The first used Rivian R2 is already up for sale. It’s a Performance Launch Package listed on Cars.com for $79,900. That’s over $19,000 more than the price of a brand new one, which really says a lot about how much people want these right now.
This one’s out of Littleton, Colorado, and the SUV barely has 50 miles on it. It’s finished in Half Moon Grey with 20-inch All-Terrain wheels, and apparently, it was supposed to be a gift that just didn’t work out. You get the charging cables, lifetime Autonomy+ for hands-free driving, both key cards, and the remote.
So, why would anyone pay over sticker when you could just order the same thing from Rivian? It’s all about timing. If you order an R2 today, you’re not driving it home this week. The early Launch builds go out first, so if you weren’t near the front of the line, you’re waiting, maybe for a while. But if there’s one sitting there, ready to drive home today, that skips the whole waiting game.
Whether that’s worth an extra $19,000 really depends on how much you want to be first.
Jose’s Take
Honestly, I get it even at that price. If you really want an R2 and you’re not up to order until later this year, this is your chance to skip the whole line and have one in your garage right now.
I also think this is just the start. As more Launch Edition R2s reach owners, some people will flip them, and as long as delivery timelines stay tight, used R2s will probably keep that premium. Expect to see more of these for sale in the next few months, most barely driven, most priced way over what the first owner paid. Some will sell fast. Others? They’ll sit because the price is a stretch.
If you’ve been on the fence about ordering, this one’s worth keeping an eye on, not necessarily to buy, but because it shows the R2 resale market is already heating up before most people even have their cars. That early action will shape how the next batch of these is priced.
“A gift that didn’t work out” doesn’t sound like the truth when they then decide to try to make a MASSIVE profit off of it. This is just a plain, old, money-grabbing flip. Will it sell? Probably. There’s no shortage of fools with more money than sense.
Anybody who’s willing to spend 79K for this would certainly be smarter to get a used quad Rivian R1, or a brand new Rivian R1 depending on the build. I think this person on cars.com has grossly overestimated the market for a “mass market” vehicle meant to sell for 57k at most. Just a money grab and i hope no-one buys it and participates in this nastyness.
The R2 is really nice, but not $79,000 nice. We were a early reservation holder and even though we picked the Premium (which won’t be available until December) we are trying to have it moved to the Performance.
Once the owner realizes that everyday it sits there at that price, Rivian is delivering more R2’s and within a month, that $79,000 will drop to maybe a little over what Rivian is selling it for…..not $19,000 over.
There will be a person that will buy this one….maybe not at that price.
I’m not going to justify this +19K price increase but let’s not forget that a break even price for a new car being sold by a private owner includes destination fees, sales tax and registration fees they just paid. If this were California it would immediately bites into the sellers profit by an additional $4,000+. Really can’t compare perceived profit as the price increase over Rivian price without considering all add on fees.
Whatever y’all need to tell yourself to settle your cognitive dissonance/envy/regret is fine, but someone will pay that price if they don’t want to pay and have a lot of money.
Someone or a business (content creator, competitor, design studios, etc) might pay a premium because they need their hands on it right now.
That $20k price gouge will evaporate very quickly on the used market. The person that would pay that on impulse is unlikely to want to keep the vehicle for the long haul, and will find out the hard way that the premium won’t be retained in the resale value once R2s become more available (and with enhanced features like LiDAR). Witness the Tesla Cybertruck (a really good truck, but for the ridiculous hype built up over many years of anticipation) or the Model S/X Plaid that are worth pennies on the dollar now.