Rivian Will Give You a Discount to Trade In a Gas Vehicle for a New R1 Model

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Rivian sells two compelling EVs that have garnered a good deal of happy customers, but they’re far from affordable. At around $70,000 to start, the brand’s R1T pickup and R1S SUV are out of reach for most buyers, even after the $3,750 federal tax credits for some models. The automaker is taking steps – small ones, to be fair – to make its vehicles more affordable, though, knocking up to $5,000 off some configurations. Oh, and you’ll have to trade in a gas vehicle to get the price cut.


Buyers who take delivery of a new Rivian before June 30 can get up to $3,000 off the R1T Standard + Pack, $4,000 off the R1T Large Pack, $5,000 off the R1T Max Pack, and $1,000 off the R1S Large Pack. Those sound like generous discounts, at least until you consider that the R1T Max Pack’s price tag easily crests the $100,000 mark.


Of course, discounts don’t usually come without terms attached, and Rivian is no exception. Any configurations not listed in that list are not eligible for discounts, and the vehicles must be bought or leased through the automaker’s online shop. You’ll still have to plop down a $1,000 non-refundable deposit to buy one, and the discounts are applied at the point of sale on the site.


Finally, only a handful of gas vehicles are eligible for the trade-in offer. The list includes:

·     Audi Q5, Q7, and Q8 from 2018 or after

·     BMW X3, X5, and X7 from 2018 or after

·     Ford F-150, Explorer, Expedition, and Bronco from 2018 or after

·     Jeep Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, and Gladiator from 2018 or after

·     Toyota Tacoma, Tundra, Highlander, and 4Runner from 2018 or after


Note that those vehicles are in direct competition with models Rivian sells, so the automaker clearly wants to draw traffic away from its ICE rivals. That said, it’s unclear how much the automaker will give you for your trade-in, so it would be wise to shop around a bit before signing for a new Rivian.


[Image: Rivian]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • 1995 SC In the realm of bad things that can happen to a 10th Gen Thunderbird, the subject car of this article got off easy. This was a kit back in the day and a suprising number still pop up:
  • 28-Cars-Later I'm not dead, I'm getting better.
  • Jalop1991 GTI all the things--because the Germans do it better.But it'll never happen.Instead, this will turn into all trim options, like VW's "R-line" and Hyundai's "N-line". Lipstick on a pig.
  • Bd2 No match for N by Hyundai, the most glorious letter in the performance Alphabet.
  • 28-Cars-Later Of course they will, its just a trim. At the core its a stupid idea but if it turns a buck it would be foolish to not implement. "Certainly, a precedent exists here with the likes of BMW and Mercedes long having offered hot variants of crossovers such as the X6 M and AMG-ized GLwhatever." Who I point and laugh at as often as I can. I have a friend with an actual G-Klasse (V12 no less), that's a Mercedes. Your 'Bama special ML err GL really isn't and never will be. It may rob you like a Mercedes in and out of warranty but it lacks the panache and prestige of one, just a step above K.I.A. on the Karen scale of fakeness.
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