I need advice about frunk repair on a lease

[Grewsome]

About 6 months ago, I was opening the frunk to grab my charger at work in a parking lot. I hit the release from inside, but before I could get to the front of the car, a moderate gust of wind (probably about 15 to 20 mph) caught the hood and opened it all the way back on to my windshield. It broke off the metal brackets that hold the struts in place. I don't have the power lift option on my car, so the frunk wasn't even open at the time, just released from the inside. I'm upset that there isn't a manual release on the front of this car for the manual openers, but that's for another thread.

Anyway, I was driving for months just fine with it. I have to manual hold the frunk open when using it, but no big deal. However, I figured I would get charge for this when I return the lease, so I might as well get it fixed now and reap the benefits. I went to the certified Lucid dealer they suggested. Initial estimate was 7k. So I got insurance involved. Now the car is in the shop and they did a disassembly and the repair will be $25.5k. Hood was buckled so they have to replace that. Also replacing the windshield because of a few chips. Lots of other things on there that I assume comes with replacing the windshield and hood (front door, quarter panel, light assembly, roof, etc.). It all feels excessive to me, but I guess that's modern cars for you.

Just wondering what other think. I feel like my options are limited since it's a lease, it's a Lucid, and now that there is a paper trail on the damage. I was just hoping to get the strut brackets replaced and call it a day. Would have done that myself if I knew how to order the parts. Can I have another shop do that? Because it's a lease, can I even take it anywhere else? Too late to get a 2nd opinion since my car is already disassembled at this shop? We are still waiting to hear back from insurance to approve the repair. I wasn't too worried about my rates going up for a 7k bill on something that wasn't my fault, but now I'm worried they may drop me or jack up my rates after this. I feel like at least since I have insurance involved, they would act as an audit to make sure they aren't doing more than necessary, but don't know if that's true.

This is the first time I have ever leased and first time I have ever filed an insurance claim in my 30 years of driving, so I don't really know what my options are. Was I required to go through a Lucid authorized dealer?

On a side note, my buddy had his garage door close on his tesla and it completely crushed the glass roof. He took it in to the teslsa dealer 3 miles away, got a loaner, and got a completely new roof in 2 days. The lucid shop told me they will have my car for at least 3 weeks because it takes awhile to even get parts. Something to think about when my lease is up. I'd rather stick with Lucid, but the practicality of other car brands is hard to ignore.

 

[knewman]

I suppose it's dependent on your insurance carrier, but in my experience a single payout shouldn't hurt your premiums. I totaled a truck a few years ago with a ~50k payout, and my premiums have actually gone down slightly since then. Bottom line is it's a lease so you need to get the damage repaired, and you need it done to Lucid's satisfaction.

 

[Northpointe]

It would be naive to think that this could be remedied with a few replacement struts and wouldn't be detected at lease turn in. It's impossible to opine on the extent of the repair without seeing a detailed estimate. But I have to believe that if it's $25K the damage could be extensive. And an insurer will not sign off on a repair that can't be justified and supported. They are absolutely motivated to ensure that the repair cost is kept to an absolute minimum while still upholding their policy obligations (I'm assuming they will operate in good faith).

As has been discussed extensively on other threads, these are monocoque bodies. You can use google to fully understand what the means and what the implications are. The simple answer is that damage, even seemingly minor, is very expensive to fix given the nature of the design. And not every shop has the tooling and expertise to repair monocoque shells which is why repair options are limited. It should be an important consideration in any decision to buy or lease a Lucid. I would ignore anyone that suggests "this looks like a $1K repair." They simply don't know what they're talking about. There are plenty of posts by certified Lucid body shops on this forum which will back this up. If the repair is done incorrectly you'll likely end up paying twice and compounding your troubles.

In terms of your current dilemma, I believe your options are to either pay it now or pay it later. However, if you chose to wait until lease turn in you might have issues in getting your insurer to pay for repairs as your policy will have a timely notice provision. And yeah, repair times for Lucid can be really, really long. Most of that seems to be attributed to delays in getting parts.

 

[doubletwist]

I'm having trouble believing your story. We're you opening the frunk in a hurricane?

Either way, it's an insurance claim, so you can either submit it to be covered by your insurance's comprehensive policy or you can suck it up and pay for it out of pocket.