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They almost exclusively bought Teslas and Polestars and are now complaining about maintenance costs? I remember a few years ago, the first time Tesla wasn't on the very bottom of the JD Powers Initial Build Quality list the editors put up a special note that it wasn't because Tesla had gotten better, only because Polestar was even worse.

Seems like Hertz's main problem is common sense.

I'd really like to rent a Hyundai Ionic 5 for a road trip next summer but I can't find anyone local that rents any electrics other than Teslas.

I just rented an EV from Hertz. I loved it. I planned to rent one next time I needed a rental.

Granted, I'm not keeping them in business with my 2 rentals a year.

Hopefully the now arriving wave of electric cars built by incumbent car companies won't have the same issues as Teslas in terms of being single integrated bricks of technology that you have to throw out if any part breaks.

I wouldn't be surprised if the hidden costs aren't just around time. EVs are great, generally, but they're sort of purpose specific. Having a 250 mile range (at best), people generally not knowing where to recharge, the additional time to recharge, not being able to charge at a lot of hotels, severely limited long range ability (without a lot of stops)... All of those add up to a poor experience. I can't think of a time where I rented a car and an EV would have been an option that I wanted. MAYBE if I only needed to go as much as a single charge would allow me, but this is just not a good fit for rentals, in my opinion.

Tesla is notoriously shitty with repairs and the fact that they are dumping them because of that is not surprising.

Everyone seems to miss the "higher expenses related to collision and damage" part which is actually the most important part.

Why would electric cars crash more often than ICE cars? EV and ICE cars should drive exactly the same. I know my electric Berlingo drives exactly the same as ICE Berlingo.

Maybe the reason is that some popular EV brand makes cars that are dangerous to drive by installing non-standard steering wheels, turn signal switches and touch screens instead of buttons (not to mention too powerful engines)? If that's the case it says nothing about EVs in general and definitely doesn't indicate there are 'hidden' costs to EV ownership. Just don't buy bad EVs only because they have more range.

The main hidden cost is that regular ass people aren't going to be able to afford one for another twenty years or more.

I'm in my forties, and I'm still driving a car from 1999.

I have never owned a new car, all my vehicles have been used, and I've bought them in cash, outright, no car payment.

The prices will never come down on a used EV enough for me to justify the purchase, especially since I can find cars from 20 years ago that don't have excess features that will cost me more money to repair. Like a bunch of rear-view cameras and sensors, often placed inside the bumper, make a small fender bender into a costly repair bill because it's no longer just a bumper, it's a bumper with all kinds of expensive shit inside of it.

You can't find an EV with roll-down windows, no extras, and just a radio. They don't fucking make 'em. EV's were just the first step of the auto industry fully embracing that all vehicles are luxury, and economy cars just don't exist anymore.

Add to all this that charging networks haven't exactly rolled out nationwide and you're left with feeling stuck with ICE cars longer than you'd like.

I would have loved an EV a decade ago, but literally nobody is making an EV I can fucking afford before I croak.

Long story short: As with everything, the blame will be put disproportionately on the poor while ignoring that buying an EV is something most poor people simply cannot afford.

Well they've lost my business. I refuse to rent a ICE car here in Europe, unless I'm renting a van or something for hauling something. Why should I pay for gas, give kids asthma, and contribute to climate change whenever I need a car? Plenty of EV options here that aren't shitty like Hertz.

I live in a ski town, people in rentals drive recklessly and crash the things A LOT. I can absolutely understand the decision to switch to cheaper cars.

The US is also far behind on EV infrastructure compared to places like Europe. In Europe, a long roadtrip is now pretty easy to achieve in an EV. Not so much in the US.