Slightly OT, but used Teslas are dirt cheap these days (relatively) thanks to all the fleet sales. You can find a ~3 year old Model S off lease now for under $30k.
I think you and I have different definitions of dirt cheap
Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
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Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#152I live in one of those upscale glass tower estates in central London. There is fancy valet underground parking for some 500 cars. There are 2 slow chargers in total that don't even work 50% of the time. Owning an EV is a fucking joke for most people and I don't see that changing any time soon. Rebuilding entire world's power grid is gonna take forever.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#153CNBC did a better job than this low-density article. Why Hertz’s Bet On Tesla Isn’t Paying Off In The U.S. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfbkvUXTV_I "pricing troubles, skyrocketing repair costs and low resale value"... They turn their fleet over every 2-years or so, so resale value is important, and with prices of new EVs coming down, the resale value will be significantly lower than a new model.
But I was told EV's would be much more reliable and cheaper to repair?
It generally is, but that could be the difference between owning one and running a fleet. They are low maintenance and rarely require repairs, but when they do, they can be awfully costly. That could result in a low median cost but higher mean cost. Owning 20k means you are going to have to deal with that average, but an individual owner probably lucks out with the median cost.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#154I have had an EV since 2018, love it to death, but would absolutley never rent one. The biggest pain point with EVs imo is charging infrastructure. My personal car, I can charge at home so it becomes a non-issue. But if I'm traveling to a new city that I'm not super familiar with, I do not have any desire to plot out where charging stations are, is the hotel going to have charging, is it going to be operational, etc.…
> is the hotel going to have charging, is it going to be operational, etc. Too much headache Remember when hotel wi-fi was like that? I expect this situation to change (slowly) over time.
I do. And yes, when the infrastructure is there and is reliable, I'll be happy to switch.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
But I was told EV's would be much more reliable and cheaper to repair?
Hertz says conventional maintenance is lower cost on EVs compared to similar ICE cars.
Granted they're dumping the fleet with degraded battery packs before doing the 15k+ replacement, sure.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
My wife and I went to Kauai and specifically rented a Jeep so we could take it on some moderate trails to see waterfalls and whatnot. We were somewhat dismayed when we arrived and found we had been "upgraded" to a BMW X5 and there were no actual off-road vehicles available from the company. It was a nice car, for sure, but not what we had wanted.
IME rental car agreements prohibit taking them "off road" which might include tracks. No idea about US (EDIT not Japan) specifically.
I've never tried to take a rental truly off-road but I've definitely had them on very unpaved roads they probably shouldn't have been on. You can get true off-road vehicles in locales like Death Valley but they're very pricey compared to a standard rental.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unfortunately people who like small cars are a minority. Most people want whatever is the current fad, and small cars are out. I do not know how to change this. (come to think of it, even though I prefer small cars I drive a large truck because once in a while I need a truck and I don't drive enough to justify two vehicles)
> Most people want whatever is the current fad, and small cars are out. I do not know how to change this. The only thing I can think of is to emphasize their superior fuel economy and get people to appreciate the superior handling. Make people drive an obstacle avoidance course in both a small car and a huge SUV. Maybe some people would accept that the safer car doesn't have to be the bigger car, but the one with eno…
I would guess that for the most part safety is more of a function of attention and driving safely and predictably rather than relying on the superior handling to get out of scrapes.
Many times people that prize handling of the car end up pushing the limits and driving dangerously aggressively accelerating and braking, following closely, aggressively lane swerving.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
The term "SUV" has changed tremendously, when I was younger an SUV was a Suburban or maybe the smaller Bronco - barely would apply to a Jeep. Modern "compact" or "crossover" SUVs are just hatchback cars. Some are quite small, they're just named differently to make people buy them. The real loser has been minivans, station wagons, and actual hatchbacks. There's no reason to buy a sedan when on the same footprint you c…
> There's no reason to buy a sedan when on the same footprint you can get an SUV with more room. This is a popular opinion, but there are still advantages to a sedan. e.g. driving dynamics, weight and aerodynamics and therefore fuel economy, price, etc. It's just that many buyers don't prioritize these things.
Sadly, we have so many cars available, but rarely can you find the exact combination you want, so you have to choose something to give way.
Most buyers only really compare efficiency after narrowing down other things they deem "irreplaceable".
USED buyers, of course, are much more flexible because the main thing they care about is price. But nobody builds used vehicles, only new ones.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#159CNBC did a better job than this low-density article. Why Hertz’s Bet On Tesla Isn’t Paying Off In The U.S. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfbkvUXTV_I "pricing troubles, skyrocketing repair costs and low resale value"... They turn their fleet over every 2-years or so, so resale value is important, and with prices of new EVs coming down, the resale value will be significantly lower than a new model.
But I was told EV's would be much more reliable and cheaper to repair?
Personal ownership, typically yes. Rental cars are a different beast, with the amount of miles and abuse they receive. When I had a gas car on Turo, I had to deal with all kinds of weirdness that never happened when I drove the same car.
Re: Hertz to sell 20k EVs in shift back to gas-powered cars
#160This is an absolute dream for anyone with a services business ready to re-up or replace their fleet of vehicles. Most of these hertz teslas were barely driven and those with defects are generally pretty easy to catch and they're desperate to get rid of them at bottom of the barrel prices. It almost makes me want to quit my dev job and start a plumbing or electrical biz.
>It almost makes me want to quit my dev job and start a plumbing or electrical biz.
Ummm...I think there's a little more to running a plumbing company than the type of vehicle you're driving to service calls in.