Hertz Is So Desperate To Unload Tesla Inventory It's Asking Customers If They Just Want To Keep Their Rentals

[Liberal In Texas]

Tesla brand is apparently getting unpopular even with renters:

Hertz bought a bunch of Tesla Model 3s for its rental fleet and quickly realized that Tesla depreciation would be extra bad at scale. In an aggressive effort to sell off its remaining Tesla inventory, the rental company is sending extra cheap buyout options to rental customers. If you like your rental, Hertz will sell it to you for an extra cheap good deal. One Hertz customer took to Reddit to show off a screenshot of the deal he got directly from Hertz, a 2023 Tesla Model 3 with 30,000 miles on the odometer for $17,913.

I wouldn’t normally consider buying a used rental car from Hertz unless I was extra desperate, but the low miles and bargain basement pricing might be worth a rethink. A new Model 3, for example, will cost at least double that price. Heck, maybe it’s worth grabbing. For under $18,000 I can look past a lot of ills, including driving a Tesla. Maybe this is the $25,000 Tesla that Elon was promising?
https://jalopnik.com/hertz-is-so-desperate-to-unload-tesla-inventory-its-cus-1851727725

Maybe it's just an end of the year sell-off to avoid taxes or something.

[JI7]

1. How do e vehicles to in general when it comes to rentals ?

I can see it being inconvenient or people thinking it would be inconvenient depending on why they need a rental.

[defacto7]

2. I'd be too embarrassed to drive it. n/t

[Liberal In Texas]

3. I wouldn't keep it if it was free. I'd sell it and buy something better.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

20. it would be difficult to swallow

[hurl]

4. It was a dumb idea from the start

There were rear-end collisions because EVs have a whole other level of acceleration that some non-EV drivers weren't prepared for. People unfamiliar with EVs were frustrated at how long it takes to charge and at the hassle of locating chargers that are far less numerous than gas stations. These frustrations likely led to turning potential EV drivers against the idea, rather than encouraging the switch.

[exboyfil]

6. I was going to rent a car for a few days in LA

The only thing available with Hertz was Telsa. I read the manual on it including the part about braking.

I cancelled my reservation and used Uber/Lyft. I didn't regret the situation. In fact it probably didn't cost us too much money (if at all). We avoided parking fees at attractions at a minimum. Required a little bit of walking on our part, but not too bad.

[WarGamer]

15. Tesla needs to have a "rental mode"

that turns OFF regen braking...

Normal people aren't used to a car that almost slams on the brakes when you lift off the accelerator.

[miyazaki]

17. One thing you might notice driving in LA is that

Tesla drivers have replaced just about every luxury car driver as being the biggest assholes on the road.

[exboyfil]

5. Not seeing that deal on the website

My daughter and SIL just traded in their smaller Tesla sedan for a larger one. Got the tax credit with it. Daughter assures me it makes financial sense. My SIL doesn't have many hobbies, but he crushes on Elon Musk so I just have to grin and bare it. He is a great SIL otherwise, and he is the father of my grandson.

[NJCher]

7. I have some friends/biz associates

like that.

I have to keep my mouth shut when they say proudly, "We're Tesla people."

Bleh!

[getagrip_already]

8. I bought a former rental once....

Not an e-vehicle, but low mileage and in great mechanical shape.

They can be good deals if you are careful.

[MichMan]

9. Shows the general distrust of any EV vehicle by a significant number of motorists

Hertz was expecting that many customers would want to rent an EV to a) get a taste of what they are like and b) for the cool factor.

This issue was that most people renting a car for a handful of days while on business or vacation don't want the hassle of trying to figure out how and where to charge it, so most sat there unrented.

The Hertz CEO ended up losing his job over it.

[Xolodno]

10. Makes no business sense to have EV's as a major part of your inventory.

Most simply rent a car because their own is in the shop for repairs, business, accident, road trip, etc. EV's are for long term use by owenors.

And I buy from rental companies because I know they maintain the cars. The ones they have problems with they sell at auction where dealers pick them up.

[Unladen Swallow]

11. Many of my coworkers

are buying Model 3s. The savings they are seeing on gas vs electricity is mind-boggling. I don't like AI and I don't trust cars to drive themselves.

[snot]

12. I'm all for EV's if they help the environment & can be made to be practical,

but all-electric is still totally impractical for anyone who doesn't maintain two cars and either have their own garage or rent in a complex with plenty of charging stations – especially if they regularly have to drive significant distances in areas without a lot of charging stations – and that's a lot of us.

I.e., I feel like this is another example of people in D.C. being completely out of touch with the lives of most citizens.

A hybrid is do-able for me, but I've done the math, and even when a subsidy was available, you'd still barely break even between the savings on gas and the higher price of the car – and that's without taking into account the higher costs for repairs.

I still plan to go hybrid next time, hoping a subsidy will be available, but all-electric is out of the question for me.

[Liberal In Texas]

18. I sure like not having to go to a gas station more than a few times a year.

I agree, charging the vehicle at home is the only way to go. 99% of the time an EV owner does not need to go find a charging station.
When they do the car will tell them where the closest ones are. I'm not sure what you call a significant distance, but full EVs go for over 300 miles (varies with model, some much more.) You really don't need a lot of charging station enroute.

A plug-in hybrid might be what you want. I have one (PHEV) and I also have a level 2 charger at home. I hardly ever need to use the gas engine. My road trips have consisted of driving to Houston. I switch to hybrid mode from EV mode and get great gas mileage (like 45mpg). The hotel I use has free chargers and I don't use gas driving around Houston.

I saved a bunch on rebates. About $8K. US and Texas rebates. Really brings the price down. EVs are getting competitive price-wise with ICE vehicles. Unfortunately our overlords are going to take those away to appease the petroleum rich guys.

Repairs are NOT higher. They're actually a lot less. There are fewer moving parts to go bad.

Finally, they're more fun to drive. They're quiet and are very cool. My son's MachE looks like a spaceship inside.

[jeffreyi]

13. Thought this was the Borowitz Report.

Stranger than fiction.

[WarGamer]

14. I would expect an automotive site to get it right...

Hertz is clearing out the Teslas because of SKY HIGH repair costs for body/collision damage.

https://lucidowners.com/threads/hertz-selling-off-teslas-citing-high-repair-costs-and-frequent-damage.7677/

After going all-in on a fleet of rental EVs, Hertz cites high repair costs and frequent damage for its purge of these desirable EVs

After Hertz’s full-scale EV adoption plan resulted in its fleet of new Tesla Model 3s getting abused by rideshare drivers and renters alike, Hertz is selling off a portion of its fleet for wildly cheap prices. Before you go snatch up these electrified bargains, keep in mind that Hertz is jettisoning these Model 3s due to their frequency of faults and high repair costs when damaged. Aside from that warning, if you’re looking for an affordable and usable preowned EV, check out Hertz because these admittedly high-mileage Model 3s are listed for sale between $20,000 and $25,000.

[Liberal In Texas]

19. Interesting.

I have heard that a minor collision in a Tesla might end up totaling the thing because either the repair shop or the insurance company want to not only repair the collision damage but replace things like the battery and other expensive parts for fear that there is damage that can't be seen.

I've also heard many Teslas aren't built very well.

[standingtall]

16. Still not worth 18k if you ask me

You can get brand new cars from 2023 for not much more then that. Example a 2023 Toyota Camry LE for 26k and if it had 30,000 miles on it it will probably cost less then those use Tesla's from Hertz and in either case they will probably last longer then Tesla's.