Randy found a Rivian R1T electric pickup in an auction yard. It's rare to find an $86,000 luxury truck at Copart, where he scours the lot weekly. Here is Randy's rare find story. You could be next to find a hidden gem.
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You can find some hidden gems if you know where to look.
How would you like to find a 2024 Rivian R1T Adventure pickup truck in an auction yard that you could likely pick up for cheap? That's what happened to Randy, who has a YouTube channel called Auto Auction Rebuilds. You can, too, and you don't have to make YouTube videos. Keep reading to find out.
Randy tells his nearly 500,000 followers in his weekly video that he found a rare vehicle sitting between a Hyundai Santa Fe and a Mercury Marquis, which he is not interested in. However, the luxury Rivian truck grabs his attention quickly.
The rare find is a 2024 Rivian R1T Adventure trim electric pickup. The Rivian R1T is an $86,000 pickup if you buy it new. So, as you can imagine, he's excited.
Randy says, "It needs work, but I actually kind of like it, I really do. Let me tell you this: I love my Teslas, I really do. But if I had to choose between the Cybertruck and the R1T, it would be the Rivian all day long, hands down, no questions asked."
The Rivian R1T is a rare find at Copart.
Randy's weekly visits to the Copart auction lot near Oklahoma City are always filled with surprises. He never expected to find a luxury EV truck in the auction yard, and you can hear the surprise in his voice.
"That's not something you see out here every day; in fact, I've only ever seen one Rivan at Copart locally in my day. This is kind of a treat," he says.
There's nothing more exhilarating than stumbling upon a rare gem.
I can understand Randy's excitement because not too long ago, you could find me in an auction lot or a junkyard looking for that rare vehicle. My wife says, "I never had to worry about him drinking in the bars; I had to worry about what he would bring home." In my travels, I found quite a few gems in small towns throughout Colorado.
Back to Randy and his Rivian R1T.
Randy looks for the perfect vehicle he can buy, fix up, and either keep or sell. The Rivian R1T could be one, or is it? It's covered in dust, and there's a blue tarp on the top and a ding on the right side of the pickup bed. The luxury electric pickup looks to be in pretty good shape.
However, Randy quickly notices what could be the problem with the vehicle. Underneath the blue tarp, the truck's sunroof is missing along with the rear window, with shattered glass covering the seats inside.
Many vehicles found at Copart have previously been involved in an accident, yet the Rivian's airbags have not been deployed, indicating that it wasn't involved in a serious collision.
After further inspection, Randy finds a part of a tree limb in the back of the truck bed. The truck was likely parked under a tree when the large branch broke loose and fell on the truck.
Randy wants to inspect the inside, but the battery is dead. There's no way he can check the mileage, but he can see the interior is in good shape. This is a vehicle Randy will bid on when the online auction opens.
"In fact, I would take the Rivian R1T over any other electric truck on the market today," Randy says as he makes his final walk around the electric pickup truck.
How can you buy a vehicle at Copart?
Buying vehicles at Copart has become a popular trend in recent years. With the cost of new cars rising, it's a viable option if you are okay with doing some legwork.
There are two annual fee options to choose from at Copart: Basic and Premier. The Basic option gives you access to the online auto actions, allowing you to bid on thousands of vehicles from all car brands. The Premier option offers additional benefits, such as priority bidding and access to exclusive vehicle inventory. Both options include vehicle delivery after purchase and access to auction yard locations in all 50 states.
They also have recreational vehicles, trailers, agriculture and construction equipment. Copart sells over 3 million used and salvage vehicles yearly and is championed for its contactless services, encouraging online bidders. Check out their website here for more information.
Check out two more Rivian stories:
Have you purchased a vehicle at an auction? If so, click the red Add New Comment link below and tell us about your experience.
I am Denis Flierl, a Senior Torque News Reporter since 2012. My 30+ year tenure in the automotive industry, initially in a consulting role with every major car brand and later as a freelance journalist test-driving new vehicles, has equipped me with a wealth of knowledge. I specialize in reporting the latest automotive news and providing expert analysis on Subaru, which you'll find here, ensuring that you, as a reader, are always well-informed and up-to-date. Follow me on my X SubaruReport, All Subaru, WRXSTI, @DenisFlierl, Facebook, and Instagram.
Photo credit: Denis Flierl via Auto Auction Rebuilds
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I purchased my 2003 Chevy…
I purchased my 2003 Chevy Cavalair at an Auction in 2005. It only had 5,000 miles on it. I was able to purchase it for $5,000. It has been a gem of a car. It had a couple of small dents on the one side. So, it was not perfect. I always said the dents were character marks. I still have this car today. It has a couple of small issues, yet still runs great!
Purchasing salvage at both…
Purchasing salvage at both copart and IAAI can be a challenge to many. Insurance companies only have commercial shops available for the repairs of the insured vehicles they are obligated to repair or replace. Many cars are deemed a total loss because of availability of parts, or because of unknown additional repairs to get the vehicle fully repaired. The Rivian truck referenced in the article, was probably totaled not because of the cost of the sunroof and the roof,, but because of the unknown on how to dry out the interior and restore the vehicle to pre loss condition. An owner will not tolerate a musty smell after their $80,000 vehicle is repaired. If I purchased that vehicle for 20,000 as is, I would restore the damage as described for the roof and the window, I would dry up the water as well as possible and let a few days in the hot sun dry out the rest. There are many cars that I have purchased as salvage that I have enjoyed better than 50% savings on the vehicle. But if an insurance company repaired that Rivian, there would be supplements to restore the wet interior. A bit of mold on some seats can easily become $10,000 repair for new seats. Pull up the carpet and find moisture in the sound deadening padding below the carpet can cause another $10,000 round of repairs. The moisture inside the cabin could possibly be blamed on a wire corroding. I have never had wiring issues for the vehicle that was exposed to moisture. But with a grumpy customer who believes the insurance checkbook should be limitless I can understand why many insurance companies find the easiest solution is to total loss the vehicle at market value and sell it to a rebuilder who is Happy purchasing it as is and the rebuilders standards won't be a limitless expense into the future. When the insurance decides to total loss most vehicles they realize their net cost for that total loss after the salvage sale is usually going to be 2/3 to 3/4 of the vehicles value. Therefore if a $80,000 rivian is total lossed, they would sell that for 20 to 30k because that salvage is desired, and after sale of salvage the insurance loss would be 60k or less. Much better than a 20K body repair, 10K for musty seats, 10K for musty carpet and headliner, and the insurance being blamed for any future electrical issue. Further if the sunroof glass is not available on the parts Network for 6 months on a nationwide backorder, that's an additional reason for insurance company to total. Therefore there are many reasons there are very nice salvage pieces available at the insurance pools.