WHOA! Nope, We Still Won’t Rent An EV When On Vacation

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Electric vehicles are becoming more mainstream. Instead of being an oddity, it’s more than likely you know someone who owns one. We know at least three people who’ve made the switch to electric cars. We’re not against EVs, as we owned a Ford Escape Hybrid for many years. But that’s different, as it wasn’t a plug-in and ran on both gas and battery power.

With several companies offering EV rentals (Hertz, Avis, Enterprise and Sixt all offer EV options) more travelers have the option of getting a plug-in vehicle on their next trip. Approximately 6% of the new cars sold in the US are electric, so it’s no surprise you’ll see them pop up on more rental lots.

But I’m still not going to rent one for our next trip.

I was recently offered a lower rate on a Hertz rental from Autoslash. It turns out that the lowest price available for my trip was for a Tesla Model 3. While it would save a few bucks, I passed on the offer and kept the car I had.

I was reminded of this as I read an article in The Atlantic titled “Car-Rental Companies Are Ruining EVs”

The best way to cap a weekend road trip, I can assure you, is not by jostling for an EV charger outside a Sheetz gas station in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It’s Memorial Day, and I’m in a runt of a rental car trying to outmaneuver a Ford F-150 Lightning. Thirty minutes of waiting for a charger to free up is bringing out my most Darwinian instincts: Like an eagle swooping down to nab a goat, my tiny black Chevy Bolt EUV swings into the spot before the pickup even knows what’s happening. The adrenaline rush of sweet victory is immediately tempered by an emotional letdown. My car needs an hour of charging before it’s ready to go again.

The story begins with the author booking a “Manager’s Special” with Hertz. That’s a reservation where you don’t pick a car type and you take what they give you. It’s often the cheapest option and you have the chance to get more car than you’re paying for. You can also end up with a pickup truck, minivan or, in this case, a Chevy Bolt.

The author describes a new phenomenon in the rental car industry. The surprise EV.

All of them were familiar with the phenomenon of the surprise EV, a result of how much the industry is leaning into electric cars. Only 4 percent of Americans own an EV, but Hertz plans for a quarter of its fleet to be electric by the end of next year.

While Hertz is leading the EV charge (charge, you see what I did there?), other companies are taking a slower adoption strategy.

“We will not introduce large numbers of EVs into our fleet until we have clarity that the customer experience meets our standards,” Lisa Martini, a spokesperson for Enterprise Holdings, which owns Enterprise, National, and Alamo, wrote in an email.

I think that’s the smarter path. Sure, there are people who wouldn’t mind or who might even want to rent an EV, but that’s a small percentage of the people renting cars.

I wouldn’t mind renting an EV but it needs to be a trip where I knew it wouldn’t be a problem. For example, I’d be OK renting one in Austin, TX knowing that we don’t travel very far from the hotel, and our favorite Courtyard by Marriott hotel has EV chargers in the parking lot.

However, if I’m going on a trip to New Jersey to visit family, I don’t want to worry if I’ll be able to charge my car when I get to their house or if I’ll need to sit at a charging station before bringing the car back to the airport.

That’s because Hertz now charges a $35 fee if you bring an EV back with less than a 70% charge. Add another $25 if the charge is under 10%

The battery life should be no less than 70% upon return, or a $35 fee will apply. An additional $25 fee will be added if the battery life is 10% or below.

Charging a car also has its own rules. You need to pay at most locations. If you use a Tesla charger, Hertz will pass the charge onto you after the rental but non-Tesla chargers require you to have an account beforehand. Other stations require an adapter to charge your vehicle.

And when it comes to using a Tesla Supercharger, you have to move your car as soon as it’s done charging or you’re charged an idle fee of $0.50 to $1.00 per minute.

That’s a steep learning curve to rent a vehicle for the weekend. I’d rather know that I’ll be able to find a gas station wherever I am and I’ll be able to fill up a few minutes before returning my car. If you’re planning to rent an EV when on vacation, OTA’s, hotel websites and sites like Plugshare can help you find hotels with charging stations.

I’m going to make sure that I pick my vehicle when making a reservation but that doesn’t mean you might not end up somewhere there’s no cars left but an EV.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary

Cover Photo by Rathaphon Nanthapreecha: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-car-charging-3846205/