Tesla hosed Hertz and a lot of current owners with the massive price cuts, a lot of underwater Tesla owners driving around...Hertz as well. Hertz thought they could buy these, rent them for a year and sell them at a profit. Didn't work out too well 
Hertz CEO says buying EVs was a big mistake and very costly to the company margins
- Thread starter alarmguy
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Ahhh… 100% financed new vehicle purchases. The American way.Tesla hosed Hertz and a lot of current owners with the massive price cuts, a lot of underwater Tesla owners driving around...Hertz as well. Hertz thought they could buy these, rent them for a year and sell them at a profit. Didn't work out too well
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The Tesla crowd isn’t typically the trade every 3 years type of buyer. I remember reading something about the average Model 3 buyer making $130k a year average too.
IF you remember the EE video where he had to replace a damaged wheel?
I can see that happening alot with those little rubber band tires on an extra heavy car.
Salted plowed roads are falling apart by spring. L
and that isnt even in a place like E. Liverpool ohio.. where they sport perpetual bomb craters.
You can bet I'd be buying the extra hertz insurance if I rented an EV.
I just saw a guy in a tesla totally demolish the front plastic on it in front of my house.
I was pulling in driveway and he was in next lane (4 lane road) he hit one of those square buckets bird seed come in..
must have been something heavy in it.
Ended up pushing it up the 5% hill for at least 500ft and it had plastic chunks flying.
FWIW I'm pretty sure my subaru forester wilderness would have cleared it.
Although It would have done the same to a VW golf gti that I was looking at last year.
I can see that happening alot with those little rubber band tires on an extra heavy car.
Salted plowed roads are falling apart by spring. L
and that isnt even in a place like E. Liverpool ohio.. where they sport perpetual bomb craters.
You can bet I'd be buying the extra hertz insurance if I rented an EV.
I just saw a guy in a tesla totally demolish the front plastic on it in front of my house.
I was pulling in driveway and he was in next lane (4 lane road) he hit one of those square buckets bird seed come in..
must have been something heavy in it.
Ended up pushing it up the 5% hill for at least 500ft and it had plastic chunks flying.
FWIW I'm pretty sure my subaru forester wilderness would have cleared it.
Although It would have done the same to a VW golf gti that I was looking at last year.
I would be willing to bet Hertz got sold a real of goods by musk.
People do rent them for a test drive, but may not know how to operate the basic functionality. Digging through menu items on the touch screen can be difficult and flat out dangerous. I can tell you there is a learning curve. Once you learn voice commands, it's all good but before that these cars can be frustrating for many.
Yes, they purchased items from a company headed by that of Elon Musk.
Thanks Captain Obvious.
So must set Hertz up as a test drive center instead of doing it the right way. Could it be the gee whiz factor of an in car play station is wearing off. I think so.
Why don't you tell us how much cheaper the car is since you bought it?Yes, they purchased items from a company headed by that of Elon Musk.
Thanks Captain Obvious.
Where in this article did he say it was a "big mistake"?
I don't see he actually said what you claim.
The article ends with the following -
“Electric vehicles open the door to our growing presence in rideshare, where electrification is a fast-approaching requirement, not merely an option,” the Hertz CEO said.
I don't see he actually said what you claim.
The article ends with the following -
“Electric vehicles open the door to our growing presence in rideshare, where electrification is a fast-approaching requirement, not merely an option,” the Hertz CEO said.
Not sure I follow your comment, but getting a Tesla test drive is as easy as pie. The Tesla stores are very friendly, easy to deal with and not pushy at all. They do give you an overview if you are not familiar with the car...
While it is not for me, renting cars to test them out is nothing new. I have learned a lot about different cars from renting. 2 of my favorites were a Ford Fusion a few years back and a Mazda 3, which seemed head and shoulders above the Civic/Corolla cars I've driven. Then there was the Hertz Shelby Mustang which was a blast. I got it as a free upgrade!
While it is not for me, renting cars to test them out is nothing new. I have learned a lot about different cars from renting. 2 of my favorites were a Ford Fusion a few years back and a Mazda 3, which seemed head and shoulders above the Civic/Corolla cars I've driven. Then there was the Hertz Shelby Mustang which was a blast. I got it as a free upgrade!
I’ve been on maybe three test drive and my dad went on another. My dad obviously needed a lot of hand holding but generally feels confident now at least for routine driving.
My first was in 2019 and my kid was in the back seat. That included an employee on a ride along giving all sorts of tips and suggesting places to test it out. But the next one was for my dad when he was looking to buy although I ended up doing it. No employee except for a few tips before going and maybe an hour before I had to return it. Then my dad went back for his own test drive with an employee. And then I went with my mom to one where I was the one giving her tips from the front seat.
Some test drives are via a kiosk. Not quite sure how they do that. I’ve seen the locations but didn’t get an idea how they worked. Like how they give access without a physical key or maybe they do have a physical key.
If the rental car company isn't giving out fully charged vehicles, yeah, that's a deal breaker.
I'd be more willing to bet that Hertz and other companies bought a bunch of EVs for political reasons, with zero knowledge about the infrastructure required.
I would have to drive 50 miles to test drive one. Great CS. LOL
Wow, comments all over the map. Arm chair quarterbacks for the win! Or is it Chicken Little perhaps?
Hertz CEO Scherr said he will continue to buy EVs, despite the higher collision repair costs.
Sure, the residual value of any car is lowered as new model prices come down. But the flip side is, Hertz future purchases are lower.
The value of used cars in general is trending down.
CEO Scherr said “The line from A to B is not always straight, it’s not that here. Depreciation is higher because the MSRP came down, but we’re a better buyer on the forward.”
Hertz CEO Scherr said he will continue to buy EVs, despite the higher collision repair costs.
Sure, the residual value of any car is lowered as new model prices come down. But the flip side is, Hertz future purchases are lower.
The value of used cars in general is trending down.
CEO Scherr said “The line from A to B is not always straight, it’s not that here. Depreciation is higher because the MSRP came down, but we’re a better buyer on the forward.”
Hertz spent a lot of money on ads touting their EVs but apparently forgot to install the charging infrastructure that they showed in their ads. I didn’t realize that Tom Brady was a Charger.
He didnt say it was a big or huge mistake in that article alarm guy attatched.Hertz spent a lot of money on ads touting their EVs but apparently forgot to install the charging infrastructure that they showed in their ads. I didn’t realize that Tom Brady was a Charger.
I was at a Supercharger last August in Ukiah, California talking to someone in a Tesla polo shirt. He was on his way for a demo drive in the area and he wanted the charge topped off. I don’t recall where he said he was based other than it was in the Bay Area.
and zero knowledge that they would cost almost 100% more then ICE vehicles to maintain.
But who would have thought they were being swindled at the time?
It's amazing how some big companies just love to step on their own feet and mess up their companies. The lack of common sense and stupid decisions, good thing is, Hertz will get out of this one and consumers might pick up a bargain.
Another example of major mis-steps would be something like that beer company.
I’m just thinking there are a lot of reports of EVs rented out by Hertz with low states of charge. That suggests that they haven’t really installed enough chargers.
