Owning a Fisker Ocean means owning an electric car without dealer support while also owning a vehicle that has depreciated so rapidly that you’d be completely underwater if you took a loan to buy it. Since the company’s bankruptcy, owners have been in a bind. However, Rivian and Chase have offered Fisker owners a way out. All they have to do is sell Rivian the massively depreciated hunk of lithium and plastic and trade it in for a more valuable hunk of lithium and plastic. One that comes with previously unheard-of perks like “dealer support,” “software updates,” and “resale value.”
Rivian and Chase Offer Big Money For Depreciated Fiskers
Currently, you can buy a Fisker Ocean for about $20,000-$30,000. It’s not a lot of money considering their $41,000+ MSRP just a year ago. However, Rivian and Chase, via the law firm Hagens Berman. Previously, the firm represented some Fisker owners who financed their purchase through Fisker Finance or JPMorgan Chase who were unaware of Fisker’s bankruptcy filing.
Announcements sent to owners state that an individual settlement offer from JPMorgan Chase will provide three options: you can sell your vehicle directly to Rivian, trade it in, and “receive incentives for the purchase or lease” of a Rivian, or if your car is “inoperable or ‘bricked’,” Chase will buy it from you. For owners who may be upside-down on loans or staring down owning a rapidly depreciating luxury EV, this could be a way out.
The Fine Print
Of course, there are some stipulations to the offer being made by Rivian, Chase, and Hagens Berman. All of the above are contingent on an offer at a “fixed price,” meaning owners won’t get the opportunity to negotiate the selling price of their vehicles — it’s take it or leave it. In each case, the firm states the offer will be “an amount equal to the purchase price minutes an amount for usage of the vehicle since your purchase.” At the very least, owners aren’t left to the whims of the free market in this regard. Owners will not have to pay the firm either, as they have agreed to waive their contingency fee. Additionally, owners may receive a similar offer directly from JPMorgan Chase.
TopSpeed’s Take
The Rivian buyout sure looks appetizing, at least from the sidelines. Rivian’s second-generation vehicles are both massively improved over previous iterations, but even if they weren’t, it’d still be better than getting stuck with an Ocean. Moreover, the offer to get out, in some cases for above market value, is a tempting one. Oceans will likely continue to depreciate as Fisker’s bankruptcy filing ages, and this might just be the best offer some will get.
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