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Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

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Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#291

Post by astrostl »

mmooss wrote: post #149
hnburnsy wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of these car reviewers ever take into account build quality and customer issues. Example they all lashihly praised the EX90, but owners struggled for a year with software problems, then found out the LIDAR they paid for is never going to assist their driving and they need a new computer. Same with Rivian, all of today's reviews praise the R2, but ignore the troubles current owners have not just with the car but…

I think Consumer Reports does large quality surveys of customers and includes that in their reviews.

Yep. Consumer Reports' "Find a Car" page has sorting options for Overall Score, Road Test Score, Predicted Reliability, and Predicted Owner Satisfaction. I think they're a tremendous pro-consumer non-profit, and that a $39/year membership more than pays for itself by way of better major purchases.

Rivian, by the way, is the lowest-ranked of 26 covered auto manufacturers in terms of predicted reliability, below Ram and Jeep. The top 3 are Toyota, Subaru, and Lexus.

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#292

Post by Marsymars »

jader201 wrote: post #187
Marsymars wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can see my post from a few months ago where I list all the non-ICE-specific maintenance costs from my spreadsheet: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45629438

> seatbelt receptacle, a cruise control buttons, roof exterior rubber trim, a headrest, a window switch, washer fluid spray nozzles, lug nuts, wiper blades, shocks, struts, door weather stripping, rivets holding the front plastic splashguard on, headlight bulbs, headlight buffing, washer fluid reservoir cap, replacement speaker, turn signal switch, windshield repair, backup light switch. Other than washer fluid, wipe…

> I feel like you’re an unlucky sample of 1.

Maybe a bit, but overall my numbers line up with what most sources give for average TCO maintenance numbers. But really, the car was just getting old - having a couple random things to fix per year on a 10+ year-old car isn't unusual. (And my ICE component maintenance was quite low, so you could say I was lucky there, rather than unlucky.)

I think it's your maintenance numbers that are way off, "zero maintenance other than tires" doesn't line up with what any reputable source gives for TCO maintenance costs for EVs or non-ICE components.

e.g.

Consumer Reports says EVs have 40% of the maintenance costs: https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/wp-content/uploads/2023...

US government says fleet EVs have 60% of the maintenance costs: https://www.motortrend.com/news/government-ev-ice-maintenanc...

AAA puts EV maintenance at something like 80% of ICE maintenance: https://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-You...

University of Michigan study puts EV maintenance costs at 50% of ICE vehicles: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jiec.13463

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#293

Post by insane_dreamer »

gorgoiler wrote: post #153

I bought a new salad spinner recently, after having broken yet another one. I’ve had fancy brands like Zyliss and OXO. I’ve had cheap store brand models and cheaper Amazon MYSSNGVWL type stuff as well. Knowing they would probably break didn’t make it feel better when they eventually broke. Anyway the new salad spinner is large, heavy, with a steel pin into a brass bushing, has a metal handle and nylon gears in a seal…

1980s Volvo

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#294

Post by instagib »

stefan_ wrote: post #195
hnburnsy wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of these car reviewers ever take into account build quality and customer issues. Example they all lashihly praised the EX90, but owners struggled for a year with software problems, then found out the LIDAR they paid for is never going to assist their driving and they need a new computer. Same with Rivian, all of today's reviews praise the R2, but ignore the troubles current owners have not just with the car but…

I watched one of those Out Of Spec videos on an earlier Rivian and it was full of praise and raving. Then there was a later video where they almost on the side mentioned when it came out of the factory it felt legitimately unsafe to drive on the highway and had already spent days at service including a total powertrain shutdown, essentially a lemon. These things happened already in the time before their first video y…

That was the cyber truck. 4 motor replacements iirc.

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#295

Post by neogodless »

djoldman wrote: post #235

Genuine question: why are you interested in buying a brand new car as opposed to a used one given the massive markdown on even 2 year old cars?

This isn't a (totally) bad question, but it suffers from problem common to a lot of internet forum posts and comments. It lumps "people" into one shiny bucket, and then shouts at the bucket.

Over 16 million new cars were purchased in 2025 in the United States.

Meanwhile, there are about 242 million licensed drivers in that same country.

So that's than 7% of drivers buying a new car in a year's time.

But what is the point of your question, in response to a new car announcements? That new cars should not exist... ? You do realize how much harder that would eventually make it to buy a used one, right?

So yeah, sure. "People" would be well-advised to consider buying a 2-3 year old vehicle that has depreciated. Let someone else carry that depreciation cost. (But "someone" has to.)

(My used EV depreciated 57% before I bought it, 2 years old with 20,000 miles on it. It's a great way to go!)

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#296

Post by kylehotchkiss »

gorgoiler wrote: post #153

I bought a new salad spinner recently, after having broken yet another one. I’ve had fancy brands like Zyliss and OXO. I’ve had cheap store brand models and cheaper Amazon MYSSNGVWL type stuff as well. Knowing they would probably break didn’t make it feel better when they eventually broke. Anyway the new salad spinner is large, heavy, with a steel pin into a brass bushing, has a metal handle and nylon gears in a seal…

Say MYSSNGVWL 10 times fast

Re: Rivian R2: Electric Mid-Size SUV

#297

Post by darth_avocado »

freetime2 wrote: post #45
Someone1234 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People keep repeating this uncritically. There is a car-debt crisis, and wages haven't kept up with house/car costs. We have one person saying "well in Californian wages..." and another saying essentially that 50K isn't a lot of money when the average SALARY is $66K/year.

I also believe this $50,000 stat is the mean car price which is likely to be pushed up by luxury car sales that cost 2-4x what a typical car costs, whereas a median price would give a better indication of what most people are actually spending. I did a quick Google search and wasn't able to find any data on median price, though.

$50000 stat is the mean transaction price, which includes the dealership stuff that gets added on. While it’s true that it is an average, companies are increasingly not making cheaper models. Sub $30k new cars are almost a myth at this point. You get sedans and hatchback models that start in the high 20s as the base price but we all know you’re not walking out of that dealership with a base model or just paying the advertised rate. SUVs on the other hand, which most people prefer these days are closer to $40k.
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