Zipcar- experiences?

daver wrote: [quote=Carmen]I'm going to start asking for booze in exchange. Or maybe cookies.

Why not ask for both?

Beer cookies: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Beer-Cookies/Detail.aspx


mmmm. I saw a recipe for makers mark cupcakes a few weeks ago and almost died. A boozy baked goods party may be in order if I keep finding these recipes!

how much do they charge for a week? im having guests over and the mini cooper is just too small.

flux wrote: how much do they charge for a week? im having guests over and the mini cooper is just too small.

Depends on the car, plan, etc.

flux wrote: how much do they charge for a week? im having guests over and the mini cooper is just too small.

Can't do more than 4 days unless you get permission from the regional VP.

I've had no problems with zipcar - it's just a matter of planning out ahead of time when you'll need it, etc. The only real issue was had when Morgan Spurlock had it before us and returned the car ten minutes late into our allotted time.

I wanted to ask him if he was being a dick for 30 days...

Teckla wrote: The only real issue was had when Morgan Spurlock had it before us and returned the car ten minutes late into our allotted time.

I wanted to ask him if he was being a dick for 30 days...

Perhaps he forgot to supersize his rental time.

I love Zipcar - no problems that haven't been resolved satisfactorily. My only caution is that Flatbush, 12th Street, and Union are much better than 11th Street. 11th Street is small with fairly unresponsive staff and I wait for them to get the car all the time. It's a very financially sensible way to use a car.

I have been a fan and a customer of zipcar for years now, and haven't had a huge problem until very recently. I had reserved a car for about 24 hours for a trip down to Philadelphia for my father's 60th birthday. The reservation was made over a month in advance. I checked the reservation about a week before hand, and everything was arranged. The night before my trip I was messing around on the internet, and right before I planned to hit the sack, I was checking to make sure I knew which garage I was headed to when on my account, it showed that the reservation had been CANCELED. I called Zipcar, and they told me that the car had been in an accident a day ago, and that it was being serviced. I told them that I understood, but asked when exactly they were planning on telling me about that. They seemed totally aloof, and responded with nothing but, "I'm surprised no one contacted you." I thought to myself "You're surprised?" They had no additional car for me, they neglected to even tell me my car wouldn't be available. I had to fight for an hour just to get a credit on my account. (A measly $25)

I ended up having to shell out almost $200 (for each, round trip) for my girlfriend and I to take Amtrak. It was the first problem I ever had with Zipcar, but it was a HUGE one.

we recently had a disappeared reservation, too.

we were able to get another car, but it seems like something's buggy in their system lately.

That coverage is decently in excess of NY law, FWIW. I feel comfortable with it. If you have a lot of assets to protect or something, I would think you would already have some sort of umbrella policy.

Subject: zipcar

I've been using Zip car for the last three years and haven't had any major issues. I've rented both the cheap cars as well as the luxury ones and they've all held up to my expectations. I usually use the Flatbush garage (near Grand Army Plaza) and i find that cars are available most of the times. You do however have to book your weekends in advance and i find that in a lot of the cases, people book the cars just-in-case they want to use it and then release the bookings on Friday night...so even if all cars are booked, check in on a Friday night or Sat morning and you'll see some openings.

The only problem i've noticed recently is that a lot of the gas cards are missing from the cars that i've rented. Basically mean i had to put it on one of my cards and they credit it back to your credit card after you fax them the receipt. Not ideal considering the high gas prices but they did take care of it quickly. I have also had two incidences when i showed up and the tire was flat. Both times they were able to find me a different car. I have to say that i've always been very impressed with Zipcar's customer service. They've always been very helpful and accommodating. On one occasion, i got into a car that had dog hair all over the seats and they were able to put me in a different car.

Also, they have a cap on total mileage per day, so if you're looking to drive further out, it's sometime more cost effective to rent a car with unlimited miles.

Overall, a great experience.

Member since 2003. Love it.

Like anything in life, you'll occasionally have a bad experience - dirty car, missing card, broken radio, etc. But the convenience of it all outweighs the occasional annoyance.

Haven't had a reservation outright disappear, but I seem to recall having cars switched out without anyone telling me - and the replacement did not meet my needs.

I love the ability to do short notice rentals, to rent 'cool' cars, to rent for one hour to do a run down to Costco, and the fact that you just step in and go, no paperwork and nonsense.

Getting full-day weekend reservations requires some foresight, especially in the summer.

Ever since I made a crucial reservation at Dollar or Payless and showed up on the day only to be told there was a 150% surcharge or some such because my license showed a brooklyn address, I've been very weary of rental car companies.