Article

2023-07-16 Economy

A Rivian EV owner was in a fender bender. The repair bill was $42,000.

[Bus Insider] 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.

Chris Apfelstadt told the publication that while he'd expected the repair wouldn't be cheap, it was a "shocking number."

The incident, which occurred February in Columbus, Ohio, was at first believed to be somewhat minor, according to the Times report, which said the other driver's insurance offered to pay about $1,600. But, after the electric car was taken to a repair shop that was certified to work with Rivian products the cost jumped to $42,000, the publication said.

The repair cost over half the starting price of the vehicle. One of the primary reasons for the high price was that the accident affected a panel that reaches from the back of the vehicle all the way to the front roof pillars of the truck and fixing the panel required service workers to remove the ceiling and front windshield, the Times said.

The publication also attributed the cost to the lack of repair shops for the Rivian R1T and the expense of fixing EVs that rely on more high-tech parts. Like Tesla, Rivian does not use dealers. The company has certified about 200 repair shops in North America and Apfelstadt only had three to choose from in Ohio, according to the Times. The company also only has about 34 of its own service centers.

Posted by Besoeker 2023-07-16 07:42|| || Front Page|| [11134 views ] Top

#1 Ah. As insurers get data like this, watch what happens to the cost of insuring an EV.

Posted by M. Murcek 2023-07-16 08:49|| 2023-07-16 08:49|| Front Page Top

#2 ...The design of just about every EV means that even a basic accident like this means you're going to pay well into five figures to fix it - if you can find somebody to fix it.

So you might say, "Well, Mike, I'll show you - it's just a dent; everything is working, I'll keep driving it. So there."

Well, that's not a good idea either. See, even the most simple of EVs - take a base model Tesla, for instance - is a sensor package on wheels that relies on VERY precise measurements and calibration for them to function. One of them is even faintly out of whack and they all are...which means you may not know exactly what's happening with your car. Little things like speed, remaining charge, details like that. Not to mention that on most pure EVs, ANY collision that leaves damage - even scuffed paint - requires inspection, or it voids the warranty.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2023-07-16 09:09|| 2023-07-16 09:09|| Front Page Top

#3 Teslas are notoriously poorly put together. I'm sure part of the Tesla PR budget is spent suppressing stories like this.

Posted by M. Murcek 2023-07-16 09:12|| 2023-07-16 09:12|| Front Page Top

#4 I still maintain Tesla (TSLA) sees $100/share again.

Tesla had to cut prices multiple times this year, and here we are in a recession with more people shopping at the likes of Dollar General.

Meanwhile, it's all going according to plan.

Posted by DooDahMan 2023-07-16 09:26|| 2023-07-16 09:26|| Front Page Top

#5 The absurd explosion of helicopter money as a band-aid on the real problems of the US economy (long predating the Fed's COVID interventions) have created a lot of market distortions that, as the economist said, are things that can't go on forever, and so they won't.

Posted by M. Murcek 2023-07-16 09:30|| 2023-07-16 09:30|| Front Page Top

#6 /\ Yes, in time you simply run out of credit cards.

Posted by Besoeker 2023-07-16 09:32|| 2023-07-16 09:32|| Front Page Top

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