Joining the Lucid family from Houston TX!

[bakerjin]

Hey all!
I've been following reviews and discussions of the Lucid Air ever since watching savagegeese's first video of the Sapphire. I always thought, "gee, that's a crazy car but too bad it seems a bit out of my price range." After the recent price cuts of the lower trims, I realized that "investing" in an EV might actually be a pretty sound financial decision! Here in Houston we lose power frequently (I lost power 5 days during the May tornados and for 7 days during the recent visit from hurricane Beryl), and the fact that Lucid has bidirectional charging capability is exciting for me, even if it's not currently supported quite yet.

I hadn't even realized that Houston opened its own Lucid Studio (which coincidentally is less than 20 minutes of my house), and as I visited them to take a test drive, I found out that one of the existing models on their lot checked EVERY SINGLE BOX of the features and paint I had desired and was also eligible for the $4000 inventory credit. How crazy is that?

Long story short, I am now the proud owner of a Fathom Blue Air Touring! This is my family's first EV so the regenerative braking is taking some getting used to, but I absolutely love the car despite a few hiccups (the rear door wouldn't open this morning even though the handles presented themselves... I was able to force it open from the inside. Hopefully this doesn't happen again lol)

 

[hydbob]

grats and welcome!

 

[NNPCdude]

Hey all!
I've been following reviews and discussions of the Lucid Air ever since watching savagegeese's first video of the Sapphire. I always thought, "gee, that's a crazy car but too bad it seems a bit out of my price range." After the recent price cuts of the lower trims, I realized that "investing" in an EV might actually be a pretty sound financial decision! Here in Houston we lose power frequently (I lost power 5 days during the May tornados and for 7 days during the recent visit from hurricane Beryl), and the fact that Lucid has bidirectional charging capability is exciting for me, even if it's not currently supported quite yet.

I hadn't even realized that Houston opened its own Lucid Studio (which coincidentally is less than 20 minutes of my house), and as I visited them to take a test drive, I found out that one of the existing models on their lot checked EVERY SINGLE BOX of the features and paint I had desired and was also eligible for the $4000 inventory credit. How crazy is that?

Long story short, I am now the proud owner of a Fathom Blue Air Touring! This is my family's first EV so the regenerative braking is taking some getting used to, but I absolutely love the car despite a few hiccups (the rear door wouldn't open this morning even though the handles presented themselves... I was able to force it open from the inside. Hopefully this doesn't happen again lol)

Congratulations! I am 11months in totally love the car! On your rear door - I had the same problem a month post delivery. Lucid Service took care of it by replacing the mechanism.

 

[bakerjin]

Congratulations! I am 11months in totally love the car! On your rear door - I had the same problem a month post delivery. Lucid Service took care of it by replacing the mechanism.

Ah, that's great to hear! If it happens again, I'll bring it in for service then. Thanks for the reassurance!

 

[BobFM]

Welcome to another TX owner!

 

[MGRMLN]

Congratulations. Enjoy!

 

[Gullotta]

Congratulations!

 

[Atxmarco]

Congrats from the atx

 

[Lightmatrix]

Welcome! That was the one I had initially reserved here in Houston; however ended up letting it go for the Touring I picked up yesterday (had a few different options I wanted). Small "Lucid" world! Congrats!

 

[DeaneG]

Love that fathom blue!
The handle thing happened to me on my first day home with the car. Hasn't happened since, 22 months later.

 

[APSenec]

Hey all!
I've been following reviews and discussions of the Lucid Air ever since watching savagegeese's first video of the Sapphire. I always thought, "gee, that's a crazy car but too bad it seems a bit out of my price range." After the recent price cuts of the lower trims, I realized that "investing" in an EV might actually be a pretty sound financial decision! Here in Houston we lose power frequently (I lost power 5 days during the May tornados and for 7 days during the recent visit from hurricane Beryl), and the fact that Lucid has bidirectional charging capability is exciting for me, even if it's not currently supported quite yet.

I hadn't even realized that Houston opened its own Lucid Studio (which coincidentally is less than 20 minutes of my house), and as I visited them to take a test drive, I found out that one of the existing models on their lot checked EVERY SINGLE BOX of the features and paint I had desired and was also eligible for the $4000 inventory credit. How crazy is that?

Long story short, I am now the proud owner of a Fathom Blue Air Touring! This is my family's first EV so the regenerative braking is taking some getting used to, but I absolutely love the car despite a few hiccups (the rear door wouldn't open this morning even though the handles presented themselves... I was able to force it open from the inside. Hopefully this doesn't happen again lol)

Congratulations on your purchase. I’m almost 1 year into my ownership and glad I made the purchase.
I see 3 current threads with owners from TX. Lucid must be gaining traction ther.

 

[bakerjin]

Welcome! That was the one I had initially reserved here in Houston; however ended up letting it go for the Touring I picked up yesterday (had a few different options I wanted). Small "Lucid" world! Congrats!

That's crazy! I had just test drove an Air that Friday and was planning to put a deposit down on the Blue Touring when I was told it just got taken - thankfully it came back haha! Small world indeed, which car did you end up picking up instead?

Anyone from Houston use AFS (the shop nextdoor to Lucid studio on 45) for tint or ceramic? I'm wondering if it's even worth it for a 3 year lease, but the summer is just so darn hot here.

 

[tonybot]

That's crazy! I had just test drove an Air that Friday and was planning to put a deposit down on the Blue Touring when I was told it just got taken - thankfully it came back haha! Small world indeed, which car did you end up picking up instead?

Anyone from Houston use AFS (the shop nextdoor to Lucid studio on 45) for tint or ceramic? I'm wondering if it's even worth it for a 3 year lease, but the summer is just so darn hot here.

I have a 3 year lease too and I am in Dallas area. I did the tint. I can’t handle the summer otherwise!

 

[Pacernow]

bakerjin,
Did you buy a Lucid that was in their inventory or did you order? Congratulations! What where you driving before the Lucid?

 

[Lightmatrix]

That's crazy! I had just test drove an Air that Friday and was planning to put a deposit down on the Blue Touring when I was told it just got taken - thankfully it came back haha! Small world indeed, which car did you end up picking up instead?

Anyone from Houston use AFS (the shop nextdoor to Lucid studio on 45) for tint or ceramic? I'm wondering if it's even worth it for a 3 year lease, but the summer is just so darn hot here.

How funny- Yes, my sales representative (Bernard Chang) was on top of keeping me updated on what was and was not available. He was also VERY fast in processing the release of my reservation so I could reserve something else.

I went with a 2023 Touring that was located in Casa Grande at the factory. I can't recall exactly what the spec was on your car that the silver one ended up checking my option list off more fully, however in a win-win for us both, it did! While I did lose out on the $4k, I also did end up with the exact specs I wanted (I purchased rather than leased or financed, so it was important to me to get exactly the options/color/etc.).

I was curious about that AFS shop next door, too... I haven't decided if I will tint or not on mine. I've had a super dark tint on every car I have owned since leaving CA in 2006 (via Las Vegas, NV, then here to Cypress). With the unusual visibility out of our cars (small rear window, large pillars even with side cameras), it would make it easy NOT to be able to see anything outside of our cars with a super dark tint, including curbs and cars behind us. However, as "The Dude" says, “Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh, your opinion, man.” Lol... I'm sort of into the idea of seeing well outside the car, and there is a blueish tint to the glass and the sunshades for the rear. Ultimately, I am still undecided about what I will do.

Also, since the car has the stealth package, I think it would look pretty awesome to either wrap in a material matching the stealth black, the (I believe you would call it character line), the portion of the body that is the body line running from the top of the front doors arching over to the top of the back (just above where the Air model designation is). Or wrapping the whole roof section, including that portion.

I am attaching a screenshot of the area I am talking about (not my Air) to clarify.

 

[bakerjin]

I have a 3 year lease too and I am in Dallas area. I did the tint. I can’t handle the summer otherwise!

Yeah that makes sense! I think I will start with just a tint on the door windows and the rear. I already got a small rock chip on my front windshield so I'm hesitant to tint it only to replace it within a year, haha!

bakerjin,
Did you buy a Lucid that was in their inventory or did you order? Congratulations! What where you driving before the Lucid?

Yep, I managed to get one in inventory and snag the 4k "in-stock" discount, thankfully!

How funny- Yes, my sales representative (Bernard Chang) was on top of keeping me updated on what was and was not available. He was also VERY fast in processing the release of my reservation so I could reserve something else.

I went with a 2023 Touring that was located in Casa Grande at the factory. I can't recall exactly what the spec was on your car that the silver one ended up checking my option list off more fully, however in a win-win for us both, it did! While I did lose out on the $4k, I also did end up with the exact specs I wanted (I purchased rather than leased or financed, so it was important to me to get exactly the options/color/etc.).

I was curious about that AFS shop next door, too... I haven't decided if I will tint or not on mine. I've had a super dark tint on every car I have owned since leaving CA in 2006 (via Las Vegas, NV, then here to Cypress). With the unusual visibility out of our cars (small rear window, large pillars even with side cameras), it would make it easy NOT to be able to see anything outside of our cars with a super dark tint, including curbs and cars behind us. However, as "The Dude" says, “Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh, your opinion, man.” Lol... I'm sort of into the idea of seeing well outside the car, and there is a blueish tint to the glass and the sunshades for the rear. Ultimately, I am still undecided about what I will do.

Also, since the car has the stealth package, I think it would look pretty awesome to either wrap in a material matching the stealth black, the (I believe you would call it character line), the portion of the body that is the body line running from the top of the front doors arching over to the top of the back (just above where the Air model designation is). Or wrapping the whole roof section, including that portion.

I am attaching a screenshot of the area I am talking about (not my Air) to clarify.

Thanks for your reply! It's definitely a win-win for us, Bernard actually contacted me pretty quickly after your reservation dropped as he knew I was quite interested in the Blue Touring, haha. He's a fun guy to chat with too!

I think I'm going to get some ceramic tint on the door windows and rear as I've noticed more heat seep in while driving on our highways during the day than I did with my previous car (Honda Accord with some after-market tint). I definitely understand the concern about visibility, but I think I've already gotten used to the large B pillars. I'll also be getting some ceramic coating on the car (AFS quoted about 880 or so) which would last about 2 years (so most of my lease, possibly all of it considering I don't drive as much as the average person in Houston) and it would obviate the need to use any wax in future car washes. If I purchased rather than leased, I'd probably opt for some PPF as well, at least on the front - it just doesn't make sense for me on a lease though.

I decided to lease due to the extra 7.5k EV credit but also because this is my first EV. I initially was eyeing some sporty ICE sedans like the m340i and IS500 (god that NA V8 sounds so good), but Lucid won me over with its luxury, pedigree and driving feel. I tried out a Model S as well and it just didn't feel as nice, plus the interior felt really tacky for something that pricey. I'm enjoying the Air even more than I expected to, so I'll probably purchase a new Lucid at the end of my lease.

One thing that won me over with the Lucid is its potential for bi-directional charging. After the recent derecho and Beryl, I lost power for over two weeks between them. I got some quotes from Generator Supercenter and other installers and they all ask for over $15k for a standby generator install with $40/month additional maintenance. Hopefully when Lucid releases its V2H capabilities, it will be able to power my home for emergency needs - until then I purchased an Ecoflow Delta Pro 3 to directly connect to my house via 240v inlet, which is enough for fridge, lights, fans, etc for about half a day or so. I also purchased the Ecoflow EV X-Stream adapater and the Lucid RangeXChange, as in this manner apparently the Lucid will be able to charge the Delta Pro 3 in emergencies! That's like adding an additional 92 kWh battery to the Delta Pro (though it cannot charge from the Lucid and charge the house at the same time unfortunately).

Also, I really wish Lucid had some type of sentry mode but I've read no promises of this coming in the near future. With Houston driving being as terrible as it is, I've always had dashcams installed in my cars, so I'm plannning to get a Viofo A229 installed for now until Lucid comes out with their own video recording feature.