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Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

bloomberg.com

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Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

#11

Post by oldpersonintx »

I've never driven an EV before. I don't want to learn about them when I am renting a vehicle...my relationship with rental cars is pure utility: get me from A to B

By the same token I would never rent a diesel or a manual transmission vehicle...I don't want to learn about them via the rental experience

Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

#12

Post by brd529 »

I recently rented a tesla from hertz - I had made sure my hotel had charging in it's parking lot. I arrive at the hotel to find that the tesla was missing it's j1772 adapter, which is what the hotel charger required. I had to hunt down a supercharger and hang out there for an hour. Pretty lame. When I returned the car I complained and was told that there is no guarantee from hertz that the adapter will be included. Without the guarantee renting an a tesla is a scary prospect - I probably won't do it again.

this from someone who has a model y at home as my daily driver and I love it.

Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

#13

Post by gjsman-1000 »

_ea1k wrote: post #9
gjsman-1000 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems to be an extension of the biggest problem with EVs: The edge cases. Even if the edge case is only 1% of your travel, do you want to buy a car that can't do it? It can be anything . You're living in Minnesota and your dad in Chicago had a heart attack. An ICE can get you there in about ~7 hours. An EV... you're going to need 1 supercharging station at a minimum, probably 2. Or, you just decide you want a ro…

An hour or two? Noone is hanging out around superchargers for that long if they don't already want to be there.

Sure, if you buy a new Tesla, it's pretty good now.

But not everyone can afford a new EV. If you buy almost any EV on the used market, such as a used Tesla...

Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

#14

Post by r00fus »

Recently rented an EV (Nissan Leaf) from Enterprise - they were happy to upgrade me from my economy, but one catch - it was at 20% battery. Luckily the hotel we were staying at did have a charger (called ahead) free.

Amusingly the rental place told me as we were returning the car that it had been sold in the interim.

It's amazing to me how little effort these companies take to resolve the charging questions - there wasn't even a charger at the rental place.

Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

#15

Post by andrewla »

jstummbillig wrote: post #5
gjsman-1000 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems to be an extension of the biggest problem with EVs: The edge cases. Even if the edge case is only 1% of your travel, do you want to buy a car that can't do it? It can be anything . You're living in Minnesota and your dad in Chicago had a heart attack. An ICE can get you there in about ~7 hours. An EV... you're going to need 1 supercharging station at a minimum, probably 2. Or, you just decide you want a ro…

Sounds like a transformation issue. In the beginning (I assume) before widespread filling station networks getting gas was an issue. Now it's not. That's not a quality of gas vs EV, it's a quality of ubiquity.

It's both -- the ubiquity would make things a lot easier, but you can fill up a car with gas in five minutes.

Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

#16

Post by nelsonic »

We recently went on vacation to Germany and rented a Polestar 2 from Hertz. The car was good but charging was infuriating. Had to download a new app for each charging spot and they didn't include a home-charging cable so we couldn't charge at family home we were visiting. Overall wouldn't recommend which is a huge shame. At home we drive a Tesla M3, charge at home from solar and supercharger network is flawless when doing road trips.

Very puzzling that Hertz + Tesla hasn't streamlined the charging process for rental vehicles.

Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

#17

Post by _ea1k »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #6
jstummbillig wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like a transformation issue. In the beginning (I assume) before widespread filling station networks getting gas was an issue. Now it's not. That's not a quality of gas vs EV, it's a quality of ubiquity.

I agree; but nobody buying cars cares about what kind of issue it is. It's an issue ICE doesn't have and they don't want that issue.

True, and this is why sales for EVs basically automatically increase as infrastructure is built out in a particular area. Once consumers understand the capability and what is their, their buying patterns are fairly rational.

In my experience, most people outside of the EV bubble underestimate how much infrastructure is already there.

At least for Tesla. For CCS cars in the US, it isn't so great.

Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

#18

Post by cloudking »

I really enjoy Tesla vehicles, but I had a bad experience renting one from Budget. The cars require a Tesla account with a credit card attached in order to use Super Charging stations, which is managed by Budget and then they add the charging costs on to your bill at the end. Half way through the rental period the card they had attached expired, and I was locked out of using Super Chargers. I spent a long time on the phone with customer support, and they said because the cars are provisioned by a third-party company, there was nothing they could do other than offer me a replacement vehicle. It wasn't convenient to swap the vehicles because I wasn't close to Budget, so I had to use much slower chargers at a mall parking lot to get around. I complained to Budget when I returned the vehicle and they discounted me 50% of the bill for the inconvenience.

Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

#19

Post by brianwawok »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #13
_ea1k wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An hour or two? Noone is hanging out around superchargers for that long if they don't already want to be there.

Sure, if you buy a new Tesla, it's pretty good now. But not everyone can afford a new EV. If you buy almost any EV on the used market, such as a used Tesla...

A used 3 or Y will charge just fine. 15-20 minutes should cover most cases.

Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars

#20

Post by cycrutchfield »

nelsonic wrote: post #16

We recently went on vacation to Germany and rented a Polestar 2 from Hertz. The car was good but charging was infuriating. Had to download a new app for each charging spot and they didn't include a home-charging cable so we couldn't charge at family home we were visiting. Overall wouldn't recommend which is a huge shame. At home we drive a Tesla M3, charge at home from solar and supercharger network is flawless when…

If you rent a Tesla from Hertz you can just charge at any supercharger and it will charge to your final bill. It’s super easy, no friction whatsoever.
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