I've pretty much abandoned Zipcar for this reason. In the early days, it was great. But once membership increased, there was an increasing chance that I would

I've pretty much abandoned Zipcar for this reason. In the early days, it was great. But once membership increased, there was an increasing chance that I would get a car that was not particularly usable. Filthy on the outside (dirt, mud, etc) and/or inside (dog hair, bodily fluids, etc). Or a car that had one or more warning lights illuminated (check engine, brake, no wiper fluid, low gas, etc). And each time I had to phone into Zipcar support to report it (and/or swap cars), otherwise the next user could report it -- leading to me being charged some cleaning fee or such. The best experience I had was in Seattle when I entered a dirty Zipcar and called support who said I had to take the vehicle to a car wash otherwise they would charge me a cleaning fee. While I understand I could have probably escalated to someone who understood the situation ("oh? you just got into the car 5 minutes ago?"), I decided it was a better use of my time to avoid short-term car rental programs altogether.