Discussion: Experiences Renting a Tesla Model 3 / Y from various companies

Jimboy435 · Mar 1, 2023

Usually people who rent Teslas either own one or want to experience it. I am sure they have done their research so no user manual needed.Tesla did say today that they are Working to save your driver profile to the cloud and a loaner or maybe a rental can pull the profile and off you go!

Zcd1 · Mar 2, 2023

I rented a Model Y through Turo recently - had all the same limitations mentioned in the OP, but I still really enjoyed driving it.

I agree that a cheat sheet or something would be helpful for first-time Tesla drivers.

Jim R · Mar 2, 2023

I've booked a Model 3 rental starting in Frankfurt, Germany with a company called UFODrive. You don't see an agent at the start or end of your rental. Charging is included. You find the car with their app (not the Tesla app). Your phone is your key. They have rental locations in Germany (3), Italy, UK, France and several in USA. More info on their website. Google can find it.

israndy · Mar 2, 2023

So can DuckDuckGo:

UFODRIVE Tesla Car Rental | 24/7 | Fully Electric | Use your Phone | World Wide Locations

Best Rated Car Rental Service - Book, arrive, and drive your Tesla in minutes with our all-electric rental cars of Tesla, Polestar, Volkswagen, Cupra and more.

www.ufodrive.com

So what's it cost at Avis vs Hertz?

randompixel · Mar 2, 2023

They mentioned yesterday @~1hr36 cloud accounts syncing with service loaner vehicles soon. I wonder if that would also enable rentals to be added to your account as well?

2023 Investor Day

We plan to host Tesla's 2023 Investor Day on March 1, 2023. Our investors will be able to see our most advanced production line as well as discuss long term ...

www.youtube.com

israndy · Mar 2, 2023

It would be a boon for Turo Teslas too

Brian-MS90D · Mar 2, 2023

@Richster64 thanks for your post. I just booked a M3 for my late March trip to Phoenix from Avis. Only $380 for the week all-in ($120 in airport taxes!!). Hertz was ~ $900 for the week. Before your post I didn't know Avis had Tesla's. You saved me about $500

Richster64 · Mar 2, 2023

@Brian-MS90D - glad to be of service! I also didn't know Avis did them until I was doing the booking process. Mine was also fairly cheap, considering! So far, 3 days on, no Energy costs from Supercharging, but maybe Avis's systems are a little behind on this stuff. $380 for the week is an amazing deal - well done!
I will be driving through Ohio in my own MY next week

Hope the snow is gone!

gx9901 · Mar 2, 2023

Zcd1 said:
I rented a Model Y through Turo recently - had all the same limitations mentioned in the OP, but I still really enjoyed driving it.

I agree that a cheat sheet or something would be helpful for first-time Tesla drivers.

I rented a M3P via Turo last year. I asked the owner if I could have app access and he granted it to me. It was actually the first time he has done the app access sharing so I guess no one had asked him about it before. It was nice to have app access during the rental period.

I think something like this probably won’t ever happen with big rental car companies like Hertz and Avis though. ICE cars have connected app too but I don’t think any rental car company grants that access?

WhiteOnWhiteMY · Mar 2, 2023

Yesterday during the investor meeting, they mentioned building the infrastructure to make loaner vehicles for Tesla Service centers have a seamless transition where your phone key, profile, and app usage transition to the loaner while in service. Not sure if that's something they'll open up to rental car agencies in the future, but it would be cool since it sounds like the foundations are there in the future.

See here: 2023 Investor Day

DeeDeeCee · Mar 5, 2023

Rented from Hertz and pretty much the same experience and have the same overall impression. I want to reiterate the experience would be better if:

some form of premium connectivity were provided for leased options or link to a subscription if you have one
phone app so everyone gets a full experience or at a way of Tesla Owners to use their app or similar
or bite the bullet and provide the fob
cloud profiles would be great, there are too many screens to remember to go through.
a clean wipe after every rental, ie dash cam, sentry and addresses.
a cheat sheet to for new users (Hertz did offer to walk me through the car if I had never driven one and wanted to make sure I knew everything about it, so the hertz sheet may be there - I just didn't need it)

slyderz3 · Mar 6, 2023

I did a Turo rental of a MY last year and got the full app shared access/experience setup by the owner. Was my 2nd experience with a Tesla (first was a M3 test drive) and it was glorious. He pointed me to the getting started videos, prior to the rental which were helpful. I believe that those are available on the screen in the car too, so that would be a good thing to point people to when they first get in too. (Most people don’t read manuals). Or have the renter push the steering wheel button and say, “play getting started videos”.

I was sold on the car after my rental (although needed prices to drop). It was complex, but was a blast to drive. And using the SC network was simple, relieving all my fears of “where will I charge this thing?” Also experienced that the non-supercharger network was trash. Tried several times to charge at resort or other chargers and only found 1 that worked during the week and it was always occupied.

Interesting that the Avis and Hertz are starting to offer these. I’ve heard that National has them showing up in the Emerald Isle too.

Okskipper · Mar 6, 2023

I rented an M3 in Boston a couple of weeks ago. It was $53/day plus taxes. Other small gas vehicles were more money. I had never driven a Tesla before but our GM, who was with me, had rented one a year ago. We had an adventure trying to figure out the screens and controls, but loved the car once we had it dialed in. Long story short, I ordered a MYP last Thursday for delivery March-April.

THEbuz · Mar 6, 2023

Richster64 said:
I have just come back from Florida where I rented a Model Y from AVIS from Orlando Airport. Here's what I thought about it all... I have a MY at home.

To start, I was surprised they were doing Teslas at all - I know Hertz do, but now AVIS as well it seems. I saw several MY's there and maybe a M3 too. The car had 92 miles when I picked it up, and I did around 700 miles during my stay.

All did not go well - although that is the subject of another post later on.

But in general:

You get one card-key in a relatively big clear plastic case. I did not get access through a phone and I could not assign my phone to be a key, so I was stuck with the card-key.

This means.... No walk-away locking, no auto-unlock, no pre-cool on climate, have to use the card-key every time to 'start' the card. Most annoying, but no different to a gas car I guess. How spoiled we are.

Supercharging was great... I guess Avis will bill me for it eventually!

Popped into Disney Springs one night, overjoyed to see some ChargePoint chargers... but they were CCS, so no joy there :-(

Avis do not have Premium connectivity, so no Satellite view, no streaming. Gah! And yes, I did connect to my phone as a hotspot to get around that, see my other posting in a few days.

Given that these cars are new, there are no ultrasonice sensors, which I found annoying, as I have them on my 2022 MY. It did have the trunk cover to keep things a bit more hidden and cool, so that was good.

Car came with the standard J1772 adaptor. No FSD obviously, and AutoSteer was disabled to start with.

Overall..... Good to drive 'the same' car as I own.....but annoyed to be back to 'basic' and having to set the car up as I wanted it.

So... thinking outside the box.... What does this look like for AVIS and Tesla? I think that Tesla and Avis need to do something about this 'basic' level of support and no App-access. It turns the Tesla from a tech-leader to an annoying expeience, which might put off future buyers. Avis probably don't want us using our phones as we can't then un-associate the phone, which is a security risk, but maybe Tesla needs to do something in this area for rentals?

There was (obvuously) no manual there - yes - I know why ! Not a problem for me as I have a MY... but what's a first-time Tesla renter supposed to do? It's not really a good experience, and that can hurt both Tesla and Avis. For the newbies, maybe a slip of paper saying 'Press here and here to see the manual'. If you know... you know.... if you don't... it's well hidden.

I don't know what Hertz do that's different, as I am Avis President's Club and so brand loyalty and all that.

Would I rent a MY or M3 from Avis again - yes! Great to get into a car that's almost identical to your own and drive through the night after a long journey. Discuss ;-)

View attachment 914099
"IMG_0765" by Robert T Bell is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail

Great share, and I agree with your conclusions. No reason why TESLA couldn’t have ensured that app support will be available (optional, even) for users so that driver profile data can port over. Then, upon completion of the rental period, the user no longer retains app control over the car. 100% feasible there.

israndy · Mar 6, 2023

Okskipper said:
I rented an M3 in Boston a couple of weeks ago. It was $53/day plus taxes.

Who did you rent from, Avis?

Rootboy · Mar 6, 2023

I've rented a Tesla from Hertz multiple times... it is essentially the same: no phone functionality, etc. As for a manual, they do send you links that cover the basics prior to picking up the car... more than what they offer for other ICE cars. Five minutes perusing the user interface and you are good to go... FYI, rental companies are still struggling to hire employees... especially for non-airport locations, so regardless of the vehicle you rent, give them some slack (coming from a former Hertz employee).

wwu123 · Mar 6, 2023

Wow, people sure have high expectations for a rental car for driving for less than a week - app access? premium connectivity? personalized profiles?

Admittedly I stopped renting cars on business trips a few years back once COVID hit, but for a higher price for those 2-4 midweek business trip rentals for more than folks pay for weeklong leisure rentals, from any of these major agencies, my typical expectation for the random car I was given was:
-a big-ass plastic thing attached to the keyfob ring to make it extra awkward to carry in your pocket
-no power seat adjustments, frequently no steering wheel adjustment other than basic tilt
-SiriusXM receiver built-in but no subscription so just the test/demo channel with ads to subscribe every two minutes
-sometimes GPS navigation controls and presumably receiver built-in, but disabled so they can rent you their 10-year old overpriced portable GPS unit
-CD player slot - who brings CD's on a trip?
-all the radio presets tuned to the local mariachi stations
-three minutes to figure out which side of the car has the gas cap, if the little triangle pointer isn't there next to the gas gauge., cause I'm too proud to get out of the car once I'm at the gas station. followed by
-10 minutes trying figure out where the gas cap door release button/lever is for this brand of vehicle

One thing though, I do find that 90% of the US rental cars do in fact have the full automobile manual in the glove compartment, should one wish to peruse, and have had to consult when I occasionally fail at that last bullet item...

israndy · Mar 6, 2023

That's a great list of observations

slyderz3 · Mar 6, 2023

Awesome list.
I would add at least one accidental turn on of the windshield wipers looking for the lights.

Discussion: Experiences Renting a Tesla Model 3 / Y from various companies

Member

Active Member

Member

Supercharger Hunter

Member

Supercharger Hunter

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Supercharger Hunter

Member

Active Member

Supercharger Hunter

Member

Similar threads