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Is Zipcar’s innovative treatment to car rental a good deal for you?
Alternatives to traditional car rentals are increasingly available, but how good are they?
If you live in one of thirty major metro areas—especially Fresh York or San Francisco—you might be tempted to help an innovative upstart such as Zipcar do battle with rental-car giants. But is it lighter to rent a Zipcar than a traditional rental car? Is the quality as good? Can you save money on the car rental?
To find out, we pitted Zipcar (which was acquired by Avis Budget Group in 2013) against the traditional rental service from Hertz, the largest car-rental brand. Hertz also offers its own Zipcar copycat, Hertz 24/7, but we wished to compare the newer model (Zipcar) with the veteran (Hertz).
Quick-take scorecard
Pickup and drop-off
The greater the number of rental car locations, the more likely one will be convenient to where you need to pick up and drop off the vehicle. Consumers rent vehicles at airport locations for vacation travel and at non-airport locations for non-airline leisure travel, to temporarily take the place of one’s primary vehicle when it’s in the shop for maintenance and repairs or to fix insured collision harm, and periodic individual travel needs by non car owners. Hassle-free pickup and drop-off also make for sleek renting.
Hertz won mitts down with seven hundred ninety U.S. airport locations, compared with just thirty two for Zipcar. It also has Two,785 non-airport locations, compared with Zipcar’s 1,237, which is our estimate, by our count of Zipcar neighborhoods on their online maps. Zipcar locations are different than traditional Hertz locations. There are no buildings, counter agents, or parking lots with Zipcar; rather, Zipcars are parked in designated two-car parking spaces that the company calls “pods,” which may be scattered over several locations in the same neighborhood. The Zipcar that we rented, for example, was based at a public parking lot of the Bay Area Rapid Transit in Berkeley, Calif. We count numerous pods in a neighborhood as one location.
Both services were identically convenient to the home of our San Francisco-area pro reviewer when he rented vehicles from each. When it came to the pickup process, Zipcar had a slight edge, with its clever use of a transponder membership card which, when placed over an electronic reader behind the upper driver’s side windshield, unlocks the car so you can get the keys, which are inwards the vehicle. (See photo above.) Very effortless. That also eliminates the need for a counter agent to forearm you keys or register your pickup; you book the rental online. But the car had to be scrupulously examined and photographed inwards out and all around with a cell phone camera, and when I found a scrape, I had to email a photo of it to Zipcar. Drop-off involved photographing the car all around again, leaving the keys inwards, locking the vehicle with the Zipcard transponder, and walking away.
Hertz is slightly less convenient, because you must present your driver’s license and credit card, sign forms, be pestered to buy the costly loss-damage waiver, and maybe wait in line to be served. The car also had to be accurately examined and photographed inwards out and all around, but when numerous scrapes and dents were found, the agent marked them on a paper form. The keys were transferred to me and I drove off. Drop-off involved photographing the car all around, returning the keys, and walking away.
ZipCar vs
Please Refresh Your Browser Window
Is Zipcar’s innovative treatment to car rental a good deal for you?
Alternatives to traditional car rentals are increasingly available, but how good are they?
If you live in one of thirty major metro areas—especially Fresh York or San Francisco—you might be tempted to help an innovative upstart such as Zipcar do battle with rental-car giants. But is it lighter to rent a Zipcar than a traditional rental car? Is the quality as good? Can you save money on the car rental?
To find out, we pitted Zipcar (which was acquired by Avis Budget Group in 2013) against the traditional rental service from Hertz, the largest car-rental brand. Hertz also offers its own Zipcar copycat, Hertz 24/7, but we wished to compare the newer model (Zipcar) with the veteran (Hertz).
Quick-take scorecard
Pickup and drop-off
The greater the number of rental car locations, the more likely one will be convenient to where you need to pick up and drop off the vehicle. Consumers rent vehicles at airport locations for vacation travel and at non-airport locations for non-airline leisure travel, to temporarily take the place of one’s primary vehicle when it’s in the shop for maintenance and repairs or to fix insured collision harm, and periodic private travel needs by non car owners. Hassle-free pickup and drop-off also make for slick renting.
Hertz won forearms down with seven hundred ninety U.S. airport locations, compared with just thirty two for Zipcar. It also has Two,785 non-airport locations, compared with Zipcar’s 1,237, which is our estimate, by our count of Zipcar neighborhoods on their online maps. Zipcar locations are different than traditional Hertz locations. There are no buildings, counter agents, or parking lots with Zipcar; rather, Zipcars are parked in designated two-car parking spaces that the company calls “pods,” which may be scattered over several locations in the same neighborhood. The Zipcar that we rented, for example, was based at a public parking lot of the Bay Area Rapid Transit in Berkeley, Calif. We count numerous pods in a neighborhood as one location.
Both services were identically convenient to the home of our San Francisco-area pro reviewer when he rented vehicles from each. When it came to the pickup process, Zipcar had a slight edge, with its clever use of a transponder membership card which, when placed over an electronic reader behind the upper driver’s side windshield, unlocks the car so you can get the keys, which are inwards the vehicle. (See photo above.) Very effortless. That also eliminates the need for a counter agent to palm you keys or register your pickup; you book the rental online. But the car had to be accurately examined and photographed inwards out and all around with a cell phone camera, and when I found a scrape, I had to email a photo of it to Zipcar. Drop-off involved photographing the car all around again, leaving the keys inwards, locking the vehicle with the Zipcard transponder, and walking away.
Hertz is slightly less convenient, because you must present your driver’s license and credit card, sign forms, be pestered to buy the costly loss-damage waiver, and maybe wait in line to be served. The car also had to be accurately examined and photographed inwards out and all around, but when numerous scrapes and dents were found, the agent marked them on a paper form. The keys were transferred to me and I drove off. Drop-off involved photographing the car all around, returning the keys, and walking away.
Zipcar vs
Zipcar vs. car2go: Which Car Sharing Service is King?
Over the past few years, car sharing has taken the world by storm. Car sharing businesses are now operating in more than 1,500 cities worldwide, with almost five million members taking advantage of a fleet of cars in the hundreds of thousands. This sharing economy trend has proven a superb convenience for many, and the benefits are plentiful . Car sharing reduces the number of cars from roads and parking spaces, even alleviating commutes for non-users, and decreases greenhouse gas emissions from car share users by an average of ten percent.
With the global car sharing market expected to be a $16.Five billion industry by 2024, it’s safe to say this form of transportation isn’t going away anytime soon. While there are a handful of options for car sharing, such as Getaround, vRide, and ReachNow, there are truly two major players in the space. We’re chiefly taking a look at Zipcar vs. car2go , comparing elements including car selection, cost, and availability to see which one truly is the way to rail.
Selection of Cars
Part of the joy of car sharing is that you can test out cars that you might not ever get to drive normally. Imagine having as many car options as you do wardrobe choices in your closet.
Zipcar claims to suggest more than fifty different makes and models. These include vans, which are very helpful if you’re in need of a car for moving furniture or transporting a lot of items at once.
car2Go vehicle options comprise a modest stable of the “smart fortwo” and two Mercedes Benz models. They’re nice rails, but it’s a smaller selection that provides less room.
Winner: Zipcar
Both Zipcar and car2go have variable rates, depending on which city you’re in and what kind of vehicle you’re driving.
car2go has the advantage here for shorter trips – you can pay inbetween forty one and forty nine cents per minute. For hourly and daily rates, car2go starts at $15 per hour and $59 per day. car2go charges $35 for its application fee, but doesn’t have any kind of annual membership fee. Whether you plan to use car2go for a month or for twenty years, it’s nice to know you won’t have to pay a recurring bill to proceed being a member.
Zipcar requires at least an hour-long rental and offers three different pricing structures. The lowest starts at $9.75 an hour or $74 for a utter day. Zipcar’s application fee is cheaper at $25 but has a yearly membership renewal of $70. If you bring another family member or housemate onto your account, their annual membership is $35. Zipcar does waive the annual fee for members with monthly or extra value plans, but for more occasional users, that’s a far steeper price to pay.
Winner: car2go
Availability
car2go is available in Fresh York City, Los Angeles, Portland, Denver, Columbus, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Miami, San Diego, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Austin. Including global locations, car2go can be found in more than thirty cities.
Zipcar , on the other mitt, has locations in forty eight major cities in North America alone and is available in more than one hundred seventy cities worldwide. Especially for college students, the frequency of Zipcar is a nice perk, with more than four hundred university locations.
Winner: Zipcar
Ease of Use
- Members can park anywhere an average civilian driver could legally park. Drivers then must come back the car to where they picked it up to finish their journey.
- The Zipcar app has a sleek interface and lightly permit users to see nearby vehicle locations, check their accounts, and make reservations.
- Reservations must be cancelled a minimum of three hours beforehand – and sometimes up to twenty four hours, depending on how long the reservation is for – or else the user is on the hook for the entire rental fee.
- The one-way trips suggest a bit more plasticity. Drivers can park anywhere within a “home area,” and certain catches sight of are designated exclusively for car2go vehicles.
- The car2go app also gets a slight nod because of its cancellation policy. Users can cancel up to fifteen minutes before their reservation with no fees. That hassle-free cancellation gives car2go the edge.
Winner: car2go
Extra Features
- Insurance:
- Zipcar’s coverage goes up to $1 million, and they provide 24/7 roadside assistance.
- car2go’s coverage goes up to $300,000. However, the company tacks on a $1 fee (plus tax) for each of the very first ninety rails in order to reduce drivers’ deductibles from $1000 to $250. Unlike Zipcar, this fee is not optional. Just last week, car2go announced it’s launching a pilot program that will prize its members for taking online road safety courses. It’s the very first car sharing company to do that.
According to The Zebra’s licensed insurance agent and adviser Neil Richardson , your private auto insurance policy would also extend to cover the rideshare vehicle just like a rental car .
“As long as car renting is not expressly excluded from your policy, you could use your own insurance coverage if you have a lower deductible than suggested by either service.”
Winner: Zipcar (tho’ it’s close)
As for which option is best for you, it depends on what you’re attempting to accomplish with a rail. For just a few quick outings here and there over the course of a month, car2go is most likely a cheaper, more efficient alternative. However, if you’re planning to make a lot of trips, especially if it requires longer driving distance, Zipcar may be the better choice.
Are you pro-Zipcar, pro-car2go, both, neither?