Electric vehicle driver is shocked by $42,000 bill after minor fender bender
Heather Hamilton
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An Ohio owner of a Rivian electric truck said he had “no idea” how challenging it would be to get his electric vehicle fixed following a fender bender.
Chris Apfelstadt shared on a Rivian Facebook group that his electric truck was rear-ended at a low speed.
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After waiting 2 1/2 months for a Rivian-certified repair shop to disassemble the back end and restore it to like-new condition, he said he was shocked to learn the final bill totaled to $42,000.
“I have heard that Rivian made some concessions in the repairability in order to keep the aesthetics a certain way,” Apfelstadt commented. “All I know is that this is a very expensive vehicle to fix!”
Apfelstadt admitted the insurance of the person who hit him covered the costs but said the wait to get his truck back felt like “waiting for delivery all over again!”
Those who came across Apfelstadt’s story questioned the integrity of the repair and its cost. However, experts have said the high costs to repair EVs often cause insurance companies to total the cars instead of making the repairs, especially if a battery pack is damaged.
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“We’re buying electric cars for sustainability reasons,” said Matthew Avery of Thatcham Research, an automotive risk intelligence company. “But an EV isn’t very sustainable if you’ve got to throw the battery away after a minor collision.”
The starting price for a Rivian R1T electric truck is $73,000.