Renting an EV car

[sk_tle]

I am planning next trip.

Can't find anything related into the terms and conditions of the rental company I checked. If you rent an EV car, do rental companies typically ask you to return the car with a full charge (or pay a fee) the same way they ask for a full tank with a gasoline vehicle?

[Todd Amunrud]

Last winter we rented a Model 3 in Phoenix, AZ through Turo. They asked for at least a 75% charge on the battery at return.

[sk_tle]

Hmmm it kills most of the selling point of renting an EV

[Saab2000]

The issue is that what is commonly known as Level 2 charging, which is what exists on 240V AC circuits and which is what most homes will have or businesses will have, charge too slowly. It’s not an issue for an owner who just plugs in after a commute and charges up overnight. My daily driving is easy peasy with the Tesla.

If a rental is brought back at a low state of charge it will take several hours to bring it back up, during which time the car can’t be rented. If it’s not rented it’s not making money.

Initially I thought EVs would be great rentals but that’s no longer clear, given the limitations of slow charging and the inconsistent experience with DC fast charging like Tesla Superchargers. To be clear, Tesla chargers are consistently good. But other brands in the US are a whole other story and generally very inconsistent in the user experience.

I don’t know anything about charging infrastructure in Europe. But the limitations of AC vs DC would still exist.

Rental companies aren’t likely to invest in DC fast charging solutions as they require quite a bit of cooperation with electric utilities. They draw far more than 240 volts.

[rwsaunders]

I’ve rented EV’s 4 four times for business trips as Hertz had no ICE cars available at the time of the rentals and it was a PITA every time. Hertz wanted the car returned with an 80% charge and when I asked them just how that I go about doing that with a 6am return, their answer was that everyone has the same response and they had no answer other than to Google search for Tesla supercharging stations. There are 3 btw in Baton Rouge, with none by the airport…ask me how I know.

[Saab2000]

I’ve rented EV’s 4 four times for business trips as Hertz had no ICE cars available at the time of the rentals and it was a PITA every time. Hertz wanted the car returned with an 80% charge and when I asked them just how that I go about doing that with a 6am return, their answer was that everyone has the same response and they had no answer other than to Google search for Tesla supercharging stations. There are 3 btw in Baton Rouge, with none by the airport…ask me how I know.

FWIW, the Tesla will tell you where they are and navigate to one. But yes, this is a silly business model on the part of Hertz. They (and Tesla) didn’t really think it through properly before embarking on this.

The other issue with Teslas is that there are enough quirks that the uninitiated might actually have some trouble with some aspects of it. Some of it is intuitive, but not all, and the user interface can be quite confusing IMHO.

[j44ke]

So if you turn in an EV with less than 80%, do they charge you for lost use like they do with an accident? If they do, then seems like CDW/LDW should cover an under-charged return.

I'm betting that the real sticking point is what Saab mentions - the coordination with electric utilities required to install fast chargers at the rental agencies. So agencies require renters to charge because they don't have the capacity to do the recharge themselves.

[bigbill]

Both of my sisters have Teslas. One the DFW area and the other in Charleston, SC. Our dad is in PHX and my younger sister rented a Tesla last fall and ended up returning it with a 15% charge because of a really early flight and no close chargers. I can't recall what the rental charged her, but it was not insignificant. She could have worked around it by returning it the afternoon prior and taking a shuttle to the airport, but IMHO, rental cars are about convenience when you travel.

[Saab2000]

So if you turn in an EV with less than 80%, do they charge you for lost use like they do with an accident? If they do, then seems like CDW/LDW should cover an under-charged return.

I'm betting that the real sticking point is what Saab mentions - the coordination with electric utilities required to install fast chargers at the rental agencies. So agencies require renters to charge because they don't have the capacity to do the recharge themselves.

They could install a bunch of 240V level 2 chargers (and probably have) but as mentioned, these are comparatively slow and not ideal for a rental fleet that wants to deploy the cars quickly. They’re fine for overnight, which is why they’re great for owners with garages.

DC fast chargers are, in addition to requiring the electrical infrastructure, expensive. They’re really a different animal than a small level 2 charger as seen at hotels or homes.

The rental thing will or could get easier if more hotels had level 2 charging. That’s a thing but still relatively uncommon and unreliable.

[bigbill]

We use the Las Vegas airport and I did a quick check. There appears to be several Superchargers located within a few miles of the airport. I have some friends that rented a Tesla for a trip to the Grand Canyon from Vegas and it worked out well with plenty of Superchargers for the eight hours of round trip driving. FWIW, I pointed out that PHX was a few hours closer to GCNP, but they wanted Vegas.

[sk_tle]

DC fast chargers are, in addition to requiring the electrical infrastructure, expensive. They’re really a different animal than a small level 2 charger as seen at hotels or homes.

We use the Las Vegas airport and I did a quick check. There appears to be several Superchargers located within a few miles of the airport. I have some friends that rented a Tesla for a trip to the Grand Canyon from Vegas and it worked out well with plenty of Superchargers for the eight hours of round trip driving. FWIW, I pointed out that PHX was a few hours closer to GCNP, but they wanted Vegas.

Fast chargers coverage in europe is very different so I would have hope rental companies that want to provide EVs would invest in fast chargers and use non refill/recharge as a selling point. As it is it seems more convenient to rent an ICE vehicle as refill takes 2 minutes.

[72gmc]

On a family trip I noticed that Hertz seems to have Polestars for rent, at least at SFO and SJC. I may need to see if I can create a realistic plan for trying one.

[Todd Amunrud]

Hmmm it kills most of the selling point of renting an EV

As a Model Y owner, I had no issue figuring out the quirks of charging. Plus I think Phoenix has plenty of supercharger sites. It also helped the hotel we stayed at had a level 2 charger albeit only one of two chargers was working. Turo is like AirBnB for vehicles and was way cheaper than the big rental groups. I felt it worked really well. The guy had about 5-6 model 3’s at an airport site.

[Saab2000]

As a Model Y owner, I had no issue figuring out the quirks of charging. Plus I think Phoenix has plenty of supercharger sites. It also helped the hotel we stayed at had a level 2 charger albeit only one of two chargers was working. Turo is like AirBnB for vehicles and was way cheaper than the big rental groups. I felt it worked really well. The guy had about 5-6 model 3’s at an airport site.

When I got my car I didn’t know about the lightning bolt icon on the map that will show me Superchargers……. And I had done a fair amount of research. I have talked a few folks who rented Teslas and Hertz did nothing to instruct them on its use, which while still a car, has some different functionality from an ICE car. There is a bit of a learning curve.

[bcm119]

I rented an EV in the UK last summer and they did not ask for it to be returned with any minimum charge. In fact the guy said it was an advantage of renting an EV, you didn't need to worry about refueling/recharging before returning. This was from Europcar.

[rec head]

I'm with sk_tle on this. It should be a bonus to not have to return an EV with such a high state of charge. Having to plan the extra charge time would suck when going to the airport.

Having medium power chargers in the 50kW range can probably get you a good charge in the time it takes to turn it around.

[72gmc]

Having to plan the extra charge time would suck when going to the airport.

No kidding. We're already dealing with gas stations that are right down the street from rental car return, and priced accordingly.

[sk_tle]

I rented an EV in the UK last summer and they did not ask for it to be returned with any minimum charge. In fact the guy said it was an advantage of renting an EV, you didn't need to worry about refueling/recharging before returning. This was from Europcar.

Good to know, thanks. I'll ask the local europcar as well. They are one of those I checked for specific stuff regarding EVs in the terms and conditions to no avail.

[bigbill]

No kidding. We're already dealing with gas stations that are right down the street from rental car return, and priced accordingly.

When I was still working, I traveled from Vegas to Baltimore 7-8 times a year. I knew where the cheap gas could be found about five minutes from the rental car return. If I never visit BWI again, I'm good.