Owner of Rivian EV Charged $42,000 To Repair ‘Fender Bender’

When your car breaks down or gets damaged you can usually expect a large bill to come with the repair but one owner of a Rivian EV found their bill for a simple fender bender was shockingly high.

Rivian R1T $42,000 Fender Bender Repair

As reported by The New York Times (Via Yahoo!News) an owner of the Rivian R1T an American electric pickup truck was involved in a ‘minor fender bender’ in Columbus, Ohio back in February. The owner Chris Apfelstadt, believed the repair would be expensive but was shocked when the Rivian-certified repair shop quoted him $42,000 which is more than half the cost of the entire vehicle. The reason for this price was primarily down to two key aspects the first being the damage itself which involved a panel which reaches from the back of the vehicle all the way to the front roof pillars. To repair this panel service workers would’ve had to remove the ceiling and front windshield. The second reason for the high costs is the lack of repair shops and expertise to repair the Rivian or other EVs which use high-tech parts with only three available in all of Ohio.

High Cost EVs

This cost is quite poor and is reflected across all EVs at the moment. Currently, EVs may be cheaper for day-to-day running than petrol and diesel cars but in the US, the average cost of insurance for a Tesla at $4066 is almost double the national average for car insurance at $2,148 per year. These high costs for insurance stem from a study conducted by CCC Intelligent Solutions which found that EV repairs are around $2,400 more than combustion-engine vehicles.

I think if I was in this position I’d just buy a new car for that $42,000.