New Lucid paid for, was promised delivery but no communication from Lucid

[hydbob]

Being able to track production of a specific vehicle and update it like such takes years of manufacturing to achieve. It also takes years of forming solid connections with logistics to achieve as well. I believe it is an unrealistic expectation to have of a newish company but also when even well established manufacturers, due to Covid, cannot give these estimates either.

 

[DolphinTale]

Final update for today. Call back at 1300 again to see if the delivery manager is finally available. The answer was no. I advised them that I will be tied up as of 1400 and requested a call before that. To her credit, she did call exactly at 1400 which is when I was in another meeting and asked her to call me back asap anytime after 1430. That did not happen and as we are getting to the end of the day I called again and finally spoke to her. Supposedly our car is being shipped to Texas through third party delivery and it " should " arrive by the end of this week and we "should " be able to have it by Sunday. I told her that " should " and " maybe " is not good enough given the lack of communication and prior delays.

In summary Lucid was not willing to provide a firm delivery date. I then asked if Lucid was willing to refund and cancel our order which she agreed to. So I am hoping that Lucid will promptly refund the $165k we paid in good faith on Oct 11 based on the verbal promises made by our delivery advisor at the time!

While the Lucid Air may be a nice car and the specifications are intriguing, given the high price point I expect more and better service with better communication so happy to cancel and buy from a company that is maybe more established.

No hard feelings, Lucid is to be commended on what it has accomplished and I hope that other customers will have a better experience with the order process and future support.

I feel your pain. I paid in full on 9/26, two days BEFORE I received my purchase agreement, and didn't take delivery of my car until last week, 10/11. You need to do what feels right with you. I completely agree that the communication is leaving much to be desired. Given all the negative press, and Wall Street reaction to their twice reduction in forecasted 2022 deliveries, they are pushing out cars at a rate that their infrastructure is not yet able to support. I must also agree that the car is truly a nice piece of engineering. I was also an early Tesla (Model S) adopter and while they had a much better delivery experience, the Lucid is far superior in terms of comfort, luxury amenities, performance, and range. Good luck in whatever choice you make.

 

[joec]

This post sums it up politely for me:
"Ordering a custom built Mini over ten years ago, they had a very detailed timeline showing you where your car was in the process, an updated delivery “range” based on current status, etc. It was all very impressive back then, I could literally track my car as it hit the water, and when it was offloaded in port."

My real complaint and frustration is the complete obtuseness and obfuscation by Lucid in reservation priority, production schedules and estimated deliveries. Whether I receive my Pure in January or June is not the issue, I can wait. It's the uncertainty that's disturbing. For some of us who are not wealthy, there are numerous hurdles to jump and plans to make to afford this car. For example, we will sell my partner's nearly new Honda Insight for some of the funds. We currently have someone interested in that car at a very good price. While the buyer might wait until January, she might not wait until June. My financial advisor must free up liquid assets, which takes some planning. I have to buy and install a charger in my garage. I'd rather not spend that $1,000 now if the car is not arriving until June (or later).
Only Lucid knows where I stand in the reservations list. I reserved in September, 2021 and converted to a non-refundable deposit this past August before Congress changed the EV tax credit (which I am not counting on receiving, on the advice of my tax attorney). The least Lucid could do is tell each of us where we stand on the wait list. Will I be in the first tranche of Pure production or the tenth?

Frankly, Lucid is being anything but Lucid.

The problem is that Lucid is still just ramping up. So you say "only Lucid knows" but I'm pretty sure Lucid doesn't know.

I totally agree, it would be way better if I knew at least an estimated month for when my Touring might arrive. And yes, other much more established companies can maybe provide that info on the spot. But I don't think Lucid is hiding that info. I think there are just too many things in flux for them to predict with any accuracy. And giving out poor information might be worse than giving out no information. At least, that's how they see it.

 

[FastEddi3]

The problem is that Lucid is still just ramping up. So you say "only Lucid knows" but I'm pretty sure Lucid doesn't know.

I totally agree, it would be way better if I knew at least an estimated month for when my Touring might arrive. And yes, other much more established companies can maybe provide that info on the spot. But I don't think Lucid is hiding that info. I think there are just too many things in flux for them to predict with any accuracy. And giving out poor information might be worse than giving out no information. At least, that's how they see it.

I definitely agree that a lot of their process has really been a moving target. And some segments of their delivery process were either not quite prepared, had difficulty adapting, or just got a little overwhelmed by the ramp up in production that we have seen in the past couple of months. Fortunately for me, my experience here in Phoenix was that they did a pretty good job of adapting. I am sure that part of that is our proximity to the factory and that we aren't quite as much at the mercy of shipping delays. Within a day of getting my VIN, my delivery advisor contacted me and suggested that based on their recent pace, I should have everything ready to go on the payment side in two weeks. Ethan kept me updated and everything went pretty much just as he said.

Very sorry for you folks in other parts of the country where they are having more trouble adapting, or are struggling more with the shipping side of things. I am not sure how Lucid is handling that, but I am sure that everyone has heard just how much flux there is in the entire supply chain/logistics side of things. The same disruptions to the parts supply side of things also affects delivery of completed cars.

 

[SDHacker]

Last month, Ford reported almost 45,000 large SUVs and trucks were sitting waiting for parts. I don’t think they were able to provide an accurate timeline for those vehicles. Supply chain issues are real and ongoing. Early on, Lucid had no clue when they would be able to assemble X number of cars due to a high rate of parts failing QC checks along with parts like windshields and certain carpet colors being unavailable. Super challenging environment and to compare a purchase made 10 years ago in a totally different environment from a company owned by BMW to a startup is akin to comparing apples to bowling balls.

I wish people that recently paid “early” would have read more of the GT thread where there are numerous warnings not to pay until you know the car is available for delivery. Because of those warnings, I paid with certified checks when I picked up the car. I think for home delivery you have to pay before they deliver but you should wait until they tell you the car has completed PDI and shipping is waiting for your payment

 

[PaulM]

From my own experience, it appears that the ordering and payment processing is all happening in Fremont. My guess is as soon as the car is on its way (to anywhere) from the factory a notification gets pushed to Fremont and that simply puts in motion the payment process. We all know they don’t have a lot of stores or service centers, so as it stands right now, most delivery experiences are unique. In our case it was through the Seattle delivery center. And our car first went to Seattle and then to us in Oregon in an enclosed trailer. The purchasing process itself was my only complaint as the contract and payment request came in on a Friday night and had miss-spellings in the contract. To Lucid’s credit it was fixed by Saturday and I attempted to pay via ACH.
Good news is the car arrived beautiful and safe mid week. Funny enough, on the day of delivery, I received a notification that the ACH failed so I had the car for free. It turns out there was some sort of glitch with my cheap online bank and funds were returned. I was able to fix it and pay for the car about three days late and I received no third degree from Lucid.
I’m not Sure what the laws are in terms of payment or what Lucid would like to happen, but it seems to me you would’ve been OK with signing the contract and paying say 10% on the day that notification came through and the remaining 90% say within one week of receiving a car (on or after)?

I’m sad that the scenario happened to you and that it ended up in you jettisoning your car.

 

[NPN]

Last month, Ford reported almost 45,000 large SUVs and trucks were sitting waiting for parts. I don’t think they were able to provide an accurate timeline for those vehicles. Supply chain issues are real and ongoing. Early on, Lucid had no clue when they would be able to assemble X number of cars due to a high rate of parts failing QC checks along with parts like windshields and certain carpet colors being unavailable. Super challenging environment and to compare a purchase made 10 years ago in a totally different environment from a company owned by BMW to a startup is akin to comparing apples to bowling balls.

I wish people that recently paid “early” would have read more of the GT thread where there are numerous warnings not to pay until you know the car is available for delivery. Because of those warnings, I paid with certified checks when I picked up the car. I think for home delivery you have to pay before they deliver but you should wait until they tell you the car has completed PDI and shipping is waiting for your payment

I also paid with cashier's check at delivery.

 

[DolphinTale]

I was told by the rep out of what I assume was Fremont that they strongly suggested making payment as soon as possible, by wire or ACH, once my car landed on their screen as approaching the end of assembly. She went as far as to say that without payment, delivery may be delayed. My DA doubled-down on it and said this is the way all direct-to-consumer manufacturers operate today when I questioned him why they had my money for 3 weeks and I had no car. I politely informed him that I was a Tesla owner as well and this process was completely foreign as to how I transacted with them. I guess the moral of the story is it all depends on who you speak with regarding how the story ends with you getting the car.

 

[Unmutual]

Your purchase contract says payment is due at the time of delivery, so pay attention to the contract rather than what anybody else tells you. Same-day wire, ACH or cashier's check would all work.



2.Payment Terms

Payment of the total purchase price, including taxes and governmental fees, as indicated on the Final Price Sheet, is due at the time of delivery. Please advise your delivery specialist if you will be funding your purchase via a loan or lease in order to coordinate payment. If you present a check for any portion or all of the purchase price, Lucid may use the banking information on your check to make a one-time electronic fund transfer from your bank account, which will be reflected on your banking statement as an Electric Fund Transfer.

 

[DolphinTale]

Your purchase contract says payment is due at the time of delivery, so pay attention to the contract rather than what anybody else tells you. Same-day wire, ACH or cashier's check would all work.



2.Payment Terms

Payment of the total purchase price, including taxes and governmental fees, as indicated on the Final Price Sheet, is due at the time of delivery. Please advise your delivery specialist if you will be funding your purchase via a loan or lease in order to coordinate payment. If you present a check for any portion or all of the purchase price, Lucid may use the banking information on your check to make a one-time electronic fund transfer from your bank account, which will be reflected on your banking statement as an Electric Fund Transfer.

In hindsight you are absolutely correct. Payment was requested days before I even saw the purchase agreement. Only thing I had to go on was what the person at the other end of the telephone was telling me. She even had to tell me what the final tally was for the wire. Given that I was almost six months out from confirmation, and seeing other cars being delivered that were confirmed after mine, I was doing everything I could so as not to delay the delivery even more. Just stinks no matter how you peel it. (I was told that I would receive the car within the next 7 days after payment so no reason to question it.... shame on me again.)

 

[Unmutual]

In hindsight you are absolutely correct. Payment was requested days before I even saw the purchase agreement. Only thing I had to go on was what the person at the other end of the telephone was telling me. She even had to tell me what the final tally was for the wire. Given that I was almost six months out from confirmation, and seeing other cars being delivered that were confirmed after mine, I was doing everything I could so as not to delay the delivery even more. Just stinks no matter how you peel it. (I was told that I would receive the car within the next 7 days after payment so no reason to question it.... shame on me again.)

No shame on you. Lucid shouldn't be telling people to pay before the car is actually ready to be delivered.

 

[WayneGood]

We ordered and paid for our new Lucid as of Tuesday last week. Were promised a Sunday delivery and supposedly communication from the Houston Delivery team by Friday. Finally Saturday a lady called from her car and told us the car is in California, even though we were told initially it was in Phoenix and should have been in Houston by Friday the latest.

Since then we have tried to text and call to get clarification and speak to a delivery supervisor but as of 10AM Tuesday no response either by phone email or text.

Hope everyone else has a better experience! Looking forward to a more positive review when or if we ever get out new $165k car!

You paid for it and can’t get it, my car is supposed to be ready in 2 weeks—YOU CAN HAVE IT! I have repeatedly canceled the car and they will not respond! Poor Customer experience to say the least.

Last communication with Lucid:
Edward:
If by saying you “have to exhaust my $1k deposit” you are saying my money will not be returned, I would like to point out facts which have led to my mistrust of your company.
-Multiple phone calls not returned by your company.
-Multiple emails never answered by your company.
-A Tuesday morning (at I believe 9:45 am) scheduled call with “my Lucid representative” never happened. He never called. He never followed up to apologize and reschedule.

This is a sampling of what Lucid has done to me. Is it any wonder I have been attempting to cancel the order? How would Lucid respond to my service needs if I purchased the car, once again not return my phone calls?

Your company has so much to learn about dealing with customers, and generating good and bad will.
Your actions are creating bad will.
That is how bad word of mouth gets started. That does not sit well with potential customers.

Lucid needs to choose wisely and return the deposit.

Wayne ******


Sent from Wayne *******
Managing Director and Owner
Garage Cat Studios, Inc.
GC Film Productions LLC

On Oct 20, 2022, at 1:29 PM, Edward Tumang <[email protected]> wrote:

Hello Mr. ******

I want to truly apologize that you are not satisfied with our customer service. We are making internal changes to ensure we are able to address your needs in a timely manner.

I want to inform you that I have formalized your cancelation request and will have to exhaust your $1K deposit.

If there is any thing else I can do, please let me know.

Best,

Edward ******


This message and any attachments are Confidential Information, for the exclusive use of the addressee and may be legally privileged. Any receipt by anyone other than the intended addressee does not constitute a loss of the confidential or privileged nature of the communication. Any other distribution, use or reproduction is unauthorized and prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by return electronic mail and delete all copies of this communication

 

[borski]

You paid for it and can’t get it, my car is supposed to be ready in 2 weeks—YOU CAN HAVE IT! I have repeatedly canceled the car and they will not respond! Poor Customer experience to say the least.

Last communication with Lucid:
Edward:
If by saying you “have to exhaust my $1k deposit” you are saying my money will not be returned, I would like to point out facts which have led to my mistrust of your company.
-Multiple phone calls not returned by your company.
-Multiple emails never answered by your company.
-A Tuesday morning (at I believe 9:45 am) scheduled call with “my Lucid representative” never happened. He never called. He never followed up to apologize and reschedule.

This is a sampling of what Lucid has done to me. Is it any wonder I have been attempting to cancel the order? How would Lucid respond to my service needs if I purchased the car, once again not return my phone calls?

Your company has so much to learn about dealing with customers, and generating good and bad will.
Your actions are creating bad will.
That is how bad word of mouth gets started. That does not sit well with potential customers.

Lucid needs to choose wisely and return the deposit.

Wayne ******


Sent from Wayne *******
Managing Director and Owner
Garage Cat Studios, Inc.
GC Film Productions LLC

Wayne - with all due respect, if you are cancelling after having confirmed the order, your deposit is not refundable, and that was generally made very clear prior to confirming your order. I have no dog in the fight, but attempting to force them to refund the deposit is unlikely to succeed since this is post-confirmation.

For what it's worth, the *service* experience after purchasing the car is generally spectacular, even if the *sales* experience leaves something to be desired today.

Do what you feel is right, of course. Good luck.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

Not to diminish anyone’s problems, as they are legitimate complaints, but for comparison my friend got an AMG E53 coupe, and due to supply chain shortages they could not give him a timeline unless he got the car without the augmented reality navigation and power seats, so he decided to wait. He had to wait 7 months for his MB, I had to wait 5 for my Lucid. My home delivery was rescheduled once due to delivery driver not being available. His car was stuck in the docks after it was unloaded from the boat for another 3 weeks, and the dealer still couldn’t give him a date when he could get the car because they couldn’t get a timeline from the trucking company because of trucker shortage. So this headache is experienced by many car buyers, not exclusive to Lucid. My co-worked who ordered a Tesla Model 3 long range was told she would get it this month, now they say February but don’t have a clear timeline. Lucid definitely must take steps to improve their sales/delivery process, but this chaos, which sucks for the consumer, seems to be universal lately, unless you’re buying a car right off a lot. I hope Lucid can turn this part of the process around and be a leader in quality experience, as now that I’ve had the car and have the new software, it’s worth whatever headaches there were on the front end.

 

[Thinjake]

This post sums it up politely for me:
"Ordering a custom built Mini over ten years ago, they had a very detailed timeline showing you where your car was in the process, an updated delivery “range” based on current status, etc. It was all very impressive back then, I could literally track my car as it hit the water, and when it was offloaded in port."

But THIS is the exact problem! Mini has been producing cars SINCE 1959!!!! Lucid has been producing cars for.....12 MONTHS!

DURING a regional war affecting supplies AND following a global pandemic! Give em a break.

 

[th14]

In hindsight you are absolutely correct. Payment was requested days before I even saw the purchase agreement. Only thing I had to go on was what the person at the other end of the telephone was telling me. She even had to tell me what the final tally was for the wire. Given that I was almost six months out from confirmation, and seeing other cars being delivered that were confirmed after mine, I was doing everything I could so as not to delay the delivery even more. Just stinks no matter how you peel it. (I was told that I would receive the car within the next 7 days after payment so no reason to question it.... shame on me again.)

sMy experience was similar to yours and I think very, very pool by Lucid. I got the same story about payment. Mine even went so far as to suggest that paying early would expedite my delivery. Her exact story was Goose Island would see mine was paid for and do my PDI earlier.

Only b/c I had read this forum extensively did I know Goose Island was where cars went to die.

Based on all the great points raised here about supply chain and timing, I'm not going to spend too much time criticizing them for delays or bad information about delivery timing.

My criticism can be boiled down to two things. Poor communication and pushing people to pay early. The latter being a huge problem that too many people like you have experienced.

As I've said on many posts. That delivery problem aside, I do love the car so far.

 

[DolphinTale]

sMy experience was similar to yours and I think very, very pool by Lucid. I got the same story about payment. Mine even went so far as to suggest that paying early would expedite my delivery. Her exact story was Goose Island would see mine was paid for and do my PDI earlier.

Only b/c I had read this forum extensively did I know Goose Island was where cars went to die.

Based on all the great points raised here about supply chain and timing, I'm not going to spend too much time criticizing them for delays or bad information about delivery timing.

My criticism can be boiled down to two things. Poor communication and pushing people to pay early. The latter being a huge problem that too many people like you have experienced.

As I've said on many posts. That delivery problem aside, I do love the car so far.

As others have said, this is not a Lucid problem, but a worldwide problem. Sad as it is. I ordered a plug-in hybrid BMW X5 for my wife back in September and was told we would have it in November. I just got a call from our sales rep that they are having issues sourcing some of the options so are now looking at December. The BIG difference is they reached out to me! As with most problems we are faced with in society, there is one word that while it can't solve every problem, it makes the problems easier to deal with.. and that word is COMMUNICATION. As I say in my signature, "Without expectations, there can be no disappointment" Level set people's expectations by communicating and much of this angst goes away.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Wayne - with all due respect, if you are cancelling after having confirmed the order, your deposit is not refundable, and that was generally made very clear prior to confirming your order. I have no dog in the fight, but attempting to force them to refund the deposit is unlikely to succeed since this is post-confirmation.

For what it's worth, the *service* experience after purchasing the car is generally spectacular, even if the *sales* experience leaves something to be desired today.

Do what you feel is right, of course. Good luck.

Refunding the deposit would end any chance of the IRS honoring the credit for everyone.

 

[ARamsdale]

Many of you are conflating [insert excuse here, such as driver shortage, part shortage, the experience of another brand, etc] with a fundamental lack of communication. As many have stated, and I will reiterate, it's less about how long it actually takes, and more about feeling like I'm important enough to proactively communicate what is going on - even if it's bad news/delays/whatever.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

Yeah the lack of communication is a problem. It doesn’t seem to be universal but it happens enough that Lucid is hopefully taking steps to improve.