Pay for options or wait for bug fixes?

[Halodde]

Looking for discussion from AGT owners and Touring reservations holders if possible. I have an early Touring reservation and of course would like to get my vehicle sooner rather than later. But, to get it sooner, I need to order the Surreal Sound Pro and the glass canopy since all Touring orders with those options will be built first due to manufacturing. I don't have a strong desire for either and they add a good chunk of change to the price. The other consideration is to forego those options, wait longer for the car and allow Lucid to work out more bugs before delivering my car. I have read some opinions on this scattered throughout the forum but thought starting this thread would be helpful for Touring res holders to discuss in one place. Also, my question to the AGT owners is would you have preferred to wait a little longer for your vehicles if it meant fewer bugs in your car when you got it? All input appreciated!

 

[magesh]

I believe you answered your own question in your 2nd line (of course would like to get my vehicle sooner rather than later.). Just get it.

All* the current owners went thru' the same mindset as you did & are now driving these cars happily. You can wait for the software to mature ... but you will wait forever. (Example: Assuming Tesla is the benchmark, I have been 'waiting' for my FSD for over 2.5 years. No beta either for me. And there are continued reports of blank screens, ghost braking, software gremlins, etc )

If the glass canopy, sound, etc are cost detrimental, then you, again, answered your own question. Wait it out & hope that software matures to your liking & driving experience.

Me personally, so far among the 25+ vehicles I have owned, this has been the best driving experience/machine. Rock solid. Driving dynamics. Luxury. Packaging. And I know the software will evolve & is an easier 'fix'.

There were cancelations, which leads me to think, some of them bailed due to the issues you stated - build quality, software maturity & finance related.

Buyers' dissonance is real. Everyone manages it their own way. And YMMV.

* Yes, there are few who have had the turtle, 12V, main battery replacements, etc ... But for the few days they drove, they will state this was one of the finest cars in their inventory sans software.

 

[HC_79]

TBH - when you add those options it gets to a point of whether the Touring is actually worth it. I think Lucid played a smart game with the pricing to push people to the Grand Touring when options are added. You sacrifice range and HP on the Touring but when you add the options you start to get close to the Grand Touring price with everything included. I suspect it's why the Touring isn't as popular. I had the Touring on order originally and when I saw I was $10K to $20K (from memory) off the Grand Touring and got the extra range and HP it enticed me to just bite the bullet and upgrade my reservation.

As an AGT owner I have no regrets when it comes to the software bugs. They're annoyances, not dealbreakers in my opinion and have seen the software change based on user feedback to Lucid. I did get my car at a time when the major bugs seemed to be dealt with compared to what the early owners got. I don't care for CarPlay, i'd rather Lucid focus on speeding up its UI than dedicate time to Apple \ Google but seems i'm in the minority on that one. Seems people are happy to manually enter charging stops into Apple \ Google Maps than use the cars inbuilt system that can get realtime driving info and apply it to the route. I wonder how many people would be satisfied if Lucid just added the Apple Music app to the UI vs the whole CarPlay system itself. Regardless, it's coming sooner rather than later but I for one won't be using it.

 

[Impatient7536]

I had the Touring on order originally and when I saw I was $10K to $20K (from memory) off the Grand Touring and got the extra range and HP it enticed me to just bite the bullet and upgrade my reservation.

for the old pricing, full spec Touring and AGT was about 25k difference before tax. Now, depending on how the 7.5k credit applies to your personal situation, that difference may shrink down to ~17.5k.

for me, i couldn't justify the extra 25k for 100 more miles (since i dont do long distance road trips) and massage seats. but knowing what i know now, with the new bill and everything, the 17.5k premium is much easier to stomach

 

[Halodde]

I believe you answered your own question in your 2nd line (of course would like to get my vehicle sooner rather than later.). Just get it.

All* the current owners went thru' the same mindset as you did & are now driving these cars happily. You can wait for the software to mature ... but you will wait forever. (Example: Assuming Tesla is the benchmark, I have been 'waiting' for my FSD for over 2.5 years. No beta either for me. And there are continued reports of blank screens, ghost braking, software gremlins, etc )

If the glass canopy, sound, etc are cost detrimental, then you, again, answered your own question. Wait it out & hope that software matures to your liking & driving experience.

Me personally, so far among the 25+ vehicles I have owned, this has been the best driving experience/machine. Rock solid. Driving dynamics. Luxury. Packaging. And I know the software will evolve & is an easier 'fix'.

There were cancelations, which leads me to think, some of them bailed due to the issues you stated - build quality, software maturity & finance related.

Buyers' dissonance is real. Everyone manages it their own way. And YMMV.

* Yes, there are few who have had the turtle, 12V, main battery replacements, etc ... But for the few days they drove, they will state this was one of the finest cars in their inventory sans software.

Great points, Magesh. Thanks for your input.

I think this got a little more complicated with the change in the tax credit law. But, there's not guarantee (as far as I know) that receiving the car this year would even make a difference.

 

[Halodde]

TBH - when you add those options it gets to a point of whether the Touring is actually worth it. I think Lucid played a smart game with the pricing to push people to the Grand Touring when options are added. You sacrifice range and HP on the Touring but when you add the options you start to get close to the Grand Touring price with everything included. I suspect it's why the Touring isn't as popular. I had the Touring on order originally and when I saw I was $10K to $20K (from memory) off the Grand Touring and got the extra range and HP it enticed me to just bite the bullet and upgrade my reservation.

I originally had a Pure reservation but upgraded to Touring once the options came more into focus. I live in Buffalo where AWD is almost necessary. And I did the math on Pure + AWD vs Touring with it's standard options. So, in my mind, I've already bit that bullet to get to Touring. Unfortunately, I can't swing the AGT as much as I would have like to. I look at Touring with SSP and the glass canopy as my high end stretch and am really just trying to decide if they are worth the cost to get the vehicle sooner.

 

[Halodde]

for the old pricing, full spec Touring and AGT was about 25k difference before tax. Now, depending on how the 7.5k credit applies to your personal situation, that difference may shrink down to ~17.5k.

for me, i couldn't justify the extra 25k for 100 more miles (since i dont do long distance road trips) and massage seats. but knowing what i know now, with the new bill and everything, the 17.5k premium is much easier to stomach

The tax credit is a big factor for me, too. But, we don't know if it makes a difference yet, right? Does confirming our orders in August qualify us? If so, does it matter if we take delivery in 2022? Lots of unanswered questions on the tax credit. Been following that thread too...

 

[joec]

Looking for discussion from AGT owners and Touring reservations holders if possible. I have an early Touring reservation and of course would like to get my vehicle sooner rather than later. But, to get it sooner, I need to order the Surreal Sound Pro and the glass canopy since all Touring orders with those options will be built first due to manufacturing. I don't have a strong desire for either and they add a good chunk of change to the price. The other consideration is to forego those options, wait longer for the car and allow Lucid to work out more bugs before delivering my car. I have read some opinions on this scattered throughout the forum but thought starting this thread would be helpful for Touring res holders to discuss in one place. Also, my question to the AGT owners is would you have preferred to wait a little longer for your vehicles if it meant fewer bugs in your car when you got it? All input appreciated!

My take is get the car you want. It’s a lot of money we’re all spending here. Might as well be sure it’s exactly what you wanted.

Waiting sucks, but how much difference will a few options make? Six months? When you drive two years from now, you’ll forget all about the wait time. But you won’t forget a glass roof you didn’t want.

If you need the car sooner for some reason, that’s a different story. But if waiting is not a big burden, I say wait it out.

I happen to want the glass roof and the Surreal Sound Pro, so that works out for me. But if I wanted the metal roof, I’d definitely just wait for it.

 

[Halodde]

My take is get the car you want. It’s a lot of money we’re all spending here. Might as well be sure it’s exactly what you wanted.

Waiting sucks, but how much difference will a few options make? Six months? When you drive two years from now, you’ll forget all about the wait time. But you won’t forget a glass roof you didn’t want.

If you need the car sooner for some reason, that’s a different story. But if waiting is not a big burden, I say wait it out.

I happen to want the glass roof and the Surreal Sound Pro, so that works out for me. But if I wanted the metal roof, I’d definitely just wait for it.

Thanks, @joec

I already assumed your thoughts on the question. You were one of the people who had expressed thoughts on it- mostly being "Yes, you should wait because that means I'll get mine sooner"

But, "get the car you will be happy with in a couple of years" resonates

 

[RGS_AZ]

I have to agree on the "wait for what you want".

I personally really do NOT want a glass roof, so the idea that I must wait for metal is just fine with me. I was aware up front that the metal roof was
a later availability item, so no issue in my personal world.

 

[Bill55]

Carpe Diem.

 

[oldnick25]

As an AGT owner for almost two weeks, zero regrets so far. I don't have anything to add what has already been stated here, other than to add myself to the count of happy owners.

 

[Mkatz]

I think it all depends on what you value and definitely want in your car. I originally had a Touring reservation but upgraded to a GT because I wanted the most range possible. I drive 16K miles per year and wanted the flexibility for long range trips. Sure it is nice to have the massaging seats, and upgraded sound system, but I would not have upgraded for that alone. Having driven 2800 miles in the past 2 months, I can tell you that it is fantastic to drive and despite the software issues, I wouldn't change my decision. The software will improve with time and has improved vastly over the past 2 months.

 

[emoylv]

I'll be 73 in less than 2 weeks. Like my friend says, definitely in the 4th quarter if not overtime. Touring on order, fully loaded. Range anxiety replaced by kidney anxiety lol! Don't mind being a permanent beta tester; being doing that ever since I bought my first IBM PC. Hopeful that DDPro becomes a reality by the time my driving skills betray me.

 

[BradSholl]

Carpe Diem.

Carpe Lucidum?

 

[Steveinarizona]

This is a hard call for me. On one hand I really like the Lucid and would love to have it immediately. On the other hand, my DD is a very nice, very comfortable car so waiting for Lucid to figure out its software is attractive, I am waiting for a Pure and sometime by the end of next year would be great for me.

 

[Halodde]

I'll be 73 in less than 2 weeks. Like my friend says, definitely in the 4th quarter if not overtime. Touring on order, fully loaded. Range anxiety replaced by kidney anxiety lol! Don't mind being a permanent beta tester; being doing that ever since I bought my first IBM PC. Hopeful that DDPro becomes a reality by the time my driving skills betray me.

Can I ask why you ordered the Touring fully loaded vs the GT? Several have said the loaded touring costs almost the same as the GT but you don't get the range or power of the GT.

 

[joec]

Can I ask why you ordered the Touring fully loaded vs the GT? Several have said the loaded touring costs almost the same as the GT but you don't get the range or power of the GT.

“Almost the same” is a relative phrase.

With my early bird pricing, the difference came out to $18k. I can think of a lot of things I’d rather spend $18k on than a bit more horsepower.

 

[Halodde]

No argument here, Joe. As I said previously, I'm in the same situation between the Pure and Touring. Just curious what emoylv's thought process was to see if it was the same as ours. I hadn't actually done the pricing between the loaded touring and GT. But, I'm assuming others have.

I emailed my SA yesterday to get a list of standard equipment, options and pricing on the Pure to see if I really wanted to spend the extra on the touring. From what I know now, I might be spending a lot more just to get more HP and the ventilated seats (insert eye roll). Although that would be a feature that I'd use daily, not sure if I can stomach that cost difference for a HP difference I would rarely use and a comfort feature

 

[Mr_rhythm]

We all wanna know what they say if you actually get a response with real information. Well, at least those of us waiting for a Touring/Pure!