Hertz Asking EV Renters To Buy Their Car

Hertz is culling its portfolio of EVs in response to the sharp depreciation affecting some of its most popular models, including the Tesla Model 3. In what appears to be an aggressive effort to offload these vehicles, the rental giant has begun reaching out directly to customers currently renting them, offering an opportunity to purchase the cars outright on the spot.

While we haven’t been able to find an announcement from Hertz directly regarding the scheme, a Reddit user recently shared a screenshot of an email they received from Hertz while renting a 2023 Tesla Model 3. In the email, Hertz offered the renter the chance to buy the EV for just $17,913.

Read: Hertz Offers Teslas For Under $20K, But You Probably Shouldn’t Jump On It

The renter says the Model 3 they rented had less than 30,000 miles (~48,000 km) on the clock, and having the opportunity to buy it at that price sounds like a steal. Last month, we published a story about many of Hertz’s Tesla Model 3s being sold, but none of them were this cheap. A look through Hertz’s current inventory shows it has three 2022 Model 3s available for less than $20,000. However, they all have over 130,000 miles (~209,000 km) on the clocks.

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The Redditor hasn’t said if they jumped on the offer to buy the relatively low-mileage Model 3 for just $17,913, but if Hertz has promoted similar offers to other renters, we suspect they’ll be plenty that consider deals like this too good to pass up.

Of course, buying an ex-rental car comes with inherent risks, as it’s almost guaranteed that these vehicles have been driven hard. It’s also worth noting that the Tesla’s battery is warranted for 8 years or 100,000 miles (whichever comes first) for RWD models. Purchasing a vehicle still within this warranty period is highly advisable, as battery replacements are among the most expensive repairs EV owners can face.

Another user from the same subreddit says they recently rented a Polestar (presumably a Polestar 2) and were sent a similar email, offering them the chance to buy it for $28,500. While we don’t know how many miles it had on the clock, that offer doesn’t seem like such a good deal. A browse through Auto Trader reveals dozens of Polestar 2s available across the US for less than $25,000, many of which have less than 20,000 miles on the clock, making the Hertz offer seem far less competitive by comparison.