Get your small EV dent fixed here, only $40,000

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Owners of a popular electric pickup reported horrifying repair estimates for a common fender bender

Eye-watering bills for repairs could also be a reality for future Tesla and Toyota EV owners.

• James Ochoa
• 2 Hours Ago

 

Dents, dings and other miscellaneous damage to body panels are the just some of the quirky and inevitable realities of car ownership that affects drivers of all makes and models.

Whether you, or the people you trust with your precious set of wheels, are bad at parking, the victim of runaway shopping carts or fall victim to the driving mishaps of other drivers, the replacement or repair of damaged body panels and bumpers are procedures for which owners will commonly put off or begrudgingly shell out the funds.

 

 

 

Such common incidents can result in very expensive trouble for owners of Rivian’s popular R1T electric pickup truck, as several dissatisfied customers took to social media to report five-figure repair estimates for seemingly minor dents in one vulnerable part of the car.

Small dents turn into big headaches for owners

Workers assemble R1T trucks Monday, April 11, 2022, at the Rivian electric vehicle plant in Normal.

Chicago Tribune/Getty Images

A recent video by Florida-based, paintless dent repair specialist Matt Boyette, known as “The Dent Slayer” on YouTube, showed how he saved an R1T owner a quoted $40,000 due to a dent in the truck’s rear panel by working his methods on the dent.

Similarly, Ohio R1T owner Chris Apfelstadt took to his Rivian owners' Facebook group in February 2023 to report similar damage that resulted from a rear-end collision. Unlike the owner serviced by the Dent Slayer, Apfelstadt was given a final repair bill of “over $42,000” from a Rivian-certified repair shop.

YouTube electric car personality and Tesla modification enthusiast Rich Benoit, better known as Rich Rebuilds, reported in May 2023 that he faced a repair bill of $37,475 after a rear end collision damaged the same body panels on his Rivian  (RIVN) - Get Free Report.

These expensive repair costs are the result of an unfortunate design flaw of this truck. The steps taken for the sleek and futuristic design of the R1T to separate itself from run-of-the-mill pickup trucks results in certain complications when it comes to collision repair.

“You have to understand how these vehicles are made; this isn’t a bed like a normal pickup truck, this is more like an SUV. The quarter panel […] is tied to the cab of the truck, it goes all the way across the roof across the vehicle, all the way to the rear view side mirror,” explained Boyette in his video. “In order to replace this panel, all that has to be cut off; the back glass has to be taken out, the panoramic roof has to be taken out, the windshield, the battery pack has to be removed. There’s a lot of disassembly that has to occur in order to for this to get fixed the conventional way at a body shop.”

A stark reality for future buyers

A Tesla Model Y is seen in a production hall of the Tesla Gigafactory during the open day. In Grünheide, east of Berlin

picture alliance/Getty Images

Though Rivian made use of large body panels to create a sleeker car, huge repair bills like the ones that the R1T owners faced could become a reality for other prospective EV owners, as both Tesla  (TSLA) - Get Free Report and Toyota  (TM) - Get Free Report set out to use gigacasting methods to produce cheaper electric cars in the future.

Gigacasting speeds up the process of creating a vehicle through the elimination of welding joints — traditionally done by people or robots — by making large components of the car out of a huge single casting. The downside of such methods is that damage to said components can result in owners facing the same reality of the mentioned R1T owners, where the littlest of damage can impact a major part of the car.

Mix the possibilities with Tesla’s reputation for poor build quality and you have a recipe for disaster put in the hands of owners. This is already a reality for Tesla owner Nizar Kamel, who took to social media in August 2023 after discovering large cracks in gigacasted components in his five-month-old Model Y that were large enough to jeopardize the car’s structural integrity.

As the race to innovate and introduce the next best thing in electric vehicles to the most amount of people, potential buyers should be warned about what these innovations actually innovate and what headaches they can result in. 

[Stephen Hawking]

I watched the repair video the other day, guy does amazing work. 

[SkisNH]

Priceless 50% of replacement cost for a $2200.00 repair on a body on frame pickup.

 

[800renegaderider]

I find it hard to believe you have to put in that much of the panel. Most manufacturers have sectioning procedures for quarters or unisides even frame rails. Horrible design on rivians part if that’s the case or maybe incredibly smart forces customers involved in a small accident to go out and buy another rivian after their current one totaled cause a golf ball hit the bed.

[800renegaderider]

49 minutes ago, SkisNH said:

Priceless 50% of replacement cost for a $2200.00 repair on a body on frame pickup.

 

I think it’s a rivian thing the ridgeline for example is unibody and the bedsides bolt on like a tacoma does simple job. I don’t know why more companies didn’t go the way of Saturns bolt on panels easy to swap if dinged up beyond repair.

[Highmark]

Hopefully the insurance companies make the EV owners pay and not stick it to the rest of us.

[DriftBusta]

1 hour ago, 800renegaderider said:

I think it’s a rivian thing the ridgeline for example is unibody and the bedsides bolt on like a tacoma does simple job. I don’t know why more companies didn’t go the way of Saturns bolt on panels easy to swap if dinged up beyond repair.

Also why I don't understand the popularity of Tacomas.  They're small, less powerful, less capacity and no better on gas than a modern full size American truck with a V8.  

[800renegaderider]

5 minutes ago, DriftBusta said:

Also why I don't understand the popularity of Tacomas.  They're small, less powerful, less capacity and no better on gas than a modern full size American truck with a V8.  

Record of reliability. I don’t think the new ones will get crap mpg I thought I read they’re going 4banger turbo.

[DriftBusta]

Just now, 800renegaderider said:

Record of reliability. I don’t think the new ones will get crap mpg I thought I read they’re going 4banger turbo.

Yeah I guess, haven't done any research on the new motors.  I had an 07 Tundra Crewmax, and that was actually a real nice truck imo.  My father in law had a Tacoma, got the frame redone by Toyota recall, then some lady tboned it and totaled it.  He bought a new Ram 1500 and wonders why he waited so long, its actually better on gas than his Tacoma was.  My 2500 not so much.  Amazing how differently they drive 1500 vs 2500.

[BOHICA]

54 minutes ago, Highmark said:

Hopefully the insurance companies make the EV owners pay and not stick it to the rest of us.

Really reasonable insurance. But we have never had a claim except for an occasional windshield.

[800renegaderider]

1 minute ago, DriftBusta said:

Yeah I guess, haven't done any research on the new motors.  I had an 07 Tundra Crewmax, and that was actually a real nice truck imo.  My father in law had a Tacoma, got the frame redone by Toyota recall, then some lady tboned it and totaled it.  He bought a new Ram 1500 and wonders why he waited so long, it’s actually better on gas than his Tacoma was.  My 2500 not so much.  Amazing how differently they drive 1500 vs 2500.

The rams are nice I’m just not a fan of anything stalantis. I’m not sure on the current tacos but my buds 4.0 taco got roughly same mpg as his 4.6 tundra he traded it for lol. Toyota is supposedly coming out with a maverick competitor so I’m sure that will get good mpg for the people that want a small “truck” that gets good mpg. 

[DriftBusta]

10 minutes ago, 800renegaderider said:

The rams are nice I’m just not a fan of anything stalantis. I’m not sure on the current tacos but my buds 4.0 taco got roughly same mpg as his 4.6 tundra he traded it for lol. Toyota is supposedly coming out with a maverick competitor so I’m sure that will get good mpg for the people that want a small “truck” that gets good mpg. 

Its my first Dodge product, I wouldn't give you .10 for one until the new gen came out and some of the reviews came in.  I only have about 49,000 on mine (2019), but so far so good.  Runs, drives really nice for a big truck.  I'm not working the truck, so can't speak to how well they hold up under abuse.  Other than towing our 7x14 and a couple sleds north, thats about as much work as the truck does.  I had Fords when I was towing most every day and plowing, and I had plenty go wrong with those, mostly front end shit.

Edited October 5, 2023 by DriftBusta

[Steve753]

3 minutes ago, DriftBusta said:

Its my first Dodge product, I wouldn't give you .10 for one until the new gen came out and some of the reviews came in.  I only have about 49,000 on mine (2019), but so far so good.  Runs, drives really nice for a big truck.  I'm not working the truck, so can't speak to how well they hold up under abuse.  Other than towing our 7x14 and a couple sleds north, thats about as much work as the truck does.  I had Fords when I was towing most every day and plowing, and I had plenty go wrong with those, mostly front end shit.

3500?

[Voodoo]

1 hour ago, Highmark said:

Hopefully the insurance companies make the EV owners pay and not stick it to the rest of us.

It's a mutual system, so eventually the costs are passed on the the vehicles at risk.

There has actually been some EV owners up here whining to government to force reductions in their premiums....which can only get passed on to all insured.

Same with a city in Ontario. Full of just plain awful drivers and theft.

Those that live there want to end premiums by postal code.

Seems riding a camel doesn't mean you can operate a motor vehicle.

Shit.

Just realized I'm headed into the heart of that shithole in a couple hours lol.

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Voodoo

[DriftBusta]

1 minute ago, Steve753 said:

3500?

My Ram?  2500.  When I was running Fords,  F150-F550s. 

[Steve753]

3 minutes ago, DriftBusta said:

My Ram?  2500.  When I was running Fords,  F150-F550s. 

Your Ram  doesn't have leafs in the back then. It's got coils like an SUV. Not great for towing unless you have air bags. Mind you you're towing light. 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Steve753

[DriftBusta]

4 minutes ago, Steve753 said:

Your Ram is doesn't have leafs in the back then. It's got coils like an SUV. Not great for towing unless you have air bags. Mind you you're towing light. 

I know.  If I was towing big weight, diesel all the way and whatever I needed to keep everything level.  I had to have all the ball joints re done on my F250 and put helper springs after plowing, so I know the 3/4 tons have limitations.  All I need now are killer moose lights and we got those.    That bottom one is freakin amazing.

Edited October 5, 2023 by DriftBusta

[Steve753]

1 minute ago, DriftBusta said:

I know.  If I was towing big weight, diesel all the way and whatever I needed to keep everything level.  All I need now are killer moose lights and we got those.  

Nice. My new truck has a weight sensor in the bed that controls the headlight position. No more adjusting headlights and people flashing me even though my high beams aren't on.

[DriftBusta]

Just now, Steve753 said:

Nice. My new truck has a weight sensor in the bed that controls the headlight position. No more adjusting headlights and people flashing me even though my high beams aren't on.

The new shit is really nice no doubt.  Stupid $ but it is what it is.

[Snake]

[BOHICA]

Looks like it was fixed for a fraction of the cost….  😂 

 

https://insideevs.com/news/690540/rivian-r1t-fender-bender-41k-quote-repaired-fraction/

[Stephen Hawking]

1 minute ago, BOHICA said:

Looks like it was fixed for a fraction of the cost….  😂 

 

https://insideevs.com/news/690540/rivian-r1t-fender-bender-41k-quote-repaired-fraction/

Welcome to last week.

[BOHICA]

1 minute ago, Stephen Hawking said:

Welcome to last week.

So it doesn’t take a 40k repair?  

[SkisNH]

3 minutes ago, BOHICA said:

Looks like it was fixed for a fraction of the cost….  😂 

 

https://insideevs.com/news/690540/rivian-r1t-fender-bender-41k-quote-repaired-fraction/

No way that crease by the light came out with dent removal. I bet it looks good...but no way is it factory new. 

[SkisNH]

1 minute ago, BOHICA said:

So it doesn’t take a 40k repair?  

It does...if that hit was the tiniest bit harder, pointless techniques wouldn't have worked. I will be you that horizontal crease by the light isn't factory perfect either.