EV Recommendations to Car Rental Companies

I have recently experienced several suboptimal car rentals which I’ve written about in this series. While traveling this week, I booked a rental car with Budget. The best deals were with electric vehicles (EVs), and given that I am comfortable with driving EVs and charging EVs at the company apartment, I chose an EV.

Upon vehicle pickup, I learned that Budget no longer provides charging cables. However, I discovered this in a circuitous manner. I recalled a prior experience in which I was given an EV with a low battery and without a charging cable. Therefore, I made sure to search my rental car for a charging cable—it didn’t have one. So I went back to the rental counter, and they assigned a different EV to me—that one didn’t have a charging cable either. I was then told by the manager that Budget no longer provides charging cables “because people steal them”. For context, not all car rental companies have this policy. Just last week, a co-worker rented an EV from another company, and it provided a charging cable.

When I rent EVs for my business trips to company headquarters, I always charge them at the company apartment which has electrical outlets in the 2-car garage, and for that I need a charging cable. The great benefit is that no time is lost by simply plugging in the car at the apartment. The alternative is to charge the vehicle at a public charging station which is undesirable for me because a typical level 2 public charger can take several hours to charge an EV from 50% to 80% capacity. So if a car rental company does not provide a charging cable along with an EV rental, that significantly worsens the customer experience.

I ended up switching from an EV to a hybrid vehicle, and I had a flawless experience with it. That being said, I have a few recommendations to all car rental companies who rent EVs to their customers.

First, car rental companies have a responsibility provide charging cables with EV rentals. Not every customer is willing or able to spend hours of precious time at a charging station. Business travelers are busy. Leisure travelers want to maximize their time on vacation. Nobody wants to use a public charging station unless it is their last option. Plugging an EV into a standard outlet is much slower than a level 2 charging station, but if it can be left unattended (e.g., while sleeping), the convenience far outweighs the slower charging speed. A charging cable should be considered a standard item included in an EV rental.

Second, charge the customer if they do not return the charging cable. If a customer borrows a GPS or a child car seat and fails to return it, then I assume the customer would be charged for those items. A car rental company should do the same for charging cables, and I would completely understand if the replacement fee for a charging cable exceeded the cost of a brand new charging cable because of the effort that must be taken to manage an inventory of charging cables. Furthermore, car rental companies already place a temporary charge on the customer’s credit card (Budget charged me $250 for this week’s rental), so they are already pre-authorized to charge fees for lost or stolen charging cables.

Third, charge the EV to 80% before letting a customer borrow it. This is a common customer expectation. It is also a common expectation that vehicles are adequately prepared for rental. The tire pressure should be adequate, the headlights should be working, none of the warning lights should be flashing, and the vehicle should be free of trash from the prior rental. Most car rental companies that I’ve used also require that the car be returned with at least 70% (or similar) charge, or a fee will be incurred (similar to a refueling fee for gas vehicles). On the flip side, car rental companies have a duty to provide customers with EVs whose batteries are 70-80% charged.

If a rental company cannot support EV rentals with the same level of convenience and preparedness that customers expect from gasoline vehicles, it shouldn’t offer them.

Hertz Makes Amends

I recently wrote about a 2-part epic fail with a car rental from Payless here and here. My string of bad luck with car rental companies extended to my very next rental, this time with Hertz.

A couple weeks ahead of time, I reserved my rental car through Hertz via Expedia. On the day before and the day of my car rental, I received text messages to remind me about my reservation.

On 12/1/2025, I picked up my rental car from the Indianapolis International Airport (IND). Upon leaving the car rental facility, an agent asked me for my driver license. She appeared to do some sort of data entry and then handed my driver license back to me and opened the gate to let me through, all without saying another word. I confirmed that I was free to go, to which she nodded, so I was on my merry way.

On 12/6/2025, I filled up the gas tank at the Shell station on the outskirts of the IND and then returned the car to Hertz. Because of my prior car rental for which I was charged $727.41 for “glass damage” that I did not incur, I took photos of the car’s exterior before walking away. I felt that everything went smoothly with this car rental (foreshadowing).

On 12/9/2025, I received an email from Hertz along with an invoice and an unexpected charge on my credit card for $90.25.

I called Hertz to inquire about the charges and specifically asked about the “FUEL & SERVICE” charge for $69.43. The Hertz representative said it was documented that the fuel gauge was 61% when the car was returned. I said that it must have been an error because I verified that the fuel gauge was in fact full after I filled the tank. As an aside, the fuel gauge was analog with markings at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, so how in the world did they determine that it was 61% full? But I digress. I said that I didn’t have a photo of the fuel gauge, but I did have a receipt from the Shell station where I pumped gas immediately before returning the car. Originally the agent asked me to email the gas receipt to customerrelations@hertz.com and ask them to consider reversing the charge. He then placed me on a brief hold and then decided to just process a refund on the spot. I was told that it would take 3-5 business days for me to be credited the $90.25 (by the way, this happened earlier today, and I hope I don’t have to write a follow-up to this post about not getting my refund). He also apologized for the inconvenience and credited my rewards account with 1900 points which he said was enough for 1 free day of rental (I’d be responsible for paying tax on the rental).

Although I was the victim of errors at both Payless and Hertz, I think my experience at Payless was worse. Payless made multiple errors (did not charge car battery, did not give me charging cable, and erroneously charged me for glass damage), and I made more than 20 phone calls to get all of these issues resolved. On the other hand, Hertz made 1 error (erroneously charged me for fuel service), and it took 1 phone call to resolve (again, I have not yet received my refund, so I hope I am not speaking too soon). Additionally, they apologized and issued me reward points. I will probably never use the points because I spread my rentals across many car rental companies based on wherever I can get the best deal, but it was a nice gesture, and I felt that the customer service was better at Hertz. I think I am willing to use Hertz again in the future, but I can’t say the same for Payless.

Payless Car Rental - The Sequel

In my last blog post, I wrote about a bad experience that I had with a car rental from Payless. It turns out that there was a sequel to the saga which I discovered when I received the following letter via US mail:

I was being charged $727.41 for “glass damage” that I did not incur. In fact, I have photographic evidence that all the windows on the Hyundai IONIQ 5 were intact when the tow truck driver took possession of the vehicle:

I called 1-888-728-5377 as instructed on the letter from Payless. When speaking to an agent, I was told that the number is only for Avis and Budget rentals, and I was instructed to call 1-800-729-5377 instead. To be honest, I was not surprised that Payless put the wrong phone number on the letter. Annoyed, yes. Surprised, no.

Anyway, I called the correct number and gave the Payless agent my rental number and stated that I did not damage any glass and I had photos to prove it. I wanted to first ask what glass was allegedly damaged, and I was ready to ask how they wanted me to provide the photos of the Hyundai IONIQ 5 with all the windows intact. She placed me on hold for a few minutes and then told me that my charges would be dismissed because the charge was invalid. I was relieved to hear that, but I was also curious to understand why the charge was invalid. She stated that whoever brought the charge against me did not provide any photos or evidence when reporting the damage. I was also told that I would receive an email confirmation within 4 hours of the dismissal of charges, and she confirmed my email address. I asked for a case number in case something happened, and she provided that information to me. It’s been more than 12 hours, and I have not received an email confirmation from Payless either in my inbox or spam folder. Again, I’m not surprised. I’m glad that I asked for the case number, although I hope that this saga is over and that I will not have to use it.

I still don’t know exactly what led to the generation of the “glass damage” charge. It is possible that the entire thing was a mistake, or perhaps glass was damaged during or after towing. In any case, there are 2 takeaways from this experience. First, I am glad that I took photos of the rental car when the towing company took possession of it. I don’t know if I will routinely photograph every rental car that I return, but for special circumstances such as the sequence of events that transpired with this rental, it made sense for me to take photos, and I’m happy that I did. Second, I will never rent from Payless again.

Payless Car Rental - Epic Fail

I travel regularly and have rented cars from many agencies in many cities. For my last visit to Indianapolis, I rented a car from Payless. I booked the rental through Expedia like I normally do, and an electric vehicle (EV) from Payless was the least expensive option, so I went with that. I have rented EVs before, as I am comfortable driving and charging them. We have a Tesla Model Y at home, so EVs are familiar to me.

At the rental counter, the agent confirmed that I was OK with a Hyundai IONIQ 5, and I said yes. She emphasized that I must return the vehicle with at least 70% battery life to avoid a fee, and I acknowledged. When I started the car, I noticed that the battery was at 25% with an estimated range of 60 miles. I mentioned this to the gate attendant who checked my paperwork and driver license, and I asked him to document that the battery level was 25%. He declined to document this. I stated that the lady at the rental counter made a big deal about me incurring fees if I don’t return it at 70%, and I didn’t think it was fair for me (or rather, my company) to have to pay for miles that I didn’t use. Again, he declined to document the battery level and said, “It’s not even worth it to document” and told me to just return the car at 25% and I would not get charged. I felt that this exposed me to unnecessary risk, so I took a photo of the dashboard with the battery level, making sure to also capture the clock to note the time and portions of the car rental facility to provide evidence that the 25% battery level was taken before I drove the car off the lot.

I drove 30 miles to my destination, by which time the battery level fell to 13% with an estimated range of 30 miles, so I had used half of the remaining charge to drive to my destination.

I often stay at a corporate apartment where I plug in EVs to charge them overnight. However, there was a second problem with this rental from Payless. The car did not come with a charging cable like it normally does. I searched the entire car, and the only trace of a charging cable was an empty bag in the trunk where I think the charging cable would normally have been stored.

I called Payless to ask them to document that the battery level was 25% upon pickup, which they did. I also asked them send a charging cable to me or allow me to drive to a nearby rental facility to pick up a charging cable, but they said my only option was to drive back to the airport to get a charging cable or replace the vehicle. I said that I wasn’t sure if I could make it all the way back to the airport without the battery dying. They gave me 2 options: call roadside assistance to have the car towed, or go to a local Avis or Budget car rental facility, as they are sister companies with Payless. I preferred to try Avis or Budget because it seemed like such a waste to have the car towed when there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. The local Avis and Budget rental facilities which were just a few miles away, and I decided to call them in the morning because it was after hours and those facilities were already closed.

Meanwhile, I tried to resolve the battery charging issue on my own and decided to look for charging stations in the area. Public charging stations have charging cables tethered to them, so my lack of a charging cable would be a non-issue when using public EV charging stations. I found a free charging station next to the corporate apartment, but there was only 1 charger and it was taken. I returned an hour later, and the same car was still using the charger. I then located another charging station, only to find that the entire facility was out of order and sectioned off with “do not cross” tape. I found a third charging station with 2 charging stalls, both unoccupied. But when I tried to charge the vehicle, it refused to let me do a 1-time charge with a credit card. Instead, it required that I download their app, set up an account, and upload my credit card information to the app. By this time, it was past 11 PM, and I had completely run out of patience and decided to go back to the apartment to get some sleep rather than set up the account and sit there while waiting for the car to charge.

First thing the next morning, I called the local Avis and Budget car rental facilities. Unfortunately one of them stated that they had no charging cables or available cars, and the other one stated that their computer systems were not capable of handling rentals from Payless despite them being sister companies. So my last option was to get the car towed. I called Payless Emergency Roadside Assistance and summarized my situation. The dispatcher initially said that I needed to hop in the tow truck and accompany the EV back to the airport, exchange the car, and drive back to my origin. I politely reminded him that Payless made 2 errors by giving me a rental car with 25% battery and omitting a charging cable, and because I spent almost my entire evening and part of my morning trying to rectify their mistakes, and making more than 20 phone calls, half of which were a result of me being disconnected, I asked that they send the replacement vehicle to the office where I work, and they obliged. The dispatcher asked me if I had a preference for a vehicle, and I said that any sedan was fine, even an EV, as long as it was properly charged and came with a charging cable. They said that my replacement vehicle would be “same, similar, or better”.

So Payless Emergency Roadside Assistance towed my replacement vehicle, a Toyota Tundra, 30 miles from the airport to my office, swapped vehicles, and then towed a perfectly working Hyundai IONIQ 5 another 30 miles back to the airport, all because it was not in their standard operating procedures to send me a charging cable. And of course, I thought it was fitting that they gave me a monster of a car as a replacement. The Tundra barely fit in the garage, and its gas mileage is poor as compared with sedans. But at least I had a vehicle to drive and no longer felt stranded.

The moral of the story is that if you rent an EV, make sure you have a way to charge it before you drive it off the lot. If you plan to charge it using standard electrical outlets, make sure the EV comes with a charging cable and recognize that it will trickle charge, perhaps adding a few miles of range for every hour of charging. If you plan to charge it using public charging stations (which charge the vehicle more quickly), make sure you are aware of the charging infrastructure and either have your accounts properly configured or be prepared to create new accounts along the way.