Gateway2Lease offers self-serve Tesla test drives

Gateway2Lease has joined the growing band of leasing companies offering self-serve Tesla test drives, with two vehicles at its Bromsgrove base.

The car and van leasing broker’s head office became an official Tesla self-serve test drive location at the start of October, giving drivers and businesses one-hour test drives of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y free of charge. Both Teslas are Long Range rear-wheel drive versions.

In November Silverstone Leasing started its Tesla test driver service.

Rob Marshall, Operations Director of Gateway2Lease, said: “There are a lot of myths about electric vehicles – from the charging facilities, to the length of time it takes to charge and even the amount of boot space an EV has.

“The Tesla self-serve test drives help to bust those myths as drivers get the chance to experience the Supercharger network free of charge or they can plug the car back in at one of our dedicated charging points.”

“We’ve had lots of people trying out the cars already and checking whether they suit their lifestyle. People have even turned up with a set of golf clubs and found they easily fit in the boot.”

Rob Marshall, Operations Director, Gateway2Lease Tweet

Drivers go onto the Tesla website, select a model, the Bromsgrove location, and their preferred date and time slot. They then download the Tesla app to get full instructions for the self-serve process, and unlock the car at the scheduled test drive time for an unaccompanied test drive.

The exterior and interior of the cars are regularly cleaned, and the cars are kept secure as they automatically lock when the driver walks away if they haven’t already been locked through the app.

Drivers are expected to report any damage to Tesla and its detailed telematics data helps it to look into any issues.

There is a minimum driver age of 20 and drivers must hold a valid licence. Passengers are allowed but only the person who completes the booking is authorised to drive the vehicle. The vehicle has to be returned to the original location at the end of the booked slot.