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

 

[CaptStealthy]

I got used to using the clunky keycard so that became second nature. The only frustrations were dealing with Hertz (there was a small discrepancy on my bill) but judging by the other comments, that's just Hertz being Hertz.

As a first time driver, I didn't even find the keycard Hertz provided to be that bad.

But I suppose that means I'll be blown away when my Tesla actually arrives and I'll get to experience the actual way of doing it!

 

[gt2690b]

As a first time driver, I didn't even find the keycard Hertz provided to be that bad.

But I suppose that means I'll be blown away when my Tesla actually arrives and I'll get to experience the actual way of doing it!

blow away? maybe... the real value comes in after a day or two where you no longer think about car keys allowing your mind the space and energy to contemplate such matters as why no AM radio and how efficient would this be with a bike rack on the roof vs. on a hitch etc etc etc

 

[Konicom04]

O

Don't fret soon enough everyone will adopt NACS and we won't need those pesky adapters

In the mean time, while visiting KeyWest in my MYP, i met a "lost" user of a rental M3, scratching his head trying to figure out charging at a Electrify America DC charger.
I approached, and explained he can't not having the CCS adapter, and recommended a tesla SC about 20 miles away ( Big Pine Key) . Luckily he still had 30% of battery left.

I feel that rental companies need to do a better job "preparing" renters for the road ahead as it seems many of them are just curious customers with no practical knowledge.

 

[Konicom04]

blow away? maybe... the real value comes in after a day or two where you no longer think about car keys allowing your mind the space and energy to contemplate such matters as why no AM radio and how efficient would this be with a bike rack on the roof vs. on a hitch etc etc etc

after 8 months of ownership, a purchase of a second tesla while enjoying the first - I still am fascinated and continue to wonder why anyone would drive an ICE car today.

Of course situation like the DC charging module failure on my way back from Florida Wednesday, practically extending my last 200 mile leg by 10 hours gives one a little cold shower.
But - I try to remain positive and revisit the memories of multiple ICE cars I saw stranded waiting for tow trucks.

 

[CaptStealthy]

O


In the mean time, while visiting KeyWest in my MYP, i met a "lost" user of a rental M3, scratching his head trying to figure out charging at a Electrify America DC charger.
I approached, and explained he can't not having the CCS adapter, and recommended a tesla SC about 20 miles away ( Big Pine Key) . Luckily he still had 30% of battery left.

I feel that rental companies need to do a better job "preparing" renters for the road ahead as it seems many of them are just curious customers with no practical knowledge.

Hertz, to their credit, does try to prepare you with videos and such on how to charge the vehicle, etc. But they don't explain the difference between the various connectors and such out there, the renter has to do that research on their own.

But even EV owners need to know in advance what kind of connector their vehicle has, and what each charging station supports. I suppose that's why most of the companies are standardizing on NACS, lol

 

[Milehighblue]

I'm a new Model Y owner (picked up 7/2). Rented a M3 SR from Hertz while in Chicago on 7/7. First, the car had 66k miles on it already. As soon as I was on the freeway, it says something along the lines of "Autopilot not available". The glovebox is actually locked and requires a PIN! We only had it for a full 24 hours, but topped it off at a Supercharger to 90% prior to returning it at the airport. Approximately 2 weeks prior to rental, I received emails with video instructions from Hertz regarding EVs and Teslas. Got another email 1 week prior, as well as a couple days prior. Overall, I can tell the car has been extremely used, but this would still not deter me from renting an EV from Hertz of a competitor in the future.

 

[israndy]

"Hertz of a competitor"?

 

[SO16]

I'm a new Model Y owner (picked up 7/2). Rented a M3 SR from Hertz while in Chicago on 7/7. First, the car had 66k miles on it already. As soon as I was on the freeway, it says something along the lines of "Autopilot not available". The glovebox is actually locked and requires a PIN! We only had it for a full 24 hours, but topped it off at a Supercharger to 90% prior to returning it at the airport. Approximately 2 weeks prior to rental, I received emails with video instructions from Hertz regarding EVs and Teslas. Got another email 1 week prior, as well as a couple days prior. Overall, I can tell the car has been extremely used, but this would still not deter me from renting an EV from Hertz of a competitor in the future.

A YouTuber noticed the high mileage hertz rentals as well. 88k miles. Great news for hertz to get the that much out of them before selling.

 

[Richster64]

How are these high mileage rentals holding up? I rented a M3 in the UK last month, it had ~30k on the clock and I noticed that both scrolly-wheels in the steering wheel felt like they had been pressed in too hard - made it difficult to use them and adjust things as they were falsely triggering due to (I guess) overuse. My own MY is still good.

And obviously the floor mats were poor, the left foot resting part was attached to the side rather than the floor

Still, handy rental for 1930 miles around the UK

 

[israndy]

Yeah, I wonder who repairs rentals, do they waste a ton of money and take them to the dealer? Perhaps that's why they get rid of them when they are still relatively new, don't wanna deal with out of warranty issues, so they probably have a guy that just drives them to the dealerships when they have issues. Can maybe pay him less than a mechanic

 

[ColMan]

Rented a MYSR from Turo for 7 days a couple weeks back while on vacation. Had a demoed MYP and MYLR but wanted to do a true test drive. One of 8 MY's that the guy was renting (said he had another on order). Gave me access via the app, grabbed the car from the PHX T4 lot and on my way. Had it limited to 85mph which then kept it in chill mode (quick text and he removed it). We ordered a MYP on day 4 of the rental.

 

[CaptStealthy]

Rented a MYSR from Turo for 7 days a couple weeks back while on vacation. Had a demoed MYP and MYLR but wanted to do a true test drive. One of 8 MY's that the guy was renting (said he had another on order). Gave me access via the app, grabbed the car from the PHX T4 lot and on my way. Had it limited to 85mph which then kept it in chill mode (quick text and he removed it). We ordered a MYP on day 4 of the rental.

Sorry, this man has EIGHT Teslas that he just rents out??

 

[gt2690b]

Sorry, this man has EIGHT Teslas that he just rents out??

Turo gives extra incentives for renting multiple vehicles

 

[CaptStealthy]

Turo gives extra incentives for renting multiple vehicles

Today I learned...

Sounds like a business opportunity that I should get in on

 

[gt2690b]

Today I learned...

Sounds like a business opportunity that I should get in on

It’s not as lucrative as it was a couple years ago and getting harder to compete with the likes of hertz Avis etc

 

[FultonMDUSA]

I've posted previously in this thread about my experiences renting Teslas. Reserved another Tesla Model 3 from Avis at LAX, but they didn't have one available at pickup! In the app, the assigned me a crap Chevy Malibu instead. No discount, which was ridiculous - something like that was clearly about $200 cheaper when I booked. Line at midnight was insane, so I decided to just go to my spot, get the car, and deal with it the next day. Well, the car wasn't in the assigned space! Refreshed the app a few more times, and finally they offer a RAV4 for $50 more for the week (the "same rate" offers were like 2 door pickup trucks). Decided to take it because, line + midnight. I'll find time to one star review them later.

Rental reminds me of why I hate ICE cars now. Very underpowered, noisy engine, which is constantly stopping and restarting in traffic (and A/C cuts out when that happens). Tiny maybe 7 inch screen with a very unreliable WIRED Apple Carplay, which I couldn't even use the first day because why would I bring a USB A to Lightning cable? My whole trip is driving to unfamiliar places that I don't know how to get to, which is why I wanted the large and familiar Tesla navigation screen in the first place!

Anyway point of my post is just because you reserve a Tesla doesn't guarantee you'll get one. At least Avis doesn't.

 

[CaptStealthy]

which is constantly stopping and restarting in traffic

My wife and I currently have a Highlander - are you pressing firmly on the brake pedal when you come to a stop?

At least in ours, if you bring it to a smooth stop, it'll bring up a message on the dash saying to apply firm pressure on the brake to use the auto stop-start. If you don't, it'll keep it running. And there should also be a button somewhere to disable the system if you want to turn it off completely.

 

[Richster64]

Reserved another Tesla Model 3 from Avis at LAX, but they didn't have one available at pickup!

This isn't good. What Avis level are you at? Pref, Pref Plus, President? They definately need to know this is happening. I can only guess that the people on the counter were trying to get through the line quickest and giving people anything that was washed and ready. :-(

 

[SalisburySam]

I haven’t rented a car in a very long time. How do rental car companies handle flat tires today? Do they include spares? Or is it the driver’s problem to solve like for their personal vehicles?

 

[FultonMDUSA]

My wife and I currently have a Highlander - are you pressing firmly on the brake pedal when you come to a stop?

At least in ours, if you bring it to a smooth stop, it'll bring up a message on the dash saying to apply firm pressure on the brake to use the auto stop-start. If you don't, it'll keep it running. And there should also be a button somewhere to disable the system if you want to turn it off completely.

Made a mistake. It’s a CRV. But yes I found a button to disable.