Replace Brandi’s Car

Updated October 24, 2026.

Three cars are still in the running, and all three fit the garage: the Rivian R1S, the XC90 T8 (the plug-in hybrid), and the EX90 (the fully electric XC90). Your current car came back from Rusnak needing $8,912 of repairs, so the plan is to sell it as-is and buy now instead of sometime in the next year. Joe on timing: "We were already pretty seriously considering getting rid of it and could do that immediately if needed."

Brandi liked the R1S after test driving it (Joe, October 24).

Every current deal ends November 2. That matters most for the R1S, whose 1.99% financing needs the loan approved by then.

At a glance

Next steps

1. Call Rusnak with the questions on the Your car page, decline the repairs, and pay for the diagnosis.
2. Test drive the XC90 T8 and EX90 back to back before November 2. The R1S test drive is done, and Joe says we can meet Rivian's November 2 deadline.
3. Get an electrician's quote for a 40-amp garage charging circuit. Projected cost: about $1,500 to $2,500, or about $500 to $1,500 after LADWP's rebate (see Home charging setup on the Compare page).

Rivian R1S

Why you'd pick it. It's the car you named interest in. It has the only real dog mode of the three, it clears the driveway without a second thought, and it plugs straight into Tesla's Superchargers on road trips. It also costs the most to own and carries the most risk.

The deal right now

• Price. The 2026 Dual Large starts at $83,990, and the way we'd option it lands around $88k to $92k. Rivian barely discounts.
• Financing: 1.99% for 60 months on every 2026 Dual build. On about $95k financed, that's roughly $1,670 a month and about $5k of total interest.
• The catches. The car has to come from Rivian's in-stock inventory (the R1 Shop), the loan has to be approved by November 2, and delivery has to happen by November 30. The 1.99% rate is for "very well-qualified" buyers, and it doesn't combine with other offers, which likely rules out the Costco Auto Program discount ($1,000 to $5,000 off).
• 2027 R1S. 3.99% for 60 months. The only real addition for 2027 is optional second-row captain's chairs.
• Lease. $1,209 a month with $7,604 due at signing on the Dual Large. It's priced at the car's real depreciation, so it shifts no risk to Rivian.
• Our pick: finance at 1.99% before November 2, and keep it.

What it costs

About $18,300 a year all-in, roughly $92k over five years, which is about $4,200 a year more than the T8. Depreciation is $11,700, insurance $3,400, electricity $1,500, maintenance and tires $1,400, and the charger install $300 a year spread over five years. The 1.99% financing gives it the cheapest money of the three, which keeps that gap from growing.

Garage, driveway, charging

• Garage. 200.8 inches long, a tenth of an inch inside our limit on paper. A friend's R1S fit in our garage on October 23 (margin not yet measured). It's 4.1 inches wider than your car with mirrors out.
• Driveway. Solves it outright. Its 35.6° approach angle compares with 16.9° on Joe's Macan, the car that occasionally scrapes.
• Charging. Needs a 240-volt circuit in the garage: projected about $1,500 to $2,500, or about $500 to $1,500 after LADWP's rebate. Our panel should handle it without an upgrade (see Home charging setup on the Compare page).

Dog mode, road trips, CarPlay

• Dog mode: yes, and the only one of the three. Pet Comfort mode: tap the paw icon, set the cabin from 68 to 74 degrees, and the center screen tells passersby the pet is safe and shows the temperature. It needs more than 50 miles of range left.
• Road trips. No charging stop under about 200 miles and one stop around 400. A fast charge from 10% to 80% takes about 38 minutes. Highway range from full is 320 to 350 miles on the Max battery; the Large battery we'd more likely buy goes less far, so check the exact car. It has Tesla's plug built in and uses Superchargers directly.
• CarPlay: never. Rivian uses its own software instead.

Reliability, resale, warranty

• Reliability. Consumer Reports ranks Rivian last in reliability and first in owner satisfaction, three years running. Owners love these cars even when they break.
• Collisions. The body is made of huge aluminum panels, and minor accidents have produced $40k to $54k repair quotes. That's why insurance runs about $3,400 a year.
• Resale. The worst of the three, worth roughly $28k after five years.
• Company risk. Rivian still loses money on every car it builds, though it has over $5 billion in cash and a big VW partnership. Analysts put the odds of bankruptcy around 5%, and the low used values already price some of that in.
• Warranty. The best of the group: 8 years on the battery and drivetrain. Its extended plan, Rivian Care, runs 2 to 4 times the cost of Volvo's.

Self-driving

Grok research, 2026-08-30, rewritten in plain language. Not Joe's words. The full research with sources is in Appendix E.

A leftover 2026 R1S and a 2027 R1S have the same self-driving hardware, so waiting a year buys nothing here.

• Standard. 11 cameras and 5 radars (no lidar), highway assist with hands on the wheel, adaptive cruise, lane keep, and automatic emergency braking. The 2026 R1S is an IIHS Top Safety Pick+.
• The paid tier, Autonomy+. $49.99 a month or $2,500 once, and it stays with the car if we sell. New deliveries include a 60-day trial. It drives hands-free on 3.5 million miles of mapped roads while your eyes stay on the road, and it changes lanes on command. It won't stop for traffic lights or stop signs, and a camera in the mirror watches for fatigue and distraction.
• Promised later by software. Point-to-point driving, where you enter an address and supervise while it handles city streets, starting in limited release late 2026 and wider in 2027. Treat Rivian's eyes-off plans for this hardware as a company goal, not a promise.
• Never coming to this car. The next hardware generation (lidar plus a new computer) starts on the smaller R2, and Rivian says it won't retrofit older cars.

If it's in the shop

Claude's research, October 24. Not Joe's words.

The R1S's biggest practical risk is time without the car, both for repairs and after a collision.

• Loaners are a courtesy, not a promise. Rivian's service terms say alternate transportation is offered at Rivian's discretion and depends on availability. Owners report loaners only when the car stays more than a day or two, and cutbacks since the R2 launched.
• Most long waits are for an appointment, not time in the shop. The 4-to-6-week stories are mostly non-urgent fixes where you keep driving the car while you wait. Edmunds reports Rivian got most locations down to a day or two in 2026, though recent owner posts say waits grew again after the R2 launched. The real worst case is a car that can't be driven while it waits for parts.
• Insurance doesn't pay for a rental during warranty repairs. It only covers a rental after a collision claim, and only if the policy includes rental reimbursement, which typically has a daily and total cap. RivianCare, the extended warranty, includes rental coverage up to a daily limit.
• The fender-bender stories are real, but narrow. Documented 2026 cases include a parking bump quoted at $53,736, a dent at about $42,000, and a $3,540 insurer estimate that became $18,164 at a Rivian-certified shop. Most involve the rear quarter panel, which is part of a large structure: fixing it means stripping the interior and cutting and rejoining the side of the car. Bumpers and doors are closer to normal. Rivian's CEO has said no collision repair "should cost tens of thousands of dollars," and Rivian has no collision centers of its own.
• Insurance pays the repair bill, so the cost shows up as a higher premium (the doc's ~$3,400 a year) and as time. One owner went three months without the car.

How to protect against it:

1. Add rental reimbursement to the insurance policy with the highest daily and total limits offered.
2. Ask the nearest Rivian service center about current wait times, loaner policy, and parts delays before signing.
3. Budget for the worst case: a six-week rental runs roughly $2,500 to $3,500 if nothing covers it.
4. Decide on RivianCare at purchase, since only the first owner can buy it.

Sources: Rivian service terms, owner thread on loaner policy, Edmunds on Rivian service times, $53,736 R1S repair, $3,540 vs $18,164, CEO on repair costs, three months to repair

What owners say

Gathered by Claude from about 350 posts in r/Rivian, r/RivianR1S, and rivianforums, October 2026. Anecdotes, not failure rates, and problem posts dominate.

Owners love it, including many who've had problems: the ride, the space for kids and gear, the cabin, the acceleration. Gen 2 (2025 on, which is what we'd buy) gets credit for a smoother ride and better range than Gen 1, and blame for more rattles and poorly fitting doors.

• Software glitches are the most common complaint: audio cutting out, settings resetting, slow app commands. Rivian ships fixes quickly.
• Service is mixed. Mobile service gets praise. Non-urgent repairs can wait 4 to 6 weeks, some parts are backordered, and several owners say service got worse after the R2 launched in June.
• Tires wear fast, especially on 22-inch wheels: replacement at 16,000 to 27,000 miles, about $600 a tire. Rotate every 7,500 miles; smaller wheels last longer.
• Two kid issues. On Gen 2 the rear doors' manual release is hidden behind a trim panel, and one parent's kids got locked in with the phone key inside. Phone-as-key can also pop the door handles for people walking by.
• Pet Comfort mostly works, including in 105° desert heat per one owner. The complaints: nothing signals the dog is fine except the center screen, and the app has no live camera view.
• CarPlay splits owners. Many converts like Rivian's software better. Detractors dislike that texting needs a paid Connect+ subscription. A $399 add-on box adds CarPlay.
• Collision repair confirms the insurance worry. One fender bender the insurer estimated at $3,540 came to $18,164 at a certified shop, and parts waits run 5 weeks to 3 months.
• The extended warranty (RivianCare) is sold only to the first owner; one quote was about $8,000 for 50,000 miles.
• Real-world range runs below the EPA rating.

At the test drive

• Have them turn on Pet Comfort on the actual car: how long it holds, what temperature, and what the screen shows.
• Sit in the third row with the kids and their friends in mind.
• Spend real time in Rivian's own software, since there's no CarPlay.
• Find a 2026 Dual Large 7-seat in the in-stock inventory that qualifies for 1.99%, and check its battery size, since that sets road-trip range.
• Ask whether Autonomy+ comes with that car or costs extra.
• Get a written as-is trade-in number for your current car, and ask them to beat $6,400.

XC90 T8

Why you'd pick it. It's the modern version of the car you already have: the same size to a tenth of an inch, the seat you like in a fully updated interior, and nothing about daily life changes. It charges on the regular garage outlet, its 32 miles of electric range covers most of your 34-mile average day, and it road-trips on gas. It's the cheapest to own and the lowest risk of the three.

The deal right now

• Price. The loaded Ultra 6-seat lists at about $85,300, and CarsDirect's target price is about $80,800. The Core lists at $77,600 with a target around $73,100. Dealers are discounting 2026s as the 2027s arrive; the 2027 sells at full sticker.
• Rusnak's in-stock car. A 2026 T8 Ultra (Bright theme), 7-seat, at $84,795. The manager called his printout the out-the-door price, but it's the car's window sticker: list price plus the $1,395 destination charge, with tax and fees still on top. Joe's read: "they gave me their 'msrp' and if I was serious about this I could go push them hard on this price." Target about $79,000 to $80,000 before tax (a TrueCar-based report puts buyers about 7% under sticker), and lower if Volvo factory cash applies to this car, so ask what it qualifies for. This one is the 7-seat with a middle bench, not the 6-seat with captain's chairs priced above.
• Financing. 2.49% or 2.99% for 72 months (the sites disagree), or up to $5,500 of purchase allowance plus a loyalty bonus instead. The low rate and the full cash probably don't stack, so ask which applies. On about $80k plus tax at 2.99%, that's roughly $1,335 a month and about $8k of interest over six years.
• Lease. $669 a month on the Core with $5,799 due at signing, about $830 a month effective, which CarsDirect rates excellent. A lease pays for the steepest years of depreciation and leaves us owning nothing, so it only makes sense as a deliberate three-year trial of the plug-in life.
• 2026 or the long-range version. On September 15, Volvo announced a long-range XC90 T8 with about 73 miles of electric range (preliminary EPA), more than double the 2026's 32, with deliveries in early 2027 and no price yet. At your 34-mile average day it would run almost entirely on electricity. A 2026 bought now is the outgoing version and will lose resale to it.
• Our pick: if buying, either wait for the long-range version (if the current car can last until early 2027) or buy a 2026 only at a price that reflects the coming resale hit. A three-year lease is the flexible alternative, and it leaves that hit with Volvo.

What it costs

About $14,100 a year all-in, roughly $70k over five years, the cheapest of the three. Depreciation is $8,800, insurance $2,000, fuel and electricity $2,200, and maintenance and tires $1,100, with no charger to install. That assumes plugging in every night; driven purely on gas, fuel runs about $2,700 a year.

Garage, driveway, charging

• Garage. Identical to your car: 195.0 inches long and the same width.
• Driveway. Clears comfortably. Its 21.0° approach angle beats the Macan's 16.9°.
• Charging. The regular garage outlet you use now, overnight. No install needed. A 240-volt circuit would cut a full charge to about 3 hours, which is nice but optional.

Dog mode, road trips, CarPlay

• Dog mode: no. Cooling while parked leans on the gas engine, so you can't leave it locked with the AC on for long. Those reports come from owners of the previous generation, so confirm on the 2026 at the test drive.
• Road trips. It's a gas car on the highway, so no charging stops.
• CarPlay. Wireless, standard.

Reliability, resale, warranty

• Reliability. The mechanical story is good after ten years of refinement. The rear electric motor that worries us on your 2016 was redesigned in 2022, and techs now call it very reliable. Complaints on new ones are software: infotainment freezes and audio glitches.
• Resale. The best of the three, worth roughly $38k after five years.
• Warranty. The factory warranty is 4 years or 50,000 miles, and it covers the expensive parts (rear motor, air suspension, onboard charger). Volvo's 10-year extended plan costs about $4k and can be bought later (see the warranty plan on the Compare page).

What owners say

Gathered by Claude from LeaseHackr and owner forums, October 2026 (Reddit blocked access). Mostly 2024 and early 2025 cars; no 2026 owner reports turned up. Anecdotes, skewed toward problems.

Owners like the comfort, space, and power (one called it "a living room couch on wheels"), and most people turning in a T8 lease want another one.

• Infotainment and audio are the top complaint: sound drops out, CarPlay fails, screens reboot. Holding a button to reset fixes it for a while.
• Software updates carry risk. One 2025 update caused a brake defect that Volvo recalled and fixed (recall 25V-392), and some owners now delay updates.
• Two owners report the rear electric motor failing early (at 5,000 and 15,000 miles), both fixed under warranty, one out of service about a month. Techs call the redesigned motor very reliable, and two stories don't overturn that, but it's why the warranty plan matters.
• One refreshed 2025 T8 stranded its owner at 2,300 miles with a failed starter-generator: towed, two weeks to fix, no loaner.
• Electric range: owners see about 30 to 34 miles in warm weather.

At the test drive

• Have them show you leaving the car parked, locked, and cooling: how long it holds, what temperature, and whether the gas engine runs.
• Use the infotainment enough to see whether it freezes.
• Ask which offer applies (the low rate or the $5,500 cash) and whether we get the loyalty bonus.
• Get a written as-is trade-in number for your current car, and ask them to beat $6,400.

EX90

Why you'd pick it. The same size and feel as the XC90 you like, fully electric. It fits better than the spec sheet suggests (narrower than your car with mirrors out, with 2.6 inches to spare in the garage), and it charges faster on the road than the R1S. The catches are a young model with a rough first year behind it, the weakest resale, and financing that got worse in October.

The deal right now

• Price. About $86k loaded. CarsDirect showed no discount below sticker in October, but Kelley Blue Book's price-paid averages run about $4,000 under sticker on every trim. Trims run from $78,090 to $91,240.
• Rusnak's in-stock cars. Two 2026s, both 6-seat. A Twin Motor Plus at $83,590 (20-inch wheels, 298 miles of rated range) and a Twin Motor Performance Ultra at $92,090 (adds air suspension, massage seats, soft-close doors, and 21-inch wheels; 305 miles rated). Like the T8, both prices are window stickers with tax and fees on top. Targets: about $78,000 for the Plus, counting the $1,500 Friends & Family allowance, and about $88,000 for the Performance Ultra. The $8,500 between them mostly buys comfort for two hours a day in the car, though air suspension is one of the parts failing on your current car.
• Lease: $849 a month with $8,369 due at signing on the Twin Plus, about $1,081 a month effective, with about $7,000 of Volvo lease cash built in. Volvo assumes a resale value the used market doesn't support, so Volvo absorbs the depreciation risk instead of us. Three years costs about $42k all-in with tax, and we walk away clean. Buying it out at the end makes no sense, since the buyout would be near $47k against a likely market value of $38k to $40k.
• Financing. 4.99% for 72 months plus $1,000 cash, up from 2.99% in August. That adds roughly $5k of interest on an $85k loan.
• Possible extras. Volvo's offers page, as shown in search results, lists a $1,500 Friends & Family allowance on the Twin Plus for deliveries October 1 to November 2. The page itself blocked a direct check, so confirm it with the dealer.
• Our pick: lease it if there's a real chance we won't keep it long, since the lease beats buying and selling at year three by $10k to $15k. Buy it only if it's another ten-year car.

What it costs

About $15,400 a year all-in, roughly $77k over five years, which is about $1,300 a year more than the T8. Depreciation is $10,300, insurance $2,650, electricity $1,400, maintenance and tires $750, and the charger install $300 a year. It saves about $800 a year on energy, and higher insurance eats almost all of that. Over ten years it came out about even with the T8 at August's 2.99% rate; at 4.99%, the T8 now comes out about $5k ahead.

Garage, driveway, charging

• Garage. 198.3 inches long, 2.6 inches to spare, and 1.1 inches narrower than your car with mirrors out.
• Driveway. Clears with margin. Its 18.8° approach angle beats the Macan's 16.9°, and the air suspension can raise it further.
• Charging. Needs the same 240-volt garage circuit: projected about $1,500 to $2,500, or about $500 to $1,500 after LADWP's rebate (see Home charging setup on the Compare page).

Dog mode, road trips, CarPlay

• Dog mode: no dedicated mode. It can keep the climate running while parked, but on a timer (owners report about 30 minutes at 72 degrees), and nothing shows on the screen for passersby. It also senses a person or pet left inside and keeps the climate on, which is a safety backstop, not a mode you choose. Volvo's own documentation says never to leave a pet in the car.
• Road trips. No charging stop under about 200 miles and one stop around 400. About 310 highway miles from full on the 21-inch wheels, but only 210 to 250 on the 22-inch Performance wheels, which turns a 400-mile drive into two stops. A fast charge from 10% to 80% takes 25 to 30 minutes in practice. It uses Tesla's Superchargers through an adapter Volvo includes.
• CarPlay. Wireless, standard.

Reliability, resale, warranty

• Reliability. The 2025s had a rough first year, headlined by onboard-charger failures that killed home charging and took months to fix. The 2026 got a redesigned electrical system and so far has zero complaints and zero recalls filed with the government, though 2026s are still young.
• The lidar mess. Volvo sold 2025 EX90s promising features from a roof sensor, the supplier went bankrupt, the features are never coming, and there's a class action. The 2026 dropped the sensor, so it doesn't affect us directly, but a story like that weighs on used values for years.
• Resale. The weak spot. Used 2025s lost about a third of their value in 18 months. Worth roughly $30k after five years, which gives back $7k to $8k more than the T8.
• Warranty. The same Volvo plan as the T8 (see the Compare page).

What owners say

Same sources as the T8. Almost every report is about 2025 cars; 2026 owner reports were nearly absent.

Test drivers praise the ride and the quiet cabin. The common gripe is that almost everything, even mirror and seat adjustments, runs through the center screen.

• 2025 problems: key card and phone-key failures, blank screens, loss of power, onboard charger failures with parts backordered, and one owner with more than 70 days in the shop over 8 months. Volvo is replacing the 2025's core computer for free.
• 2026: one October owner review calls it very quiet but says the software and range fall short. Nothing yet from owners on the faster charging.
• Market signal: used 2025s sell at close to half off sticker.

At the test drive

• Ask whether the 2026's redesigned electrical system fixes the 2025 onboard-charger failure.
• Have them show you the climate staying on while parked: how long it holds and at what temperature.
• Confirm the two $1,500 incentives.
• Price any lease at the 12,500 or 15,000 mile tier, since advertised leases assume 10,000 and you drive 12,400.
• Get a written as-is trade-in number for your current car, and ask them to beat $6,400.

Compare

Side by side

What each costs per year

Everything in one place, at your real mileage of about 12,400 miles a year. Assumptions and sources are in Appendix B; the two that matter most are LADWP's overnight rate (about $0.26/kWh) and no solar.

• The R1S costs about $4,200 a year more than the T8, and every line contributes: it costs more to buy, insure, and keep in tires (its known weak point), and it depreciates fastest. Rivian's 1.99% financing keeps the gap from growing, since its money is now the cheapest of the three.
• The EX90's fuel savings get eaten by its insurance. It saves about $800 a year on energy and costs about $650 a year more to insure, so the two Volvos stay about $1,300 a year apart, almost all of it depreciation.
• Solar would change this, and we don't have it. If solar comes later, the electric cars' energy costs roughly halve from that point on.
• The T8's number assumes plugging in every night. Driven purely on gas, it burns about $2,700 a year in premium instead of about $2,200.

How long we keep it

The five-year table is the worst case for the electric cars, because years one through five are when they lose value fastest. Held ten years, the way we've held your current car, the EX90's energy savings pay back most of its early depreciation. At August's 2.99% financing the two Volvos came out even over ten years; at October's 4.99%, the T8 comes out about $5k ahead. The R1S stays roughly $17k more either way.

That makes the second question after gas-or-no-gas: is this another ten-year car? If yes, financing beats leasing on every car. If there's real doubt, the T8 is clearly cheapest and the EX90 should be leased. The next section runs the three-year version.

If we keep it three years

Claude's estimate, October 24, from current deals. Not Joe's words.

Cars should get meaningfully better over the next two to three years, mostly in self-driving (GM and Ford both target "eyes-off" highway driving for 2028) and in the number of three-row electric choices. Keeping the option to switch in three years has a price: what a three-year lease costs, compared with buying the same car and selling it at year three. On two of the three cars, that price is zero or negative.

• XC90 T8: the lease is the cheap way to stay flexible. It costs slightly less than buying and selling, and it hands Volvo the risk that the 73-mile T8 arriving in early 2027 drags down the 2026's resale. The numbers are for the Core trim, the one Volvo advertises the lease on; a loaded T8 lease costs more.
• EX90: leasing saves about $14,000 over three years compared with buying and selling, because Volvo assumes a resale value the market doesn't support and buying now means 4.99% financing.
• R1S: leasing and buying come out about even. Rivian prices the lease at the car's real expected loss in value, so there's no discount for flexibility and no penalty either. Buying at 1.99% and selling at year three keeps the option to hold longer if it's working. The R1S is also the one car whose self-driving may improve through software while we own it.
• The R1S buy number depends most on its resale. It assumes the car keeps half its value after three years, roughly what Rivian's own lease implies. At 45%, buying costs about $4,200 more and the lease wins.

How these were figured: purchase at today's price plus 9.25% sales tax, the offered financing rate with interest paid through month 36, and resale at year three (T8 59% of sticker from its observed history, EX90 48% from used-market projections, R1S 50%). The T8 buy uses CarsDirect's discounted price as a cash purchase. Leases use the advertised payment and amount due at signing for 36 months, plus tax. Not included: lease fees of about $1,000 to $1,500, registration, and the 12,500-mile lease tier you'd need ($15 to $25 a month more).

Financing or leasing

Current offers, all ending November 2. Run at your real mileage (12,400 miles a year).

• California taxes only the payments on a lease, which saves about $4k of tax compared with buying an EX90 outright. That's part of why its lease wins on a short hold.
• The mileage tier. Advertised leases assume 10,000 miles a year. At 12,400, any lease quote needs the 12,500 or 15,000 mile tier ($15 to $25 a month more), or it costs about $600 a year in overage at $0.25 a mile.
• The federal $7,500 EV credit ended in September 2025, so all the money is in manufacturer programs now. Re-check the numbers before any dealer visit, since November's programs replace all of this.

Sources: Rivian 1.99% offer, Rivian lease bonus, CarsDirect XC90, CarsDirect EX90, Carfax Volvo, TrueCar Volvo. Checked October 23.

Hybrid or full electric, day to day

The only daily difference is fueling. The T8 charges on the regular garage outlet because its battery is small. A full EV's battery is about ten times bigger, and that same outlet adds only 3 to 4 miles of range an hour. At 34 miles a day it would technically keep up, but recovering from a road trip or a near-empty battery would take days.

So either electric car means adding a 240-volt circuit in the garage, the same kind a dryer uses, projected below. It's a one-time house upgrade that carries over to every future electric car, so it shouldn't sway the decision.

Home charging setup

Claude's projection, October 24, from typical Los Angeles install costs and Joe's panel photos. Not quotes; an electrician's quote replaces this.

Projected for us: about $1,500 to $2,500 before LADWP's rebate, about $500 to $1,500 after. That assumes the recommended setup (a hardwired wall charger on a 40-amp circuit) and no panel upgrade, which the photos suggest we won't need.

• Why 40 amps is enough. Brandi's 34-mile day needs about 2 hours on a 40-amp circuit. A bigger circuit costs more and is likelier to strain the panel.
• The biggest variable is distance. The panel is on the outside wall; the farther the garage, the more wire and labor.
• The panel is full, so the electrician will need slim breakers or to consolidate circuits, usually a modest add.
• Timing. An R1S bought on the 1.99% deal has to be delivered by November 30, so book the electrician now. Until it's installed, the regular outlet adds about 40 miles overnight, enough for her day with little margin.
• The rebate is paid after install, so the full cost comes out of pocket first.

What the panel photo shows (Claude's read of Joe's October 24 photos; an electrician confirms). The house has 200-amp service: the main breaker is 200 amps and the meter is rated for 200. The big existing loads are the AC (60 amps), the guest house subpanel (60 amps), and the oven (40 amps); the furnace, dryer, and cooktop circuits are small, which suggests they run on gas. That leaves room for a 40-amp charging circuit, which is plenty for a 34-mile day, so a panel upgrade looks unlikely. The catch is space: the panel looks full, with no empty slots. An electrician can usually fit a 240-volt circuit with slim breakers or by consolidating circuits, and there's a pencil note on the panel that looks like an earlier electrician's note about exactly that. Expect the low-to-middle end of the range, about $1,200 to $2,500 depending on the distance to the garage.

LADWP, not PG&E. The meter is LADWP's, which Joe confirmed on October 24, so the cost numbers now use LADWP's rates: about $0.25 to $0.27 per kWh overnight and on weekends on its time-of-use rate, versus the $0.23 PG&E figure used before. That added $100 to $200 a year to each car's energy cost and didn't change the ranking. LADWP's Charge Up LA rebate pays up to $1,000 toward a qualifying Level 2 wall charger and its installation (a plain outlet with a portable charger likely doesn't qualify), which could bring the wall-charger route down to roughly $200 to $1,500 out of pocket. A separately metered charger earns another 2.5 cents per kWh off (about $110 a year at Brandi's driving) plus a $250 meter rebate, which probably doesn't cover the cost of installing a second meter. Check LADWP's site for current terms before buying a charger. Sources: LADWP rates explained, LADWP rebate guide, LADWP on the rebate.

Road trips in a full EV

Only the R1S and EX90 need this; the T8 road-trips as a gas car. The number people quote (how long to charge to full) is the wrong one. Fast charging slows sharply above 80%, so on a trip you plug in around 10%, stop at 80%, and drive on.

• Up to about 200 miles, no stop in either car, which covers most weekend trips.
• Around 400 miles, one stop in either car. Call it 25 to 30 minutes in the EX90 and 35 to 40 in the R1S, long enough for lunch.
• Total trip time ends up close. The R1S goes farther per charge, the EX90 refills faster, and the two roughly cancel.
• The plug is the lasting difference. The R1S uses Tesla's Superchargers directly, the biggest and most reliable network by far. The EX90 gets there through an adapter, which works but is one more thing to keep in the car.
• Wheels and battery matter at order time. The EX90's 22-inch wheels turn a 400-mile drive into two stops, and the R1S numbers above are for the Max battery; the Large battery goes less far.

Dog mode

Your priority. Only one of the three does what Tesla's Dog Mode does.

• R1S: yes. Pet Comfort mode holds the cabin at 68 to 74 degrees and shows passersby a message that the pet is safe, with the temperature. It needs more than 50 miles of range left.
• EX90: timer only. It keeps the climate on while parked for about 30 minutes, with nothing on the screen for passersby.
• XC90 T8: no. Cooling while parked leans on the gas engine. Confirm on the 2026 at the test drive.

Have each dealer demonstrate it on the actual car. Either way, California law restricts leaving an animal in a car in conditions that endanger it, and no software mode changes that. The feature buys a 20-minute errand, not an afternoon.

The warranty plan

Both Volvos come with a short 4-year, 50,000-mile warranty, and the expensive parts that fail (rear electric motor, air suspension, onboard charger) live under that short warranty, not the longer 8-year battery warranty.

• Say no to everything in the dealer's finance office. Volvo's factory extended plan (VIP Platinum) can be bought any time while the factory warranty is active, from any dealer, and online Volvo dealers sell the same contract for $1,000 to $2,000 less.
• VIP Platinum runs about $4k for 10 years and covers exactly those parts. The decision can wait years.
• Skip third-party warranties. Most exclude the high-voltage parts, and Consumer Reports' data shows the average buyer loses money on them.
• Rivian's plan, Rivian Care (10 years, unlimited miles), runs 2 to 4 times the cost of Volvo's.

Company health

Claude's summary of October 2026 reporting, checked against Volvo's own releases. Not Joe's words.

Volvo is losing money. Its third-quarter results (October 23) showed revenue down 23%, an operating loss of about $350 million against a profit a year earlier, and about $850 million of cash burned in the quarter. It's cutting 2,500 more jobs, withdrew its full-year targets on October 2, and its stock is down about half this year. Its credit rating sits at the top of junk with a negative outlook. It still has about $5 billion of cash and credit, and Geely, which owns about 79%, is moving closer. In the US, XC90 sales grew in the third quarter while Volvo's electric car sales fell 41%.

What it means for us (Claude's read):

• Shrinking and restructuring is more likely than collapse. Saab's 2011 bankruptcy is the worst case, and even then most warranties were honored. Volvo is far bigger and better backed.
• The EX90 is the most exposed: an electric car that depends on years of software support from a company cutting costs, with falling electric sales. Another reason to lease it rather than buy.
• More leverage at the dealer. Volvo is shipping dealers fewer cars than it sells to clear stock and running a California sales push.
• For VIP Platinum, ask which insurer backs the contract. An insurer-backed contract survives Volvo's troubles.

Rivian also loses money on every car, but had $5.3 billion of cash at mid-year, delivered its first R2s in June, and analysts put its bankruptcy odds around 5%. This month narrowed the gap between the two companies.

Sources: Volvo Q3 2026 release, Volvo guidance cut, Volvo credit ratings, Volvo Q3 sales

What's coming that we'd miss

Updated October 24.

• XC90. On September 15, Volvo announced a long-range XC90 T8 with about 73 miles of electric range (preliminary EPA), more than double the current 32, with US deliveries in early 2027 and pricing not yet announced. It would run almost entirely electric on your average day, and it will pull down a 2026 T8's resale. Reports of an all-new extended-range XC90 generation later in the decade remain unconfirmed. Volvo release
• EX90. Nothing big announced for 2027. The major upgrade (faster charging and the software fixes) already landed on the 2026.
• R1S. The 2027s are out and modest: new trim names, software efficiency tweaks, and optional second-row captain's chairs for 6 seats. No new R1 generation is expected soon.

• Beyond our three. The Toyota Highlander EV, Lexus TZ, and Subaru Getaway (three rows, about 300 miles) arrive late 2026 into 2027, a Genesis GV90 is expected around 2027, and GM and Ford both target "eyes-off" highway driving for 2028. None has been checked against our garage.

The long-range T8 is the one thing coming that argues for waiting, or for leasing a 2026 T8 instead of buying it. The rest argues for keeping the option to switch in a few years (see If we keep it three years).

Your car

Why replace it now

Your car ran well for ten years with nothing big breaking, until the October repair quote. It's ten years old, past the point where the factory warranty can be extended, and it has the first-generation version of the rear electric motor, the least reliable version of this platform's best-known failure. A replacement motor runs over $10,000, more than the car is worth. Its real value came in on October 23: CarMax offered $6,400 with the check engine light disclosed.

The repair quote

Claude's read of Rusnak's service video and quote, October 23. Not Joe's words, and not a mechanic's.

The rest of the inspection was clean: tires, brakes (7 mm front, 8 mm rear), motor mounts, and no leaks underneath. The exhaust passed its smoke test.

The leak matches a known factory issue. Volvo Technical Journal TJ 31120 (April 2016) covers this exact code (ECM-P017100) on 2016 XC90 T8s, and the fix it describes is replacing one gasket on the supercharger resonator. Rusnak's line item reads "resonator and reseal kit" at $3,971, which sounds like more than one gasket.

The scan screen in the video also showed stored codes the tech didn't mention: a high-voltage battery isolation fault, an "active discharge" fault, and an air suspension compressor failure. Stored codes are sometimes old ones that no longer matter, and the video doesn't show which these are. The high-voltage one is the safety question, so confirm it before driving the car much more.

If we kept it two more years

Claude's rough estimate, October 24, from Rusnak's quote and owner reports. Not Joe's words, and not a mechanic's.

Expect about $10,000 to $14,000 in repairs over two years, with a range of about $7,000 to $21,000 or more. The rear electric motor decides which end you land on.

• The fixes depend on Rusnak's answers. The good case assumes the bulletin gasket fix is cheap and the high-voltage fault is covered by the California hybrid warranty; the bad case is Rusnak's full $8,912 quote.
• The California hybrid warranty may cover the motor and battery until January 2027, which protects about the first 15 of the 24 months (see questions 9 and 10 below).
• The car keeps losing value too, from $6,400 now to perhaps $3,500 to $4,000 in two years, so keeping it costs another $2,500 or so on top of repairs.
• Downtime is the same worry as with the R1S. A motor failure means weeks in the shop; one owner was out about a month.

Questions for Rusnak

1. Can we get a printout of every stored fault code, marked active or old? (Claude read the codes from a blurry video, so the printout is the real record.)
2. Are the high-voltage battery isolation fault and the "active discharge" fault active? Did you run an isolation test, and is the car safe to drive for the next few weeks?
3. Is the resonator leak the issue in Volvo Technical Journal TJ 31120? That bulletin covers code P017100 on 2016 XC90 T8s and fixes it with one gasket. What does the $3,971 cover beyond that gasket, and what would the bulletin repair cost by itself?
4. Since this is a known factory issue on a car we bought new and had serviced here, would Volvo help pay for it? (Claude's idea. At ten years old it's a long shot, but asking costs nothing.)
5. Was the O2 sensor tested on its own, or would its codes likely clear once the leak is fixed?
6. Is the air suspension compressor code active?
7. Has the timing belt ever been replaced, and what is Volvo's replacement interval for our VIN?
8. What would you give us for it as a trade-in, as-is, in writing?
9. Is the high-voltage fault covered under the California hybrid warranty? Volvo's own support page gives the T8's hybrid battery 10 years or 150,000 miles in California emission-warranty states. Our car went into service in January 2017 at about 119,000 miles, so if that coverage applies, it may run until January 2027. (Claude's research; owner forums report the rear electric motor also replaced under this coverage, but Volvo hasn't confirmed that.)
10. Has the rear electric motor (ERAD) ever been replaced on this car, and would a failure before January 2027 be covered?

What it's worth

Instant offers from October 23, each run two ways:

The right-hand column is the honest one, since the dings and the warning light are both real, so $6,400 from CarMax is the number to beat. The warning light (together with the fair rating) costs $1,200, which means fixing the resonator only pays before selling if it costs less than about $1,200. Rusnak's $3,971 doesn't come close; a bulletin-only gasket job might. California gives no sales-tax credit for a trade-in, so take whichever offer is highest, dealer or not.

Selling it

Get the CarMax and Carvana offers on the same day so they price the same car in the same week. Each takes about five minutes online, each is good for seven days, and neither depends on buying a car from them. A private sale would net $2k to $3k more in exchange for real hassle.

What to tell both of them. Both re-check the car at handoff and lower the offer for anything that doesn't match what you entered. A disclosed problem is priced in; one they discover costs more. Answer with:

• The exact odometer reading (about 119,000 miles)
• Check engine light on, steady since October 21. Rusnak diagnosed an intake air leak at the supercharger resonator.
• Several door dings and a small dent near the rear passenger door
• Normal interior wear from the kids and the dog
• No accidents, original owners, dealer-serviced
• The hybrid system charges and drives normally
• Whether there's still a loan on it
• The high-voltage or air suspension faults, if Rusnak's printout shows they're active

Carvana (Carvana's own site blocked a direct check, so these steps come from recent third-party guides):

1. Get the offer. On carvana.com, choose Sell/Trade and enter the plate or VIN.
2. Answer the questions. Mileage, condition, accident history, warning lights, and any loan. About two minutes, and the offer appears right away.
3. Know the clock. The offer holds for 7 days or 1,000 miles, whichever comes first.
4. Schedule the handoff. Free pickup at the house, or drop it at a Carvana location. A rep checks the VIN, mileage, and condition, which takes about 20 minutes. If something doesn't match, they offer less on the spot, and you can refuse and keep the car.
5. Get paid. By check at handoff or direct deposit within a few business days. With a loan, Carvana pays the lender and sends you the difference.

CarMax (from CarMax's sell-your-car pages):

1. Get the offer. On carmax.com/sell-my-car, enter the plate, the state it's registered in (California), and your zip code.
2. Answer the questions. Most cars get an instant offer; CarMax needs to see some in person, and a car with a warning light may land in that group.
3. Know the clock. The offer is good for 7 days, and an expired one can be refreshed online anytime.
4. Book the appointment. At a store, or home pickup where available. CarMax checks the car against what you entered and adjusts only if condition, use, or history differs.
5. Get paid. At the appointment.

Dealer trade-in number. At each test drive, and from Rusnak, ask for an as-is trade-in number in writing and ask them to beat $6,400. Keep it separate from negotiating the new car's price, so a high trade number can't hide a worse deal on the new car.

What to have ready:

• The title, with every owner on it present with a driver's license
• Current registration
• Both key fobs and the charging cable set
• If there's a loan, the lender's name and the payoff balance
• Plates stay with the car in California, and no smog check is needed when selling to a dealer
• After handoff, file the DMV Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability online (five minutes, and it ends our responsibility for tickets or accidents)

Timing. It's your daily car, so the handoff happens after the new one is home. The offers run on 7-day clocks, so refresh them online in the week of the handoff and take the highest.

Background

What the car has to do

• Three rows. You haul the kids plus their friends.
• About the same size as the XC90.
• Clears our driveway without scraping.
• Electric or hybrid.
• Dog mode. Your priority (added August 24): leaving the car parked and locked with the AC running for the dog, with a display telling passersby the pet is fine. Only the R1S has it.
• CarPlay is Joe's preference. Both Volvos have it; Rivian says it never will. Since it's your car and you care less, it stayed a preference and didn't cut anything.

The buying rules we're using

• Avoid the first year of a new model (let someone else absorb the bugs).
• Avoid the last year before a redesign (it's instantly old).
• The sweet spot is years 2 to 4 of a generation.
• Leftover 2026s get discounted as the 2027s arrive.

What we measured

The garage is the real constraint. Your car is 194.9 inches long with about 6 inches to spare, so anything much over 201 inches doesn't fit. That eliminated the Lexus TX and the Toyota Grand Highlander. The R1S is 200.8 inches, a tenth of an inch inside the line on paper, so it got a real-world test: a friend's R1S fit in our garage on October 23.

The driveway eliminated nothing. Joe's Macan uses the same driveway, sits lower than anything we'd buy, and only occasionally scrapes, so it's the true worst case, and every candidate clears better than the Macan does. The scraping happens at the bottom, where the ramp meets the street, so the front approach angle is what matters, not ground clearance. Full data in Appendix A.

Your current car also has an Off Road mode that raises it 1.6 inches below 25 mph, which is exactly the driveway situation and worth trying before it's gone.

What got cut

Next steps

To do

• Call Rusnak with the questions on the Your car page; decline the repairs and pay for the diagnosis
• Test drive the XC90 T8 and EX90 back to back before November 2
• At each test drive, have them demonstrate leaving the car parked, locked, and cooling: how long it holds, what temperature, what the screen shows
• Get a written as-is trade-in number from each dealer, and ask them to beat $6,400
• Push Rusnak on price: ask for an itemized out-the-door sheet on each car (sale price, tax, DMV fees, doc fee) in writing, and email two or three other LA Volvo dealers for competing quotes on the same configurations. Targets are on the XC90 T8 and EX90 pages. Month-end is October 31 and Volvo's offers end November 2.
• Get a real R1S insurance quote, with rental reimbursement at the highest limits (requested by email October 24)
• Call the nearest Rivian service center: current wait times, loaner policy, parts delays
• Photo of the electrical panel (October 24: 200-amp service, panel full, no upgrade expected)
• Get an electrician's quote for a 40-amp garage charging circuit
• Check which LADWP rate the house is on; with an electric car, compare the time-of-use rate (cheapest overnight and on weekends) against the standard rate
• If we install a wall charger, apply for LADWP's Charge Up LA rebate (up to $1,000)
• Price any lease quote at the 12,500 or 15,000 mile tier
• Measure the R1S margin in the garage (room left behind the bumper with the door closed)
• Try Off Road mode on the driveway in your current car
• Test drive the R1S (done by October 24; Joe: we "can meet the deadline")
• Park a friend's R1S in the garage (October 23: it fit)
• Get CarMax and Carvana offers with the check engine light disclosed (October 23: $6,400 and $5,400)
• Research and compare the candidates (August 15 through October 23)

Open questions

• Gas or no gas? The Volvos are close enough on price that this is most of the decision between them, and it's yours to make after the test drives.
• Buy or lease? Joe, October 24: "Still probably more focused around buying, but it's just helpful to know what the option here is." The three-year lease-versus-buy numbers stay on the Compare page for reference.
• How much does dog mode matter? Only the R1S has it, so what's left is your call on how much it's worth against the R1S costing about $4,200 a year more.
• Budget check. We paid about $85k for your car in 2016. All three land near that.

Research

The detail behind everything else, kept for reference.