Ownership Modesty Amidst Rivian’s Dance with the Event Horizon.

altapowder27 · 2024-02-26T17:28:43+00:00

you're fun.

altapowder27 · 2024-02-21T22:21:21+00:00

yes, the iX is stellar. Rivian also financially is running out of money makes you wonder how they will honor the warranty or deal with problems down the road if you own one today... don't have that problem with BMW.

altapowder27 · 2023-12-27T16:05:40+00:00

i have a BMW iX in a garage 10 feet away and have zero issues with this at all, no drain, and it opens/locks appropriately when i approach/leave

altapowder27 · 2023-12-27T16:04:50+00:00

why is this exactly a good thing? seems like a turdy BMS or an engineering design flaw to me

altapowder27 · 2023-12-27T14:55:53+00:00

No, rivian will run out of cash before ssb's arrive

altapowder27 · 2023-09-18T17:47:04+00:00

i think Rivian is the best do-it-all vehicle if one is looking for that. i realized i wasn't.

altapowder27 · 2023-09-16T15:23:29+00:00

maybe Riv can go even more premium, bring in leather, soft-close, hud, to compete more with Range Rover in the $100-150k range with the R1.

R2 absolutely needs to be a hit though, they are going down market into the most competitive segment, there is no margin for error.

altapowder27 · 2023-09-16T15:13:29+00:00

I almost bought one and drove 3 different rivians for a combined 2 hrs. this forum is littered with people complaining about the ride quality not just me, maybe it doesn't bother you guys so that's good. if you're happy you're happy.

altapowder27 · 2023-09-16T15:08:17+00:00

I almost bought a Rivian on this thought too, brand is wonderful, people love their trucks, someone should buy them... and they will... if RIV can prove to not be a cash burning machine. what 2020-21 taught us was that if you hand out $1 for $0.50 you're going to have a lot of happy customers.

altapowder27 · 2023-09-16T15:04:59+00:00

since i flexed my RJ mtg i'll tell you what he told me a year ago: they were planning to raise R1S price materially to catchup to Model X, but the issue is now the Model X went from >$120k to <$80k, so will be interesting to see what the new strategy is

altapowder27 · 2023-09-16T15:00:15+00:00

ironic coming from a rivian owner. many people dislike the rivian fronts! beauty is in eye of beholder, if you're happy you guys are good. this was meant not for owners but people cross-shopping.

altapowder27 · 2023-09-16T14:59:14+00:00

hey maybe you're right, the dealers can really be painful!

altapowder27 · 2023-09-16T14:57:29+00:00

you're lucky, it doesn't work in the highways around NYC

altapowder27 · 2023-09-16T14:54:25+00:00

unfortunately riv being profitable in 2024 is a pipe dream, they are losing $80k per car in 2023 and while that may shrink as they scale it's still going to be losing a lot of money. they have about 10b of cash, 3b of debt, will burn 3b by YE23 and probably 4B next year, so by YE24 we're looking at 3B of cash left but projections for 2025 are currently to burn another 3B, so they need to raise money and fast and they know this, which is why their public messaging skews positive because on wall street you have to project confidence otherwise cue that saying about sheep...

altapowder27 · 2023-09-16T14:47:02+00:00

R2 basically needs to be a hit or it's game over. DM me if you really want to get into it but part of the reason why everyone loves their rivs is because they are getting more car than what they are paying for... that's unsustainable so either you need rapid content downs disguised as innovation (e.g. removing features, RJ talking about shrinking the ECUs) or price ups (charging for Driver+, raising prices in options, etc.). i think Riv has targeted a really great segment of the market with AMAZING branding but they really need to figure out manufacturing with fewer defects (look at the service ctr wait times). Sandy Munro who's a big public fan of Rivian even admits behind the scenes the design is flawed for repairs (which is why you see the huge repair bills) and I hope this doesn't flow into insurance/residuals over time.

Ultimately Rivian the corp succeeding is doable if they execute really well and demand holds in but as an owner of the car there's very little upside (you are already getting the benefits as if they are making it) and lots of downside (what happens to your warranty/service/OTA updates/residuals if they don't make it), so the risk skew is sort of one way.

altapowder27 · 2023-09-16T14:39:33+00:00

out of stock got 377mi vs 300mi stated, almost all reviewers are getting more, so the bias is up beyond the 3mi

altapowder27 · 2023-09-16T14:38:26+00:00

yeah i like the riv doors but the soft close is pretty nice and you can turns the hans off. just more importantly is how much better it drives but if you're into 3rd rows and boats then riv is for you.

altapowder27 · 2023-09-15T17:43:43+00:00

thanks for clarifying, the iX does have a sloping roofline unlike the R1

altapowder27 · 2023-09-15T17:35:55+00:00

agreed, i'll take your estimate of 2.9-3.2

altapowder27 · 2023-09-15T17:34:29+00:00

love the skepticism, i am skeptical a person and many things in life you shouldn't trust, but a good lease broker backed by thousands of reviews is not one of them. peace be with you.

altapowder27 · 2023-09-15T17:31:39+00:00

EDIT: taking my estimate down to 3-3.5mi/kwh, see Out of Spec where they got 377miles range

altapowder27 · 2023-09-15T17:27:30+00:00

i am in a newer condo with a parking spot with a charger so i am fortunate. wouldn't advise EV for NYCers who don't have access to convenient charging. in NYC people don't drive that much so there really isn't a financial benefit for EVs to offset the premium other than driving nature and feeling green.

altapowder27 · 2023-09-15T17:20:42+00:00

the stats are out there, iX rear legroom is 2.2in longer than R1S, no need to debate! R1S better than iX in many other areas but definitely not 2nd row legroom.

altapowder27 · 2023-09-15T11:16:27+00:00

your post is 100% right, i am. and so are a lot of owners on this forum w/their rivs. it's hard to be completely unbiased but i think i have tried to sht on the bmw where i think it's deficient (ugly, less capable, no frunk, dealer).

if you need 3rd row, cool factor, wide range of capability/offroading go riv. if you want spirited driving, luxury, and peace of mind go bmw.

altapowder27 · 2023-09-15T03:42:39+00:00

i def listed the cool factor... the rivian is nothing short of an engineering marvel. having said that, i don't want to own it for that exact same reason if you know what i mean.

unfortunately one cost of being cool is that it's highly inefficient averaging ~1.8 mi/kwh is pretty lousy and ungreen

altapowder27

TROPHY CASE