My first EV Experience
Discussion
h0b0 said:
I have a thread running in the travel section of pistonheads talking about rental car equivalents. I thought my latest experience is relevant here.
Rented a BMW X5 and got confirmation of a guaranteed Tesla model Y. That triggered the thread because I didn’t think they are equivalent and I had to drive 250 miles to my destination which is 1 hour drive away from the nearest super charger.
When I got on the shuttle to the Hertz counter I over heard an elderly couple talking. The husband was near tears. He just kept saying how he didn’t know how he could have booked an electric vehicle. The wife was reassuring him saying they would manage. I politely apologized for overhearing their conversation and let them know it was unlikely his mistake. He had probably been bait and switched like I had. That’s when everyone on the shuttle revealed they had all booked petrol cars and received confirmation of EV.
Once we got to the Hertz building it was chaos. 30 groups all complaining that they had been bait and switched. Lots of angry people.
When it was my turn the guy at the desk immediately went into defensive mode. I’m sure he was getting complaints all day long and was just ready for the next customer to complain. I just told him I wanted the car I booked or equivalent. The group was something like prestige elite SUV. Eventually, I said I would deal with the Tesla. That’s when he told me they only had model 3s. “Nope”. Was my response. I will take the XC90 I can see. That’s £85/day extra. The manager gave me an XC60 hybrid in the end.
So, that means my first EV was a total failure as the worst use case for EV is rental. Everyone in the building also had a terrible experience. As I left I saw they had Taycans. If they didn’t have the car in category they should give the Taycan. I would have taken that and dealt with the inconvenience as I’m looking at buying one.
Oh, hertz reported $400M loss in the last quarter due to EVs. They are now forcing them on to people using underhand practices.
Have hire car companies ever made a profit ?Rented a BMW X5 and got confirmation of a guaranteed Tesla model Y. That triggered the thread because I didn’t think they are equivalent and I had to drive 250 miles to my destination which is 1 hour drive away from the nearest super charger.
When I got on the shuttle to the Hertz counter I over heard an elderly couple talking. The husband was near tears. He just kept saying how he didn’t know how he could have booked an electric vehicle. The wife was reassuring him saying they would manage. I politely apologized for overhearing their conversation and let them know it was unlikely his mistake. He had probably been bait and switched like I had. That’s when everyone on the shuttle revealed they had all booked petrol cars and received confirmation of EV.
Once we got to the Hertz building it was chaos. 30 groups all complaining that they had been bait and switched. Lots of angry people.
When it was my turn the guy at the desk immediately went into defensive mode. I’m sure he was getting complaints all day long and was just ready for the next customer to complain. I just told him I wanted the car I booked or equivalent. The group was something like prestige elite SUV. Eventually, I said I would deal with the Tesla. That’s when he told me they only had model 3s. “Nope”. Was my response. I will take the XC90 I can see. That’s £85/day extra. The manager gave me an XC60 hybrid in the end.
So, that means my first EV was a total failure as the worst use case for EV is rental. Everyone in the building also had a terrible experience. As I left I saw they had Taycans. If they didn’t have the car in category they should give the Taycan. I would have taken that and dealt with the inconvenience as I’m looking at buying one.
Oh, hertz reported $400M loss in the last quarter due to EVs. They are now forcing them on to people using underhand practices.
Rented an Octavia or similar from hertz for collection tomorrow’s afternoon. Did this because I have a phobia of Vauxhall Mokkas and my last rental was a polestar which whilst a nice EV did not suit the journey and having to spend 30mins charging a few miles from home to get it up to 80% was not ideal…
Just received an introduction to EVs email, expecting to get another one. What options do I have to refuse the EV?
Just received an introduction to EVs email, expecting to get another one. What options do I have to refuse the EV?
Everyone else will be trying to get out of the EV that has been forced on them. The crazy thing is the EVs are cheap and we could select them if we wanted one. Instead they bait and switch.
In my case I had to escalate to a manager because the desk staff are not allowed to change from EV to petrol without charging. My original escalation was because I booked a BMW X5 and they changed it to a model Y. They don’t have any model Ys so they offered me a model 3. Hertz have not had BMWs for a very long time, or maybe ever.
If you get the EV you have to pre-pay £50+ for them to charge it or charge it yourself to 80%. This again wasn’t what they had previously told me as it was $35 on the confirmation. Coming across as an EV hater and I’m not. I’m going to buy one. But,
Think that’s crazy? They charge £4.48/l petrol if you don’t return it full. They have held £400 on my credit card to cover this cost. To be fair to the staff they did say several times “please return it full. Please!”
In my case I had to escalate to a manager because the desk staff are not allowed to change from EV to petrol without charging. My original escalation was because I booked a BMW X5 and they changed it to a model Y. They don’t have any model Ys so they offered me a model 3. Hertz have not had BMWs for a very long time, or maybe ever.
If you get the EV you have to pre-pay £50+ for them to charge it or charge it yourself to 80%. This again wasn’t what they had previously told me as it was $35 on the confirmation. Coming across as an EV hater and I’m not. I’m going to buy one. But,
Think that’s crazy? They charge £4.48/l petrol if you don’t return it full. They have held £400 on my credit card to cover this cost. To be fair to the staff they did say several times “please return it full. Please!”
As expected they only had polestars and even took me to the yard to show nothing else (except a Vauxhall Mokka but I would rather walk…).
Driven a couple of these now and providing you plan for it, it is not too bad, especially using the fast chargers which take it from <20% to 80% in 20 mins whilst you pee, eat etc.
Seemed to do between 180 and 200 mile on a charge which is bearable and radar cruise and lift off braking makes for a relaxing cruise.
Driven a couple of these now and providing you plan for it, it is not too bad, especially using the fast chargers which take it from <20% to 80% in 20 mins whilst you pee, eat etc.
Seemed to do between 180 and 200 mile on a charge which is bearable and radar cruise and lift off braking makes for a relaxing cruise.
h0b0 said:
Everyone else will be trying to get out of the EV that has been forced on them. The crazy thing is the EVs are cheap and we could select them if we wanted one. Instead they bait and switch.
In my case I had to escalate to a manager because the desk staff are not allowed to change from EV to petrol without charging. My original escalation was because I booked a BMW X5 and they changed it to a model Y. They don’t have any model Ys so they offered me a model 3. Hertz have not had BMWs for a very long time, or maybe ever.
If you get the EV you have to pre-pay £50+ for them to charge it or charge it yourself to 80%. This again wasn’t what they had previously told me as it was $35 on the confirmation. Coming across as an EV hater and I’m not. I’m going to buy one. But,
Think that’s crazy? They charge £4.48/l petrol if you don’t return it full. They have held £400 on my credit card to cover this cost. To be fair to the staff they did say several times “please return it full. Please!”
And if you think thats bad, Hertz tried to char £1000 for parking the car in the wrong bay. It turned out the tablet being used was programmed with the wrong location. Had that been correct, a £1000 for return a can to another location, really?In my case I had to escalate to a manager because the desk staff are not allowed to change from EV to petrol without charging. My original escalation was because I booked a BMW X5 and they changed it to a model Y. They don’t have any model Ys so they offered me a model 3. Hertz have not had BMWs for a very long time, or maybe ever.
If you get the EV you have to pre-pay £50+ for them to charge it or charge it yourself to 80%. This again wasn’t what they had previously told me as it was $35 on the confirmation. Coming across as an EV hater and I’m not. I’m going to buy one. But,
Think that’s crazy? They charge £4.48/l petrol if you don’t return it full. They have held £400 on my credit card to cover this cost. To be fair to the staff they did say several times “please return it full. Please!”
h0b0 said:
I have a thread running in the travel section of pistonheads talking about rental car equivalents. I thought my latest experience is relevant here.
Rented a BMW X5 and got confirmation of a guaranteed Tesla model Y. That triggered the thread because I didn’t think they are equivalent and I had to drive 250 miles to my destination which is 1 hour drive away from the nearest super charger.
When I got on the shuttle to the Hertz counter I over heard an elderly couple talking. The husband was near tears. He just kept saying how he didn’t know how he could have booked an electric vehicle. The wife was reassuring him saying they would manage. I politely apologized for overhearing their conversation and let them know it was unlikely his mistake. He had probably been bait and switched like I had. That’s when everyone on the shuttle revealed they had all booked petrol cars and received confirmation of EV.
Once we got to the Hertz building it was chaos. 30 groups all complaining that they had been bait and switched. Lots of angry people.
When it was my turn the guy at the desk immediately went into defensive mode. I’m sure he was getting complaints all day long and was just ready for the next customer to complain. I just told him I wanted the car I booked or equivalent. The group was something like prestige elite SUV. Eventually, I said I would deal with the Tesla. That’s when he told me they only had model 3s. “Nope”. Was my response. I will take the XC90 I can see. That’s £85/day extra. The manager gave me an XC60 hybrid in the end.
So, that means my first EV was a total failure as the worst use case for EV is rental. Everyone in the building also had a terrible experience. As I left I saw they had Taycans. If they didn’t have the car in category they should give the Taycan. I would have taken that and dealt with the inconvenience as I’m looking at buying one.
Oh, hertz reported $400M loss in the last quarter due to EVs. They are now forcing them on to people using underhand practices.
There's no excuse for what Hertz are doing, and I'm glad you stood your ground as much as practical in the circumstances.Rented a BMW X5 and got confirmation of a guaranteed Tesla model Y. That triggered the thread because I didn’t think they are equivalent and I had to drive 250 miles to my destination which is 1 hour drive away from the nearest super charger.
When I got on the shuttle to the Hertz counter I over heard an elderly couple talking. The husband was near tears. He just kept saying how he didn’t know how he could have booked an electric vehicle. The wife was reassuring him saying they would manage. I politely apologized for overhearing their conversation and let them know it was unlikely his mistake. He had probably been bait and switched like I had. That’s when everyone on the shuttle revealed they had all booked petrol cars and received confirmation of EV.
Once we got to the Hertz building it was chaos. 30 groups all complaining that they had been bait and switched. Lots of angry people.
When it was my turn the guy at the desk immediately went into defensive mode. I’m sure he was getting complaints all day long and was just ready for the next customer to complain. I just told him I wanted the car I booked or equivalent. The group was something like prestige elite SUV. Eventually, I said I would deal with the Tesla. That’s when he told me they only had model 3s. “Nope”. Was my response. I will take the XC90 I can see. That’s £85/day extra. The manager gave me an XC60 hybrid in the end.
So, that means my first EV was a total failure as the worst use case for EV is rental. Everyone in the building also had a terrible experience. As I left I saw they had Taycans. If they didn’t have the car in category they should give the Taycan. I would have taken that and dealt with the inconvenience as I’m looking at buying one.
Oh, hertz reported $400M loss in the last quarter due to EVs. They are now forcing them on to people using underhand practices.
It's almost a shame that they couldn't get you a suitable EV though, as I think you'd have realised that the bit in bold doesn't really matter - if you're driving 250 miles (4-5 hours) a ten minute stop at any rapid charger along the route would have seen the MY easily make the journey and have plenty of range left at the destination. It's also not really relevant that the nearest supercharger is an hour away, there will definitely be rapid chargers closer than that, although mostly any old 50kw fast charger is enough for local use.
I mention the above only because you've said you're interested in a Taycan and it sounded like the Hertz experience nearly got you into an EV for a while, but I fully understand that downgrading you from an X5 to MY and then further to just a model 3 is a complete piss take!
Actually, thinking about it... Maybe Hertz should switch their approach and actually promote the swap to EV as an opportunity for people to try an EV for a few days. If they worked a bit of education about charging into the procedure it could be genuinely useful for quite a few people. My mate got 'lumped' with an EV when his car was being repaired and ended up buying one as a result!
dmsims said:
You've been watching too much Macmaster
I'm looking to buy a small place in my town to airbnb and one of my requirements is that it has to have a space to park and charge an EV. It makes complete sense to me that they were quick to add that as a searchable feature. As an EV driver myself, if I was staying somewhere for a leisure break I know I'd value a charger and if there were two vaguely equivalent properties, I'd choose the one with the charger even if it was a little more expensive tbh.fourstardan said:
AirBnB doesn't even have a filter to search for these.
Waking up with a car that's got a 'full tank' every morning, with zero effort? That's a luxury at home or away.
TheDeuce said:
Actually, thinking about it... Maybe Hertz should switch their approach and actually promote the swap to EV as an opportunity for people to try an EV for a few days. If they worked a bit of education about charging into the procedure it could be genuinely useful for quite a few people. My mate got 'lumped' with an EV when his car was being repaired and ended up buying one as a result!
When I had one, Hertz were doing Polestar 2's for £35/day, which was a great deal and a decent first experience of an EV, but they gave me bugger all info about charging it. They could definitely do a far better job promoting them. RizzoTheRat said:
TheDeuce said:
Actually, thinking about it... Maybe Hertz should switch their approach and actually promote the swap to EV as an opportunity for people to try an EV for a few days. If they worked a bit of education about charging into the procedure it could be genuinely useful for quite a few people. My mate got 'lumped' with an EV when his car was being repaired and ended up buying one as a result!
When I had one, Hertz were doing Polestar 2's for £35/day, which was a great deal and a decent first experience of an EV, but they gave me bugger all info about charging it. They could definitely do a far better job promoting them. When people are scratching their head at the rental desk asking 'how long does it take to charge up', is the guy on the other side informed enough to point out that most charging is done on a miles needed basis, not 'to full'?
The reality is that most people caught off guard by being handed the keys to an EV, probably don't know anything about EV's other than whatever 'horror stories' or stories of range anxiety the press have shouted about.
Hertz or anyone else trying to pressure people into EV usage at least need to start by making sure the pro's are explained and offer some basic education. Most drivers actually probably are somewhat curious, they just need their fears addressing with facts.
TheDeuce said:
h0b0 said:
I have a thread running in the travel section of pistonheads talking about rental car equivalents. I thought my latest experience is relevant here.
Rented a BMW X5 and got confirmation of a guaranteed Tesla model Y. That triggered the thread because I didn’t think they are equivalent and I had to drive 250 miles to my destination which is 1 hour drive away from the nearest super charger.
When I got on the shuttle to the Hertz counter I over heard an elderly couple talking. The husband was near tears. He just kept saying how he didn’t know how he could have booked an electric vehicle. The wife was reassuring him saying they would manage. I politely apologized for overhearing their conversation and let them know it was unlikely his mistake. He had probably been bait and switched like I had. That’s when everyone on the shuttle revealed they had all booked petrol cars and received confirmation of EV.
Once we got to the Hertz building it was chaos. 30 groups all complaining that they had been bait and switched. Lots of angry people.
When it was my turn the guy at the desk immediately went into defensive mode. I’m sure he was getting complaints all day long and was just ready for the next customer to complain. I just told him I wanted the car I booked or equivalent. The group was something like prestige elite SUV. Eventually, I said I would deal with the Tesla. That’s when he told me they only had model 3s. “Nope”. Was my response. I will take the XC90 I can see. That’s £85/day extra. The manager gave me an XC60 hybrid in the end.
So, that means my first EV was a total failure as the worst use case for EV is rental. Everyone in the building also had a terrible experience. As I left I saw they had Taycans. If they didn’t have the car in category they should give the Taycan. I would have taken that and dealt with the inconvenience as I’m looking at buying one.
Oh, hertz reported $400M loss in the last quarter due to EVs. They are now forcing them on to people using underhand practices.
There's no excuse for what Hertz are doing, and I'm glad you stood your ground as much as practical in the circumstances.Rented a BMW X5 and got confirmation of a guaranteed Tesla model Y. That triggered the thread because I didn’t think they are equivalent and I had to drive 250 miles to my destination which is 1 hour drive away from the nearest super charger.
When I got on the shuttle to the Hertz counter I over heard an elderly couple talking. The husband was near tears. He just kept saying how he didn’t know how he could have booked an electric vehicle. The wife was reassuring him saying they would manage. I politely apologized for overhearing their conversation and let them know it was unlikely his mistake. He had probably been bait and switched like I had. That’s when everyone on the shuttle revealed they had all booked petrol cars and received confirmation of EV.
Once we got to the Hertz building it was chaos. 30 groups all complaining that they had been bait and switched. Lots of angry people.
When it was my turn the guy at the desk immediately went into defensive mode. I’m sure he was getting complaints all day long and was just ready for the next customer to complain. I just told him I wanted the car I booked or equivalent. The group was something like prestige elite SUV. Eventually, I said I would deal with the Tesla. That’s when he told me they only had model 3s. “Nope”. Was my response. I will take the XC90 I can see. That’s £85/day extra. The manager gave me an XC60 hybrid in the end.
So, that means my first EV was a total failure as the worst use case for EV is rental. Everyone in the building also had a terrible experience. As I left I saw they had Taycans. If they didn’t have the car in category they should give the Taycan. I would have taken that and dealt with the inconvenience as I’m looking at buying one.
Oh, hertz reported $400M loss in the last quarter due to EVs. They are now forcing them on to people using underhand practices.
It's almost a shame that they couldn't get you a suitable EV though, as I think you'd have realised that the bit in bold doesn't really matter - if you're driving 250 miles (4-5 hours) a ten minute stop at any rapid charger along the route would have seen the MY easily make the journey and have plenty of range left at the destination. It's also not really relevant that the nearest supercharger is an hour away, there will definitely be rapid chargers closer than that, although mostly any old 50kw fast charger is enough for local use.
I mention the above only because you've said you're interested in a Taycan and it sounded like the Hertz experience nearly got you into an EV for a while, but I fully understand that downgrading you from an X5 to MY and then further to just a model 3 is a complete piss take!
Actually, thinking about it... Maybe Hertz should switch their approach and actually promote the swap to EV as an opportunity for people to try an EV for a few days. If they worked a bit of education about charging into the procedure it could be genuinely useful for quite a few people. My mate got 'lumped' with an EV when his car was being repaired and ended up buying one as a result!
What I did not appreciate was that EVs are only charged to 80% so my calculations were off but probably would be still be OK. Then, the first car they offered was not a Tesla. That broke the supercharger plan and then put me back in to uncertainty. It was just too many challenges at the wrong time. I will fully admit that when I saw the Taycans in their car park when I left I did think it ridiculous they did not offer me one of those from the outset. I would have been willing to do almost anything to make those work.
The £50 recharge cost was the final nail in the EV coffin for me. There is no feasible way of returning an EV at 80% to avoid it. They should build it in the cost. Having said that, the Volvo cost me £70+ to refuel which I just accept so maybe that's a mental change I need to make.
I was very impressed with the XC60 T8 recharge I had in the end. it was over £70k though
h0b0 said:
The £50 recharge cost was the final nail in the EV coffin for me. There is no feasible way of returning an EV at 80% to avoid it. They should build it in the cost.
Was that Hertz? When I had the Polestar thier policy was if I returned it between 20% and 80% they'd charge me howevermuch per kWh, which was less than the fast charger at the motorway services so didn't seem to bad a deal. Overall using a couple of fast charges over the weekend I think it came out as about the equivalent of 45-50mpg in a petrol, which meant probably a bit cheaper to run than a equivalent powered petrol, but not a lot. It mainly reinforced my initial opinion that an EV works best if you have a home charger.RizzoTheRat said:
h0b0 said:
The £50 recharge cost was the final nail in the EV coffin for me. There is no feasible way of returning an EV at 80% to avoid it. They should build it in the cost.
Was that Hertz? When I had the Polestar thier policy was if I returned it between 20% and 80% they'd charge me howevermuch per kWh, which was less than the fast charger at the motorway services so didn't seem to bad a deal. Overall using a couple of fast charges over the weekend I think it came out as about the equivalent of 45-50mpg in a petrol, which meant probably a bit cheaper to run than a equivalent powered petrol, but not a lot. It mainly reinforced my initial opinion that an EV works best if you have a home charger.They were charging £4.48/l if you didn’t bring the hybrid I rented back full.
h0b0 said:
It was Hertz UK. They only mentioned the prepay option. I didn’t get to the post pay option.
They were charging £4.48/l if you didn’t bring the hybrid I rented back full.
It seems like they have some weird and rapidly changing policies then. After how good the Polestar charging deal seemed to be, I asked about refuelling for the petrol 208 I had from them a while ago and they only offered a rediculously expensive fixed charge rather than a price by the litre. They were charging £4.48/l if you didn’t bring the hybrid I rented back full.
Both times from Gatwick.
I do not think it is rapidly changing policy, just I have a piece of it.
They have always had a pay up front for a full tank of petrol when you return. This assumes you will return it empty and they charge retail or lower rates for petrol. The second choice is for you to return the car full, or at the same level as you got it. If you do not fill the car up they charge you an extortionate rate as a penalty.
In my case, I could pay about £150 to pre-pay the petrol and return empty. I do not take this option because it only normally benefits if you return the car on fumes. The other option is to return full. I took this option as there are multiple petrol stations nearby. If I had been running late and not filled it up they charge £4.48/l as a penalty. Just in case, they put a hold on your credit card for the full amount. The desk staff were very proactive in pointing out the cost several times to ensure I understood it.
It sounds like they offer similar for their EVs. I only heard the prepay in full option
They have always had a pay up front for a full tank of petrol when you return. This assumes you will return it empty and they charge retail or lower rates for petrol. The second choice is for you to return the car full, or at the same level as you got it. If you do not fill the car up they charge you an extortionate rate as a penalty.
In my case, I could pay about £150 to pre-pay the petrol and return empty. I do not take this option because it only normally benefits if you return the car on fumes. The other option is to return full. I took this option as there are multiple petrol stations nearby. If I had been running late and not filled it up they charge £4.48/l as a penalty. Just in case, they put a hold on your credit card for the full amount. The desk staff were very proactive in pointing out the cost several times to ensure I understood it.
It sounds like they offer similar for their EVs. I only heard the prepay in full option
RizzoTheRat said:
h0b0 said:
It was Hertz UK. They only mentioned the prepay option. I didn’t get to the post pay option.
They were charging £4.48/l if you didn’t bring the hybrid I rented back full.
It seems like they have some weird and rapidly changing policies then. After how good the Polestar charging deal seemed to be, I asked about refuelling for the petrol 208 I had from them a while ago and they only offered a rediculously expensive fixed charge rather than a price by the litre. They were charging £4.48/l if you didn’t bring the hybrid I rented back full.
Both times from Gatwick.
Some businesses are just terribly run and completely lose touch with what is reasonable in terms of customer care and expectation..
h0b0 said:
They have always had a pay up front for a full tank of petrol when you return. This assumes you will return it empty and they charge retail or lower rates for petrol. The second choice is for you to return the car full, or at the same level as you got it. If you do not fill the car up they charge you an extortionate rate as a penalty.
Ah, that makes sense, I probably just got quoted the prepay option not the price per litre as well. TheDeuce said:
Having already pissed off a customer by unexpectedly switching them to an EV, it seems moronic to also have a policy that 'makes money' out of the need to charge the car, a need the customer never expected or opted for in the first place.
Some businesses are just terribly run and completely lose touch with what is reasonable in terms of customer care and expectation..
That was a petrol car they were suggesting silly money to refuel, the EV recharge price was something like 10p/kWh cheaper than a fast charger at a motorway services which would have been the most convenient option otherwise.Some businesses are just terribly run and completely lose touch with what is reasonable in terms of customer care and expectation..
RizzoTheRat said:
TheDeuce said:
Having already pissed off a customer by unexpectedly switching them to an EV, it seems moronic to also have a policy that 'makes money' out of the need to charge the car, a need the customer never expected or opted for in the first place.
Some businesses are just terribly run and completely lose touch with what is reasonable in terms of customer care and expectation..
That was a petrol car they were suggesting silly money to refuel, the EV recharge price was something like 10p/kWh cheaper than a fast charger at a motorway services which would have been the most convenient option otherwise.Some businesses are just terribly run and completely lose touch with what is reasonable in terms of customer care and expectation..
To someone new to EV, that sort of thing is just going to be another mental block.
It sounds like their EV re-charging policy and pricing has changed at some point, it would be fine if it was approx equivalent to using a public charger - and Hertz would still make money on that rate if they have their own charger.
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