Lease return difficulties

[lambo]

do you need to make an appointment to return the car? where do you bring the car for the turn in, service center or sales center?

Yes, my sales advisor helped make the appointment. He had been in contact about my lease end options.

The appointment and return was at a service center.

As a bonus they had a gravity chassis on display and two staged in the delivery bay.

 

[kort6776]

Yes, my sales advisor helped make the appointment. He had been in contact about my lease end options.

The appointment and return was at a service center.

As a bonus they had a gravity chassis on display and two staged in the delivery bay.

can all of this be done in one visit? the closest service center to me is 140+ miles each way and I'd rather not have to make that trip twice.

 

[lambo]

can all of this be done in one visit? the closest service center to me is 140+ miles each way and I'd rather not have to make that trip twice.

Yes. Mine was a single visit.

 

[Leftlane]

I never return a rental car without making any employee look it all over with me and agree that there is no damage. No way I want to be on the hook for something that happens after I left, so I always wait to make sure they sign off. Why would the lease end not be the same? I can’t imagine dropping it off with just a cursory review and not getting an official printed report at that time to show any issues or that there is no damage at all - and then waiting around to see what someone else reports. Chain of custody and all - it should end, be agreed to, and be official when you drop off the car (like it is with every other lease that I have done and turned in the car).

 

[L-Dude]

I never return a rental car without making any employee look it all over with me and agree that there is no damage. No way I want to be on the hook for something that happens after I left, so I always wait to make sure they sign off. Why would the lease end not be the same? I can’t imagine dropping it off with just a cursory review and not getting an official printed report at that time to show any issues or that there is no damage at all - and then waiting around to see what someone else reports. Chain of custody and all - it should end, be agreed to, and be official when you drop off the car (like it is with every other lease that I have done and turned in the car).

I'm with you on this one. There is no way I am going to allow someone to take my car, inspect it weeks later and send me a bill for a bunch of truly marginal stuff. I hope Lucid changes the way they handle lease turn-ins by the time I do it a few years from now (assuming i actually get a car delivered to me...).

 

[FA14]

I never return a rental car without making any employee look it all over with me and agree that there is no damage. No way I want to be on the hook for something that happens after I left, so I always wait to make sure they sign off. Why would the lease end not be the same? I can’t imagine dropping it off with just a cursory review and not getting an official printed report at that time to show any issues or that there is no damage at all - and then waiting around to see what someone else reports. Chain of custody and all - it should end, be agreed to, and be official when you drop off the car (like it is with every other lease that I have done and turned in the car).

I completely agree. The return process is completely ridiculous. I’ve seen on this forum and Facebook a few people receiving $1,500 to $3,000 bills from a collection agency months after dropping off the car for damages that were either minor or non-existent at the time of vehicle turn-in. I’m just hoping to drop off the car, get something in writing confirming that there are no damages, document and video the vehicle at the time of drop-off, and finally get over dealing with this company.

 

[JoshG]

@lambo - Appreciate the prompt response.
I’ll receive the final bill of termination fee plus any repair fee (Hopefully $0 due for any repair since my car is in showroom condition)...

Good luck with that part. I'd put my recently returned (20 months) 2023 lease up against anyone's... perfect inside and out, i even had the floormats in untouched/never used condition in a bag since I was afraid of getting them dirty (santa cruz white color). Not a single door ding, windshield chip, or curb rash. Lucid employee walked around it and said it looked perfect inside and out, but his judgement was irrelevant, it was up to their 3rd party inspectors. That (and these forums) convinced me to document every inch of the car with video AT the lucid studio drop off, showing date/time, lucid studio, and walk around of the car.

FULLY expected zero charges. Well, they found this tiny blemish on one wheel and have now assessed me $200 and marked it as "replacement" for the wheel. They also called it a 1" x 7" gouge... when the photo clearly shows it's a 1.5" scuff. That's the only damage they found or charged me for.

You be the judge. (their photo, not mine)

That was all they could find, but apparently that "gouge" as they call it necessitates a completely new replacement wheel?

If I bought a USED Air Touring and it was pristine in every way except that tiny scuff on one wheel after 20 months and 9100 miles, I'd have said I found a gem.

Lucid's 3rd party inspectors must be paid bonuses to find things like this to disallow the entire wheel and charge an "excess wear" charge. After leasing proably 10 vehicles, I've never had an experience like this... turned in nice cars with a few door dings, bumper scuffs, and actual wheel curb rash and those other companies assessed nothing for "expected" minor things like that. Not so Lucid.

Will be eager to hear how it goes for you, maybe my inspector was having a very bad day.

Terrible turn-in experience. Yeah, it's just $200, but given the pristine state of my car, if this is all they can find after looking with magnifying glass everywhere, then you'd think they'd let it go, especially on the day i was leasing the NEXT $100K Lucid. Petty!

 

[FooFighter]

Seeing lease return stories like these just make my blood boils. It is also preventing me from fully enjoying the car. I just want to overlook all the software issues and enjoy driving it. Now I can’t even do that worrying a minute chip or a microscopic scuff will cost me big bucks at end of lease. Hopefully it will change when it’s my time to return the car.

 

[fisheral]

Seeing lease return stories like these just make my blood boils. It is also preventing me from fully enjoying the car. I just want to overlook all the software issues and enjoy driving it. Now I can’t even do that worrying a minute chip or a microscopic scuff will cost me big bucks at end of lease. Hopefully it will change when it’s my time to return the car.

Agreed. It's tough to enjoy the car knowing (a) you'll likely owe thousands for minute damage; and (b) they might not even accept your payment and send you to collections.

This is only going to get worse and worse as the first tranche of lease returns are happening.

I hope Lucid gets out in front of this unacceptable process and experience. Their customers deserve better.

 

[borski]

Yeah, this sucks. They’re well within their contract to do it, but it definitely sucks.

I hope they adjust it, even if it means having to tell BofA they’re going elsewhere. I have no idea if it’ll happen, of course.

But I’m glad I financed both vehicles instead of leasing them.

 

[GJC]

$200 would appear to be closer to the cost of repairing an OEM aluminum or alloy wheel than replacing it.

 

[JoshG]

$200 would appear to be closer to the cost of repairing an OEM aluminum or alloy wheel than replacing it.

I agree, especially given this very small surface blemish. Easy repair, likely just buffing it as it doesn't even appear to be even slightly deep. i'm just going by what it says on the sheet. Repair is an option but they wrote "replace".

The right answer, in my view, would have been "ignore". I have asked for an appeal of this charge, so we'll see if Lucid management (vs. this third-party inspection racket provider) has a different opinion.

 

[Pragmatic]

Considering reconditioned 19 wheels sell for $260, the repair should be less than $200.

 

[L-Dude]

Lucid's own description of what is normal wear and tear would indicate that this "damage" should be considered normal and thus be ignore. This is total BS and a huge stain on Lucid, IMO.

 

[borski]

Considering reconditioned 19 wheels sell for $260, the repair should be less than $200.

Repairs/refinishing do cost between $150-$250 in the Bay Area.

 

[Genghis]

Good luck with that part. I'd put my recently returned (20 months) 2023 lease up against anyone's... perfect inside and out, i even had the floormats in untouched/never used condition in a bag since I was afraid of getting them dirty (santa cruz white color). Not a single door ding, windshield chip, or curb rash. Lucid employee walked around it and said it looked perfect inside and out, but his judgement was irrelevant, it was up to their 3rd party inspectors. That (and these forums) convinced me to document every inch of the car with video AT the lucid studio drop off, showing date/time, lucid studio, and walk around of the car.

FULLY expected zero charges. Well, they found this tiny blemish on one wheel and have now assessed me $200 and marked it as "replacement" for the wheel. They also called it a 1" x 7" gouge... when the photo clearly shows it's a 1.5" scuff. That's the only damage they found or charged me for.

You be the judge. (their photo, not mine)
View attachment 30489

View attachment 30490

That was all they could find, but apparently that "gouge" as they call it necessitates a completely new replacement wheel?

If I bought a USED Air Touring and it was pristine in every way except that tiny scuff on one wheel after 20 months and 9100 miles, I'd have said I found a gem.

Lucid's 3rd party inspectors must be paid bonuses to find things like this to disallow the entire wheel and charge an "excess wear" charge. After leasing proably 10 vehicles, I've never had an experience like this... turned in nice cars with a few door dings, bumper scuffs, and actual wheel curb rash and those other companies assessed nothing for "expected" minor things like that. Not so Lucid.

Will be eager to hear how it goes for you, maybe my inspector was having a very bad day.

Terrible turn-in experience. Yeah, it's just $200, but given the pristine state of my car, if this is all they can find after looking with magnifying glass everywhere, then you'd think they'd let it go, especially on the day i was leasing the NEXT $100K Lucid. Petty!

Wow, this really is petty. I mostly buy my cars but have leased a couple before. If I experienced this on my two previous lease returns, I would actually not consider leasing that brand again. It’s not even about the dollar amount or who actually did the return assessment, but the idea that they would ding you for every little thing as beyond normal wear and tear during the time of the lease. This is not how you build brand loyalty or get return customers. It would just leave such a sour taste in my mouth at the end of what would have been a really good experience.

 

[Batteryman]

Good luck with that part. I'd put my recently returned (20 months) 2023 lease up against anyone's... perfect inside and out, i even had the floormats in untouched/never used condition in a bag since I was afraid of getting them dirty (santa cruz white color). Not a single door ding, windshield chip, or curb rash. Lucid employee walked around it and said it looked perfect inside and out, but his judgement was irrelevant, it was up to their 3rd party inspectors. That (and these forums) convinced me to document every inch of the car with video AT the lucid studio drop off, showing date/time, lucid studio, and walk around of the car.

FULLY expected zero charges. Well, they found this tiny blemish on one wheel and have now assessed me $200 and marked it as "replacement" for the wheel. They also called it a 1" x 7" gouge... when the photo clearly shows it's a 1.5" scuff. That's the only damage they found or charged me for.

You be the judge. (their photo, not mine)
View attachment 30489

View attachment 30490

That was all they could find, but apparently that "gouge" as they call it necessitates a completely new replacement wheel?

If I bought a USED Air Touring and it was pristine in every way except that tiny scuff on one wheel after 20 months and 9100 miles, I'd have said I found a gem.

Lucid's 3rd party inspectors must be paid bonuses to find things like this to disallow the entire wheel and charge an "excess wear" charge. After leasing proably 10 vehicles, I've never had an experience like this... turned in nice cars with a few door dings, bumper scuffs, and actual wheel curb rash and those other companies assessed nothing for "expected" minor things like that. Not so Lucid.

Will be eager to hear how it goes for you, maybe my inspector was having a very bad day.

Terrible turn-in experience. Yeah, it's just $200, but given the pristine state of my car, if this is all they can find after looking with magnifying glass everywhere, then you'd think they'd let it go, especially on the day i was leasing the NEXT $100K Lucid. Petty!

$200 doesn’t replace the wheel. More likely amount it would cost to fix the wheel.

Damage is damage. Perfectly acceptable to bill you for it.

This is the drawback about leasing. I always buy my cars, less stressful and no need to baby the car.

 

[Batteryman]

Seeing lease return stories like these just make my blood boils. It is also preventing me from fully enjoying the car. I just want to overlook all the software issues and enjoy driving it. Now I can’t even do that worrying a minute chip or a microscopic scuff will cost me big bucks at end of lease. Hopefully it will change when it’s my time to return the car.

Damage is damage……

 

[L-Dude]

$200 doesn’t replace the wheel. More likely amount it would cost to fix the wheel.

Damage is damage. Perfectly acceptable to bill you for it.

This is the drawback about leasing. I always buy my cars, less stressful and no need to baby the car.

You are acting like a 3 year old cars is supposed to be perfect. A car is expected to have normal wear and tear. After 36,000 miles on the road, this should be considered normal wear and tear. Lucid's own description of excessive wear and tear doesn't even mention this kind of tiny imperfection.