Damage from an entry gate, $20,000 repair!!! (local certified Lucid shop.)

[Absparky]

Hello all,
I've just discovered this forum and from what I'm reading - I belong here.
This, according to the only Lucid certified body shop near me, is a $20,000 repair!!
The damaged was caused by a entrance gate that attempted to close while I was driving through it.
The damage looks like a simple body shop, run of the mill, scratches & paint - right?

Nope, I was told the right fender was not repairable and needed to be replaced. Ok I get that.

But additionally, to get the fender off, they have to take off adjacent panels in order to get to the panel - ok that seems reasonable...
At this time I am told that anytime a panel is removed from the factory installation, those panels also have to be REPLACED, due to
the 'one use only' pressure clips built onto each panel - they have not successfully been able to re-use a panel that they have taken off?
So now the estimate removes & replaces with new the following: Rear Bumper, Quarter Panel, Trim, Applique, C-Pillar Flag, Cantrail Sub assembly,
Rear Door,Interior Trim, Belt Moulding, Rear Door Handle, Inner trim Panels, door glass, margin seal, door shade, door seal. decklid panel,
Air Badge -deckledge, replace Rt Rear Tire, Flatbed tow to dealership, dealer recailibration, Match to existing 4 step paint. And more....???

All to fix scratches to the car caused by an over zealous entrance gate!

I smell BS.

Comments?

 

[Absparky]

Not to mention having the car flagged via carfax going forward.
THe price tag now is $20k PLUS the ding on carfax...

 

[Alex]

I would have them just fill/repair and repaint the arch area only - in place.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Hello all,
I've just discovered this forum and from what I'm reading - I belong here.
This, according to the only Lucid certified body shop near me, is a $20,000 repair!!
The damaged was caused by a entrance gate that attempted to close while I was driving through it.
The damage looks like a simple body shop, run of the mill, scratches & paint - right?

Nope, I was told the right fender was not repairable and needed to be replaced. Ok I get that.

But additionally, to get the fender off, they have to take off adjacent panels in order to get to the panel - ok that seems reasonable...
At this time I am told that anytime a panel is removed from the factory installation, those panels also have to be REPLACED, due to
the 'one use only' pressure clips built onto each panel - they have not successfully been able to re-use a panel that they have taken off?
So now the estimate removes & replaces with new the following: Rear Bumper, Quarter Panel, Trim, Applique, C-Pillar Flag, Cantrail Sub assembly,
Rear Door,Interior Trim, Belt Moulding, Rear Door Handle, Inner trim Panels, door glass, margin seal, door shade, door seal. decklid panel,
Air Badge -deckledge, replace Rt Rear Tire, Flatbed tow to dealership, dealer recailibration, Match to existing 4 step paint. And more....???

All to fix scratches to the car caused by an over zealous entrance gate!

I smell BS.

Comments?

If they are not BSing you, building the car with one time only pressure clips that require panel replacements is a very bad design choice. But it seems hard to believe that Lucid really did that.

 

[AustinAir]

That is crazy!!

 

[borski]

If they are not BSing you, building the car with one time only pressure clips that require panel replacements is a very bad design choice. But it seems hard to believe that Lucid really did that.

There are definitely some spots in which that’s the case, and they did it intentionally; specifically, the pillar trim on the inside is a good example; the airbags are behind it and those panels are built to let the airbag through; if the one time clips are reused, it may not do that properly.

As with everything, there is usually a reason for things. This is a great example of Chesterton’s Fence:

The gate or fence did not grow there. It was not set up by somnambulists who built it in their sleep. It is highly improbable that it was put there by escaped lunatics who were for some reason loose in the street. Some person had some reason for thinking it would be a good thing for somebody. And until we know what the reason was, we really cannot judge whether the reason was reasonable. It is extremely probable that we have overlooked some whole aspect of the question, if something set up by human beings like ourselves seems to be entirely meaningless and mysterious. — G. K. Chesterton, The Drift From Domesticity

Moreover:

A few years ago I was rebuilding a bathroom in our house, and there was a vertical stud that was in the way. I could easily tell why it was there: it was part of a partition for a closet. And since I knew its designed purpose and no longer needed it for that anymore, the Chesterton's Fence framing would suggest that it was fine to remove it. Except that over time it had become accidentally load bearing: through other (ill conceived) changes to the structure this stud was now helping hold up the second floor of the house. In addition to considering why something was created, you also need to consider what additional purposes it may have since come to serve.

This is a concept I've run into a lot when making changes to complex computer systems. It's useful to look back through the change history, read original design documents, and understand why a component was built the way it was. But you also need to look closely at how the component integrates into the system today, where it can easily have taken on additional roles.

(From https://www.jefftk.com/p/accidentally-load-bearing)

Basically, I’m certain they didn’t use one-time-use clips for no reason. That said, I’m also not certain that the solution wouldn’t be just to replace the new clips - with the pillar trim, that’s exactly the solution; you don’t reuse the clips, you replace the clips. But you don’t need to replace the entire trim piece. I smell BS, because I doubt the clips were *built into the piece*.

Maybe call Lucid and ask them to look into it?

 

[Tesla2.0]

Sometimes, ridiculous quote are made to steering away business on purpose.

 

[EVSRCali]

Hello all,
I've just discovered this forum and from what I'm reading - I belong here.
This, according to the only Lucid certified body shop near me, is a $20,000 repair!!
The damaged was caused by a entrance gate that attempted to close while I was driving through it.
The damage looks like a simple body shop, run of the mill, scratches & paint - right?

Nope, I was told the right fender was not repairable and needed to be replaced. Ok I get that.

But additionally, to get the fender off, they have to take off adjacent panels in order to get to the panel - ok that seems reasonable...
At this time I am told that anytime a panel is removed from the factory installation, those panels also have to be REPLACED, due to
the 'one use only' pressure clips built onto each panel - they have not successfully been able to re-use a panel that they have taken off?
So now the estimate removes & replaces with new the following: Rear Bumper, Quarter Panel, Trim, Applique, C-Pillar Flag, Cantrail Sub assembly,
Rear Door,Interior Trim, Belt Moulding, Rear Door Handle, Inner trim Panels, door glass, margin seal, door shade, door seal. decklid panel,
Air Badge -deckledge, replace Rt Rear Tire, Flatbed tow to dealership, dealer recailibration, Match to existing 4 step paint. And more....???

All to fix scratches to the car caused by an over zealous entrance gate!

I smell BS.

Comments?

search youtube for self repair paint. should be DIY job. Look up 2k sealent on amazon. If you can find a can of matching paint for first coat no biggie. Finish by a 2k spray. Prep will take time for masking etc. Should be less than $500.

 

[DreamTour]

search youtube for self repair paint. should be DIY job. Look up 2k sealent on amazon. If you can find a can of matching paint for first coat no biggie. Finish by a 2k spray. Prep will take time for masking etc. Should be less than $500.

Not sure i'd trust myself to make it look nice given the zenith red is a 4 layer with a tinted clearcoat. But nonetheless, a decent body shop should be able to make it look new for a lot less than 20k.

Did they say why the fender is not repairable? I get aluminum, but i've had teslas filled and repainted for similar damage.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

It depends on if the panel was deformed or not underneath. The repair on my front bumper was $19K, as it popped out the light bar on one side, needed full bumper and R wheel replacement, light bar replacement and sensor replacement and recalibration. While this is a shocking amount of money (I had a similar repair on a Mercedes that was $5K, minus the light bar), the Lucid certified shops seem to be universally similar in their pricing and the fact that these repairs as mandated by Lucid itself are very intricate and time consuming. When the warranty on my car is done future dings will be sorted out by some other body shops but as long as insurance is paying I’ll stick with the Lucid shop because they do do excellent work, but at an eye watering Aston Martin level price. For reference Rivians are no different, in fact many Rivian body damage repair quotes I’ve seen are more than Lucid, and that’s a less expensive car.

 

[Absparky]

There are definitely some spots in which that’s the case, and they did it intentionally; specifically, the pillar trim on the inside is a good example; the airbags are behind it and those panels are built to let the airbag through; if the one time clips are reused, it may not do that properly.

As with everything, there is usually a reason for things. This is a great example of Chesterton’s Fence:

Moreover:

(From https://www.jefftk.com/p/accidentally-load-bearing)

Basically, I’m certain they didn’t use one-time-use clips for no reason. That said, I’m also not certain that the solution wouldn’t be just to replace the new clips - with the pillar trim, that’s exactly the solution; you don’t reuse the clips, you replace the clips. But you don’t need to replace the entire trim piece. I smell BS, because I doubt the clips were *built into the piece*.

Maybe call Lucid and ask them to look into it?

Thanks for the response - I did call Lucid, it was their customer service number. I explained what had taken place & essentially was dismissed to 2 options:
Travel over 2 hours away to another Lucid certified body shop for comparison OR 2nd option - Welcome to the world of luxury cars ????? The agent says this is how Lucid engineers designed
the vehicle to make tthese repairs simple - Pop off & pop on.

Can you steer me towards someone who might care about the ownership experience?
Customer service seemed to be an oxymoron with the help I received...

 

[Absparky]

Not sure i'd trust myself to make it look nice given the zenith red is a 4 layer with a tinted clearcoat. But nonetheless, a decent body shop should be able to make it look new for a lot less than 20k.

Did they say why the fender is not repairable? I get aluminum, but i've had teslas filled and repainted for similar damage.

Thanks for the response - they did not say why. They immediately started racking up a parts list based upon their experience with similar right rear damaged panels and their experience with one use clips.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

Well I don’t think they’re going to steer you to a non-Lucid certified shop for a second estimate. Their shops are inspected by Lucid every 3 months, they have to meet very specific standards down to the type of lighting used, the mechanics train for months to work on the cars so that makes the labor expensive, and there’s no alternate parts source so the parts are expensive. I’m not sure what you’re expecting, but if you think that shop is ripping off your insurance company and doing unnecessary repairs then you could ask the Lucid service center to assess the damage. The service centers aren’t allowed to do most body repairs though, only the certified shops, so they may not even fully understand what needs replaced. It’s hard to tell from pics if that’s just a patch and paint job and not a bumper and panel replacement.

 

[Absparky]

I am not mechanically inclined , in regards to determining 'patch & paint'
does this help

 

[joec]

Unfortunately I don’t think they are BSing you. But get that second opinion if you want to be sure. Sucks that it’s so inconvenient to find out. But my guess is the second place is going to quote you a similar price.

 

[Absparky]

it's not the damage that irks me as much as the principle. My concern is given the track record of similar small repairs that escalate to $14k to $20k
due to using 'single use clips' insurance companies will raise premiums to all Lucid owners as they're expensive to repair. Here in Florida, we got insurance companies
running away from insuring homes, not only because of hurricane related damage, but also due to public adjusters who turn an under the sink leak into complete kitchen replacement -
using a similar tactic.

Sorry, that's off topic but an accurate assessment of the current state of the Insurance industry in Florida.

 

[DreamTour]

Oh the panel is ripped. I thought it was just dented from the other image.

I can see how it gets up there then. Patch and paint for a high end car i would have thought is a ~5k job, but if they have to remove the entire quarter panel, repaint it, blend it into the bumper I can see how it gets to 5 digits.

 

[Bobby]

Seems like an insurance claim to me.

 

[Bill55]

It does seem very high. My hood was damaged in Valet and total cost to replace it was $1050. That was done in Sandy Springs north of Atlanta. I thought that was very reasonable.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

I am not mechanically inclined , in regards to determining 'patch & paint'
does this help

Yeah based on these pics I don’t see another option than to replace the panels, as they’re deformed or torn. That’s unfortunate but given the cost of my repairs I’m not surprised yours is that much, though I agree it’s crazy expensive.