Renting an EV - tips, tricks and suggestions?

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Blurtie

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#306936 5-Sep-2023 15:18

I'm aware of the various established tesla/EV threads, some of which span hundreds of pages already, but I couldn't see anything related to this - so I thought it best to start a new thread. Apologies if this is something that has already been covered!

Mods - feel free to delete or transfer this into one of the more established threads if not suitable.

As it says on the lid, I'll be renting an EV (a Tesla M3 through Avis in case it matters) for about a week over the upcoming school holidays. Will be doing a bit of a tiki-tour round the lower North Island - Wellington, Palmerston North, Hawkes Bay then back to Wellington again to visit friends and family.

Just after some practical tips/advice to make it make the experience as smooth as possible.

I don't think the rental will come with it's own 'home' charging cable, so I assume I'm stuck on the public charging network - however would be good to have confirmation from anyone who has rented one recently. Do I need an account to use the tesla supercharging network? I'm aware of chargenet and already have an account. Is there anything else I need to do before picking up the rental?

Am hoping to use this as a 'try before you buy' experience and hopefully convince the wife along the way!

Thanks all.

Edit - language/grammar.

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#3123882 5-Sep-2023 15:45

Particularly for the Tesla, an American YouTuber named Andy Slye put out a couple of videos on the basics of driving a Model 3 which I found really useful to get to grips with the car. While it is possible to just get in and drive, that one video makes things a bit easier.

I would assume that Avis will have the Tesla account linked to the car in their name and if you use a supercharger it would just get added to your rental bill, but they should be able to answer that for you. I would also expect you’ll be operating the car using a key card. I think that will let you save your driver profile against it.

We took our Model 3 on a roadie into the Wairarapa. There was a paucity of chargers (imo) in that part of the country, so make sure you don’t end up stranded. There was a solitary charger in each of a couple of towns, so I always had a “plan B” in case it was out of service. I set up BP and Z Energy accounts as well and had a decent look on Plugshare before setting out.

It’s a shame if they don’t give you a granny charger. We were able to use that at one of the motels.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

johno1234

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#3123888 5-Sep-2023 15:56

I see you are renting the Tesla for education and fun rather than any cost saving... As a hirer you get none of the usual BEV cost benefit as public fast chargers are expensive, and you're not benefiting from reduced maintenance cost. But I get it if you just want to try these things out.

gzt

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#3123889 5-Sep-2023 15:56

I am not a regular rental car user. How does the rental insurance work for different companies and the extra payment? I have car insurance for my vehicles nowhere near Tesla levels.

Dingbatt

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#3123893 5-Sep-2023 16:11

gzt: I am not a regular rental car user. How does the rental insurance work for different companies and the extra payment? I have car insurance for my vehicles nowhere near Tesla levels.

Insurance is normally one of the components you can choose (or decline) as part of the hire. There is also the ability to pay more to get the excess lowered as it is normally quite high initially ($2500 springs to mind). I’m a little hazy on the exact details because I use the “Avis Preferred” service so just have a standard profile saved. Some credit cards offer cover, but there are fishhooks in the cover, so I would be wary of that.

Avis will also expect the car back with a certain level of charge. Slightly more planning required than just filling up at a petrol station prior to returning the keys.

I endorse the comments about not saving any money if you use public chargers. Expect the running costs to be similar to a Corolla.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

shk292

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#3123906 5-Sep-2023 16:52

gzt: I am not a regular rental car user. How does the rental insurance work for different companies and the extra payment? I have car insurance for my vehicles nowhere near Tesla levels.

In my experience, it's worth taking out travel insurance for a NZ trip of a week or more, because this will cover your rental car excess as well as the other benefits (accommodation cancellation etc). The hire car companies charge like wounded bulls when it comes to excess reduction insurance.

mrdrifter

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#3123909 5-Sep-2023 17:04

Blurtie:

I'm aware of the various established tesla/EV threads, some of which span hundreds of pages already, but I couldn't see anything related to this - so I thought it best to start a new thread. Apologies if this is something that has already been covered!

Mods - feel free to delete or transfer this into one of the more established threads if not suitable.

As it says on the lid, I'll be renting an EV (a Tesla M3 through Avis in case it matters) for about a week over the upcoming school holidays. Will be doing a bit of a tiki-tour round the lower North Island - Wellington, Palmerston North, Hawkes Bay then back to Wellington again to visit friends and family.

Just after some practical tips/advice to make it make the experience as smooth as possible.

I don't think the rental will come with it's own 'home' charging cable, so I assume I'm stuck on the public charging network - however would be good to have confirmation from anyone who has rented one recently. Do I need an account to use the tesla supercharging network? I'm aware of chargenet and already have an account. Is there anything else I need to do before picking up the rental?

Am hoping to use this as a 'try before you buy' experience and hopefully convince the wife along the way!

Thanks all.

Edit - language/grammar.

I have rented two electric cars in the last couple of years

a Hyundai Ioniq in Auckland
a BYD Atto 3 in Queensland

Both came with a standard 8/10 amp 3 pin evse in the boot and the Atto 3 had type 2 cable in the boot as well.

Both we just had to return with at least 20% charge although I think the BYD they now want 50% charge.

The Ioniq we didn't actually need to charge at all but I had my chargenet account if needed.

The Atto 3 in Australia included free charging on their Chargefox network with an RFID token and we saved a significant amount over paying for fuel.

As others have said, depending on where you are going just have a good look at the chargers available in the area via the supercharger map and plugshare etc... Once you get used to things it's just like any other vehicle with a slightly longer 'refuel' time.

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Mehrts

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#3123916 5-Sep-2023 17:43

I've hired a Model 3 and a Model Y from Avis at the Chch airport earlier this year.

They come with the mobile connector, which allows you to charge on any standard three pin mains outlet at either 10 Amps or 15 Amps depending on the plug you use (Make sure both are in the carry case before you leave the compound!). It's a slow but convenient way to charge.

They do not come with any other cables, such as "type 2 to type 2" cables that are typically used for slow AC chargers that require a BYO cable. However, you'll be wanting to use the DC fast chargers for best use of your time while out and about.

I noticed that I was never charged for using the Tesla Superchargers at Timaru, so you might be pleasantly surprised that you're not charged for using the superchargers. Not sure if that was supposed to happen or not.

It's best to use the car navigation when using the Tesla Superchargers, as the car will automatically heat the battery to make the charging time much quicker.

I also used a combo of ChargeNet and BP charging stations with no issues at all. Just make sure you have the apps pre-downloaded & set up on your phone before the trip.

Speaking of apps, unless things have changed between March and now, you won't have any access to the Tesla App features, such as using the phone key, or being able to have remote access to preconditon the cabin temp etc.

Instead, you'll be given a key card which is used to unlock the car via holding it up to the driver side B pillar, and "starting" the car by placing the key card on the flat surface near the drink holders. This is fine, but limited app access would be great, like what GoRentals offer.

Overall, renting is a great way to actually get a feel of what it's like to use an electric car, especially how the charging works. That's what made me think about stepping into one of my own, whereas I would have had a negative experience of the car if I was basing things off a single test drive.

jonathan18

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#3123922 5-Sep-2023 17:51

Dingbatt: We took our Model 3 on a roadie into the Wairarapa. There was a paucity of chargers (imo) in that part of the country, so make sure you don’t end up stranded. There was a solitary charger in each of a couple of towns, so I always had a “plan B” in case it was out of service. I set up BP and Z Energy accounts as well and had a decent look on Plugshare before setting out.

Yep, you’re fine on the western side of the island - Tesla Superchargers in J’ville, Paraparaumu, P Nth; and various ChargeNet chargers in a number of places (though many will be slower 50kW models). If you have the choice between a Tesla or other charger I’d suggest you go with the latter, especially if you want to show off the ease of charging to help seal the idea of an EV! It’s not only easy (plug and play) but also easier to warm the battery before arriving (though this can be possible for an alternative charger if you’re heading in a similar direction as a Supercharger).

But, yep, the Wairarapa is still pretty poorly served; at least Masterton now has two fast chargers (after having been caught out there when they only had one!) - the newer one is at Moore Wilson’s.

You may find your accommodation has charging facilities, and you’ll be surprised how much range you can add over-night even with a relatively slow single-phase charger. There are also freebie chargers at places like The Warehouse but only bother using these if you happen to be there or very near and you’re doing something else!

I’d recommend having a play with A Better Route Planner - I found it an excellent way to get to the point I felt comfortable before setting off on a long SI trip (our first in an EV). While I initially planned the whole trip with that, I soon reached a point where I would only be needing to think about the next day’s charging. It’s also really adjustable in terms of multiple variables to provide a pretty accurate idea. See https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

Blurtie

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#3124044 6-Sep-2023 08:45

Thanks for the excellent responses so far team.

Yes - am definitely renting an EV for the education/experience aspect over that of saving money. Although it would be nice if costs of renting an EV comes down to the price of an equivalent ICE! But this experience should give a good intro into likely costs on going journeys in an EV and using public chargers.

Good to have confirmation that a granny charger will be supplied. Will be sure to look for it when picking it up. Not entirely sure what impact not having a type-2 to type-2 cable will have, but I guess it shouldn't be a big issue if I'm mainly using public chargers.

One noob question I do have is using the Tesla supercharger - one of the comments above noted that the rental can't be linked to aTelsa account I create, so how would it know who to charge (pun intended) if there's no account/billing information assigned?? Can someone please talk through the steps? Is there something within the car settings itself I need to do? I'd be a bit weary of putting in my credit card details into the car in order to use the supercharger - so would lean more towards the likes of chargenet (and others) where the info is stored in an account linked to myself.. Hope that makes sense.

jonathan18

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#3124098 6-Sep-2023 09:25

The Supercharger recognises the car so there’s no need to do anything special; billing will be linked to the ‘owner - ie the rental company - which should then logically add the cost of any charging you do to your own bill (but doesn’t always seem to do, going by posts above).

As such, the actual charging experience should be no different to anyone else - rock up, set your charging limit, press the button on the handle to open the charging port (or open it via the car’s screen), stick it in, and you’re away. (You can always adjust the charging limit or stop charging early if you want to.)

If they’re just providing you with the access card (the equivalent of a conventional key) then there’ll be no need to create a Tesla account.

MikeAqua

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#3124108 6-Sep-2023 09:55

Stupid question: Do you have to return the car charged to x% ?

Or do they not care about that, because they'll just recharge it on site?

Mike

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afe66

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#3124117 6-Sep-2023 10:31

If you already have an extension cord at home, I'd throw one in boot to make connecting granny charger easier.

Really should have a thicker cable version like builders use as not heat as much and a useful thing to have at home anyway. 2.5mm+ vrs cheaper 1.5mm copper

(I bought such one from m10 yrs ago when I first bought my leaf.)

michaelmurfy

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#3124123 6-Sep-2023 11:13

MikeAqua:

Stupid question: Do you have to return the car charged to x% ?

Or do they not care about that, because they'll just recharge it on site?

Not a stupid question at all. I've seen most rental places don't mind as-long as you return it with above 20% charge.

But also the supercharger network in the North Island is pretty darn good now so I suspect you won't have too many problems. I've done over 40,000km in my Model 3 since March last year and charging has gotten considerably better over the years.

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KrazyKid

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#3124128 6-Sep-2023 11:26

I hired an M3 a couple of years ago:

Insurance-wise it's the same as opther hire car: the amount you pay in case of damage is set by the hire company, you can pay extra to reduce this amount.
Another option is to take out travel insurance to cover the hire care damage excess. It's cheaper, but you will have to pay the hire car company and claim back from the insurance company.
Your own car insuarance won't cover care hire. Some credit card travel insurance may cover car hire excess.

I used the supercharger network to charge and the hire company billed me for the cost.
I also set up an account with chargenet so I could use and pay for their fast chargers when a supercharger was not avaialable.
Not sure who has fast chargers in the area you are driving. Several companies have fast charger networks these days,

Finally the suggestion about getting a 16Amp extension cord for the granny charger is good.
But i did find charging at holiday rentals hit and miss - a couple of wall sockets got quite warm and I stopped at those places as i didn't want to take chances.

At the end of the day the fast charge units costs are similar prices to petrol if not cheaper, and a good excuse for a coffe stop :)

MikeAqua

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#3124142 6-Sep-2023 12:05

michaelmurfy:

Not a stupid question at all. I've seen most rental places don't mind as-long as you return it with above 20% charge.

But also the supercharger network in the North Island is pretty darn good now so I suspect you won't have too many problems. I've done over 40,000km in my Model 3 since March last year and charging has gotten considerably better over the years.

Good to know. At this stage my company won't stretch to renting EVs, because a standard car plus fuel is still cheaper than an EV plus fast charging. Maybe one day EVs will be cheaper to rent.

Renting would be a good way to test drive though.

Mike

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