people whine about the price, or eat the labor because YOU think it’s outlandish?
I’ve dealt with insurance enough to know that they buckle and dime literally every line item. If insurance paid it out, there wasn’t likely much choice.
This is totally on the DESIGN side.
It’s things like this that make me think the big automakers will eventually come out on top in the EV space.
Also, I wonder whether the extreme weight of electric vehicles has been factored into insurance premiums yet. I would think they would cause a lot more damage in collisions due to being so much heavier than other vehicles.
Can our bridges and overpasses handle them?
Probably. But wear and tear on all road infrastructure will accelerate due to more weight, and funds to fix it will go down until additional tax structures are put into place to replace gas taxes.
They can 40 ton semi truck, they’ll be fine.
EV’s need to go on a diet
Can’t until battery life gets better. Right now, and for the forseeable future, batteries are about a half ton for 300 miles of range, and that only goes up. And when youre always hauling a half ton, you’re going to weigh like a half ton pick up.
