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Electric cars are actually a very good fit for many rentals. Thinking through my last 5 rentals. A wedding that was 1 hour from an airport, ~100 miles RT. A s

Electric cars are actually a very good fit for many rentals. Thinking through my last 5 rentals. A wedding that was 1 hour from an airport, ~100 miles RT. A ski trip where I wanted to drive from Denver to my AirBnB near Winter Park Colorado, ~200 miles RT. A hiking trip where I needed a second car for a point-to-point car shuttle (New Hampshire!), ~120 miles RT. A bachelor party where I needed to drive from the airport to a trailhead then to an AirBnB then back to airport, ~150 miles RT. A national park trip to the Grand Canyon, ~500 miles RT. Each of those scenarios would have been 1 full charge of a Tesla round-trip, with the exception of the Grand Canyon. Maybe not the ski trip since it's mountainous and cold weather kills the battery so 200 miles might be a stretch, but I could have trickle-charged at my AirBnB. So basically I can see how many quick rental car needs are met by EVs, plus no dealing with filling with gas!

nroets 5y ago
On long trips, there may be one or more Hertz locations near your route. If all of them stock electric cars, Hertz could offer a premium offering where you change cars along the way...
- cranekam 5y ago
  This idea is 150 years old! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express
- legolas2412 5y ago
  I certainly do not look forward to constant unloading/loading, adjusting seats and mirrors, and pairing bluetooth again every 3 hours.
  - beamatronic 5y ago
    Syncing your driving prefs to your phone or to the cloud would be very interesting. Show the car a QR code as you walk up to it?
    - eclipxe 5y ago
      Your keycard / phone key can store your driver profile id that the car then uses to fetch the settings from the cloud. No QR code needed.
  - asdf333 5y ago
    superchargers are not too bad. 30 mins at a charging station while you grab food and stretch your legs is all it takes.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - btgeekboy 5y ago
    Other than the loading/unloading of stuff, the rest of these can be handled with some code. Consider the tech stack of the average Tesla, including how they're always connected to the internet already. Tie the settings to your key in the cloud, and then create a UI to move key 123 from car 456 to car 789.
- AtlasBarfed 5y ago
  If Hertz offers up their locations as supercharger locations... that's a LOT of locations to add to the supercharger network with a willing partner to help finance it and maintain it. Kind of like how the dealer networks, which SHOULD be a massive advantage for Ford/GM to place chargers (and shadow market cars) and build out a huge charging network... well, that's not happening because dealers hate EVs.
randyrand 5y ago
Kind of a big annoyance if your hotel does not have chargers though. Especially if you already booked it.
- reustle 5y ago
  Just checked. At least Booking has a "ev charging station" filter when searching for places to stay.
  - DarmokJalad1701 5y ago
    I just use Tesla's destination charger map and that usually works. And in many cases, at least in colder parts of the country the hotel might have access to engine block heater outlets. These are good enough to trickle charge overnight and save some time in the morning.
  - tcas 5y ago
    Unfortunately I've that you can't rely on the chargers being available at most hotels. In my experience they're frequently either ICE-ed (the charging spot is taken by a non-EV car), or there's already another car charging.
  - SavantIdiot 5y ago
    There is one problem coming: people fighting over chargers. I was in a Target parking lot with two people fighting over who got to the charger first. Fortunately the mall 5 miles away has a Tesla outlet and a dozen underground charging slots.
    - quantified 5y ago
      At some point, there probably will be some kind of competition until the infrastructure catches up.
    - iso1210 5y ago
      We had that last month in the UK with people fighting over gas. https://metro.co.uk/2021/09/29/more-petrol-fights-break-out-and-men-are-filmed-filling-bin-bag-with-fuel-15335120/ https://metro.co.uk/2021/09/29/more-petrol-fights-break-out-... https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/fights-petrol-stations-london-fuel-crisis-b957619.html https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/fights-petrol-station... In the US, people constantly pull out a gun at fast food outlets because they've got the wrong type of cheese on their waffle, or because burger king don't take discover, or some nonsense. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/waffle-house-employee-pulls-gun-on-a-customer-during-a-dispute-over-eggs-according-to-atlanta-police-reports/ar-AAPB3he https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/waffle-house-employee-p... So yes it's inevitable
nroets 5y ago
Electric cars are also a good fit for rental companies for another reason: Their customers want to make a good first impression on customers, new friends and other individuals they rarely see.
- HWR_14 5y ago
  I'm sure some people do, but do most people really judge each other on rental cars? That seems, well, stupid. Frankly, I'm not sure if most customers ever even see me in my rental car.
  - collaborative 5y ago
    No, people don't usually judge each other on rental cars. But they will judge a contractor for his national origin or skin color, so driving an expensive car offsets that Sad but true in many parts of the world
  - nuerow 5y ago
    > * I'm sure some people do, but do most people really judge each other on rental cars?* People judge each other on what car they drive, regardless of how they got their hands on it.
- MisterTea 5y ago
  I would not associate myself with people who are concerned with the make and model of a rental vehicle. Or any vehicle for that matter. It is snobbish nonsense that should be shunned.
quantified 5y ago
When you bring a gas car back empty, you get charged heavily. Wonder how the pricing and will be affected by the juice left in when you return it. And how their scheduling manages it. Also, will “FSD” be enabled or disabled? There’s an interesting liability chain.
- FireBeyond 5y ago
  Right, because bringing it back empty means the car is out of commission for ~12h. The last three times I've rented a car it's been turned and burned and I've had to wait a few minutes for a clean/wash to be complete from the last renter.
  - eastendguy 5y ago
    I am sure Hertz can afford a 50KW charger at their locations => 1-2h for full charge.
    - proggy 5y ago
      Not to mention that if the charger is on-premise, there is no longer a personnel need to drive gas-depleted cars to an offsite refueling station. That may add up to significant labor savings.
      - quantified 5y ago
        If agency on-site charging is fast enough, that’s a win, like a pump at every stall.
      - mike_d 5y ago
        > there is no longer a personnel need to drive gas-depleted cars to an offsite refueling station Rental car depots have their own on site gas stations. Fuel on return is one of the highest profit margins rental companies have.
        londons_explore 5y ago
gnicholas 5y ago
Can anyone with an EV speak to the difference in insurance for these vehicles? That is, if I rented a Tesla, would my regular insurance cover me sufficiently, or would I be a fool not to buy the rental company's insurance addon? I'm sure they'll charge a pretty penny for this, and scare plenty of folks into buying it. What would be good reasons to do so?
- dangus 5y ago
  This is impossible to answer without the details of your car insurance. It entirely depends on what your insurer’s rental car policies are. There are two issues at hand: accident liability and damage/theft. For liability, it’s typical that states require rental companies to purchase stare minimum or sometimes a higher liability level than the state minimum as a base. For damage/collision, there’s no requirement for anyone to hold coverage, so that’s on you. Many travel credit cards offer damage/collision insurance as a feature, and some individual car insurance plans extend coverage from your personal car insurance to rented cars, but don’t assume this. You can generally rent a car if you don’t own a car and don’t own your own car insurance, and in most states you wouldn’t be obligated to purchase additional coverage from the car insurer. A Tesla is no different than any other expensive car rental, the fact that it’s electric is irrelevant. It’s no different than renting an Audi Q7 from a rental car company.

nroets 5y ago

On long trips, there may be one or more Hertz locations near your route. If all of them stock electric cars, Hertz could offer a premium offering where you change cars along the way...

cranekam 5y ago
This idea is 150 years old! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express
legolas2412 5y ago
I certainly do not look forward to constant unloading/loading, adjusting seats and mirrors, and pairing bluetooth again every 3 hours.
- beamatronic 5y ago
  Syncing your driving prefs to your phone or to the cloud would be very interesting. Show the car a QR code as you walk up to it?
  - eclipxe 5y ago
    Your keycard / phone key can store your driver profile id that the car then uses to fetch the settings from the cloud. No QR code needed.
- asdf333 5y ago
  superchargers are not too bad. 30 mins at a charging station while you grab food and stretch your legs is all it takes.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- btgeekboy 5y ago
  Other than the loading/unloading of stuff, the rest of these can be handled with some code. Consider the tech stack of the average Tesla, including how they're always connected to the internet already. Tie the settings to your key in the cloud, and then create a UI to move key 123 from car 456 to car 789.
AtlasBarfed 5y ago
If Hertz offers up their locations as supercharger locations... that's a LOT of locations to add to the supercharger network with a willing partner to help finance it and maintain it. Kind of like how the dealer networks, which SHOULD be a massive advantage for Ford/GM to place chargers (and shadow market cars) and build out a huge charging network... well, that's not happening because dealers hate EVs.

randyrand 5y ago

Kind of a big annoyance if your hotel does not have chargers though. Especially if you already booked it.

reustle 5y ago
Just checked. At least Booking has a "ev charging station" filter when searching for places to stay.
- DarmokJalad1701 5y ago
  I just use Tesla's destination charger map and that usually works. And in many cases, at least in colder parts of the country the hotel might have access to engine block heater outlets. These are good enough to trickle charge overnight and save some time in the morning.
- tcas 5y ago
  Unfortunately I've that you can't rely on the chargers being available at most hotels. In my experience they're frequently either ICE-ed (the charging spot is taken by a non-EV car), or there's already another car charging.
- SavantIdiot 5y ago
  There is one problem coming: people fighting over chargers. I was in a Target parking lot with two people fighting over who got to the charger first. Fortunately the mall 5 miles away has a Tesla outlet and a dozen underground charging slots.
  - quantified 5y ago
    At some point, there probably will be some kind of competition until the infrastructure catches up.
  - iso1210 5y ago
    We had that last month in the UK with people fighting over gas. https://metro.co.uk/2021/09/29/more-petrol-fights-break-out-and-men-are-filmed-filling-bin-bag-with-fuel-15335120/ https://metro.co.uk/2021/09/29/more-petrol-fights-break-out-... https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/fights-petrol-stations-london-fuel-crisis-b957619.html https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/fights-petrol-station... In the US, people constantly pull out a gun at fast food outlets because they've got the wrong type of cheese on their waffle, or because burger king don't take discover, or some nonsense. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/waffle-house-employee-pulls-gun-on-a-customer-during-a-dispute-over-eggs-according-to-atlanta-police-reports/ar-AAPB3he https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/waffle-house-employee-p... So yes it's inevitable

nroets 5y ago

Electric cars are also a good fit for rental companies for another reason: Their customers want to make a good first impression on customers, new friends and other individuals they rarely see.

HWR_14 5y ago
I'm sure some people do, but do most people really judge each other on rental cars? That seems, well, stupid. Frankly, I'm not sure if most customers ever even see me in my rental car.
- collaborative 5y ago
  No, people don't usually judge each other on rental cars. But they will judge a contractor for his national origin or skin color, so driving an expensive car offsets that Sad but true in many parts of the world
- nuerow 5y ago
  > * I'm sure some people do, but do most people really judge each other on rental cars?* People judge each other on what car they drive, regardless of how they got their hands on it.
MisterTea 5y ago
I would not associate myself with people who are concerned with the make and model of a rental vehicle. Or any vehicle for that matter. It is snobbish nonsense that should be shunned.

quantified 5y ago

When you bring a gas car back empty, you get charged heavily. Wonder how the pricing and will be affected by the juice left in when you return it. And how their scheduling manages it. Also, will “FSD” be enabled or disabled? There’s an interesting liability chain.

FireBeyond 5y ago
Right, because bringing it back empty means the car is out of commission for ~12h. The last three times I've rented a car it's been turned and burned and I've had to wait a few minutes for a clean/wash to be complete from the last renter.
- eastendguy 5y ago
  I am sure Hertz can afford a 50KW charger at their locations => 1-2h for full charge.
  - proggy 5y ago
    Not to mention that if the charger is on-premise, there is no longer a personnel need to drive gas-depleted cars to an offsite refueling station. That may add up to significant labor savings.
    - quantified 5y ago
      If agency on-site charging is fast enough, that’s a win, like a pump at every stall.
    - mike_d 5y ago
      > there is no longer a personnel need to drive gas-depleted cars to an offsite refueling station Rental car depots have their own on site gas stations. Fuel on return is one of the highest profit margins rental companies have.
      - londons_explore 5y ago

gnicholas 5y ago

Can anyone with an EV speak to the difference in insurance for these vehicles? That is, if I rented a Tesla, would my regular insurance cover me sufficiently, or would I be a fool not to buy the rental company's insurance addon? I'm sure they'll charge a pretty penny for this, and scare plenty of folks into buying it. What would be good reasons to do so?

dangus 5y ago
This is impossible to answer without the details of your car insurance. It entirely depends on what your insurer’s rental car policies are. There are two issues at hand: accident liability and damage/theft. For liability, it’s typical that states require rental companies to purchase stare minimum or sometimes a higher liability level than the state minimum as a base. For damage/collision, there’s no requirement for anyone to hold coverage, so that’s on you. Many travel credit cards offer damage/collision insurance as a feature, and some individual car insurance plans extend coverage from your personal car insurance to rented cars, but don’t assume this. You can generally rent a car if you don’t own a car and don’t own your own car insurance, and in most states you wouldn’t be obligated to purchase additional coverage from the car insurer. A Tesla is no different than any other expensive car rental, the fact that it’s electric is irrelevant. It’s no different than renting an Audi Q7 from a rental car company.