When renting a car, you often have a choice between specific models or types of cars. This can allow you to choose the right vehicle for your trip, as some drivers require more or less space or horsepower than others.
Although this sounds nice in theory, some internet users have reported issues actually getting the cars they reserved. One driver claimed that she booked her car eight months in advance with Avis. But when she showed up at the rental car station, she discovered that there were no cars available. Another customer made a similar claim about Budget Car Rental.
As a result of these issues, some opt not to choose which car they’d like to rent, instead going with the “mystery” option. As explained by Zac Thompson for Frommer’s, “this type of rental goes by many names: “‘Manager’s Special’ (Hertz and Dollar), ‘Wild Card’ (Thrifty), ‘Mystery Car’ (Avis and Sixt), ‘You Click. We Pick.’ (Enterprise), supplier’s choice, and so on.”
The benefit of this type of rental, Thompson adds, is that it is generally less expensive than other options. It can result in a renter having a larger, nicer car without paying for an upgrade.
Now, an internet user has shared their mystery car pickup with the world—and gotten some surprising results.
What happened with this woman’s ‘Mystery Car’ rental?
In a video with over 388,000 views, TikTok user Kayley Slicer (@kayslice1) explains that she “did a rental car through Budget and I did the mystery car.”
As she doesn’t know what the final car is going to be, she decided to document the process throughout her TikTok video.
“It could be a regular car, could be an electric car—so that means I could end up with a Tesla,” Slicer starts. “We’re gonna see what I end up getting.”
Eventually, she’s told that she’ll be getting an electric car and, upon finding her vehicle, she’s delighted by what she sees.
“Guys, I got a Genesis,” Slicer excitedly shares. “He said, ‘I’m going to hook you up.’”
“I’m only here for one day. I literally did the mystery car rental. It was $25, and I’m going to get a Genesis,” she shares. “Like, that’s cool.”
Why are there so many EVs for rent?
In a November 2023 article for Axios, writer Joann Muller said that those who choose the “mystery option” when renting a car shouldn’t be surprised if they get an electric vehicle or EV.
Why? As the aforementioned Frommer’s article notes, the “mystery option” is typically based on whatever cars a rental office has available—and demand for EV rental is pretty low.
In a July 2024 New York Times article, authors Jack Ewing and Dionne Searcey explain that EV rental has posed more problems for rental companies than benefits, leading to many of them scaling back their EV fleets.
“Hertz and other rental car companies found that offering customers electric vehicles at a profit was more difficult than they had expected,” the article reads. “Most rental car complexes at airports lacked chargers. Many renters were not prepared for how quickly electric cars accelerated, leading to more accidents and higher insurance premiums. And some companies found they couldn’t get spare parts for such cars as quickly as they could for gasoline cars.”
@kayslice1 When you do the budget mystery car deal… #budget #rentalcar #mysterycar ♬ Funny – Gold-Tiger
Commenters share their thoughts on mystery cars
In the comments section, users offered their own views on and experiences using the mystery car option from various rental agencies.
“I do that through budget and got an electric car because that’s all they had,” wrote a user. “No thank you. Did not need to worry about finding charging stations in a new city.”
“I did that one time and got a 15 passenger van. It was just me. Never again,” added another.
“I’ve done this twice and once got a Hyundai Ioniq electric which was pretty nice but the other time I got a gigantic Ram 2500 truck that I could barely see over the steering wheel,” stated a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Budget via email and Slicer via TikTok DM and comment.
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