Damn...that was some seriously amazing skill! No final cost figures at the end, but with shipping, I'm pretty certain it still wasn't an easy pill to swallow. I see a lot of beat up and dented Rivians in the future....that is unless they're all driveway princesses and only driven on occasion with the care one gives the most precious of classic vehicles!
I’m confused how replacing the panel and painting is not literally atleast $30 000 cheaper Like what stupid insurance company pays for this ? Or is it somehow not body shop friendly? Just another good reason not to buy an ev?
Even if the original panel is half of the car there is no problem to cut the relevant part and just replace and weld it. This method is also OK but it's not the only way and 41k is the cost of a whole F150 brand new.. meaning ridiculous.
I’m very curious what the final repair bill was. I would imagine if it was affordable they would be announcing it. Why hide it if it was cheaper than the estimate. I mean it should be cheaper, but by how much.
@@charlesbronson7618well I don’t think you would argue that there is such a thing as a $40,000 repair. When you add all the necessary operations to replace the panel it costs over 40,000…. You can definitely argue that I can be done cheaper. No one would dispute that. I know plenty of shops that would do it for less than 2k. But when the certified shops see this come through the door they see dollar signs, especially if they have dished out thousands of dollars to be a certified repair shop. Also when Rivian only sells the parts to certified repair shops and they can make the price whatever they want it to be than any one with a brain can see how a bill for this could easily exceed 40,000. I do believe that Rivian has changed the procedures for this repair and it would be cheaper now. But when we repaired it this was the quote the guy got from the Rivian certified repair shop.
Try this on a old vehicle with thicker metal... its easier to do on new cars.. the old vehicles.. with thick metal.. no other choice but to pull bondo and paint
The fact that you could do this as a PDR just goes to show what kind of waste “conventional” repairs are. If you weren’t able to save the paint, these techniques could still save the metal from the “traditional” ways of welding tabs and grinding the metal. It’s like true bodymen/metal workers don’t exist anymore. Technically they could have done what you did and kept the repair as small as possible and basically only fill whatever damage to the paint leftover and then just blended the panel within. I’d rather keep the repair small and let them know if that fails they’ll have to paint the larger area, but there’s a great chance if done right it won’t fail.
Insurance is a scam these days, my buddy spun out in thr rain and smacked a curb, they said his truck was totaled. We changed/upgraded control arms, tie rods, and leaf spring packs for $1500 and its fixed.
I read about another Rivian that cost $32,000 after getting hit on the rear bumper, even though there was no damage. The dealer insisted on doing apparently very extensive (or at least expensive) checks to verity that this tap in the rear didn't disturb the batteries and create a fire hazard. "repairs" like this are costing all drivers more, not just owners of electric vehicles, because the liability, in even a parking lot ding, with an electric vehicle is so high. My insurance rates, with a perfect driving record for 14 years, went up 50% last year. Owners of electric vehicles should have to carry their own insurance for these insanely expensive "safety checks" and premature write-offs; there is no reason why everyone should be paying for this extortion.
