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+--- Thread: I am renting a Tesla three. I really dislike it. (/showthread.php?tid=296199)
Re: I am renting a Tesla three. I really dislike it. - N-OS X-tasy! - 05-03-2025
anonymouse1 wrote:
So Hertz had a deal where the EV was half the price of than anything else so I did it.
Turned out with a Tesla three, I was kind of excited to have the experience. What a letdown!
First of all, most of the plastic sheet on the steering wheel has healed away. Second fix padding between the front door and the back door comes off whenever I get into the car. The door threshold is way way way too high.
Most of all almost everything I have to interact with feels like it was taken from “Tom Swift and His Dynamo-Electromobile”. Something as easy as switching from the built-in music to my phone took about three minutes to figure out. The external door handle is needlessly complicated. That there’s no way to turn the car off without using the providing card, unless I want to install, the app is also ridiculous. The fact that I have to take my eyes off the road to adjust almost anything and that there’s no tactile feedback is a total dealbreaker.
Yes, I’m sure some of these things would go away if I was using the car for longer period of time. And the acceleration is incredible. But the appear in ability to in the least bit modified the regenerative breaking is another dealbreaker.
Glad I rented, and really glad I don’t own one.
Did you type that while you were driving? Parts of it border on incoherence.
Some of the things you mention (i.e., wear-and-tear) are likely due to it being a rental. While I will never make the argument that Teslas are the most well-built vehicles, my 2023 Model Y with 22K miles looks almost brand new.
Others are nowhere near as complicated as you make them sound. For instance, my first experience with a Tesla was also a rented Model 3. Having never driven one before, I was able to figure out how to activate my Apple Music account on the car while stopped at a stop light... within five minutes of getting into the car.
Regenerative braking on my MY works great - it's one of my favorite things about the vehicle. If it doesn't work well on yours, there's probably a setting that needs to be changed.
The app and the capability it provides is amazing. If you are unable to see that, I don't know what to say.
I will say that I didn't care for the Model 3 I rented, either. Not because it was a bad car, but because it was too small and too low to the ground. I ended up getting the Model Y - nearly two years later, I couldn't be happier with it.
Re: I am renting a Tesla three. I really dislike it. - jardster - 05-03-2025
I've had my Model 3 since 2018. The best car I've owned.
I think that much of what you don't like would be fixed by having the car for a while.
There are buttons on the steering wheel for some functions.
Re: turning the car off.... you don't... you just put it in park and walk away.
Re: I am renting a Tesla three. I really dislike it. - RAMd®d - 05-03-2025
Did you type that while you were driving? Parts of it border on incoherence.
Some of that looked like Siri-Speak when I use her.
Re: I am renting a Tesla three. I really dislike it. - mattkime - 05-03-2025
Yeah, I think there’d be a few quibbles like this with nearly any rental
Re: I am renting a Tesla three. I really dislike it. - zachdog - 05-03-2025
jdc wrote::wink:
its a learning experience, for sure. Hard to rate any cars construction after being a "rental" car, especially hertz =)
Yeah, the regen is weird. But millions and millions of peeps have managed to figure out without too many issues.
Everything takes a minute... even a year later I still struggle with the shifter on my BMW, its forward for reverse, which just seems wrong. Or the start/stop button, which was on the dash in our last car, but now its in the center console... I touch the dash often...
I drive one of the last manual transmission BMWs. First and Second are where they’ve always been.
Re: I am renting a Tesla three. I really dislike it. - dk62 - 05-03-2025
Some of those issues are common to all EVs (not turning it off in a traditional sense, a non-issue once you get used to it), and some to all new cars (touch screen). Having to deal with a touch screen is a pain, I much prefer the wheel commands of BMW and Mazda, but at leaset on my Volvo I do not use touch screen frequently. Tesla build quality is a legitimate issue, and the main reason I did not consider it when buying a new EV.
Also note that a lot of people will vehemently defend their purchase, partially because of "sunk cost" and unwillingness to second-guess an expensive choice they made that cannot be reversed.
Re: I am renting a Tesla three. I really dislike it. - raz - 05-03-2025
dk62 wrote:
Also note that a lot of people will vehemently defend their purchase, partially because of "sunk cost" and unwillingness to second-guess an expensive choice they made that cannot be reversed.
No reverse gear? That's a deal breaker.
Re: I am renting a Tesla three. I really dislike it. - Lizabeth - 05-04-2025
I will weigh in here as a Tesla adjacent. My SO owns a Tesla 3 BUT I have not driven it enough to be comfortable driving it safely with being familiar with all the “stuff “. BUT when I sagged for the SO on the Blue Ridge Parkway I had a blast driving it. I imagine that if I drive it more It would become more familiar and easier to drive.
That said I am glad we have both options available to us when we travel. I own a Subaru.
That said my SO added a bumper sticker to the Tesla about being vintage Tesla, pre-owned madness. And has been asked many times where he got it.
Re: I am renting a Tesla three. I really dislike it. - JoeM - 05-04-2025
I've been co-owner of one with my wife since 2018 and we are on our second one at this point. I don't drive it. I call it a fast golf cart with an oversized iPad. Can't stand the placement of the iPad and I have to hit the screen 3 or 4 times to change or access something on it. For the price of these things I feel the materials used for the interior trim and the speaker system is like a cheap econo car. I feel every bump the thing goes over. My wife however loves it.
Re: I am renting a Tesla three. I really dislike it. - C(-)ris - 05-04-2025
anonymouse1 wrote:
Most of all almost everything I have to interact with feels like it was taken from “Tom Swift and His Dynamo-Electromobile”. Something as easy as switching from the built-in music to my phone took about three minutes to figure out. The external door handle is needlessly complicated. That there’s no way to turn the car off without using the providing card, unless I want to install, the app is also ridiculous. The fact that I have to take my eyes off the road to adjust almost anything and that there’s no tactile feedback is a total dealbreaker.
That was one of my pros for the BoltEV. Physical buttons everywhere including a volume knob, shifter was normal, gas and brake pedal. Basically an EV in a ICE body. If they could have just figured out faster charging speed and a battery pack with more range I think they would have had a winner.