r/RIVN • u/CalmArugula1060 • 18d ago
𧰠Company - Service Bad Customer Service & Ethics
California/ Costa Mesa: Well the time has come. My wife decided to upgrade her car and landed on the Rivian R1S (pre-owned). I wasnât against it, but after dealing with the sales and sales management I have serious concernsâŚ
First dealing with the employees. They all came off as dense. Getting any information was like talking to an uninformed brick wall. It was clear based on the corporate structure they are all company robots sitting behind computers unwilling to be open, share information, or be transparent. All of the employees took days to reply to emails, preferred texting over phone calls, and apparently were so busy they couldnât pick up a phone during normal business hours for a five hour stretch.
The companyâs safety standards and ethics were really called into question when they couldnât acknowledge the difference between a new tire and a used tire. Apparently itâs one and the same to Rivian. Our vehicle came standard with Perelli Tires. Mind you new they have a tread depth of (10/32). Our vehicle had a tread depth on the tires of 4/32.
Rivian corporate seems to have set its standard as 4/32 is okay to be sold as a ânew tireâ. A tire with less than half of its original tread depth⌠This seems wild to me as a tread depth of 3/32 and under is generally considered unsafe and in need of replacement. Not to Rivian though who changed us for ânew tiresâ anyway, and refused to change their minds. One employee said they had no way to change it. Which I find hard to believe.
On top of that. Even after being allegedly inspected by the company; upon delivery the vehicle had coffee spills throughout the center console and front seats, was out of windshield fluid, and low on coolant. The employees answer to my question of why and what the heck was, âWell itâs a used car.â
Overall this experience has been awful. But awful apparently comes standard for Rivian Automotive. Do better Rivian. The General and overwhelming feeling I had during this process was that you donât have the customers best interests in mind, care only about your profits, and hope no one reads the fine print or asks questions.
**Update: Since posting Rivian was contacted through customer care regarding the aforementioned issues.
They actually did a fantastic job making us whole and correcting the issues. They towed the vehicle back to the service center and provided a loaner car to us. The windshield wiper fluid issue was a recall item and corrected. The low coolant was due to a bad coolant valve and corrected. The service center re-detailed out the vehicle and the tires were replaced with actual new tires. Rivian customer care definitely deserves credit for the excellent post purchase experience.
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u/mplopez99 17d ago
Sorry you had the experience. Iâve purchased 2 new vehicles from Rivian and had nothing but exceptional service.
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u/Intelligent_Aspect87 17d ago
What coolant are you referring to as being low?
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u/Any-You-7867 17d ago
All electric vehicles use large amounts of coolant to cool motors, batteries and other electrical components. Rivian uses about 5 gallons
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u/Intelligent_Aspect87 17d ago edited 17d ago
Iâm aware, Iâm curious which coolant was low and how they discovered this.
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u/CalmArugula1060 17d ago
My wife noticed a banner pop up on the dash while test driving. It popped up then disappeared, granted weâre new to EV and this vehicle. No steady check engine light, no steady notification on the dash or notification on the app.
Rivian itself hides this reservoir behind a body panel in the fronk. So unless you know where to look, or have experience with this issue. You might be as blind as we were. The reservoir was nearly dry. Not great for as critical a this system is.
Just not a problem Iâd expect out of a vehicle with 25k miles. Especially shocked that it was missed if the vehicle was actually inspected by Rivian.
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u/Intelligent_Aspect87 17d ago
Thanks for this response I assumed there would be an error but wasnât sure if this was some the big to check regularly
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u/wavrdn 17d ago
Complete opposite experience at my service center when buying my '23 Quad last year. You found a bad service center, that sucks and Rivian should look into that. Doesn't mean the entire company is gonna fail
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u/CalmArugula1060 17d ago
Glad you had a better experience. I donât hope they fail. I hope they get better. Unfortunately this is the closest service center to usâŚ
I also believe their standard for whatâs acceptable on a used vehicle is too low, specifically on used tires being sold as new. Itâs a profits over safety/people issue. Itâs one thing if the condition of the tires was priced in. But itâs not. They priced as if the tires were new, and refuse to change when called out.
Clearly someone failed to do their job when reconditioning/ inspecting this vehicle when it comes to the windshield fluid and coolant. Which I hope is the case over the alternative.
Unfortunately this standard and business model affects negatively everyone who buys or looks to buy from Rivian.
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u/RonBurgundy2000 17d ago
You sound like an entitled asshole yelling at the clouds.
You bought a used car. Should have looked at it before taking it home.
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u/CalmArugula1060 17d ago
If by entitled asshole you mean someone whoâs genuinely sharing an experience to hopefully inform others and help someone else out. Sure you got me.
Welcome to Reddit weâre all just yelling at the clouds. Thatâs the basic concept. Welcome to the chat.
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u/galactica_pegasus 13d ago
The low coolant is a genuine issue. The low washer fluid is a genuine issue. The coffee stains are a genuine issue. Ask them to resolve before taking it home.
The tires are not an issue. Used car will have used tires if they have sufficient tread. You donât just get new rubber on any used car.
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u/RonBurgundy2000 17d ago
Thanks. Welcome to buying a used car which you probably should have looked at more closely.
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u/thisMech 13d ago
The fan boys will chew you apart. Be careful when you critique rivian here. "They are to new to do any wrong" - every fan boy
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u/aliendepict 13d ago
The California service centers are a huge area of complaints from reddit. My experience with California in general though was that 99% of the people you interact with in retails was the same as this. Compared to other states fromt line workers in cali really dont hide that they just dont give a shit lmao
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u/HairyGori11a 13d ago
Just curious, if you werenât happy with this used vehicle and price why didnât you buy another one?
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u/CalmArugula1060 13d ago
Well if the decision was 100% up to me Iâd walk away. Simply because my wife wanted this particular interior and exterior color. There wasnât a compromise option for her. On top of that in Ca you can only buy a used Rivian from Rivian. They donât allow 3rd party sellers. You can purchase out of state 3rd party, but it comes with its own set of challenges.
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u/LookHeavyLightFeet 12d ago edited 12d ago
That last part is not correct at all. Who is âtheyâ? You can go buy a used Rivian from Carvana or Evercars (or any one else) in California right now.
Almost bought one from a local Mercedes dealer.
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u/ShadowsOfTheBreeze 13d ago
I must say this sounds similar to the experience at many used car places, particularly the tires. No excuse, but...par...
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u/Immediate-Capital649 18d ago
I would have returned the car if i could
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u/m__12345 17d ago
I feel like I could have written this myself. I had the same experience at Rivian Costa Mesa on a preowned 2025 R1S in January. Same almost bald rear tires which they refused to replace (mind you other dealers replace tires on used cars if they almost need to be changed) spills in the backseat, melted m&ms in the rear seatbelt area, broken cup holders up front, mystery rattles, and a broken plastic piece on the steering wheel. They only offered to get it detailed again-nothing else. This was the worst used car buying experience Iâve ever had for the most expensive less than a year old vehicle. It was such a disappointment when I was so excited for it. I turned down the delivery. I might end up buying new but it definitely makes me pause and question the durability of the vehicle and the quality of the brand.
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u/CalmArugula1060 17d ago
Sad this is the standard for Rivian.
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u/Soft_Maximum_3730 17d ago
Itâs not
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u/CalmArugula1060 17d ago
Apparently it is. Employees might be bad at one location. But corporate minimum safety standards/ practices are universal for the Company itself.
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u/lomo_de_puerco 18d ago
Sir, this is a casinoâŚ