Rivian Owner Shocked By $41,000 Repair Bill For Minor Damage

Rivian R1T pickup owners should be wary of even minor fender benders, as the vehicle’s complex design could result in a massive repair bill. 

EV blog InsideEVs says the owner of a Rivian R1T pickup in North Carolina was recently quoted $41,000 – nearly half the value of the vehicle – to fix a minor dent on the driverside rear panel bumper

$41,000 to fix this?! 

“So the owner did a bit of research and came across Matt Boyette, who runs All Out Paintless Dent Removal in Jacksonville, Florida, and decided to ship his EV 500 miles south to try and get the damaged rear end fixed,” InsideEVs said. 

“These vehicle are very difficult to work on due to the limited access to the backside of the damage. We were able to repair the dent using paintless dent removal and maintain the factory parts and finish, as well as prevent a stain on the carfax. We had the vehicle in our possession for 3 days, which is a way better cycle time, than it sitting in a body shop for possibly a month or more,” Boyette from All Out Paintless Dent Removal wrote in a YouTube video description.

Instead of $41,000 and half the truck torn apart, InsideEVs noted that a “repair like this usually costs between $3,000 and $7,000, so between 7 and 17 percent of the original quote.” 

Boyette said, “I’m definitely expecting to see more Rivians. Since the video went viral, which is now at almost 8 million views, I’ve had numerous people reach out to me from all over the country in need of similar repairs.”

In July, another Rivian R1T pickup owner was quoted $42,000 for a minor accident. 

Auto experts have said repairing EVs is more expensive than fixing gasoline vehicles. We penned a note in March titled Not ESG-Friendly: Insurers Junk Entire EVs For Minor Accidents. It only takes one minor accident to damage a battery pack, and if that occurs, it must be replaced at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars. 

Are EVs even worth it?