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Zipcar
Rating Details »
Category: Car Rental [Edit]
Neighborhood: SOMA191 2nd Street
(between Howard St & Natoma St)
San Francisco, CA 94105
(866) 494-7227
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 12:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
223 reviews for Zipcar
I'm baffled by all of the terrible negative Yelp reviews for this service. I've only been using Zipcar for a month and a half, but on a near-daily basis, which means that I've already driven Zipcars on about 25 separate occasions. Not had ONE single problem; in fact, compared to having my own car in the city (finally sold it last month!) Zipcar is a beautiful, amazing thing. I have to admit, I haven't had any major service issues yet so I can't refer to the quality of customer service, but shouldn't that very fact speak volumes? My car has always been there when it's supposed to be, my Zipcard has never stopped working, I've never been charged any late fees, the cars are always clean and never smell like cigarette smoke. Where are all you people renting your Zipcars from that these problems are so commonplace? The only two complaints I have had AT ALL are that inconsiderate people before me will sometimes return the car on empty and that the iPhone app is really a useless piece of crap.
Based on the pricing scales, I think that City Car Share is probably more cost-effective than Zipcar for those of you who only travel within the city. But if you frequently have to leave the city, Zipcar is perfect. For my job, I have to travel to high schools from Vacaville to San Jose during lunch hours nearly every weekday. The mileage reimbursements I get from my company MORE than cover the cost of the Zipcar rentals, and a round-trip to a city as far as Vacaville still rests way comfortably within the free 180 daily miles. When you add the fact that you return to the car to a specific parking space each time, removing the hassle of parking-hunting in the city, I can't imagine why anyone would ever want to own a car again.
If you want a positive Zipcar experience and would like to avoid the nightmares that so many of these reviews describe, just sign up with a few expectations for yourself:
-Don't pay the overpriced daily rates; if you really need a car for 24 hours or more, just get a damn rental car.
-Give yourself an extra 30-minute cushion when you make reservations (an extra $5-$7 is better than a $50 late fee so I just always factor this extra 30 minutes into the price).
-If the gas tank is empty when you pick up the car, get gas immediately instead of at the end of your trip.
-Use the Zipcar text alerts which will tell you 30 minutes before your reservation is over whether the car is booked up after you or whether you can extend the reservation (by text!)
-DON'T leave your Zipcard next to your cell phone or anything that will demagnetize it. It's no different from a BART ticket, people.
Honestly, if you work within the given structure of the company and are smart about it, you can really enjoy this service with minimal hassle.
( Preface: The ONE time I don't use yelp to research before hand it comes to bite me in the ass. BIG time. )
I've been dying to try out this service .
For one, I really wanted a Mini Cooper and wanted to test drive for a few hours/ to pretend I actually can afford to have one. And secondly, when I first heard of this company I was downright impressed with the overall concept of car sharing. Haling from LA, I was all for anything of the alternative to owning a car. And I really believed there just has to be another way. And I thought , Zipcar ....thats it.
Just joined ZipCar yesterday. Went to pick up my membership card and the front desk guy really wasn't that helpful. He didn't offer a introduction spill or anything above or beyond. He might as well be working for the DMV here. But I thought whatever, I guess thats why they rely on the website or emails to do the "customer interaction" part.
This morning went to pick up my car at 7:30am. NO CAR.
Called the 866 number and the customer service was already in a bad mood ( really?? at 7:30 ? ALREADY? ) and was questioning me!? And guess what Customer Service lady, judging from the other comments on here....*car not being returned on time= not a rare occasion*. So don't pretend to be surprise or blame me. I am just appalled. I was actually really excited about joining. I think I even tweeted about it.
I'm going to call them and ask for a refund. I doubt they will even bother to do that, but I guess it's worth a shot. At this point, if I tell at least 5 people NOT to join Zipcar. The $50 would be worth it to me.
Good luck guys. Please share your experiences as well.
And ZipCar, if you are reading this: if you were anything notable as a company or took a Business 101 class , you should take all the reviews and comments on yelp ( hello??? focus groups don't get any easier than this???) and REASSESS.
I just want to sit with the owner or whoever is responsible for the shit customer service and ask them: SERIOUSLY?? Seriously.
Good day.
Update*******They refund my annual fee but not my application fee******I'm happy with that. $25= lesson learned. Good bye ZipCar. And to think, I had such a huge crush on you.
Pick your poison: public transportation or zipcar. I'll take public transpo. This is a horribly run company that I only use when there is no other choice. Case in point:
I rented a car from the 2nd and Townsend locaiton. When I arrived to pick up the car it was not there. I called the 800 number and the operator said the car had been moved to a new location (thanks for telling me before the reservation started). So between the time it took to get ahold of an operator and the time it took to walk to the new car location 15 minutes of my reservation had been used up. (Remember they charge by the hour here)
At the end of the reservation I returned the car to the place where I had picked it up.
A couple of months later Zipcar emailed me and said that they were charging me for a ticket that the car got while parked in the space they told me to use although the time the ticket was issued was after my reservation time.
It's bad business that they hold you liable for the car after your reservation is over. It's bad business that they change car locations with no notification and that new locations aren't protected from parking tickets; tickets that could be avoided if they kept the cars where they're supposed to be.
It's bad business to pass off the cost of bad business to the customer.
Love the Zipcar idea, but this company's execution completely sucks.
First Zipcar rental, July 2008: Rented a car to fit 6 people because family was coming in from East Coast. Zipcar agent called two days before family arrived and said the car wasn't available.
Swore off Zipcar, but 10 months later thought, "What the heck" ...
Second Zipcar rental, May 2009: Zipcar broke down in Fairfield en route to crucial work meeting. Zipcar customer service agent said drive the car back to Oakland or wait for unknown amount of time for repair person to arrive. Both scenarios = loss of job. Left piece of crap car at Amtrak station. Zipcar later agreed not to charge me for the rental -- then charged my credit card!
Swore off Zipcar again, but had an emergency, so ...
Third Zipcar rental, September 2009: Yay! All went well - finally! Until yesterday, when a letter from a collection agency arrived saying I owed Zipcar $151. Zipcar sent me to a collection agency -- priceless!!! Apparently credit card on file stopped working (which is what happens when it's stolen) and Zipcar -- which has two phone numbers (which they've called), a home address (where they send marketing material) and an email address (where they regularly send "happy hour" notices) -- never, ever, even once tried to contact me.
Instead they sent me into collection. Goodbye you schmucks.
This is a good business! Good service, nice cars, fair rates. This company has really impressed me relative to dealing with rental car companies. I love the online reservation system and the whole experience of using zip car. Zip Car has not only made cars a pleasure to use for my personal use but greatly supports my business as well. Making money without a job is a lot easier when you have support from awesome companies like this!
This service is touted as an excellent alternative to having a car, but if you think that dealing with jerks every time you have a problem (which is every time) can get tiring, then this is not the service for you.
1) Customer service is terrible--if you call the zipcar line while using a vehicle, then they will tell you there is nothing they can do to help you, that you have to call the main office. If you call the main office, they will tell you that they have to "investigate" the problem and that they will get back to you and never do.
2) They overcharge. If your have a reservation that costs, say..$30.00--you'll think, great, but then other mysterious charges will later show up on your credit card. Multiple ones.
3) Cars often smell like cigarette smoke, and sometimes have dog hair all over them.
4) I've had experiences where I've gotten to my reservation on time but my vehicle was not there--and after all the hassle of them trying to put me in another car, I lost about 20 minutes of my reservation (and was late to my appointment) but was never reimbursed for that, nor did they extend the time of my reservation to allow for that.
5) However, if you are one minute late returning your car (no joke, one minute--this is from experience), they will charge you $50.00.
Having a car of your own may cost a little more, but having experienced zipcar, it is well worth it. Don't give up your car and use this service--it is too expensive and a poorly run business.
They are handy and located all over the city. Now you got to be good about calling if your going to be late to extend the reservation. The late fee is $50 and it just hurts, also they pay for the first 180 miles each day you pay after. So if you have it two days you have 360 miles on them, or four hours still 180 miles. Considering they pay for gas and insurance (anyone whose a zipster can drive your zipcar same insurance), its not a bad.
Now if there's a prob with the car, as in it won't open. There is nothing they can do about it, well at least here in SF. Seems they are able to unlock cars remotely other places but here the theft risk is too high.
I have had bad experiences with these aspect and having a pick up at the airport, bad card and everything going to hell. Which was not cool, this has happened a couple of times. Usually due to the card being shitty and demagnetizing or whatever. I am now very careful not to put the card by the cell or sit on it in my pocket.
Other than that, cars are clean, reliable and you can find what you need. There are cheap hybrids to trucks for moving (OMG... driving a truck for the first time scary!)
A rip off, they care nothing about there customers, go to CityCar, there money hungry here, they ran the wrong license number for me and not even a California ID and wont correct the matter...Losers...
Perfect as a second car option and way easier than finding a place to park a small pickup truck in the City.
I had a horseback riding lesson in Berkeley at 1pm this afternoon, so I had rented a Zip Car last week from 12-3. I showed up 10 minutes early and the car was not there.
I called the 1-800 number at noon, and the guy on the phone told me they couldn't locate the car. I asked him if I could use another car, and he told me the only car that was not rented was on Polk and California, which was a 20 minute walk. I explained that I had an appointment, and had to drive 45 minutes to get there, and he pretty much told me "tough luck".
I told him I wanted driving credit enough to compensate the $60 I was still going to be charged for the lesson, and he said he could only credit me 2 hours driving time ($14)
Done.
well, it was bound to happen someday! the honeymoon - albeit a bit bumby in our 3+ years together, Zipcar, is about to come to an abrupt end. I am really and truly thinking about breaking up with you this time. i thought i had forgotten the few ups and downs, chosing instead to focus on the afterglow i feel after a succesful running of errands or huge load of Trader Joe's goodies hauled home in one fell swoop. but one phone call this morning with a passive agressive wanna-be alpha you know what, in the local office really sent me over the edge ... pushed me real close to the point of no return. what happened to the art of customer service (especially when it's local, in the same country and not outsources, though lately i have been making friends with folks all over Canada, India and Mexico!)? i am thinking of having a not so secret daliance with City Carshare, a company i have previously stayed away from because i had some inside info! and am longing for the long-gone Flexcar that Zipcar absorbed, was it last year? is that when it all started to go terribly wrong? i should have tracked it in my datebook! well, the broad today sent this normally rational sane literate and gifted in the art of metacognition individual into a tailspin. and all for a system glitch that i have been alerting the company to for 6+ months and finally decided to demand action on higher up the food chain. so after cooling my jets, holding back the tears that said Zipcar employee nearly caused, i rallied and fired off a brilliant fact-filled 4pp letter complete with back log of evidence to the CEO, COO and dude in charge of technology, whose exact title at the moment i don't recall nor can be bothered to look up! note to self, Zipcar, in this age of viral marketing, twitter and facebook, you just don't mess with good customer service! you don't assure that what is essentially a great idea gets a bad wrap because of a few inept individuals and issues that customers should not be having (and you choose to make them think are all about them!), and usually try to forget (with the help of some deep breathing, maybe a personal soundtrack and/or mantra; some dark chocolate; hot tea or maybe something with a little more kick!) but that, of course, all come flooding back (like in any relationship going south) when you hit the skids again and are about to crash and burn! take the bus, walk, hail a cab, bum a ride from a friend, sprout wings, or go back to hitchhiking but consider your choice to test out Zipcar very careful. you might be dazzled, even seduced at first, but then you will realize there is no substance under the shiny sparkly Mini-Cooper surface!
Zipcar rules.. Reason I got a Mini was because I rented one for a couple of hours.. I was sold the minute the top went down and drove wid the aussie cousins across every major bridge in the bay area..
I love the fact that its web based and you can do everything online.. (looking to use my ITOUCH to make a reservation one day.. wherez the APP already!!!)
Customer service is excellent also.. My key was demagnetized and it took literally 2 minutes to get a new one.. Imma a fan fo shure and this company ever goes IPO, imma there!
Hello all,
It seems that some of you have used Zipcar in the past and may have some ideas on improvements to car-sharing services.
I work for a company named GfK Automotive. We are an independent research firm consulting in the automotive industry. We are currently conducting consumer research with past/present Zipcar users.
As a past/current user of the car-sharing service Zipcar, we would like to invite you to help with an important - and totally confidential - research event where we would discuss with you the topic of alternative transportation options. In return for your participation, you will receive $75 as a token of our appreciation. We guarantee that there will be no attempt to sell you anything, and that this will strictly be an opinion research survey. Your name will not be passed on.
Your decision to use Zipcar places you in very select company. Not many people are even aware that car-sharing services exist--That's why we're inviting you.
The research will be a brief online discussion group. The groups are scheduled to take place November 17th - 19th so the sooner we receive your telephone call the better chance we'll have to schedule you in.
Once again, no one will try to sell you anything either during the research or later, as a result of your participation.
To learn more, please call our interviewing partners, 20/20 Research. 20/20 Research is an independent opinion research firm, and is coordinating scheduling for this study. They will ask you a few questions to be sure that you qualify and to ensure that we achieve the balanced sample we need. Please visit their website to confirm their independence and legitimacy: http://www.2020researc.../
Call (800) 737-2020 ext 550
(let them know that you are interested in participating in the GfK Zipcar research)
Call anytime...7 days a week
(If you reach voicemail, be assured that a representative will promptly return your call)
Thank you for your time!
GfK Automotive
----------------------------------------
GfK Custom Research North America
One Park Plaza, Suite 750
Irvine, CA 92614, US
http://www.gfkamerica.com
My first two rentals in three weeks went flawless. My only beef so far is that the cheap Mini Cooper in my building is hard to reserve. When it was not available due to a flat tire, they moved my reservation over to a different car at the same price, and then called/emailed me about 5 times to make sure that I got the message.
Today I noticed a promotion in my building for zipcar that offered $25/year + $25 credit. I emailed zipcar and asked if I could move my account over to the promotion since I signed up only 3 weeks ago. Marisa moved it over, no prob!
I can't even express how much I love Zipcar! I've used them about 4 times since I moved here 3 weeks ago I've never had anything but stress free experiences with them (knock on wood). I also would have no furniture in my house without them.
So convenient. I loooove zipcar!
My company paid the start up fees for us which made me more eager to try Zipcar. Both times I've used it, it's been absolutely perfect. The cars were always clean, relatively new and easy/fun to drive. Last time I sprung for the BMW and totally dug it!
Prices are very reasonable and enticing when you really want to get away for a weekend but don't want to drop some major coinage.
More goodness from Zipcar are the happy hour socials they throw every few months. In addition to getting 2 free drinks just for flashing your card at the door, it's surprisingly a great place to meet people at. I did run into a shy, quirky, slightly stalker-ish Stanford girl at the last event, but she was easily avoidable at times. She didn't drink and gave me her drink tickets!
I really like how easy it is to use their web based services, and I had a couple issues, but their customer service staff quickly emailed me back and fixed the problem. Great service!
Today was my first time ever using zipcar and the experience was GREAT! :)
I signed up for zipcar at some food fair in Oakland a week or so ago. I only paid $25 for the yearly membership fee and received $50 towards my driving credit.
I had a meeting today, so rented the car for 3 hours. $7 hr for a civic hybrid...not bad, huh.
The location was easy to find 88 Townsend St. ( easy in and out)
Remember $7 hr includes gas and insurance. :)
I logged into http://ZipCar.com to find out when my plan renewed on July 26th, and closed my account. I am trying to cut costs in this bad economy and haven't rented a car since I signed up last year.
Zip Car will not refund my $50 bucks credit because my membership expired on July 24th and they are holding it for my 2009 annual membership fee.
They will not refund me because of 2 Days! Come on - they clearly don't have any business ethics, and have poor customer service.
Zipcar offers a lot of cars in my neighborhood, the Castro, so it is really convenient and I can always count a car being available. Overall, I think they run a good business, and I have never had issues with customer service as stated by other reviewers.
Compared to City Car Share, they have a different pricing scheme. City Car Share charges lower per hour fees, but charge you a monthly fee of $10 - $20 depending on plan, plus per mile fee ($0.35) so if you are using the car for mostly city trips, City Car Share will be less costly -- but you have the monthly fee. Both services offer discounted rates for overnight rentals between 12am - 8am.
Just a couple things you want to watch out for.
1) Car locale -- if you go to a pod where cars are parked behind each other, the car your reserved may be parked in -- and you need to ask the gas station attendant to move cars to get at yours. You won't know this until you arrive at the pod. Your time is is ticking away. If this happens to you, call the 866# and tell them you are being delayed. ZipCar will adjust your time, or switch you to another car. It's a bit of a hassle but can save you a late fee.
2) Refuel -- members are supposed to fill up the car when the gas gauge gets to 1/4 tank. Well that is 5 - 10 minutes out of your time. A couple times I have showed up with the gas nearly empty -- and had to fill it up on my time. Zipcar gets free labor here -- YOU fuel their car and YOU pay them with your minutes to do it. Again, if you think ou to be late -- call ZipCar and they can make an adjustment for it.
Why would members leave a car nearly empty? Well - it is because of their $50 Late Fee, which is charged even if you are one minute late.
3) Running Late -- again, Call ZipCar 866# and tell them you want to extend your reservation. If no one else has reserved the car immediately after you they will extend it.
A rule I go by is to reserve for 30 - 60 minutes longer than what I think I will really need. Yes, I will pay $5 - $10 more to ZipCar for this extra time cushion, but it is a lot better than a $50 late fee.
Suggestions to ZipCar:
1) Charge a Late Fee only when someone else was waiting and has been inconvenienced. If no one is waiting, charge an extra hour penalty, not $50.
2) Change reservation time to 15 minute increments allowing you to reserve extra time at lower per reservation cost.
3) Give a courtesy cushion of 5 - 10 minutes to every reservation before late fee is assessed. This will make up for the times when members are racing back to make your time slot, and miss it by just a few minutes.
However,
Hey guys, i JUST joined zipcar... havent drove one yet... but I got $75 of free driving, using this special San Francisco promo code when joining!!!
so if your a new member, use sf75 in the promo field of your application!!! My school also has a deal with them so I wasnt charged any additional fee's, just my driving commitment.
Short version:
Pros - quick/easy to get started as a first-time member, flat hourly charge (up to 180 miles included), no monthly fee (occasional driving plan), plenty of cars and locations to choose from
Cons - insurance, lack of reservations in 15 min. increments, insurance, damage reporting, chance of gas card working is 50/50, for profit company, insurance
--------------------
Long version:
As a loyal member of City CarShare before Zipcar even came to fruition in SF, I'm highly critical of how Zipcar compares. Both have evolved over the years, offering a wide selection of cars and a lot more pick up/drop off locations. Back when I could only reserve the ubiquitous VW Bug with CCS, I can now reserve a BMW through Zipcar.
I left CCS a few years ago when I was unemployed. For one, I wanted my $300 deposit back, and I didn't enjoy paying a monthly fee, even when I wasn't using the service. When you're broke, $10/month is $10 too much.
I signed up with Zipcar recently, mainly for travel to races and to be able to hit the trails more often--something I can't rely on public transit for (see Marin Headlands review). And it's just nice to know you have a car available at your disposal at all hours of the day.
While I had no complaints, my hesitation to sign up with CCS again are their fees. I knew I had to fork over $300 up front, and their hourly charge and mileage charge seemed like too much compared to Zipcar's flat rates.
Zipcar's fees are simple. There's an hourly charge (price is dependent on the type of car), which includes 180 miles, more than reasonable for a short jaunt. (You can also reserve cars for a 24 hour period, but at that point, it's cheaper to hit a car rental service.) During the day, I could rent for as little as $7/hr. with a hybrid. With CCS, you have to add up the hours you've reserved for, on top of the amount of miles you've driven. Imagine how many miles are wasted, driving around the block looking for a spot in this city. And with Zipcar's Occassional Driving Plan, there is no monthly fee; I pay as I go. If I didn't make a reservation for that month, there is no charge. (On the flip side, there's a $50 annual fee.)
Within 24 hours, I was able to sign up and pick up my card needed for car rentals at their downtown office. This, in contrast to CCS, where you're required to attend an hour long orientation at their office before being handed the needed key fob to access rentals. I'm not sure about CCS, but Zipcar has a ton of promotional driving credits available if you're willing to search for it. As a first-time member, you can get up to $100 free.
What's most damning is their insurance policy. The amount of coverage they offer is a lot less than CCS (up to $300K compared to $1 mil). But I think it's a big enough concern to where CCS would be worth it for that peace of mind, even if it means paying a bit more over time. In the meantime, I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope it's something I'll never have to deal with.
There are a few other things that irk me about Zipcar. Unlike their rival, reservations can't be made in 15 min. increments. Having to navigate through the city to get the car back before your reservation ends can be tricky. So far, I've returned a car over 30 min. early, and have gotten back with just minutes to spare before getting that $50 late fee tacked on. Having those extra 15 min. could make a big difference.
Another thing I don't like is the damage reporting. Unless they've changed their ways, with CCS, they had a list located in the glove compartment that you could check before driving off. Any damage that was confirmed by the office was printed, with space available for drivers to write in any additional comments. With Zipcar, you have to call in and leave a message on their machine. But with so many different occupants, you could call on just about anything (stains, minor scratches). It'd be nice to know if another member had reported it beforehand to save you the time and trouble of logging it in.
Getting the gas card to work is hit-or-miss. I wasted a good 10 minutes trying to get the card to register at two pumps before driving to the gas station across the street where the card was accepted. I was fully ready to pay and have Zipcar reimburse me, but that's an extra hassle I'd rather not deal with in the first place.
When it comes down to it, I have minor gripes with the way Zipcar operates. City CarShare, to me, is more a pricing issue. They suit drivers for quick grocery trips, while Zipcar allows you some time to dawdle due to their mileage allotment. Zipcar caters to my needs at the moment (and their cars are EVERYWHERE!). City CarShare is a non-profit, compared to Zipcar as a for-profit company, though, so take that as you will.
ZipCar provided me with a car with a nearly dead battery. I drove the car 5 miles down the road, parked, and ran inside a store. When I came back out the battery had died. It was noon, broad daylight, so the lights were not on and the radio was not on. (Even if the lights had been on, ZipCar should not be providing cars with batteries that would die after 20 minutes.)
I was stranded on the side of the road so I called ZipCar. I said that I needed to rush to a meeting and the guy on the phone told me to go ahead and leave the car. I had to call a cab. An hour later, he called me back and asked me to go wait at the car. I told him I could not do so because, on his advice, I had already taken a cab across town and was in a business meeting.
An hour later, a different representative called and said that I would be responsible for paying $300 for towing the car. I said this was an unfair charge as I had left on the advice of the earlier rep. He said he would see what he could do.
An hour after that, a woman rep called and said that I might only be responsible for paying for the service fee. I told her I could not agree to this because I had only had the car for 20 minutes and therefore could not have drained the battery in that time.
No contact from ZipCar for 2 weeks.
This morning I get this email:
"During your reservation in xA Anthony on 9/14 , the battery was died. The cause was determined to be a member error and, because of this, a visit to the vehicle was required for the battery to be recharged.
We have assessed a $90 charge to your account to cover the cost of this incident. It is your responsibility as a Zipcar member to make sure that all lights are turned off, windows and doors are in their appropriate positions, etc. If you would like to see a copy of our penalty policy or your member agreement, we will provide that for you. I have attached an invoice of the towing and recovery charges.
If you have any further comments, questions, or concerns - please do not hesitate to contact Zipcar. I hope that all of your future reservations are pleasant and that you have a nice day!
Regards,
Peter J Vitt (Zipcar SF)
zipcar"
I am shocked at the way that ZipCar has handled this situation. Never once did anyone apologize for the fact that I was stuck alone on the side of the road. No one has tried to help me resolve the situation, in fact, I have only been contacted with reasons why this is my fault and responsibility. This is the WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I have ever received and I will definitely be taking my business elsewhere.
What happens when you reserve a car from ZipCar and it's not there when you go to pick it up?
Nothing but aggravation.
We had used Zipcars several times previously and had been impressed with the quality of the cars and the efficiency of the process, but their response to a glitch in the system was a total fail.
First, it was surprising to call and find that there was no entry on their phone tree for "the car's not here." We waited a while to get a customer service agent. She acted as if it were our fault that there was no car there. She claimed not to know whether the car had been returned or not because she "wasn't in our state". Hmmm, maybe try looking on the web site?
After we complained about the car being gone, her offered remedy was that she could "cancel our reservation at no charge." Uh, it was already 15 minutes past when the car was supposed to be there. Was she saying they would charge us for the car even if we didn't get to use it? Gee, thanks.
After 27 minutes on the phone (lots of really distorted muzak while on hold), they magnanimously agreed to comp us $20. Of course, they charged the sap who was late $50, so they made a nice $30 on the deal.
I have to say I was really shocked. The technology parts of their system work well, but their response to a common problem was a complete customer service failure. It seems like the least they could have done was say "here's a $50 credit so you can take a taxi." However, from ZipCar's point of view, a failure in their system is your problem.
Zipcar as a general service works about 95% of the time, but their customer service leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
As someone who works in customer service, I am appalled at how they handle anything beyond a common card demagnitization or overbooked reservation.
Two separate experiences in the past 3 years of being a customer (who spends several hundred dollars a year) have caused me to open a City CarShare account for in-town trips - almost exactly the same service, same car locations, cheaper.
1. Car was broken in to, while locked. Zipcar informed me that this was my fault and that I would be responsible for the cost of replacing the window. OK, fine, that I can deal with, even though I provided a SF police report explaining what happened. However, telling me that it was my fault my purse was stolen and then lecturing me on car safety and etiquette? Not OK.
2. I left a pair of (expensive) prescription sunglasses in a car I rented and though I worked in the building where the car was parked, Zipcar wouldn't let me get into the car until 2 days later, at which point the glasses we missing.
Another Zipcar-er reported finding the glasses and left them in the car. And yet, even thought it was only Zipcar personnel who had access to the car during that time period (cleaning, maintenance, etc), the missing glasses were my fault.
If anyone from Zipcar reads this and gives a crap (cause I know for sure your SF office personnel don't), please feel free to reach out to me to apologize. And replace the sunglasses ($500). Kthxbai.
This is HANDS DOWN the EASIEST way to rent a car. My husband and I got rid of our car when we moved to the city, and we have saved so much money. The customer service at Zipcar is incredible. There are cars all over the place that make it virtually impossible to not find one when you need it. Prices range from $9-15 per hour depending on if you want a prius, mini, BMW, or whatever.... they also sometimes do specials like $7/hr for hybrids of $60 for all day. Gas & Insurance are included in cost, so you have no add-ons to worry about.
I have RARELY encountered any issues, and when I did, they were efficiently & effectively handed by customer service- I was NOT put on hold for a long time, and it was easy to get through to an actual person. Really, I have never dealt with any service provider that does their job better or handles situations that come up more efficiently. One time a guy returned a car right on the hour and on no gas. Bad Karma, dude. It's just not cool to leave your Zipcar for the next person on empty. The other thing is once I came back to a spot and a non-Zipcar was parked in it- I called up Zipcar and they told me to park it where I could and someone would come out to move it and deal with the illegally parked car. I didn't have to worry about a thing. Soooo easy. It's also so easy to extend my reservation if I need to- a ridiculously easy phone call, press 1 button, and bam I have the car for longer.
Prices are good considering gas & insurance are included, although not for long road trips. Easy to fill up gas, though I haven't had to often. Cars are for the most part clean and easy to drive (if you do come across a dirty-ish car, call up Zipcar and they'll clean it- hasn't ever happened to me, I think they clean the cars regularly no matter what). This service really couldn't get any easier to use. Only downside is there is a mileage limit (I think 120 in 24 hours)- so if you want to go far it's cheaper to do a rental. Ugh, shudder at the thought of that. Zipping is so much easier!
My first zipcar experience was perfect! I got to sign up for 25$ and received a 75$ credit! I used it to splurge on the BMW. I took it to Santa Cruz with 4 friends overnight and partied my ass off! The BMW was clean and in perfect condition.. It also had no zip car logo anywhere on its body which was nice... GO zipcar!!!! Plus gas is on them! heeellllll yeeaaaahhh!!!!
A haiku:
zipcar and biking
far less daily pollution
go watch ferngully
Here's a (somewhat) true conversation I had with Zipcar:
Me: So when I checked my account yesterday it said I returned my car on time but today I got an email saying I was late.
Zipcar: Let me check yes it says your were 9 minutes late.
Me: I've used your service for 2 years and have always returned cars on time. No one had a reservation for the car after I returned it so could I be forgiven this one time?
Zipcar: F**K you. Rules are rules. I could forward your request though to a faceless corporate drone. Oh you'll get an email within 2 weeks...right after we've already charged your credit card.
Me: Wow I love companies that sh*t on loyal customers.
A few days later I get an email inviting me for free drinks at a Zipcar party and of course they invite you to sign up your friends.
I think: F**K you Zipcar. How about refunding my $50 and keep your free drinks. Oh and there's no way I'd recommend your service to my friends.
Yes, it is a great idea. However, twice now zip car has not delivered really good service. My husband is actually the one with the account with them - right at this moment he should have had a car at 16th. and Gurrerro ready to go at 1PM. Turns out no car there! he has to walk to Market and Duboce to get a car. It seems that some service company that has the car for upkeep has failed to deliver it back timely. ok, stuff happens, no problem. How about zip car calls and lets us know. Now we will be late! you should have told us. it is certainly understandable that this could happen, however, it is on you to notify us ahead of time, not to find out when we need to be on the road. As of this moment, 1:29, my husband is still walking to get the car. We should have been on the road at 1. yeah, i am a little pissed off....
I've been a zipcar member for a year and a half now (the majority of which was in SF, now Oakland) - maybe more. At first I was really excited, and prices were somewhat reasonable, around $6.75 an hour, I think. I now rarely use it, and when I do, I'm frustrated and stressed out by the expense & the availability. It's cheaper to rent a car for the weekend from a car rental place. The cost of a weekend rental == about 4 hours of zipcar use.
Also, a "day rental" will have extra mileage tacked on if you actually GO SOMEWHERE, plus taxes, which knocks a day up to $140. WHAT?
How often do I need a car for just an hour? Basically, never. Trust me, every errand will take HOURS more than you think. Fact! Even getting groceries tends to take more than an hour. So tack a sweet $20 fee onto your grocery bill!
The cars are FILTHY, falling apart, cigarette burns inside. The locations are never actually that convenient. The gas cards for awhile never actually worked, making me have to get gas on my CC and send receipts. The last one I had had a broken CD player. Maddening.
The late fees are insane, and sometimes when one in stuck in traffic and cannot extend a reservation, heads explode. There is no flexibility as reservations are back to back, which makes no sense. You basically need to book an extra hour or 2 in case of traffic. Cha-ching!
I'm going to look at used cars to buy this week.
Wow. My roommate and I moved me out of my old apartment, went to In and Out in North Beach, got groceries, stopped by a few neighborhood spots, and got back home for really REALLY cheap.
Better than the bus, cheaper than a cab.
I wish I had a license not just a crappy California ID Card.
A few years ago I would have given 5 stars, but the love affair is wearing off.
1) Gas prices go up, so Zipcar raise prices. Gas prices go down, so... Uh, right.
2) Watch out for those old flex cars from the merger - they tend to be beat. Actually, a lot of the cars are getting kind of beat up.
3) Do the gas cards ever work?
4) The cars are getting dirtier and dirtier. I am also really over the pervasive dog hair in zipcars.
I'm still a Zipcar user and enjoy the service. But, I must say it's a bit more expensive than it used to be. Customer services remains very helpful.
Some thoughts, not necessarily complaints:
1) Cars need to be kept cleaner/better shape. It seems every time I use various cars they're either dirty or have some sort of damage to them.
2) People who use the cars need to remember to fill up the gas tank. It's not hard. Lately the cars have been nearly on empty when I pick them up. They pay for the gas!
3) It would be nice to have a better selection of higher-end models. I used to have BMWs in the garage. Now I have to walk at least 10-15 minutes to find one.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/26/2007
I'm a major car lover and as I refuse to pay for parking, the convenience of Zipcar is ideal for… Read more »
There's not too many options for you in the city for car sharing. It was either Zipcar or City Car Share. After careful research, Zipcar won after considering locations, types of cars, and pricing.
I do the occasional driving plan where I pay annual fee of $25 (found a discount promo online) and pay hourly rate depending on which car I drive. They have everything from Prius', Corollas, Mini Coopers, and BMW's.
Love:
- Insurance, Gas, and 180 miles included
- Lots of different cars to choose from
- Lots of locations, especially downtown area
- Minimum is only 1 hour and you choose any length of time in 30 mins increments
- Can call to extend your reservation if you're running late as long as nobody booked it
- The Zipcard is easy to use and carry so no hassle with keys
Hate:
- The day rate is expensive! $69+. If you rent more than a few hours, then it's totally not worth it. You can get a cheap rental for the day for $40 anywhere else
- They book reservations back to back so someone may be returning it at 3pm when you need to be in the car and start driving at 3pm
- Their late fee starts at $50!
- Can't replace your car in the spot the Zipcar was parked in
- I wish they had a gps system in their cars - that would be sooo useful!
Overall, I've had a good experience with Zipcar (so far at least). Perfect for when you need a car to do some errands, but for extended trips, go check out Priceline or Hotwire for better deals.
Well, since a year ago I haven't really had any problems with zipcar. They seem to constantly improve their reservation system, and I feel like I've been better able to get vehicles when I want them.
I guess the only downside is that I don't see as many of the nicer cars, like BMWs and Mini Cooper convertibles, or maybe the ones from the garages near me have been moved to other locations, but the abundance of practical cars certainly makes up for that.
There's still the occasional problem with other users, like tonight I got a car at Sutter Stockton and the garage card wouldn't work when I tried to go out. Apparently the user before me took a ticket when they returned the car or somehow fucked it up in some other way; I had to spend an extra 5 minutes to get the garage attendants to help me. But it seems that even my problems with other customers' errors seem to occur less frequently than before.
Bravo, zipcar.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/4/2008
2.5 stars, rounded up because despite its shortcomings this is still a fairly innovative and… Read more »
Ok, I was 100% behind Zipcar until about four months ago, when the zipcard just stopped working.... three different times. Before they had spares in the trunk so it wasn't a huge deal, but now you have to go into their office to get a new one. Once we (my boyfriend and I) had to pay for our own gas because the mileage code didn't work. On thanksgiving we were freezing stuck outside of our zipcar 50 miles from home waiting for them to unlock it for us.
Finally we decided to write a formal complaint explaining that if they couldn't find a better solution than constantly having to go into the office to replace the card that they would loose us as customers. Their reply? "Sorry to see you go" That's it, no apology, no attempt to ameliorate the situation, just goodbye.
Fine! F U in the A Zipcar, City Car share here we come!
I've been using Zipcar for a few years now, and find it extremely useful. I don't have to deal with people (yeah, i know, what does that say about me?!)----it's really nice to be able to rent a car for an hour at 1am to pick up your friend at the airport. And for $15 bucks. And insurance and gas included. I have also used it to visit family in the central valley, may have gone over their allotted mileage but it was not that bad.
I also love the fact that it is like a little test drive on cars......Mister B and I have discovered what we like/don't like, so if/when we do buy a vehicle, we have experience with the cars already and don't have to go on a test-drive with a schmoozy car salesman (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Dude. Zip it!
On October 25, 2008, I stared into the void, and the void stared back at me. My Passat's lease was up. Having crunched the numbers the way only a married couple consisting of an MBA working in Ops Control and a JD working in heavy lit every would, wifey and I realized that our car was costing us (exclusive of gas, oil and maintenance) over $700 a month. Yes, we are nerds. But we know what stuff actually costs. We also knew that we drove the car about once per week. AKA, 4.2 times per month (do the math, kids, there are 4.2 weeks in a month). Which, our further math revealed, meant that we were paying almost $167 per car driving experience. Which is a lot.
After a lot of thought, we decided to try going carless for awhile. And I have to admit that, even though the logical part of my brain understood why and agreed that this was a good idea, at about week 2, the other part of my brain (and, for me, the far larger part) pointed out that we had owned a car continuously since we were 14 (and got licensed to drive), and that all responsible, gainfully-employed American adults own cars, and our current non-car-owing state branded us as losers of some stripe or kind.
Wifey the anthropologist had to talk me down, carefully explaining that a car wasn't really a necessity in life, most of the Earth's population didn't own cars, we didn't really need a car, and that I had just been brainwashed by American car culture. Whew! I need that!
Anyway, I am doubtless saving a ton of money using ZipCar. And I'm reasonably satisfied with the service. There have certainly been a few hiccups along the way. Some people apparently don't understand what "don't smoke in the car," means. Ditto for "pets allowed only in carriers," which some guy who rented an Element interpreted as meaning "let your shaggy Yellow Dog run amok around this SUV, leaving behind enough hair to sculpt a replica dog at a 1:5 scale."
I don't know how long our ZipCar experiment will work. I've already had reservations to one car that was DOA, meaning I can't get it, and causing havoc to my schedule (a schedule that, interestingly enough, featured another Yelper). If this happens on a day I need to be in court, there will be a BIG problem. Until then, I will sing my happy, San Franciscan environmental koombayah around the ZipCar campfire.
Zip car is cool - just don't ever try and call them, you'll be stuck in the phone tree for, well, hours!
Anyway, now that gas is a reasonable price it's cheaper to rent from one of the regular rental places if you need the car for more than 6 hours.
I am now 6 months into my "no car" experiment and frankly, MUNI is becoming a draining, frustrating experience. Especially when doing some serious shopping. So with Zipcar all over the place on Polk and Van Ness around Russian Hill and a very reasonable plan for $50 a year to occasionally rent these cars, why not?
My first pick was the Honda Civic Hybrid for $7 an hour and was not available but that is my fault for being so last minute about it. So I got a Mazda3 sedan and it was fantastic. Although a little dirty (crumbs and dust on the floor; but no worse than when I owned a car) I liked this car a lot. Much more upscale and than rest of the low-end cars Zipcar rents. Leather accents, comfy seats, iPod stereo input and small enough to get into tight parking spots. The only weird part is having to line up your membership card on the windshield to unlock and lock the car. The key is wired into the dash. The whole system is almost silent so it is a little awkward wondering if the car is open or not but a very minor complaint.
Driving a nice car was a welcome change of pace. I budgeted 3 hours and returned some books at the library, shopped at REI, Trader Joes, Bed, Bath and Beyond and Safeway and made it back in time. Unfortunately could have used another 15 minutes to drop my stuff at home but I will budget better next time.
For $32 for the trip a bit pricey but with a little better planning on time and vehicle in the future will save money. It's worthy if you are weary of lugging your crap on crowded buses.
