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

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 ;-)

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

 

[maksimfa]

Shouldn't repair costs be covered by the renter? If the intent is to have the renter pay for collision damage waiver, Hertz could just bump the premium for Tesla cars.

They are not going to go after renters for basic scratch and dents. The repairs they are talking about are mechanical issues, maintenance issues, etc. Also, they are not going to go after renters if the renters bought the "loss damage waiver" or insurance through Hertz. And people are not willing to pay extra to rent EVs... at EVERY location I have rented... Bolts, Polestars and Model 3s are plenty... and often in gold choice. With our own Hertz corporate code, renting an EV, including Teslas, is cheaper than renting a gas vehicle... Hertz in PHL for instance, the Gold and Presidents Circle.... is 65% to 80% full of EVs. Renters are simply, for the most part, not interested in renting EVs.

 

[Hiline]

They are not going to go after renters for basic scratch and dents. The repairs they are talking about are mechanical issues, maintenance issues, etc. Also, they are not going to go after renters if the renters bought the "loss damage waiver" or insurance through Hertz.

What mechanical issues? The drivetrain and battery have warranty for at least the first 100k miles. I already addressed the loss damage waiver in my post.

And people are not willing to pay extra to rent EVs... at EVERY location I have rented... Bolts, Polestars and Model 3s are plenty... and often in gold choice. With our own Hertz corporate code, renting an EV, including Teslas, is cheaper than renting a gas vehicle... Hertz in PHL for instance, the Gold and Presidents Circle.... is 65% to 80% full of EVs. Renters are simply, for the most part, not interested in renting EVs.

This is not Hertz's stated reason; just your speculation.

 

[gt2690b]

What mechanical issues? The drivetrain and battery have warranty for at least the first 100k miles. I already addressed the loss damage waiver in my post.



This is not Hertz's stated reason; just your speculation.

He lost me at maintenance issues lol

 

[dbeiler]

Hertz has not been removing their Tesla vehicles from service at the 50K miles basic vehicle warranty expiration. Hertz is on the hook for these repairs after 50K. The necessary repairs for PCS failures, legacy PTC heater failures, compressor failures, octovalve failures, etc., can cost well over a thousand dollars each as has been proven by the receipts presented on this forum. Another issue is Hertz's fetish for oversized/19" wheels which are notorious for bending and cracking. The customer isn't paying for wear and tear on the wheels, that's Hertz's problem.

On one hand, Hertz could get rid of these vehicles at 50K and save on repair costs.
On the other hand, depreciation hits the hardest in the first few years. You can't minimize the depreciation loss unless you keep the car longer.