Zipcar

Their customer service is awful. I’ve been overcharged multiple times, small amounts. I call them and they pass me back and forth for hours until I hang up. Recently they overcharged me half an hour. Their policy was that you could pick up your reservation 15 min prior to your start time. I pick up the car at 915 for my 930 reservation. I get charged for 9 – 1030. I called, the person on the phone listened, put me on hold, then told me that she would pass my issue on and they would call me back in three hours. Never did, I had to reach out. They said, through twitter, that they would call me on Monday. They emailed me, saying there’s nothing they can do, because their policy is now 14 min before. Pathetic.

This is the first time I have had such a poor experience with Zipcar. So, on a whole I would say awesome but not this time. Any other time they have made a mistake they have owned up to it but no luck.
I drove a car for the day and when I booked it quoted me 89 plus tax, as usual. This is the day rate. When I returned the car and got the email it had a staggering 268 charge. I phoned Zipcar thinking this was a mistake and knowing that they are usually really good about correcting their errors. Instead I got lectures from two different people about verifying if cars are hourly only before booking. I tried to tell them that the app was telling me otherwise but I was not to be believed. I then got a very condescending email from the local office telling me the same thing. They will honour the price as a one time only courtesy but that I really need to be more careful. At this point the App is still wrong and I am still being questioned.
After I sent the email I have heard nothing from them and wonder if I will. As much as I love the service and use it often I am worried about the lack of concern on this matter.

Zipcar is great. When they make a mistake they own up to it. Credit you money. Show concern. All the things you naturally expect from a company, unlike car2go, which is the worst customer service I have experienced for any company bar none.

Excellent car sharing service. Great variety of vehicles. Free gas. Free insurance. What’s not to like?!
Zipcar Vancouver incredibly friendly staff who are always helpful if you need to call in or drop in.
The fleet of cars is always growing and varied. Choose from anything from a Mini Cooper to large Ford Vans. The vans are especially useful for furniture moving if you only need something for a couple of hours.
If you’re a member keep your eye out for their ‘street team’ (usually on street corners, In grocery stores, or outside transit stops) they will give you free driving credit every time you stop and say hi!

We were in town for 1 day and needed to drive around to different areas of town with a lot of stops. I booked a car for 2 hours and 1 hour into our mission realized we needed it longer. I was able to use the app and extend our time. Our experience was really great!
As a Unilocal Elite I did not see a Unilocal option to get a discount or free coffee cup. We did use a corporate discount but no coffee cup. Sad face:-(
@ZipcarVancouver #Zipster!

A great option for getting around town to run a few errands. Becomes pricey if you use it for more than 3 – 4 hours. Keep an eye out for membership deals!

I’m a member of a graduate student group at UBC, and we realized that we didn’t have a vehicle available to pick up supplies for our monthly parties. I suggested that we sign up for a car share program. Zipcar was the obvious choice, as we needed access to SUV’s and cars with a hatchback.
The registration process online was super simple! I’m a graduate student at UBC, so I qualified for a significantly reduced sign up fee ($ 20 instead of $ 90). I’m also Unilocal Elite, and that qualified me for a $ 30 fee instead of the $ 90, which is also a great deal. I phoned the ZIpcar office before I submitted my registration, and they gave me a discount code that gave me $ 30 of free driving!
Once I submitted my application, I had to phone ICBC to get them to send my driver’s abstract to Zipcar. This phone call only took 2 minutes, and my Zipcar application was completely approved on Saturday (3 days total!).
In order to start driving, you have to get your registration package. I opted to pick mine up downtown, but you can also get it mailed to you. Their office is only a block away from the Granville Skytrain Station, and only two blocks from the Vancouver City Centre Skytrain Station, making it super easy to get to. I went at 10 am on a Tuesday morning, and there was no one else there. It took less than 5 minutes to get my Zipcard activated, and then I was ready to go.
I needed a car for 2 separate evenings. Zipcar has plenty of cars packed all around Vancouver. There are 6 on UBC campus alone, with 2 at each major residence (Gage Towers, Marine Drive, Acadia Park). I opted to rent a Ford Focus Hatchback. It was super easy to reserve the car online and determine car availability. You can change or cancel your reservation up to a few hours before the rental, and if you have any problems, you can call Zipcar itself and they’ll help you out.
Once you get to the car, you hold your Zipcard up to the windshield card reader, and the driver’s side door automatically unlocks. Holding up the card to the card reader again re-​locks the car. The car key is located in a really easy to find place near the steering wheel. If the car is low on gas, there is a gas card located either in the driver’s side visor or in the center console. I think it’s great that the price of the rental includes gas, so you don’t get stuck with the cost of filling up the entire gas tank.
I highly recommend that you reserve the car for an hour longer than you’ll think you need it. It will save you any late charges, which start at $ 50. It also guarantees you’ll have time to return the car to its home parking spot.
Overall, I am really happy with my Zipcar membership. It makes it super easy to run council errands, and it’s really low stress. You can also use your membership in other cities around North America that have Zipcar, which is really convenient if you’re on a trip! If you don’t have a car, or are part of a student group like myself, a Zipcar membership is really invaluable and highly recommended.

Signing up was a no-​brainer. A special offer for Unilocal Elite. No annual fee. $ 30 driving credit. … Free mug.
Yes, I already have a car, but it’s really a two-​seater, with 2 *tiny* back seats (I know, First World Problems). I thought that having the option of using a bigger car when I needed it would certainly come in handy. The suggested rates were around $ 8/​hr and more for premium cars. I figured I’d take a $ 30 joyride.
I signed up, went through the easy process of getting my record from ICBC emailed to Zip, my account was approved, and I received my Zip Card in the mail.
A few weeks later, it was time. IKEA. I booked a pickup truck for 3 hours. It was then that I realized that the rate jumps up from $ 9.25/hr to $ 13.50/hr + tax on the weekend. My trip would be from downtown first thing in the morning, to IKEA, drop off at parents, and then return.
Now, what I’m about to say is COMPLETELY MY FAULT. I do not want a copy/​paste from the ZipCar terms sent to me, because I know the policy, and do not base my review on those terms. I left my parents place in good time. One hour to get back home from the other side of the Port Mann. Should be plenty. As luck would have it, the Pattullo Bridge was closed that morning, and everything heading back into Vancouver was completely clogged. I called Zip and eventually talked to someone who was courteous, but explained that the truck was booked immediately after my booking, and I wouldn’t be able to extend it. Fair enough, I knew that. I just wanted to make sure I checked in with them so that they could inform the next member. I was also notified that a late fee would be applied to my rental. Again, fair enough. I eventually returned the truck 20 minutes late.
i was having fun playing with the phone app, which allows you to lock the car remotely. Unfortunately there is some lag, so I was never sure if it was indeed locked, or if an unlock signal was still waiting to reach it. I called them to straighten it out.
So, what I thought may be a free trial, turned into a $ 90 expense. What about the $ 30 credit you ask? I had to make two attempts to get that refunded because apparently it expires 30 days after you *sign up*. That wasn’t mentioned when I signed up on July 1. By the time I had my enrollment process completed, it was July 29. So really, the special offer should really start the day your account is approved and setup. I think this would be fair to new members.
The words of advice here are, if you think a few hours are enough to complete a trip, go for it. If you’re not using these cars to stray far from the pickup location, go for it. Weekday Craigslist pickup? Go for it. If you need these cars for longer trips, or weekend jaunts where traffic is involved, be careful, and make sure you’ve budgeted enough time. One late charge, in addition to the weekend rates + tax and you’re better off renting a car for a day.
¹⁵⁄₃₀: #30DaysOfYelp

I debated between Zipcar and the other car sharing options.
I checked out prices and where the cars could be found and there was 2 in my building.
Sign up was easy.
Bonus ! Unilocal elites got a great discount ! I also got 75 $ worth of free driving.
I decided to pay for a years worth of complete waiver, as I can be accident prone at times.
Took a few days for my (clean) driving record to arrive, But i went to the Zipcar office on Seymour, to pick up my Zipcar Zip card, and told the girl working (Tanya?)
and she got it approved shortly after. She was great.
After using it a number of times– I Love It!
Booking a car is easy. It checks your location, then tells you the location, make, model and features of each car (or SUV/​Truck) and the price. Most cars I have driven have been 9 – 11 $/​hour range (again this includes your gas)
You book the time you wish to use it, and if it is not already reserved or in use, you simply reserve, go to car, unlock via the Zipcar, and your driving!
Keys are located in each car, as well as a gas card, to be used if the car is less then a quarter tank full. Once you are done, simply return the car, Swipe your Zipcar and your out!
I have driven mostly cars, but today I opted for a SUV to pick up a few chairs I had bought. What a smooth ride! The vehicles are new and stylish and in great condition ! (You certainly wont be embarrassed that’s for sure!)
Car sharing is smart, easy, affordable and fun! I am sure glad I joined and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

The sign up process was super easy. The rates are reasonable. A lot of different cars to choose from, from minis to pick up trucks. Easy to book, change, and cancel a reservation. Easy to fill up should you need to. You can reserve certain cars for a whole day if you’re feeling fancy and crazy. Be mindful of underground parkades, I have had some trouble getting the doors to lock as the signal couldn’t get through from space.
They do a pretty good job with the parking spots too, they seem to be located quite nicely around the city. In a perfect world, I would have a zipcar space right across from my apartment, buuuut then my place would probably filled with needless items from IKEA.
All the fun of having a car without all the annoyances… at a cost that is cheaper than a taxi.

This review is for the sign-​up process (haven’t used a Zipcar yet, but was so impressed I had to post; will update of course!).
I decided to register with Zipcar based on Jennifer K.‘s review and personal recommendation, and went on their web site early in the morning before work to start the process. I noticed the link to check for group discounts, and am so glad I did! I ran a search on «yelp» just for the hell of it, and behold … «Yelp Elite Squad Vancouver» was one of the available discounts! After verification, you get the application fee waived, and less than half the annual fee. Yippee! No one told me there were perks like that to being Elite, and I was thrilled.
I entered all my information, chose the «pickup» option for my Zipcard, and made a mental note to phone ICBC when they opened (remember, it was early AM), and remembered about 10am. A quick call with 3 or 4 steps of phone-​tree, and then a real person verified my identity and confirmed that she would email out my record.
I checked the Zipcar site later in the morning and my Elite status and driving record were still «pending,» but I was heading downtown in the afternoon, and when I checked again, I had been approved! I was just a few blocks from the Zipcar office (lost umbrella on transit so stopped at Lost & Found at Stadium-​Chinatown Station), so I booked it over to Waterfront Station and took the luxury elevator up to the Zipcar office. Renee was very friendly and helpful while issuing my card and explaining the program. I mentioned that I had joined because of the good things Jennifer K. had to say — and Renee started typing on her computer, saying that she was giving Jennifer and me each $ 25 in driving credit, for the referral. I didn’t even remember to ask for it!
Overall, I was so impressed by the whole flawless, integrated registration process, which included verifying my discount status as well as my driving record, all within less than one single business day. Amazing! Here’s hoping that my rental experiences will be just as footloose and fancy-​free.

For a gal that’s gotten used to driving around in her own car in the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles, it’s been a challenge not to have my own car here. I basically had to do a cost-​benefit analysis for vehicle purchase and maintenance, and decided to wait to get one, given the cost of the actual automobile purchase, insurance, gas, parking, etc. So, I turned my attention to Zipcar. I chose Zipcar for practical reasons: out of all the car sharing programs, Zipcar offered vehicles closest to where I lived.
I’ve been using Zipcar for four months now. Though there’s been a couple of times that I haven’t been able to book the car closest to me, if I plan ahead, it’s usually available. Taking the bus to go grocery shopping can be draining sometimes, and by coupling my groceries with a bunch of other errands throughout the city, it makes the trip worth my while. And when I had an out-​of-​town guest, I was able to whip them through all of Vancouver’s local nature attractions in less than a day with Zipcar, which might have taken an entire week with public transit.
Zipcar offers day rates, that end up being a better deal if you have enough to do for an entire day.
From time to time, they have these 3 for 4 deals. You basically book the car for 4 hours, but you only pay for 3, which is about $ 26.04 including HST. Not bad, I say, considering gas is included. Just remember to return it on time with at least ¼ of a tank!
And if you find yourself booking with Zipcar more and more, it makes sense to upgrade your plan, which gives a 10% discount on all bookings in exchange for a monthly commitment.
The customer service (via email) has been great: responsive, prompt, and helpful. Renee, one of the reps, is usually the one who replies to my inquires. In fact, she provides me credits for mishaps that are a combination of Zipcar’s fault and my own, e.g. they doubled my credit amount because they had forgotten to give me a previous credit. (Yay — more driving time!) And also, she helped renew credit I had that I didn’t know had an expiration date.
Btw, if you’re interested in giving this a shot, they have a neat referral program, where both «you» and I would each get $ 25 worth of driving credit. Just send me a message!
All in all, I’ve had a great experience. It’s only $ 30 a year for membership. But through the university, there’s a promotion where you can get it for free! Not bad to test out some wheels.

Zipcar you saved me on a few occasions and for that I award you another star!
I arrived home exhausted with my Christmas dinner groceries and some presents only to realize I have yet again (it happens way more often then I care to admit) locked myself out of my house.
I tried to book my closest Zipcar but the app wasn’t working, yet again. Their app is very unreliable and why they don’t have 5 stars from me. But I am a smart girl and I will not be beat by a smart phone so I called someone to log into my account and book the car only.
$ 25 later I have a vehicle to run off an retrieve my spare keys that are in a different city, well worth it to save my Christmas dinner groceries from going bad and me from freezing outside in the cold!
There is only 2 cars in my current city but I am really close to their location and they are almost always available when I need them in a hurry, just wish the app functioned better to book them!!!

Zipcar is quite possibly the most efficient and worthwhile company I have had the pleasure to be a customer of
I don’ t have a car, and it doesn’t matter. I don’t need a car all the time, but sometimes you need to go farther than Translink will take you, or that Costco trip won’t fit on the bus. Enter Zipcar. I have an entire fleet of cars at my service whenever I need!
Not only is their customer service SUPERB, they GIVE away driving credit all the time! Follow their Twitter or meet the street team and you get free driving.
It’s awesome and I love it. Member for life!

Some of these negative reviews are pretty crazy (especially the guy who accused everyone who likes Zipcar of being a paid plant!). Here’s my take on Zipcar, having used their service for almost a year now.
Like many other people have said, I gave up my car and have no problem living without one 95% of the time, but some trips (Costco, etc) just require something with a trunk you can throw that case of 72 croissants you just impulse purchased. Two hours in a Zipcar will run you less than $ 20, which considering I was paying around $ 500 a month for car payments, insurance, gas, etc, is a pretty good deal when you consider you’re only doing it a few times a month!
The other nice thing about Zipcar is the variety of cars– you can take out a pickup truck or van for moving, or grab a Mini with a sunroof for cruising around on a beautiful day.
I’ve had nothing but good experiences with their customer service, so no complaints there. Some of their partner benefits are really great, too, like discounts on delivery groceries.
Honestly, considering the minimal investment it takes to sign up, it’s worth trying if you’re finding you occasionally need a car.

After giving up my car last year and using public transit ever since; I decided to give Zipcar a go since sometimes you just need a car for a few things like Costco runs or picking up my friends. I would normally rent a car, but its a shame to pay for an entire day when I only need it for an hour or so.
I have an iphone so it makes it super easy since I can see what cars are available near my place and unlock the car using the app. They have a good range of vehicles that are better suited for those that want to upkeep their ‘style’ like Hybrids, Minis and BMWs.
I looked into other car-​sharing services like car cooperative, but Zipcar appears to have more fun with their approach. Service is great, the process is simple. I think anyone that lives and works in the city should get rid of their car. You’ll be richer by the day! Go for it!

I’ve been a Zipcar member for almost two months now and so far my experience has been great. My life style doesn’t require me to have a car often, but when I do need one, its nice to have that option at a low cost.
When situations come up that need me to have a vehicle I just go online, find the car right for the situation and book it. They even have an iphone app, and I think they have one for androids too.
Thus far I’ve had no problems booking a car when I need one and they have always been clean. It’s also nice not having to worry about gas or insurance. It’s all covered at their low prices (hybrids starting at only $ 7.75 an hour)
I would highly recommend Zipcar for anybody who lives in the Vancouver area.

My Band teacher used to say that the Band is only as good as its weakest member.
I love the idea of car sharing (and not having to book/​pay for car maintenance), but, unfortunately, that is the reality with car sharing and irresponsible members.
In my few months of pretty heavy usage, I met with:
— Dog hair all over the back seats and station wagon trunk.
— Station wagon with lots of wood shards…
— Dead battery.
— Someone parking their Zipcar in the wrong Zipcar location (the spot where mine was supposed to be), so I couldn’t return the car, and had to spend over half an hour calling the Zipcar customer service to figure out where to park it instead, and to help them figure out which car was the wrong one.
Every time something happened and I would have to change to another unbooked car, Zipcar gave me ½ hour driving credit. Thanks… but I wasted more than that calling and getting to the next car (besides my precious cell phone minutes).
Also some technical problems:
— the iPhone app was fine, then it got an update which reset the booking time every time I looked at a car detail, so I would have to re-​specify it when I wanted to check out another car.
— There was no option to report minor (drivable) damage or low fuel through the iPhone app or SMS. I had to use up my phone minutes every time. I was expecting some kind of reporting mechanism built into the app, so I was disappointed.
Since the visitors I had to drive around are gone, and I just use the bus, I am cancelling my membership.
The reason I chose Zipcar this time around was because I was being reimbursed for the costs. If I ever need to carshare for personal reasons, I think I will go for Modo (formerly the Co-​Operative Auto Network). I would be able to get cars for cheaper there, if I buy a share. They have more cars in more places. Besides, they get cool keyfobs, not cards, for unlocking their cars.

Good if you’ll be racking up the miles in a short time as you pay by the hour and not by gas spent and you get a decent amount of kilometres to start before getting charged by distance.
Good, worthwhile insurance policies.
Also nice that you don’t need to have $ 500 up front like you do with Car Co-​op, now known by another name.
Not so good if the car you’ve booked is not working or just simply not there (happened twice in the year I agreed to be with Zipcar).
Bad underhanded policy of automatic renewal of membership and charging to your account when your year’s contract is up.

More like a ZERO-​CAR! I wasn’t going to take my sweet time and write this whole thing, but I had to after my girlfriend had another problem with them and cancel her membership, just like me and 3 other friends.
I think everyone should at least know what’s really is going on with this company before they read their PAID «i love zipcar» reviews. I just want people who are frustrated everyday with this company to have a voice and cut the B.S.
Zipcar is a great concept, however their whole system is a BIG mess. I was very excited to use it (4 months i was a member) but their logistic system is a joke. Wrong bookings, iPhone application makes mistakes over mistakes, I have called and suggested improvements over my frustrations, they said they will consider it for their next release in 2012 maybe!!#$*), late returns by other users, DISGUSTINGLY dirty cars aka PET HAIR, garbage left, oil is running out, non-​serviced vehicles and OLD VEHICLES (did i say that??).
Did i also tell you that I GOT LOCKED IN THE CAR!!! Who does this? Isn’t this even against human right or sth? Even though my car was reserved, the system was saying it wasn’t reserved. So they decided to lock me via satellite when i was parked waiting to pickup my friend. I thought the car died on me or sth. This happened twice again (one my fault i have to be honest but it was their iphone application’s failure mostly when i extended my reservation).
Listen to this for logistics chaos, i have a reservation one morning, and cleaning team is there. I had to wait 20 minutes for them to finish cleaning (half-​done, because they had to rush not to make me wait any longer). I was AGAIN late for my meeting and waited outside in the rain. I am not crying over this, but this is unprofessional. Go try to explain this, first wait on customer service phone line for like 15 – 20 minutes after pressing 30 keys (your birthday, membership id number etc) and then all you get is SORRY. Why don’t you at least give me a credit to satisfy your customer??? But they will gladly charge you $ 35 if you are minute late. Way to go.
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS A CHAOS and i just gave up. How many times I have been late to my meeting or had to wait in the cold for other driver to arrive. 6 times at least I would say if not more.
Another time I am on a road trip, rented a Audi, the car ran out of OIL! I had to deal with this, pay for the oil/​service and the service guy said the car has not been serviced for easily a year now, looked at me like an idiot before i explained it is a rental! I am glad I didn’t burn the freakin engine and they will make me pay for their old Audi. Do you guys have some sort of computer system to track this ridiculousness?
You have to wait 15 – 20 minutes to reach a customer service to resolve any of these issues when you need the most URGENTLY (the driver is late, car is out of gas, dirty vehicle to name a few, extending reservations) GET YOUR STUFF TOGETHER, seriously. I find it expensive for all this frustration you go through too.
A good concept, badly run company, i call it the ZERO-​CAR. I hear similar stories on the web and from my friends as well. I hope they fix these issues, so we can actually use it someday. But they will just keep focusing spending the $ on their marketing image, bar parties!!!, creative witty copywriting, rather than system improvement, better cars and customer satisfaction. That’s the core of your business.
Also, why don’t you guys try to perfect your system in couple cities FIRST before expanding all over the place and making it more chaotic for everyone including yourselves? Is there any smart people at the management there?