Lucid communication with body shop

[Baumer55]

I was hit by a car in a parking lot a few weeks ago and took my car to Chiltern Auto Body in San Carlos, CA, which is the only “certified” body shop in the area. There is hardly any noticeable damage but they told me the rear passenger door would have to be replaced and maybe the rear passenger side wheel. I (and my insurance company) have been waiting almost 2 weeks for an estimate and the body shop says that Lucid hasn’t gotten back to them with a price. What’s the problem? I’d like to get this issue resolved ASAP!

 

[Neurio]

Have you tried contacting Millbrae directly rather than asking an anonymous forum?

 

[borski]

I was hit by a car in a parking lot a few weeks ago and took my car to Chiltern Auto Body in San Carlos, CA, which is the only “certified” body shop in the area. There is hardly any noticeable damage but they told me the rear passenger door would have to be replaced and maybe the rear passenger side wheel. I (and my insurance company) have been waiting almost 2 weeks for an estimate and the body shop says that Lucid hasn’t gotten back to them with a price. What’s the problem? I’d like to get this issue resolved ASAP!

This is not the place to ask. Contact Millbrae. Chilton works with Lucid all the time.

My experience with Chilton, personally, is that Chilton screws up. There were multiple wiring issues I had to get fixed after the fact, they couldn’t do panel alignment properly, took *forever*, etc.

I am told that my experience may have been somewhat unique. I don’t know.

I do know that next time I’m going to Brooks, even though their wait is 3x as long.

 

[PureAir]

This is not the place to ask. Contact Millbrae. Chilton works with Lucid all the time.

My experience with Chilton, personally, is that Chilton screws up. There were multiple wiring issues I had to get fixed after the fact, they couldn’t do panel alignment properly, took *forever*, etc.

I am told that my experience may have been somewhat unique. I don’t know.

I do know that next time I’m going to Brooks, even though their wait is 3x as long.

Where is Brooks? Are they Lucid certified as well?

 

[borski]

Where is Brooks? Are they Lucid certified as well?

Oakland. And yes.

 

[Baumer55]

Thanks. I DID call Millbrae this morning and hopefully they will help. According to Chiltern, because Lucid is so young, there is an issue with their parts database and it is difficult to get prices and parts in a timely manner. Hopefully this will improve over time. In the meantime, I just want to get my car fixed!

 

[joec]

Thanks. I DID call Millbrae this morning and hopefully they will help. According to Chiltern, because Lucid is so young, there is an issue with their parts database and it is difficult to get prices and parts in a timely manner. Hopefully this will improve over time. In the meantime, I just want to get my car fixed!

It's not uncommon to wait a while for parts. I've waited over a month for parts to come in before.

 

[chris]

Thanks. I DID call Millbrae this morning and hopefully they will help. According to Chiltern, because Lucid is so young, there is an issue with their parts database and it is difficult to get prices and parts in a timely manner. Hopefully this will improve over time. In the meantime, I just want to get my car fixed!

Have you gotten an update yet? This isn't reassuring to see it take so long to get accident repairs completed!

 

[borski]

Have you gotten an update yet? This isn't reassuring to see it take so long to get accident repairs completed!

Repairs do take some time if it’s body work. Parts do take time to be delivered, and they aren’t inexpensive. It’s not like there are dozens of suppliers of aftermarket parts for Lucid, and even if there were, my insurance requires it to be OEM. Not every insurer does.

That’s why I recommend having good insurance, rather than just the cheapest one.

 

[hmp10]

I was hit by a car in a parking lot a few weeks ago and took my car to Chiltern Auto Body in San Carlos, CA, which is the only “certified” body shop in the area. There is hardly any noticeable damage but they told me the rear passenger door would have to be replaced and maybe the rear passenger side wheel. I (and my insurance company) have been waiting almost 2 weeks for an estimate and the body shop says that Lucid hasn’t gotten back to them with a price. What’s the problem? I’d like to get this issue resolved ASAP!

I don't know if this is still the procedure, but when my Lucid was wrecked last year Lucid was reviewing every estimate that came from a certified body shop before providing parts for repair. They wanted to be sure that all work being quoted was actually necessary, especially as some insurers were raising objections to the cost of Lucid repairs. Lucid even had people who would visit the body shop to view the damaged car if they thought it necessary.

I wonder if something may be going on between Lucid and the body shop that the body shop is not disclosing to you?

 

[Kyzure]

There are three major estimating platforms, CCC, Mitchell and Audatex, they all work with OEM information and should only be used as a guide only. The important things to know about their labor times is that in many cases there are no labor times studies on operations of on newer vehicles. Auto Collision and Insurance companies rely on the databases as a guideline to estimate the repair cost for each claim. Since Lucid is just coming on scene, the the estimating platforms do not have Lucid in the database yet. Because there's no data base all the certified body shops needs to research each procedure to establish fair labor times, all parts and prices need to be searched on their website for correct part no. and pricing. This is necessary on every estimate as parts are superseded and prices can change daily. Again the estimates are handwritten and can extend the time to complete an estimate.
As for Lucid reviewing every estimate, I assume Lucid is keeping shops in check to insure comparable repair cost across the country since the labor times are in some cases the judgement of the estimator. I also assume that visits from Lucid early on were designed to inspect structural damage that may not have a repair procedure at that time.
Lucid is a complex vehicle and because of this have complex repair methods.

 

[Pragmatic]

Lucid is a complex vehicle and because of this have complex repair methods.

Yes they are complex, but are they really more complex than other vehicles being sold today?

 

[Kyzure]

The complexity is relative to the repair standards of each auto manufacture. OEM Certified Collision programs exists to ensure that damaged vehicles are repaired to the OEM manufacturer guidelines. Many of the "true" OEM certified repair network restrict structural parts to only their certified shops. These shops have to comply with each of the OEM's criteria, invest heavily in equipment, welding certifications and technician training. Choosing an OEM certified shop assures that the repair is adhering to the strict guidelines set in place by each manufacture.

 

[Leftlane]

I wouldn’t say Lucid is new on the scene anymore - they are several years old and 10s of thousands of cars sold.

 

[rking0122]

Repairs do take some time if it’s body work. Parts do take time to be delivered, and they aren’t inexpensive. It’s not like there are dozens of suppliers of aftermarket parts for Lucid, and even if there were, my insurance requires it to be OEM. Not every insurer does.

That’s why I recommend having good insurance, rather than just the cheapest one.

I am wondering who you use. As a 20-year insurance lawyer (who also has an insurance license) I will completely echo the sentiment that the cheapest rarely is the best.

 

[borski]

I am wondering who you use. As a 20-year insurance lawyer (who also has an insurance license) I will completely echo the sentiment that the cheapest rarely is the best.

I use PURE. I’ve had zero issues with them.

Cincinnati was fine when I had them too.