Why I bought an EV other than Lucid Air

[Longshanks]

I wanted to buy a Lucid Air. I really did. Then Consumer Reports gave it one of the lowest scores I've ever seen on a car for reliability. The nearest service center is 3.5 hours north in Seattle in case I had a warranty claim or just maintenance. That's also where I'd need to travel to test drive the car.

So I sold my Tesla Model S at a huge loss and bought a BMW i5 m60. It's not a LA, but it's fast and quiet on the road - and if anything goes wrong, there's a dealership 20 minutes away. Once there's a Lucid dealership in Portland, I'll reassess buying one.

Hey Lucid, come to Portland!

 

[Miami_Lucid_Man]

That’s fair. I wouldn’t want a service center so far away for any brand.

 

[Batteryman]

I wanted to buy a Lucid Air. I really did. Then Consumer Reports gave it one of the lowest scores I've ever seen on a car for reliability. The nearest service center is 3.5 hours north in Seattle in case I had a warranty claim or just maintenance. That's also where I'd need to travel to test drive the car.

So I sold my Tesla Model S at a huge loss and bought a BMW i5 m60. It's not a LA, but it's fast and quiet on the road - and if anything goes wrong, there's a dealership 20 minutes away. Once there's a Lucid dealership in Portland, I'll reassess buying one.

Hey Lucid, come to Portland!

The 2025 are super reliable, the defective trim has been rectified. Zero problems in my car in the past year.

 

[idiot900]

Yeah, CR a bit unfair to the current model Air IMHO. But 3.5 hours to a service center is understandably a lot.

 

[Lucken]

We have both the Lucid Air and the BMW i5 xDrive40. Both are great cars and each has their strengths & weaknesses. You can't go wrong with either.

 

[sbr41]

I wanted to buy a Lucid Air. I really did. Then Consumer Reports gave it one of the lowest scores I've ever seen on a car for reliability. The nearest service center is 3.5 hours north in Seattle in case I had a warranty claim or just maintenance. That's also where I'd need to travel to test drive the car.

So I sold my Tesla Model S at a huge loss and bought a BMW i5 m60. It's not a LA, but it's fast and quiet on the road - and if anything goes wrong, there's a dealership 20 minutes away. Once there's a Lucid dealership in Portland, I'll reassess buying one.

Hey Lucid, come to Portland!

I have had the car for 2 years now. My nearest service center is 4.5 hours away in Houston, TX. But I never had to take my car there. Whatever little maintenance my car needed, was taken care in the comfort of my home, by the amazing mobile service team in the DFW area. I am almost certain Portland also has a similar mobile service team.

 

[doubletwist]

Yeah, CR a bit unfair to the current model Air IMHO. But 3.5 hours to a service center is understandably a lot.

I'm in a similar boat, I'm about 4.5hrs from the service center in Houston, but I leased one anyway because I got the impression that the DFW mobile service guys were very good.

 

[WildRide47]

I wanted to buy a Lucid Air. I really did. Then Consumer Reports gave it one of the lowest scores I've ever seen on a car for reliability. The nearest service center is 3.5 hours north in Seattle in case I had a warranty claim or just maintenance. That's also where I'd need to travel to test drive the car.

So I sold my Tesla Model S at a huge loss and bought a BMW i5 m60. It's not a LA, but it's fast and quiet on the road - and if anything goes wrong, there's a dealership 20 minutes away. Once there's a Lucid dealership in Portland, I'll reassess buying one.

Hey Lucid, come to Portland!

I am in Portland Oregon. Had my AGT going on 3 years. Have not had a problem with service. They either come out to my house for a service call or they have an arrangement with Enterprise where they provide a car for me while my car is in their shop in Seattle

 

[WildRide47]

I am in Portland Oregon. Had my AGT going on 3 years. Have not had a problem with service. They either come out to my house for a service call or they have an arrangement with Enterprise where they provide a car for me while my car is in their shop in Seattle

An alternate choice of BMW is a good call. My wife's BMW i4M50 arrived in immaculate condition and after 2 and 1/2 years the reliability is so good, she has never brought into the dealership for any reason.

 

[GMan]

I wanted to buy a Lucid Air. I really did. Then Consumer Reports gave it one of the lowest scores I've ever seen on a car for reliability. The nearest service center is 3.5 hours north in Seattle in case I had a warranty claim or just maintenance. That's also where I'd need to travel to test drive the car.

So I sold my Tesla Model S at a huge loss and bought a BMW i5 m60. It's not a LA, but it's fast and quiet on the road - and if anything goes wrong, there's a dealership 20 minutes away. Once there's a Lucid dealership in Portland, I'll reassess buying one.

Hey Lucid, come to Portland!

I live 4.5 hours away from a service center and have never had to visit in my entire 3 & 1/2 years of ownership.

Mobile Service is phenomenal and I've never had any issue with my Air, other than an inconvenience or two that were easily addressed by mobile service.

I think you'd have been better off asking owners for input before solely relying on Consumer Reports. My sister has a BMW i4 and it doesn't hold a candle to the Air. I may also note that she has more issues with her vehicle and is quite unsatisfied with their dealer service.

 

[thyname]

And that’s what makes a market my friend. Enjoy your new car and in good health

 

[Ampere]

I've owned my Air Touring for 25 months and never had a significant service issue. When I have asked for help, the Chicago Goose Island service center has been more than accommodating. Sure there have been minor glitches that annoyed me, but none that ever interfered with being able to drive the car. I even called with a problem on Christmas morning (to the 800 number) and they bent over backwards to help m. (It turned out to be a WiFi issue with my Grizz-l charger, not the Lucid.

 

[fisheral]

My 24 Air Touring has unfortunately been the least reliable car I've ever had, by a country mile.

 

[Batteryman]

My 24 Air Touring has unfortunately been the least reliable car I've ever had, by a country mile.

But have the best sport sedan ever built in your driveway….

 

[borski]

CR was reporting on basically no data, and there’s no chance it was statistically significant. It’s basically a worthless stat imho, until they have enough data. I’m honestly surprised they even published it at all.

But YMMV as with anything

 

[Steveinarizona]

This is an interesting thread. I think it demonstrates that every good car company (e.g., Lucid and BMW) can produce cars that seem to never break down or ones that spend lots of time in the service bays. In this thread we have Lucid drivers saying their cars never break and some saying that their cars seem to spend more time in the shop than on the road. The same for BMW (see @Lucken's post and @GMan's post).

 

[L-Dude]

This is an interesting thread. I think it demonstrates that every good car company (e.g., Lucid and BMW) can produce cars that seem to never break down or ones that spend lots of time in the service bays. In this thread we have Lucid drivers saying their cars never break and some saying that their cars seem to spend more time in the shop than on the road. The same for BMW (see @Lucken's post and @GMan's post).

A common theme in all the auto forums IME.

 

[MorganB]

I live in Dallas Texas and have had my Air Touring since December 23. My car has had a few small service calls , the cameras checked for alignment, the HV battery replaced and two annual services. Everything except the HV battery and camera alignment was handled at my work or home by mobile service. For the HV battery they picked up the car at my house and took it to Houston over 4 hours away and returned the car in two days. During that time I had a loaner from Enterprise. The camera alignment was done in a day by mobile service but they needed to take the car overnight and again I was given a loaner from Enterprise. All in all I've spent much less time and effort having the Air served than my Audi A6 with the dealership an 8 minute drive from my house. YMMV but mobile service is very easy in Dallas.

 

[Buffalo Bob]

Sorry. This is a rant....

At what point can we just let threads like this die? I know I'm doing it, but I hate how titles like this are constantly being resurrected to the top of the heap. The OP isn't going to change his mind. He already has his BMW and nearby service center, and if my BMW experience is any indicator, he'll be darned glad it's nearby.

Nobody in their right mind would buy a Lucid if they thought that Consumer Reports rating was anyway near accurate. In my opinion, that says far more about Consumer Reports than it does about Lucid. Remember how they raved that the Tesla Model S was hands-down the best car ever built?

Lucid's are far from perfect, and anybody who bought one expecting no growing pains doesn't understand what it means to be an early adopter. Same thing with expecting a robust service infrastructure, although I do think the slow roll out of that is a legitimate gripe.

I have true empathy for anyone who is dealing with serious issues, but many of the complaints are minor in the scheme of things. Whether major or minor, I do want to hear about those, and what can/has/must be done to resolve them. That kind of dialogue is invaluable to me. I just don't see what ongoing threads built around either defending the brand or piling on the attack accomplish other than providing fodder for the LCID short sellers.

 

[borski]

Sorry. This is a rant....

At what point can we just let threads like this die? I know I'm doing it, but I hate how titles like this are constantly being resurrected to the top of the heap. The OP isn't going to change his mind. He already has his BMW and nearby service center, and if my BMW experience is any indicator, he'll be darned glad it's nearby.

Nobody in their right mind would buy a Lucid if they thought that Consumer Reports rating was anyway near accurate. In my opinion, that says far more about Consumer Reports than it does about Lucid. Remember how they raved that the Tesla Model S was hands-down the best car ever built?

Lucid's are far from perfect, and anybody who bought one expecting no growing pains doesn't understand what it means to be an early adopter. Same thing with expecting a robust service infrastructure, although I do think the slow roll out of that is a legitimate gripe.

I have true empathy for anyone who is dealing with serious issues, but many of the complaints are minor in the scheme of things. Whether major or minor, I do want to hear about those, and what can/has/must be done to resolve them. That kind of dialogue is invaluable to me. I just don't see what ongoing threads built around either defending the brand or piling on the attack accomplish other than providing fodder for the LCID short sellers.

Could not agree more.