Dark Sage Torunka 
I just got back from a week-long trip to Long Island and I have some VERY ANGRY thoughts about #Hertz Car Rental (and also #Priceline) and how they managed to turn a $243.51 rental into a $794.24 rental through a bunch of incredibly underhanded sales tactics that should be illegal, but probably aren't, because "personal responsibility" is the new "buyer beware".
Jan 4, 2025 at 11:33pmWeb
Show threadDark Sage Torunka Jan 4, 2025

First off, the rental offer itself. #Priceline listed it as "Supplier's Choice - Electric" with an all-in total of $243.51. Really good deal compared to all the other $500+ cars being quoted.

During booking they offer "collision damage coverage" for an extra $78.

The thing about car rentals in the US is that they run off of hard sells of redundant insurances to exhausted travelers who don't know better. I am willing to pay $78 to make those go away.

That was my first mistake.

Show threadDark Sage Torunka Jan 4, 2025

You see, while this isn't adequately explained during booking, this isn't #Hertz collision damage coverage, this is "Powered by RentalCover", a company I've never heard of.

When I actually went to pick up the car, they asked me if I wanted insurance, which I thought they were just confirming. No, actually, from Hertz's perspective, I *hadn't* bought insurance, so they loaded me up for another $197.70 hoping I wouldn't notice.

I didn't.

Show threadDark Sage Torunka Jan 4, 2025

The "Supplier's Choice" turned out to be a #Tesla. Which means I need to stop whining about scumbag car rental companies and start whining about fascist crybaby narcissist toys.

To put a long story short, I spent ten minutes panic-Googling "how do I park a tesla" with my foot on the brake of a car permanently stuck in drive.

The shifter on a Tesla does not have "P", the touchscreen gear selector the Google results said to use did not exist. Probably because the UI was stuck in another mode.

Show threadDark Sage Torunka Jan 4, 2025

I eventually figured out that engaging the parking brake (itself buried in two pages of settings) was enough to put the car in park, so I turned it off, went back to the rental counter, and said "get me out of this car".

They gave me a Kia Niro EV, an entirely ordinary crossover with a gear shifter that makes sense and functioning Android Auto support.

They also doubled the weekly rate on the rental to $335.28 without so much as even saying switching cars would cost more.

Show threadDark Sage Torunka Jan 4, 2025

Actually, reviewing my e-mails, it looks like they actually tried to charge me a weekly rate of $335.28 ON THE TESLA.

So the entire "Supplier's Choice" discount advertised on #Priceline just never got applied in the first place. It was entirely fraudulent, along with the different and conflicting insurance they sold me.

Show threadDark Sage Torunka Jan 5, 2025

There's still another possible bullshit charge I'm wary of.

So, with gas cars, you're expected to fill the vehicle's gas tank back up to full. I have an e-mail from Hertz saying that you never have to fill the battery on an EV above 75%.

So of course, I returned it at exactly 75%.

Now, for some reason, all the rental paperwork reported the car battery at 100% when I got it. It wasn't, it was 86%, and I pointed this out when I got the car. They said they would fix it. I never got any e-mails.

Show threadDark Sage Torunka Jan 5, 2025

From some Googling and my e-mail records:

Battery capacity of a Kia Niro EV: 68kwh

#Hertz charging rate if you didn't buy the EV charging service: $1.39/kwh

68kwh * (100 - 75) * $1.39/kwh = $23.63

Actually not that much more than charging at Electrify America, but it'd still suck if their systems decided the e-mail they sent with the minimum charge level didn't apply.