- This rear quarter panel damage triggered a massive teardown.
- The owner says the final repair bill came to around $14,000.
- Rivian’s one-piece bedside design appears to be the biggest issue.
Appearances can be deceptive, especially when modern vehicle construction is involved. At first glance, the damage on view here isn’t all that wild-looking. Sure, it’s sizable, but it’s on just one panel alone. We’ve seen other Rivian owners fix similar, albeit smaller, issues with paintless dent repair. That’s not what happened here.
Despite some folks believing that this dent would cost some $30,000 to fix, it came in at under half that – just $14,000 or, in other words, the cost of a decent used car like a Toyota Corolla.
More: Guess How Much It Costs To Repair This Rivian R1T
First, let’s break down exactly what we can see in the initial shots of the damage. The rear corner of this black Rivian R1T has a sizable dent behind the taillight, the bumper is scuffed, and the bedside is pushed in around the wheel arch. It looks like the kind of parking-lot mishap that should be solved with some bodywork, fresh paint, and maybe a new taillight. In the case of an R1T, the truck basically has to come apart.
Photos posted to Reddit’s r/Justrolledintotheshop show the Rivian stripped down to what looks like half a pickup. The rear bumper is gone, the taillight is removed, the bedside is partially disassembled, and at one point, the truck is wrapped like a Thanksgiving turkey inside a paint booth. In several shots, technicians are clearly trying to save the original bedside rather than replacing it outright. That’s key because it incorporates the roof into the same panel.
Since it can’t be swapped out with a few nuts and bolts, the repair process is complex. Several panels, both inside and out, must come off the truck. Because of where the damage happened, the paint work doesn’t just include the panel itself, but the entire side of the truck to get the blending right.
It’s a huge task for what appears to be a dinner-plate-sized ding. The owner reported the $14,000 repair bill, but didn’t say how much of that insurance picked up.
That’s something plenty of EV buyers forget about at the time of purchase. Insurance can cost considerably more for an EV, especially one known for pricey repair bills. Part of that comes down to expensive sensors, cameras, and lighting elements. But part of it is also the way some automakers design their vehicles. Be sure to check that you can afford both the car payments and potential repair bills when picking up something like the R1T.
2025 Rivian R1T guess how much the repair cost $$$$$$
by u/JonjakobJinkleHymer in Justrolledintotheshop