Cars & BidsThere are few things in this world that I hate more than people who flip their brand-new cars, but there are few things that I love more than watching them fail. Luckily for me, we've witnessed just that over on Cars & Bids in what looks to be the first documented attempt at flipping a Rivian R2. The R2 is undoubtedly one of the hottest new cars to come out this year, so it's no surprise that people were already trying to make money off the new compact electric crossover.Despite the seller claiming that he was selling the 2027 R2 Performance AWD because his wife liked their Kia EV9 more, it's hard to argue that selling a brand-new car with just 71 miles on the clock is anything other than a simple for-profit flip. At the very least, he did not make his money back, with the final sale price coming in at just $63,500. Sure, that's technically $2,000 above the car's original MSRP, but when you factor in sales tax and other fees, he certainly lost money on this deal. Too bad, so sad.The goofy-ahh seller — a five-time Rivian owner — said he was a day-one deposit holder who decided to take delivery and see if his wife liked the R2 or EV9 better. Since she supposedly liked the size of the EV9 more, they stuck with that. Here's the thing, though: this family owned two R1S crossovers in the past, one of which was a 2025 model that they sold on Cars & Bids just last year with 7,100 miles on the odometer. If size is what his wife was after, why not keep that car? Something is hinky here, my friends. He also sold a 2025 R1T Tri Max in April of this year with just 16,000 miles on it. While both these cars are a little bit too high-mileage to be considered true flips, it's not like either was held on to for very long. At the very least, he took baths on both of them. Call me a hater if you must.AdvertisementAdvertisementRead more: 5 Iconic Poster Cars That Just Aren't That GoodA deal for the buyerCars & BidsIf there's one winner in all of this, it's certainly the auction's winner. He got a sweet new EV for a screaming deal, all things considered. In the comments, the buyer posted that Rivian said there were 300,000 R2 reservation holders ahead of him, so he'd have to wait a hell of a long time to get one — it wouldn't be until after Rivian's Georgia plant was completed in 2028. (That does seem a bit unlikely, though, as people have recently posted about making new reservations and getting delivery slots for the end of this year.) He described himself as "too old" to wait for that, and that's something I respect.To the seller's credit, they did spec out a rather nice R2. Catalina Cove over Black is a really solid color combination, as are the slew of included bits that come with the R2 Performance AWD, like 21-inch wheels, the Launch Package, Rivian's updated Level 2 driver-assistance system, and the tow package. Throw in 656 horsepower, 609 pound-feet of torque, and 330 miles of EPA-estimated range, and the R2 is a hell of a compelling package. I actually feel bad the seller only got to experience it for 71 miles. That's barely an extended test drive.Hopefully they've realized the error of their ways, because this sort of stuff is shameful. Flipping cars hurts everyone (including the flipper when it goes wrong), and it deserves ridicule whenever it's caught out in the wild. Yeah, yeah, I know about freedom, but I've got the freedom to boo you in public, don't I? Thumbs down, my guy. Thumbs down.AdvertisementAdvertisementWant more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and follow us or add us as a preferred search source on Google.Read the original article on Jalopnik.
