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tell that to Hertz! `Even without the drop in value of the cars it bought, Hertz struggled with collision and damage repairs on an EV running about twice that

tell that to Hertz! `Even without the drop in value of the cars it bought, Hertz struggled with collision and damage repairs on an EV running about twice that associated with a comparable combustion engine vehicle, Scherr told investors on a 2023 call.`[0] [0] https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/18/business/hertz-ceo-departure-ev/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/18/business/hertz-ceo-departure-...

A_D_E_P_T 2y ago
In fairness, rental cars are driven harder and treated much more roughly than private vehicles tend to be. (Which is why I've never been a fan of Turo's concept.) Also, collision repairs likely represent only a fraction of total maintenance costs.
- garyfirestorm 2y ago
  if the article is claiming 'lowest REPAIR costs', why would you ignore the collision repair? Collisions are not unique to rental fleet, they happen to normal customers too!
  - dzhiurgis 2y ago
    Mechanical repair (i.e. broken camera here and there, stuck seatbelt, etc) is going to be always cheaper than collision repairs. Also makes sense to exclude collision repairs - as an individual owner I am not going to run to a shop to repair scratch or gash - I am perfectly happy with mechanically worthy car that has imperfect looks (thats why I maxed out excess on my insurance).
- maxerickson 2y ago
  The comparison the other poster made is rental to rental. Like it may be the case that rentals see more collision repairs, but it's still informative for everyday use, things like insurance are going to take into account cost differences like that.
inanutshellus 2y ago
You bring up a valuable point that should not be ignored: The article seems to erroneously include "repair", where Consumer Reports seemingly did not: > When comparing cumulative costs by brand for years one through five > and six through 10, we found that Tesla had the lowest maintenance costs. If the quote from the article is correct (I haven't looked on CR's site), Consumer Reports' claim is specifically about maintenance, not repair. Hertz's situation was particularly noteworthy because of how much their purchases of Teslas affected the company itself, though that was partially because Hertz started to firesale their Tesla fleet just as Tesla itself lowered prices, further exacerbating the loss.
- tzs 2y ago
  The CR article [1] uses the phrase "maintenance and repair" nearly everywhere. That quote from the article is one of only two paragraphs where "maintenance" is not "maintenance and repair". The other is a paragraph talking about the "free maintenance periods" that some new cars include, and even that paragraph also mentions repairs. [1] https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cost-of-car-ownership-a1854979198/ https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cos...
  - inanutshellus 2y ago
    Thanks for clarifying!
- ghaff 2y ago
  Even their own site--don't have access to the actual report--is very unclear whether they're just talking routine maintenance or if they're also talking about (accident) repair.
underseacables 2y ago
Hertz HURTS. Worst customer service and run car rental agency. I can see this as a Hurtz problem more than Tesla, but it also may be a combination with renter abuse.
- cqqxo4zV46cp 2y ago
  I’d love to hear the mental gymnastics involved in blaming this on Hertz.
  - bryanlarsen 2y ago
    Much of the Hertz problem with Tesla was because they rented most of the Tesla's to ride share drivers rather than normal renters. Ride share drivers are a lot harder on cars than normal renters, depreciating them much quicker. Hertz knew that. Hertz also knew they were going to be renting them mostly to ride share drivers. They should have expected increased depreciation, but instead chose to blame others.
tzs 2y ago
I assume that the point of their maintenance and repair comparison is to help consumers figure out the cost of owning the car. The target audience would be people comparing different cars to figure out what their overall costs might be for the different options. Such a consumer would be comparing typical maintenance and repair costs, fuel costs, insurance costs, license and registration costs, and probably others I am forgetting. If that's the case then I'd expect collision repairs to not be included in maintenance and repair costs, because collision repairs are usually handled by insurance. If a particular car is more expensive to repair after a collision that would show up in higher insurance rates and so when comparing cars is accounted for when your compare insurance costs.
ZeroGravitas 2y ago
Even double collision costs for an average car (with an average number of collisions) might still lead to lower overall "maintenance and repair costs" if other items are lower. Could tip the balance if your business model is to rent them out to Uber drivers though, and if those are more likely to hit or be hit by other cars.

A_D_E_P_T 2y ago

In fairness, rental cars are driven harder and treated much more roughly than private vehicles tend to be. (Which is why I've never been a fan of Turo's concept.) Also, collision repairs likely represent only a fraction of total maintenance costs.

garyfirestorm 2y ago
if the article is claiming 'lowest REPAIR costs', why would you ignore the collision repair? Collisions are not unique to rental fleet, they happen to normal customers too!
- dzhiurgis 2y ago
  Mechanical repair (i.e. broken camera here and there, stuck seatbelt, etc) is going to be always cheaper than collision repairs. Also makes sense to exclude collision repairs - as an individual owner I am not going to run to a shop to repair scratch or gash - I am perfectly happy with mechanically worthy car that has imperfect looks (thats why I maxed out excess on my insurance).
maxerickson 2y ago
The comparison the other poster made is rental to rental. Like it may be the case that rentals see more collision repairs, but it's still informative for everyday use, things like insurance are going to take into account cost differences like that.

inanutshellus 2y ago

You bring up a valuable point that should not be ignored: The article seems to erroneously include "repair", where Consumer Reports seemingly did not: > When comparing cumulative costs by brand for years one through five > and six through 10, we found that Tesla had the lowest maintenance costs. If the quote from the article is correct (I haven't looked on CR's site), Consumer Reports' claim is specifically about maintenance, not repair. Hertz's situation was particularly noteworthy because of how much their purchases of Teslas affected the company itself, though that was partially because Hertz started to firesale their Tesla fleet just as Tesla itself lowered prices, further exacerbating the loss.

tzs 2y ago
The CR article [1] uses the phrase "maintenance and repair" nearly everywhere. That quote from the article is one of only two paragraphs where "maintenance" is not "maintenance and repair". The other is a paragraph talking about the "free maintenance periods" that some new cars include, and even that paragraph also mentions repairs. [1] https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cost-of-car-ownership-a1854979198/ https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-maintenance/the-cos...
- inanutshellus 2y ago
  Thanks for clarifying!
ghaff 2y ago
Even their own site--don't have access to the actual report--is very unclear whether they're just talking routine maintenance or if they're also talking about (accident) repair.

underseacables 2y ago

Hertz HURTS. Worst customer service and run car rental agency. I can see this as a Hurtz problem more than Tesla, but it also may be a combination with renter abuse.

cqqxo4zV46cp 2y ago
I’d love to hear the mental gymnastics involved in blaming this on Hertz.
- bryanlarsen 2y ago
  Much of the Hertz problem with Tesla was because they rented most of the Tesla's to ride share drivers rather than normal renters. Ride share drivers are a lot harder on cars than normal renters, depreciating them much quicker. Hertz knew that. Hertz also knew they were going to be renting them mostly to ride share drivers. They should have expected increased depreciation, but instead chose to blame others.

tzs 2y ago

I assume that the point of their maintenance and repair comparison is to help consumers figure out the cost of owning the car. The target audience would be people comparing different cars to figure out what their overall costs might be for the different options. Such a consumer would be comparing typical maintenance and repair costs, fuel costs, insurance costs, license and registration costs, and probably others I am forgetting. If that's the case then I'd expect collision repairs to not be included in maintenance and repair costs, because collision repairs are usually handled by insurance. If a particular car is more expensive to repair after a collision that would show up in higher insurance rates and so when comparing cars is accounted for when your compare insurance costs.

ZeroGravitas 2y ago

Even double collision costs for an average car (with an average number of collisions) might still lead to lower overall "maintenance and repair costs" if other items are lower. Could tip the balance if your business model is to rent them out to Uber drivers though, and if those are more likely to hit or be hit by other cars.