Lucid Motors has been facing mounting criticism from US customers over the last months due to unexpectedly high lease return bills.
Over the weekend, one owner said he was left “shocked and confused” after receiving a final statement of $4,484 from Lucid’s Financial Services.
The same customer had shared on Reddit last month the Excess Wear report showing he was being charged $2,400 for “scratches on the underneath cover.”
“Someone from Lucid DM’d me offering help after my last post, but after I emailed them, nothing happened to my lease return process,” the user wrote this weekend in an update to the topic.
In the new post, the customer shared the experience on Reddit over the weekend, saying the $4,484 bill included $1,688.46 in estimated property tax, $2,400 in excess wear and tear fees, a $450 termination charge, and $306.38 in sales tax.
He said he had already paid state excise taxes and disputed most of the charges except the $450 lease return fee.
“For the $2,400 dispute, they helped me to put the report on suspension pending review, which takes about 35 days,” the customer wrote, adding that someone from Lucid’s team had reached out but “nothing happened to my lease return process.”
He described the experience as “extremely frustrating,” saying the only fee he believed legitimate was the standard lease return charge.
Lucid’s lease program is offered under Lucid Financial Services, but the underlying financing is handled by Bank of America, which also contracts third-party companies to perform vehicle inspections.
Over the last few months, several customers on LucidOwners forum have reported delays of weeks between vehicle turn-in and inspection, followed by large “excess wear and tear” assessments.
One owner said they were charged $1,825 for minor windshield chips and a sun visor, while others cited bills of $3,000 for wheel scuffs or even $5,750 for damages they said were identified months after vehicles had been returned.
The company’s sales representatives have privately acknowledged the complaints.
In an exchange shared online over the weekend, a Lucid salesperson told a potential customer that upper management was addressing the issue.
“Since Lucid isn’t making the trade value, we have noted customer feedback that the company valuing the car are being very critical over some small things at lease-end,” the representative said. “I can assure you this is being worked on and taken care of by high-level upper management.”
“Just wanted to be super transparent that you are right, this has been an issue, but will not be ongoing forever,” the salesperson added.
The customer in that exchange said he had decided to abandon plans to lease a Lucid vehicle due to “absolute horror stories” circulating online.
Another Lucid employee told a customer last week that the company had held “week-long meetings in Arizona” where lease return problems were a key topic of discussion, and that Lucid planned to work with its finance and inspection partners to solve the issues.
In July, Lucid told CarBuzz it was already collaborating with Bank of America to resolve complaints, saying: “We are aware of this feedback and are working together with our banking partner to improve the lease return experience.”
The EV maker is under pressure until the year end to reach its already trimmed annual production guidance.
As reported last week, the company led by the interim CEO Marc Winterhoff has nearly 700 open positions globally, with 85 of them being manufacturing-related roles at its Arizona plant.
Lucid had originally guided for “approximately 20,000” vehicles this year, but reduced the target in early August to between 18,000 and 20,000 when it reported second-quarter earnings.
To avoid missing its production guidance, Lucid must fully produce 8,034 vehicles between October 1 and December 31.
