Comparable to Lucid Grand Touring?

[FFT]

I think it’s safe to say the jury is out on many EVs, including Lucid, in terms of servicing proficiency. In NY, I don’t believe Lucid even has a service center open yet.

Edit: I just checked the Lucid website and I was under the impression the soon to open Manhasset studio location, relatively close to me, would also handle service. However it is just showing a studio with nothing even proposed for service. So now I have no idea where servicing would take place as nothing is listed in the tri-state area. Dispatching service vans are fine, but if a major service is required, how will that be handled? Looks like I’m making another call tomorrow.

Same here. I live in the Boston area and the site in downtown Boston scheduled for Q1 2022 is also listed as a studio only. I am curious how they plan to handle customers in the NE states but I had assumed there would at least be a service center in the NYC area that could be an option for us. Now not sure how that will work. Will they have to truck cars anywhere on the East coast down to the Florida service center? Strange strategy.

 

[Lucken]

My car is going in for service this week. They are going to pick it up and drop it back to me. Don't know specifics on logistics yet so I'll update that later. Nearest service center is 45 min away, Beverly Hills. I'm lucky though, there are 3 service centers within an hour of me. Torrance, Costa Mesa and Beverly Hills.

What is the issue that couldn’t be handled by the service van?

 

[Lucken]

Same here. I live in the Boston area and the site in downtown Boston scheduled for Q1 2022 is also listed as a studio only. I am curious how they plan to handle customers in the NE states but I had assumed there would at least be a service center in the NYC area that could be an option for us. Now not sure how that will work. Will they have to truck cars anywhere on the East coast down to the Florida service center? Strange strategy.

It is a strange strategy indeed and one I’m not overly happy with. As WildRide47 said, I really thought they’d be farther along the curve than they are. I find it amazing that there is no indication of a date for a proposed service center or even a proposed location in the entire northeast. So owners in heavily populated areas in NY, NJ, CT & MA are left to scratch their head about servicing.

We have very few owners on this forum, but hydbob is already having his car brought to a service center. My guess is the odds are pretty good many owners will need a service center before too long. I don't find flat bedding a car for hundreds of miles every time a service center visit is required to be a particularly comforting service approach.

Once again Lucid is not providing the requisite communication for this class of car…correction, for any car. I cancelled a Polestar reservation, partly for this kind of issue. The corporate office in Switzerland couldn’t answer a simple question about where cars would be serviced in the U.S. The answer was not to worry, they’d work things out. Reassuring.

 

[hydbob]

The Frunk latches are being replaced which hopefully corrects the issue with the Frunk getting stuck upon opening in certain cases. Was something they said they couldn't do onsite, because they have to remove the hood.

 

[hmp10]

We have very few owners on this forum, but hydbob is already having his car brought to a service center. My guess is the odds are pretty good many owners will need a service center before too long. I don't find flat bedding a car for hundreds of miles every time a service center visit is required to be a particularly comforting service approach.

Tesla had been selling Model S' for three years when I bought my first one in 2015. It required service twice in the first few months. Both jobs were handled promptly and right in my garage. Three years later, when I had a major problem (battery pack weld joint broke and took out the battery pack and rear drive unit), Tesla sent a flatbed to my house, hauled the car across the state for repair, and returned it a week later. They offered me a loaner but, since we had other cars, I didn't take it.

In short, in the first three years I owned the car, I never once had to leave the house for a repair, whether minor or major. It was the easiest three years of car ownership I ever had. I'm almost sorry that Tesla has now opened a Service Center near me, as I now have to take the car there for certain services that used to be done in my garage. (They still have a mobile service fleet but deploy it less for repairs within a certain radius of a Service Center.)

I'm more worried about Lucid service a few years from now than I am about it at the outset, when they're going to be all over every problem quickly in order to assess and forestall further problems as production ramp ups.

 

[Lucken]

I understand the convenience factor of having them haul the car to a service center instead of you, but personally I don't like the idea of flat bedding a car for reasons other than a breakdown. It strikes me as incredibly inefficient to have to flat bed a car to have the frunk latches replaced.

I guess everyone has their hot button issues, but the fact that I don't have to leave the house for a repair is not enough consolation for an inefficient servicing infrastructure. Further, the fact that at this late date the entire NE has no idea when, where and how their cars will be serviced is not a good thing. No excuses for a car at this price point and frankly, at any price point.

 

[hydbob]

I guess? I wouldn't want them to do that repair in my garage though..

 

[hmp10]

It strikes me as incredibly inefficient to have to flat bed a car to have the frunk latches replaced.

I guess everyone has their hot button issues, but the fact that I don't have to leave the house for a repair is not enough consolation for an inefficient servicing infrastructure.

From Lucid's perspective, it might be a much more efficient use of scarce capital at this point to build out a mobile service infrastructure than to build, equip, and staff service centers near every pocket of buyers.

Take a look at FedEx -- one of the most sophisticated logistics operations on the planet. Even if you're sending a packet to a neighboring town, it is flown to a sorting center in the central U.S. during the night, from whence it is dispatched back to very near where it originated. Although it means operating a much larger fleet of airplanes, it is still more efficient than building and staffing sorting centers in every sizable town.

I think Lucid has clearly taken the most efficient approach to service at this point in their evolution.

 

[Lucken]

On the issue of loaners, what loaners are they promising? I'd be willing to bet many (most?) won't get a Lucid loaner. At this point they can't even get paid for cars into the customer's hands, so how many loaners could we reasonably expect any given service center to have?

This is not just a Lucid issue. It's almost amusing to see the shock & awe of many EV owners who are promised a loaner by their service facility and not only don't get a like car to take home, but almost always get an ICE vehicle. I've seen this happens so often across the brands, it doesn't surprise me at all anymore...but it does to many first time customers.

For me this is far from a deal-breaker, but I think it's a good thing to set reasonable expectations for owners who probably expect a Lucid loaner.

 

[Lucken]

From Lucid's perspective, it might be a much more efficient use of scarce capital at this point to build out a mobile service infrastructure than to build, equip, and staff service centers near every pocket of buyers.

Take a look at FedEx -- one of the most sophisticated logistics operations on the planet. Even if you're sending a packet to a neighboring town, it is flown to a sorting center in the central U.S. during the night, from whence it is dispatched back to very near where it originated. Although it means operating a much larger fleet of airplanes, it is still more efficient that building and staffing sorting centers in every sizable town.

Yes, I'm sure that's true from Lucid's perspective. But more often than not the manufacturer's 'perspective' causes inconvenience from the customer's perspective. My issue is not with the mobile service vans, I think they're great and used it twice for my MS. My issue is when the service vans can't handle a service request. That will be far from a rarity.

And seriously, we shouldn't call the entire NE (NY, CT, MA, NJ) a 'pocket of buyers'. We're not talking Podunk here. How far should an owner expect his/her vehicle to be flat bedded? 100 miles, 300miles, 900 miles to Florida? This is a very real issue that should have already been addressed or, at the very least, communicated to prospective buyers. Communications are virtually non-existent.

 

[hmp10]

On the issue of loaners, what loaners are they promising? I'd be willing to bet many (most?) won't get a Lucid loaner. At this point they can't even get paid for cars into the customer's hands, so how many loaners could we reasonably expect any given service center to have?

This is not just a Lucid issue. It's almost amusing to see the shock & awe of many EV owners who are promised a loaner by their service facility and not only don't get a like car to take home, but almost always get an ICE vehicle. I've seen this happens so often across the brands, it doesn't surprise me at all anymore...but it does to many first time customers.

It can be all over the lot. One of our tennis partners took his Porsche 911 in for service and was given a Taycan as a loaner. To our surprise, he didn't like driving an EV at all. When I used to take my Audi R8's in for service, I never got an R8 as a loaner but usually an A8 or Q7.

On the rare occasions when I've needed a loaner, it's just not that big a deal to me if it's not the same kind as the car being serviced.

 

[hmp10]

Yes, I'm sure that's true from Lucid's perspective. But more often than not the manufacturer's 'perspective' causes inconvenience from the customer's perspective. My issue is not with the mobile service vans, I think they're great and used it twice for my MS. My issue is when the service vans can't handle a service request. That will be far from a rarity.

And seriously, we shouldn't call the entire NE (NY, CT, MA, NJ) a 'pocket of buyers'. We're not talking Podunk here. How far should an owner expect his/her vehicle to be flat bedded? 100 miles, 300miles, 900 miles to Florida? This is a very real issue that should have already been addressed or, at the very least, communicated to prospective buyers. Communications are virtually non-existent.

I'm at a loss to see how having service done without leaving home is an inconvenience to a customer. As long as the car is protected, I'm indifferent as to how far it has to be flat bedded.

As for rarity, in my six years of owning Teslas, I have only had one repair (the weld break) which couldn't have been handled by a service van. Tesla has local storage units stocked with the most frequently needed parts, so the mobile service people have ready access to most of what they need for repairs.

Lucid has posted in the "Stories" section of its website how mobile service will work. You might not think it's the best way to handle service, but they have communicated about it. It seems to be mirroring the early days of Tesla service, which I found very effective even though I was more than 100 miles from their nearest service center at the time.

Based on the sequence of Design Studio openings, Florida seems to have the largest number of Lucid sales outside of California. Yet, at the time our Lucid arrives, the entire state will have only one Service Center in operation -- and distances here between major metropolitan areas are greater than in the NE. The nearest Lucid Service Center to us will be 147 miles away on the other side of the state. I'm not at all worried, as I think Lucid's initial service strategy will serve well.

 

[Lucken]

I'm at a loss to see how having service done without leaving home is an inconvenience to a customer. As long as the car is protected, I'm indifferent as to how far it has to be flat bedded.

As for rarity, in my six years of owning Teslas, I have only had one repair (the weld break) which couldn't have been handled by a service van. Tesla has local storage units stocked with the most frequently needed parts, so the mobile service people have ready access to most of what they need for repairs.

Lucid has posted in the "Stories" section of its website how mobile service will work. You might not think it's the best way to handle service, but they have communicated about it. It seems to be mirroring the early days of Tesla service, which I found very effective even though I was more than 100 miles from their nearest service center at the time.

Based on the sequence of Design Studio openings, Florida seems to have the largest number of Lucid sales outside of California. Yet, at the time our Lucid arrives, the entire state will have only one Service Center in operation -- and distances here between major metropolitan areas are greater than in the NE. The nearest Lucid Service Center to us will be 147 miles away on the other side of the state. I'm not at all worried, as I think Lucid's initial service strategy will serve well.

Living in Florida you know exactly where your service facility is. Here in the NE we are clueless. You are far more forgiving than me to not be bothered by having your car flat bedded, potentially hundreds of miles for service. You may be lucky with your nearest service facility being 'only' 147 miles away. That may look as if it's 'around the block' if cars in the NE may need to be flat bedded many hundreds of miles for significant service. Do I think it's likely NE cars will have to hauled to Florida for service? No, but wouldn't it be nice if Lucid clarified a proposed location & ballpark date for the entire NE corridor? You betcha. Yes, to me this is an inconvenience.

So what's the big deal? Having a car flat bedded significant distances adds to the downtime for the vehicle (probably, for many owners, an additional 2 days minimum) and, customer inconvenience. You buy these cars to drive these cars, not have them held up in the service department or in transit. Most owners don't want to drive some unknown loaner, which you very well may not like, any longer than necessary.

As for Tesla, some are not so lucky as you. Many owners have required multiple trips to service centers to get issues properly addressed. I'm sure you've been on the Tesla forums, so you know this as well as I do. Further, it's not uncommon at all for parts to take many weeks/months to arrive at a service facility. I had to have my center screen replaced in my MS. I am not exaggerating when I say it took over 6 months for Tesla to get the properly engineered replacement screen to my service center. I was one of the unlucky owners who got the yellowing screen. These things happen.

So to me the definition of 'inconvenience' is not simply not having to leave my home. We look at this a bit differently.

 

[hmp10]

So to me the definition of 'inconvenience' is not simply not having to leave my home. We look at this a bit differently.

That's true. It sounds as if you probably should not risk getting a Lucid at this point, as their initial service plans will clearly not fit your requirements.

 

[Lucken]

That's true. It sounds as if you probably should not risk getting a Lucid at this point, as their initial service plans will clearly not fit your requirements.

That's one of the few advantages of going with the Pure. Lucid has a chance to get their act together. Although I have no real idea when the Pure iteration will begin production (does Lucid?), it's likely it won't be much before the fall of 2022. If they don't have their act together by then, I'll most definitely move on.

 

[hmp10]

If they don't have their act together by then, I'll most definitely move on.

I'm pretty sure the picture about Lucid's long-term service infrastructure will be clearer by then, although I would argue that their initial service plans for the start-up phase are rational rather than a reflection of not having their act together.

I'm also pretty sure that even a year from now, cars coming off the production line will have occasional need for repair and service. While I think Lucid has put more focus than most -- and certainly more than Tesla -- on getting a well-built product out the door from the outset, I have never bought into the line that the cars will be problem-free from the get-go. I have never bought a new model yet for which that was the case, even from manufacturers such as Honda, Audi, and Mercedes.

I have found hydbob's saga with his car thus far very interesting and well within the bounds of what I was expecting for initial quality from Lucid -- a few minor hardware issues and considerably more software issues.

 

[WildRide47]

I'm pretty sure the picture about Lucid's long-term service infrastructure will be clearer by then, although I would argue that their initial service plans for the start-up phase are rational rather than a reflection of not having their act together.

I'm also pretty sure that even a year from now, cars coming off the production line will have occasional need for repair and service. While I think Lucid has put more focus than most -- and certainly more than Tesla -- on getting a well-built product out the door from the outset, I have never bought into the line that the cars will be problem-free from the get-go. I have never bought a new model yet for which that was the case, even from manufacturers such as Honda, Audi, and Mercedes.

I have found hydbob's saga with his car thus far very interesting and well within the bounds of what I was expecting for initial quality from Lucid -- a few minor hardware issues and considerably more software issues.

I would imagine that you would be provided a loaner car by Enterprise Rental. I can't conceive that Lucid would have a fleet of loaner cars when they are struggling right now just to produce enough cars to meet the present demand of reservations

 

[hydbob]

Yes, they offered to take me to a rental agency to get a loaner while working on my car. I declined because I have other vehicles to use and did not want to bother with doing paperwork or disinfecting a car

 

[Lucken]

Getting a rental car is not an easy task these days either. That in itself will present another challenge for Lucid.

 

[borski]

Getting a rental car is not an easy task these days either. That in itself will present another challenge for Lucid.

For companies that have pre-existing relationships with car rental shops (insurance, automakers, large enterprise, etc) it hasn’t been as much of an issue as for the general consumer, probably due to contractual guarantees.