Hertz's loss could be your gain.
Thanks to their nasty depreciation and high running costs, the rental giant had a bad time incorporating thousands more electric cars into its fleet. Now, it's offloading many of them—including tons of Teslas—at bargain-bin prices.
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Hertz's EV blowout
Hertz went big on EVs before deciding to cut back its fleet. That means it's selling former rental Teslas and Chevrolet Bolts for cheap.
Hertz is offering base Model 3 sedans with anywhere from 40,000 to 70,000 miles for around $20,000 or less. After applying the $4,000 federal rebate for used EV purchases, we're talking about a Tesla for $16,000 or $17,000—less than half of what they'd cost new. So, these cars look like a steal.
However, at the end of the day these are rental EVs that have been flogged by Uber drivers and fast-charged an untold number of times, a process that can contribute to battery degradation. So it's understandable to have some reservations. I sure would.
Fortunately, intrepid souls out there have already bought Hertz Teslas and can provide some insight. Luke Hunt, who runs the EV-focused YouTube channel Spinner EV, bought a 2022 Model 3 RWD from Hertz with 57,000 miles on the odometer earlier this year. He recently graced us with a comprehensive range test.
For the test, Hunt set out with a 100% state of charge on a route that included a variety of roads: highways, city streets, country roads and more. With a full battery, the Tesla displayed an estimated range of 257 miles, Hunt said. When new, it would have come with a range rating of 272 miles.
For all the nitty gritty details about kilowatt-hours consumed and updates throughout the drive, I recommend checking out the full video above. But I'll cut right to the chase. The Model 3 managed to travel 225 miles before reaching a 1% state of charge. It still showed 2 miles of range left, so let's call it 227 miles.
Knowing that EVs often fail to meet their advertised ranges—whether that's due to extreme temperatures or high-speed highway driving—that result strikes me as pretty solid. It's plenty for most people to go about their business. And although the Model 3 may have seen some battery degradation over the years, it's not all that much.
Hunt's observations track with what we learned previously about all this from Scott Case, CEO of Recurrent, a firm that tracks battery health in used EVs. He said high mileage doesn't necessarily result in bad battery degradation.
"I think that Hertz is pricing these too low because the industry only thinks about mileage when setting values for used EVs," Case told InsideEVs earlier this year. "So, it's a real opportunity for savvy buyers to take advantage."
Indeed, the Hertz Car Sales website includes range ratings from Recurrent on many of its Tesla listings, and they tend to be pretty high—around 250 miles for Model 3 RWD models with 272 estimated miles originally.
Plus, other conditions may have played a role in diminishing Hunt's observed range. The outside temperature ranged from 87-95 degrees, so the A/C was putting in some work. Hunt said he had just put brand-new tires on the car the day before, which likely increased rolling resistance. I'd be curious to see another test once those tires have had some time to wear in.
What do you think? Is a Hertz Model 3 a good deal or a hard pass? Let us know in the comments below.
Contact the author: tim.levin@insideevs.com
