Turtle of Doom!

[CLTGT]

Your situation, while shitty, is the exception. I would, btw, run this as high up on the chain as you could - email Zak Edson if you haven’t already.

Not a unique exception. I was left to fend for myself on many levels, sourcing the rental car, paying for the rental, waiting several weeks for reimbursement. I am not saying it is common, but it certainly can and does happen. Don't kid yourself, customers who live great distances from Service Centers can and do have different experiences. They are not related to poor customer service by any specific person, but rather the practice of having the arrangement and administration of said offering pushed off to personnel that really should not be tasked to do that service.

The car is great and very fun to drive. I love it, but those of us far from the closest Service Center need to manage expectations thusly.

I am not in some podunk town either. Lucid really needs to open more Service Centers, especially as they deliver cars in greater quantities. "Middle of nowhere" is a relative phrase. Living in Atlanta, Charlotte or a myriad of other places can feel like the "middle of nowhere" when the closest Service Center is over 600 miles away.

 

[stratus]

Not a unique exception. I was left to fend for myself on many levels, sourcing the rental car, paying for the rental, waiting several weeks for reimbursement. I am not saying it is common, but it certainly can and does happen. Don't kid yourself, customers who live great distances from Service Centers can and do have different experiences. They are not related to poor customer service by any specific person, but rather the practice of having the arrangement and administration of said offering pushed off to personnel that really should not be tasked to do that service.

The car is great and very fun to drive. I love it, but those of us far from the closest Service Center need to manage expectations thusly.

I am not in some podunk town either. Lucid really needs to open more Service Centers, especially as they deliver cars in greater quantities. "Middle of nowhere" is a relative phrase. Living in Atlanta, Charlotte or a myriad of other places can feel like the "middle of nowhere" when the closest Service Center is over 600 miles away.

I also hope Lucid opens more service centers!! Hopefully as finances allow, they will. Lucid, if you are listening, intermountain west please, Boise , Salt lake I realize that’s about as close as I’ll get , and it won’t happen anytime soon, but one can dream, right?

 

[joec]

Not a unique exception. I was left to fend for myself on many levels, sourcing the rental car, paying for the rental, waiting several weeks for reimbursement. I am not saying it is common, but it certainly can and does happen. Don't kid yourself, customers who live great distances from Service Centers can and do have different experiences. They are not related to poor customer service by any specific person, but rather the practice of having the arrangement and administration of said offering pushed off to personnel that really should not be tasked to do that service.

The car is great and very fun to drive. I love it, but those of us far from the closest Service Center need to manage expectations thusly.

I am not in some podunk town either. Lucid really needs to open more Service Centers, especially as they deliver cars in greater quantities. "Middle of nowhere" is a relative phrase. Living in Atlanta, Charlotte or a myriad of other places can feel like the "middle of nowhere" when the closest Service Center is over 600 miles away.

Yeah, I really hope to see an announcement of more service centers soon, too. They seem to be expanding more overseas right now, which makes sense. But there are tons of places in the US that are too far from an official service center to be practical. The third-party service partners seem to be less consistent.

It takes time so secure favorable leases in good locations, then hire and train, so I don't expect them to open 100 new centers in a year. But hopefully the work is well underway.

In the short term, I also hope they are aware of the "lesser" service some customers are seeing in the more remote locations (remote in terms of distance to a service center, not, as you say, podunk towns) and have a plan to improve those interactions wherever they are failing.

It's not easy, but it's going to be critical to Lucid's long-term success. As I like to say, anyone can get me to buy the first car. It's the second car that matters.

 

[borski]

Not a unique exception. I was left to fend for myself on many levels, sourcing the rental car, paying for the rental, waiting several weeks for reimbursement. I am not saying it is common, but it certainly can and does happen. Don't kid yourself, customers who live great distances from Service Centers can and do have different experiences. They are not related to poor customer service by any specific person, but rather the practice of having the arrangement and administration of said offering pushed off to personnel that really should not be tasked to do that service.

The car is great and very fun to drive. I love it, but those of us far from the closest Service Center need to manage expectations thusly.

I am not in some podunk town either. Lucid really needs to open more Service Centers, especially as they deliver cars in greater quantities. "Middle of nowhere" is a relative phrase. Living in Atlanta, Charlotte or a myriad of other places can feel like the "middle of nowhere" when the closest Service Center is over 600 miles away.

I agree. I don’t think your experience is common, but I agree completely it sucked, and it is an entire world different from mine and most others’ experiences with service.

Which service center was it, btw?

 

[esqu1re]

OP, did you eventually tell you what caused the turtle of death?

 

[CLTGT]

I think there may be some misunderstanding. The actual service I get is great and the personnel that I have met have been beyond great, employees I would be glad to have at any of the Companies we own/invest in. There are just inherent downsides in the strategy of mobile service with major Service Centers that far away. For example, these mobile techs do not have access to the administrative capabilities that might be available at actual service centers. I have a real problem with a guy that should be doing actual service arranging my rental car. His time is too valuable and skills beyond that kind of administrative hassle.

I have had techs from both Atlanta and Richmond show up at my house, all great. There are no Service Centers in either location, so I would imagine they are "managed" out of Riviera Beach or elsewhere. I do not fault the tech at all for my rental car experience. It was a biproduct of the current business practice.

 

[stratus]

I think there may be some misunderstanding. The actual service I get is great and the personnel that I have met have been beyond great, employees I would be glad to have at any of the Companies we own/invest in. There are just inherent downsides in the strategy of mobile service with major Service Centers that far away. For example, these mobile techs do not have access to the administrative capabilities that might be available at actual service centers. I have a real problem with a guy that should be doing actual service arranging my rental car. His time is too valuable and skills beyond that kind of administrative hassle.

I have had techs from both Atlanta and Richmond show up at my house, all great. There are no Service Centers in either location, so I would imagine they are "managed" out of Riviera Beach or elsewhere. I do not fault the tech at all for my rental car experience. It was a biproduct of the current business practice.

No misunderstanding at all. Makes complete sense.

 

[WildRide47]

Amen. Long live #2. The car isn’t perfect, but man it’s fantastic nevertheless. Post-2.0, I have almost no complaints.

Pre-2.0, I had plenty.

#2 for me. Luv it every time I drive it, niggling problems aside.

 

[Minnesota Mike]

OP, did you eventually tell you what caused the turtle of death?

Yes, see my previous detailed posts on this thread

 

[Pete44]

The problem is that there are a few distinct groups of people here:

1. Those who have the car, like it, and don't have problems. They want to make sure people realize that mostly problem-free cars absolutely exist, but are overshadowed by issue posts. The other groups often find this group of people really annoying.
2. Those who have the car, like it, and do have problems. They are rightfully annoyed but generally realistic about the future of Lucid, the mathematics of scale and statistics, and how to handle frustration. <-- this is a balanced place to be.
3. Those who have the car, don't like it, have major problems, and feel the need to tell everyone, constantly, even in threads where there's a hint of anything positive or helpful. People like Sam fall under this category.
4. People like digiboxer/Parachute Adams, who don't have the car, proudly proclaim they don't feel comfortable buying it, but have zero spine/follow-through on leaving, and insist on hanging out on the forum to make sure everyone else here knows how stupid they are for buying into Lucid. These people are generally too cowardly to explain why they're still here, but instead will hide behind "Just trying to get facts" and an infinite loop of "gathering info that they need to decide whether to buy" and yet somehow conveniently always find a reason to stay.
5. The LCID$ crowd, a group of people that are just investors with zero intention of buying the car and are only here because they want to see TSLA$ levels of gains. Most are clueless armchair investors who think that because they have a Robinhood account and saw what happened to GME/AMC that they are just days away from becoming super rich.

This place was a wonderful place to be while I was waiting for my car. Now that I have it, I find myself enjoying it too much to be coming to this forum to see what others are saying about the car.

I strongly suggest that people take a break from the forums from time to time. Clear your head. Do something in the real world. Come back and visit but do so in moderation. You'll be much happier.

I’m in bucket number 2. Car suddenly died on side of road back in July, had to get towed 150 miles, and waited a month to get car back after they replaced the HV battery. I have no trepidation about driving it, even for long distances. I drove it from Florida to Connecticut without issue back in May. I’m shipping it down pretty soon. The shipper went silent on me for a few weeks. I was sort of hoping he screwed up and didn’t put me in his system so I could drive the car down. Alas, he called yesterday to confirm.

 

[LucidDropkick]

I’m in bucket number 2. Car suddenly died on side of road back in July, had to get towed 150 miles, and waited a month to get car back after they replaced the HV battery. I have no trepidation about driving it, even for long distances. I drove it from Florida to Connecticut without issue back in May. I’m shipping it down pretty soon. The shipper went silent on me for a few weeks. I was sort of hoping he screwed up and didn’t put me in his system so I could drive the car down. Alas, he called yesterday to confirm.

I'm really sorry to hear that. I hope you get your car back soon!

Did Lucid at least take care of you during that time? Rental car etc?

 

[Minnesota Mike]

FWIW, this drive unit failure in the ID.4 sounds eerily familiar. When my RDU was replaced, the tech mentioned it had to be flashed for my VIN at the service center. It's interesting that VW chose to do that at the factory and not at a dealer.

 

[Pete44]

I'm really sorry to hear that. I hope you get your car back soon!

Did Lucid at least take care of you during that time? Rental car etc?

Thanks. I’ve had car back for almost 2 months. They arranged rental for me. I picked the rental up. Lucid offered an Uber. Was easy. Absolutely no complaints on service other than it took longer than I would have liked. They ended up shipping the car to Goose Island for repairs.

 

[LucidDropkick]

Thanks. I’ve had car back for almost 2 months. They arranged rental for me. I picked the rental up. Lucid offered an Uber. Was easy. Absolutely no complaints on service other than it took longer than I would have liked. They ended up shipping the car to Goose Island for repairs.

That is great to hear. I commend you on having such a positive attitude despite having such a negative experience. I hope Lucid is able to learn from what happened to your car and make it better!

 

[borski]

I think there may be some misunderstanding. The actual service I get is great and the personnel that I have met have been beyond great, employees I would be glad to have at any of the Companies we own/invest in. There are just inherent downsides in the strategy of mobile service with major Service Centers that far away. For example, these mobile techs do not have access to the administrative capabilities that might be available at actual service centers. I have a real problem with a guy that should be doing actual service arranging my rental car. His time is too valuable and skills beyond that kind of administrative hassle.

I have had techs from both Atlanta and Richmond show up at my house, all great. There are no Service Centers in either location, so I would imagine they are "managed" out of Riviera Beach or elsewhere. I do not fault the tech at all for my rental car experience. It was a biproduct of the current business practice.

Thank you for the clarification! That makes a lot of sense, and I agree with everything you said.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

This. Absolutely. Did. Not. Happen. See my multiple posts on "the car just died." And I insisted on it. So I think every prospective buyer of this car needs to know: that you might be up $h!it creek and NOT get any rental and have to arrange it yourself, go and get it yourself, and pay for it yourself. And hope you get reimbursed. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Check your email/junk mail. Lucid just sent out a customer ownership experience survey which you should definitely fill out (mine ended up in junk mail), as I think it will help improve consistency for owners. I don’t think they’ll ignore it, they do seem to care.

 

[LucidNC]

Not a unique exception. I was left to fend for myself on many levels, sourcing the rental car, paying for the rental, waiting several weeks for reimbursement. I am not saying it is common, but it certainly can and does happen. Don't kid yourself, customers who live great distances from Service Centers can and do have different experiences. They are not related to poor customer service by any specific person, but rather the practice of having the arrangement and administration of said offering pushed off to personnel that really should not be tasked to do that service.

The car is great and very fun to drive. I love it, but those of us far from the closest Service Center need to manage expectations thusly.

I am not in some podunk town either. Lucid really needs to open more Service Centers, especially as they deliver cars in greater quantities. "Middle of nowhere" is a relative phrase. Living in Atlanta, Charlotte or a myriad of other places can feel like the "middle of nowhere" when the closest Service Center is over 600 miles away.

Agree 100%
The "unknowns" of the mobile service model is something I struggled with while placing orders for the Lucid, the Rivian, and the Fisker. I struggled with Tesla for a number of years with their service model/process (early on working with Tesla executive team to actually locate a service center in Charlotte .. which they finally did in 2015.. and later w/ actual experience w/ their service folks). Minor items/issues were easy, but even with a local service center, my wife was left stranded in SC [twice!] without a ride after our Tesla had to be towed. The first time, we were close to Charlotte (w/in the 50mi radius), but the CS reps "assumed" someone had provided transportation and rental car (but the tow truck driver left and I eventually picked her up in the parking lot she was at ... we never did get a rental car). The 2nd time we were further out in SC (beyond the 50mi. radius of the Charlotte SC) and that was a fiasco. Eventually the car got towed to Charlotte and serviced, but we had to find our own way own .. and pay our own way.

With no Lucid Service Center near Charlotte (closest to us is in Tysons Corner VA -- 400mi. away) and with our past experience (w/ Tesla), the ability to have a successful mobile service is a real concern. I'm certain that it'll work out, but I sure wish Lucid would consider adding more SCs .... ["NOTE: now a pitch to Lucid folks: .."] Charlotte and Atlanta are more "centrally located in the Southeast" and are home to 2 of the largest airports in the country (by flights). Additionally, Charlotte is the no. 2 financial center in the US w/ EVs everywhere and electric chargers dispersed throughout the city. I hope Lucid (and Rivian) will take notice and add a SC here

That said, I DID order from the 3 manufacturers mentioned above because I believe that the model can work and I trust Lucid (and the others) will be able to provide an enhanced service offering as the industry (as a whole) embraces the changes/issues/growing-pains related to this disruptive new automotive space and 3rd parties step up to meet demand.

 

[CLTGT]

Agree 100%
The "unknowns" of the mobile service model is something I struggled with while placing orders for the Lucid, the Rivian, and the Fisker. I struggled with Tesla for a number of years with their service model/process (early on working with Tesla executive team to actually locate a service center in Charlotte .. which they finally did in 2015.. and later w/ actual experience w/ their service folks). Minor items/issues were easy, but even with a local service center, my wife was left stranded in SC [twice!] without a ride after our Tesla had to be towed. The first time, we were close to Charlotte (w/in the 50mi radius), but the CS reps "assumed" someone had provided transportation and rental car (but the tow truck driver left and I eventually picked her up in the parking lot she was at ... we never did get a rental car). The 2nd time we were further out in SC (beyond the 50mi. radius of the Charlotte SC) and that was a fiasco. Eventually the car got towed to Charlotte and serviced, but we had to find our own way own .. and pay our own way.

With no Lucid Service Center near Charlotte (closest to us is in Tysons Corner VA -- 400mi. away) and with our past experience (w/ Tesla), the ability to have a successful mobile service is a real concern. I'm certain that it'll work out, but I sure wish Lucid would consider adding more SCs .... ["NOTE: now a pitch to Lucid folks: .."] Charlotte and Atlanta are more "centrally located in the Southeast" and are home to 2 of the largest airports in the country (by flights). Additionally, Charlotte is the no. 2 financial center in the US w/ EVs everywhere and electric chargers dispersed throughout the city. I hope Lucid (and Rivian) will take notice and add a SC here

That said, I DID order from the 3 manufacturers mentioned above because I believe that the model can work and I trust Lucid (and the others) will be able to provide an enhanced service offering as the industry (as a whole) embraces the changes/issues/growing-pains related to this disruptive new automotive space and 3rd parties step up to meet demand.

One of the Lucid Techs that came by told me there were more Lucid Air's in Atlanta and Charlotte combined than in the state of Florida.

 

[Minnesota Mike]

I've been told the problem is the Rear Drive Unit (RDU). The RDU will be replaced this week and if all goes well, I should have the car back early next week.

My car is on a transport heading for delivery to my home tonight. My Service Advisor (Jared) at Goose Island has been top notch - provided proactive communications and took care of arranging a rental outside of the normal Hertz contract.