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zip car is crushing itself. they only recently started allowing rentals over 24 hours. most require round trips. or if not a round trip, return to a zip car pa

zip car is crushing itself. they only recently started allowing rentals over 24 hours. most require round trips. or if not a round trip, return to a zip car parking spot. it’s just slightly less inconvenient than a traditional rental car at a higher price. i have a really hard time imagining when zip car would be the best choice for any driving needs

astura 9y ago
FWIW Zipcar is owned by Avis Budget Group which also owns Avis, Budget, and Payless Car Rentals. So, from a pure data perspective, I think they have enough information to determine pricing that makes them money.
fosk 9y ago
Correct - ZipCar is not cheaper than traditional rentals, but it gives me something that Hertz, Enteprise, etc for some reason cannot commit to: no BS and time accuracy. I don’t want to wait in line or deal with their representative upselling me a thousand addons, I don’t want to think. I’d rather show up and hop into a car, a-la ZipCar, without having to spend 20 minutes talking to anybody or figuring out what insurance I should choose.
ghaff 9y ago
I know a couple in SF who don't have a car and, AFAIK, they still use Zipcar and a competitor. My understanding is that one of their common cases is running around on a weekend to shop. One of the advantages over rentals is they can pick one up closer to their place. I do have to believe that the (subsidized) Uber and Lyft rides has had an impact on their business. And this is a business that probably didn't end up being as big or disruptive as people thought it would be in the first place anyway.
cowsandmilk 9y ago
> they only recently started allowing rentals over 24 hours ???? Zipcar has allowed you to rent a car for more than one day for years. I know people using them for 3 day weekend trips a decade ago. Explicitly remember them trying to budget their miles as you only got 180 miles per day, which you can burn up on distant destinations.
tinyhouse 9y ago
I've been using Zipcar for many years. It used to be great. In the last couple of years their service has really declined (probably since the Avis acquisition). In the last year I had so many issues. Once the car wasn't present and no on knew where the car is. They wanted to relocate me to a car two towns away. Another time the car was broken and they didn't bother doing anything about it. Cars are often dirty with pets hair. And they are really cheap about refunds, you need to call and argue with them. I now use Zipcar only when I have to. Will probably not renew my annal membership when it expires.
markkanof 9y ago
This is not correct. Maybe this does not apply to every single city that Zipcar operates in, but they allow 4 or 5 day rentals (can't recall which) in both Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon. I have done this many times going back as far as 5 or so years. I think you are also really down playing the convenience vs. traditional car rentals. Many car rental companies have moved to the model where they offer you a certain class of vehicle, and when you get there (which may mean traveling for 30-60 minutes to a place like the airport) to pick it up you are choosing from a random smattering of vehicles, which may be close to what you are expecting or not. I certainly don't appreciate when I get an "upgrade" to a giant SUV because they were out of the compact sedan that I really wanted. With Zipcar, if you live in a city, you can find a car in your neighborhood and know exactly what car you are getting, down to the color. You can also choose vehicles with other upgrades like roof rack or state parks pass. Zipcar also makes it easy to have multiple drivers use the car. Let's say I want to let my wife or brother drive during part of our trip. No problem, they are both Zipcar members as well, so they can just drive the car. They don't have to be there when I pick up the car to show their license and get added as drivers on that specific rental. For me personally there is also a huge benefit to Zipcar offering cargo vans as a rental option. I'm a hobbyist woodworking and having quick access to a van to pickup lumber is great! None of the other Zipcar like services that are available to me offer this. I could of course get this from a traditional rental car company, but with the problems from the previous paragraph. I think my point is really that Zipcar hits a sweet spot that no competitors seem to be addressing directly.
- foolfoolz 9y ago
  i tried to use zip car for a multi day rental in vancouver. i talked to people at zip car and they said that is not allowed this was 2015
enra 9y ago
If you live in SF, its much more more convinient to hop to a zipcar/getaround car block away from your house for a day trip to Napa, than first go the airport/downtown, where it takes additional 30-60mins to do the whole travel+process+traffic. Plus you have to do it on the way back and fill the tank (zipcar gas and tolls are free). Also the SF rental shops usually close after 6/8pm so you cannot drop the car off after that.

astura 9y ago

FWIW Zipcar is owned by Avis Budget Group which also owns Avis, Budget, and Payless Car Rentals. So, from a pure data perspective, I think they have enough information to determine pricing that makes them money.

fosk 9y ago

Correct - ZipCar is not cheaper than traditional rentals, but it gives me something that Hertz, Enteprise, etc for some reason cannot commit to: no BS and time accuracy. I don’t want to wait in line or deal with their representative upselling me a thousand addons, I don’t want to think. I’d rather show up and hop into a car, a-la ZipCar, without having to spend 20 minutes talking to anybody or figuring out what insurance I should choose.

ghaff 9y ago

I know a couple in SF who don't have a car and, AFAIK, they still use Zipcar and a competitor. My understanding is that one of their common cases is running around on a weekend to shop. One of the advantages over rentals is they can pick one up closer to their place. I do have to believe that the (subsidized) Uber and Lyft rides has had an impact on their business. And this is a business that probably didn't end up being as big or disruptive as people thought it would be in the first place anyway.

cowsandmilk 9y ago

> they only recently started allowing rentals over 24 hours ???? Zipcar has allowed you to rent a car for more than one day for years. I know people using them for 3 day weekend trips a decade ago. Explicitly remember them trying to budget their miles as you only got 180 miles per day, which you can burn up on distant destinations.

tinyhouse 9y ago

I've been using Zipcar for many years. It used to be great. In the last couple of years their service has really declined (probably since the Avis acquisition). In the last year I had so many issues. Once the car wasn't present and no on knew where the car is. They wanted to relocate me to a car two towns away. Another time the car was broken and they didn't bother doing anything about it. Cars are often dirty with pets hair. And they are really cheap about refunds, you need to call and argue with them. I now use Zipcar only when I have to. Will probably not renew my annal membership when it expires.

markkanof 9y ago

This is not correct. Maybe this does not apply to every single city that Zipcar operates in, but they allow 4 or 5 day rentals (can't recall which) in both Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon. I have done this many times going back as far as 5 or so years. I think you are also really down playing the convenience vs. traditional car rentals. Many car rental companies have moved to the model where they offer you a certain class of vehicle, and when you get there (which may mean traveling for 30-60 minutes to a place like the airport) to pick it up you are choosing from a random smattering of vehicles, which may be close to what you are expecting or not. I certainly don't appreciate when I get an "upgrade" to a giant SUV because they were out of the compact sedan that I really wanted. With Zipcar, if you live in a city, you can find a car in your neighborhood and know exactly what car you are getting, down to the color. You can also choose vehicles with other upgrades like roof rack or state parks pass. Zipcar also makes it easy to have multiple drivers use the car. Let's say I want to let my wife or brother drive during part of our trip. No problem, they are both Zipcar members as well, so they can just drive the car. They don't have to be there when I pick up the car to show their license and get added as drivers on that specific rental. For me personally there is also a huge benefit to Zipcar offering cargo vans as a rental option. I'm a hobbyist woodworking and having quick access to a van to pickup lumber is great! None of the other Zipcar like services that are available to me offer this. I could of course get this from a traditional rental car company, but with the problems from the previous paragraph. I think my point is really that Zipcar hits a sweet spot that no competitors seem to be addressing directly.

foolfoolz 9y ago
i tried to use zip car for a multi day rental in vancouver. i talked to people at zip car and they said that is not allowed this was 2015

enra 9y ago

If you live in SF, its much more more convinient to hop to a zipcar/getaround car block away from your house for a day trip to Napa, than first go the airport/downtown, where it takes additional 30-60mins to do the whole travel+process+traffic. Plus you have to do it on the way back and fill the tank (zipcar gas and tolls are free). Also the SF rental shops usually close after 6/8pm so you cannot drop the car off after that.