--- title: "A Rivian Fender Bender Cost $42,000. Its CEO Says That Should Never Happen" date: "2026-06-11" modified: "2026-06-11" authors: - name: "Joel Feder" job_title: "Director of Content and Product" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/joel-feder" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/a-rivian-fender-bender-cost-42000-its-ceo-says-that-should-never-happen" categories: - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Rivian News" --- # A Rivian Fender Bender Cost $42,000. Its CEO Says That Should Never Happen ![Rivian R1T Dent]() [Rivians](), to date, are expensive vehicles. Take a stroll around the Internet and it's not hard to find a story about a fender bender [turning into a $42,000 headache](), or [$41,000 repair job]() that really shouldn't cost that much. The man in charge of Rivian agrees that's insanity and shouldn't be. In Park City, Utah, during an exclusive interview on the [latest episode of*The Drivecast*]() Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said, "There’s no collision repair that should cost tens of thousands of dollars." Listen to the entire conversation starting at the moment Scaringe talks about repair costs below. The two main reasons the R1 is so expensive to repair is the fact that it's made of aluminum and the way in which Rivian designed its first vehicle. "We used a one-piece body side, and so that means if you damage like the rear fender, the repair operation, depending on the level of the damage, you can either do body work or you have to cut out a portion of the panel, re-weld the new panel on," Scaringe said. The team knows this is a challenge, and being made of aluminum makes all this even more complicated. But a solution was implemented to try and ease the issue. "And we actually, as part of our service parts for collision centers, we have subsets of the full panel so we don’t have to replace the full body side," Scaringe said. Unlike service and sales, which are both vertically integrated and done in-house rather than via third parties (i.e. dealerships), Rivian doesn't have its own in-house collision centers. Scaringe said, "And one of the challenges on collision is you don’t go to Rivian collision centers. This is actually just third parties. And so third parties, the reason you saw some of these really high numbers, is we’re like, 'A Rivian? And what’s a Rivian?' So they they don’t know the car, and they quote an enormously high number, the insurance company agrees to it, and then that happens." Scaringe continued, "We have standard procedures, and there’s no collision repair that should cost tens of thousands of dollars. These are very unique anomalies that are a specific, you know, probably a mom-and-pop collision center has not seen a Rivian before, didn’t phone us, you know, call us as Rivian to say, 'Hey, what’s the process?' didn’t look at the parts, like, you know, sort of quoted a really high number because they probably didn’t want to do the work." Rivians aren't alone in the realm of insane reports of repair costs. A GMC Hummer EV taillight [costs an eye-watering $6,100 to replace](), plus labor. The idea of having to replace one of [Audi's new adaptive Matrix LED headlight setups]() is something most people probably don't want to stomach. And the volume of complex components that are now embedded inside the dashboard of a modern car is headache inducing. At least Mercedes is [reverting back to screwing things together]() rather than gluing things in a back-to-basics manufacturing push. *Got a tip about something costing an eye-watering amount to fix? Send us a line at tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Overseeing what you see, read, touch, hear, and interact with from the vast lakes of Minnesota, Joel Feder shapes how The Drive looks and operates as the head of content and product initiatives. On a daily basis, Joel leads the newsroom and editorial staff playing point on both short-term coverage and long-term strategic plans. His mission is to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media by helping the team execute original reporting, breaking news, and exclusive opportunities. Regarded as an industry insider and recognized by colleagues, fellow journalists, and manufacturers as a point-person and leader in the industry, Joel owns and runs the largest automotive professionals group on Facebook in an effort to serve and help others. Joel serves as a juror for the World Car Awards. In addition, he is the board chair and chair of the governance and nominating committee for Move Forward MN, a local non-profit that helps at-risk youth with barrier-free mental health and housing services. While you’re reading this he’s either on his computer or iPhone chasing the latest news or drafting a story. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]() [Bluesky]() [Email]()