If I could give Zipcar a negative star review I would. My son tried to rent a car from them as a young driver. We called when one of the cars we reserved looked like it had been in an accident. We switched to another car but they charged us for BOTH. The actual charges were THREE TIMES what they should have been. Then to add insult to injury, I just found a $9 monthly charge for a "membership" fee. They of course will not issue any kind of refund. THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM. BEWARE. Don't use them. Customer Service is rude and doesn't care at all. read more

Its a total SCAM, even before showing you the cost they charge your card. Then noone replies to your messages

If there were negative stars that I can put to review Zipcar, I would. First of all, my car that I paid for did not show up. I then had to purchase a new car that was at a separate location with a price of 200. 20 minutes into our trip, our tire split in half with no indication on the car. We then had to buy a 300 dollar new tire and they will not reimburse us even though we almost died from their extremely unsafe car. Then I found out they charged us 464 dollars for the car that was a piece of shit. They have horrible customer service and will not reimburse us anything. Do not use Zipcar even if your life depends on it. read more

Overall, Zipcar's awesome for running errands and for road trips, but not so great for getting to work or other one-way trips. I've used Zipcar since 2007, and the service is generally reliable, inexpensive, and easy to use. I use both Zipcar and Car2Go because Car2Gos are for one-way trips and a Zipcar has to be returned to the exact space where you picked it up. The two services are priced accordingly. Car2Go is generally cheaper for 10 minute trips, while Zipcar is definitely cheaper by the hour. Zipcars start around $7.75/hour plus tax and you can book them in half or one-hour increments. Gas and insurance is included, but you have to leave the car with the tank at least 1/4 full. You just have to make sure that you will get the car back when you said you would, because it's a $50 fine if you go one minute over. I always budget at least a half hour longer than I think I will need the car, because the late fees really suck. Other pros: -You just have to have a driver's license to apply for a Zipcar account. No waiting until you're 25. -Zipcars are normal cars, not smart cars, so you can fit more stuff in them, or you can take a nice car like a Mini Cooper for a joy ride. -Zipcar trucks are great for moving furniture or moving out of your apartment. They also operate around the world, like Car2Go. -There are no service area restrictions! You can drive your Zipcar ANYWHERE. I started my Zipcar membership in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and when I lived there I drove a Zipcar to Canada, with no problems. Just call ahead of time and they'll make sure Canadian insurance is in the car. I'm not sure the same applies to Mexico, though. read more

Convenience does not always equal value; and zipcar has proved it is not worthy of being called either. The app is dated, service horrendous, and the overall experience can only be described as appalling. Today was my first experience and after booking the car and arriving to the location, the car was no where to be seen. Tried to cancel the reservation so I can book another one, but was told I will not receive a refund. Currently on the line waiting for someone to pick up, but it's already been 30 minutes and my reservation is now 25min late. If you're like me and have a tight schedule and need something dependable... Stay away from zipcar. I now need to call an Uber just to make my appointment. Completely absurd. read more

I'm a recent customer of Zipcar and I must say, I am thoroughly impressed. As a young college student I don't really have the money for a car at the moment, not that I would use it since I spend most of my time on campus. This service is excellent for me since I use it to go buy groceries and some errands here and there. So far I've driven the Civic hybrid (pretty smooth and clean) and the Scion XB (ditto). Every car comes with an auxiliary port for your iPod or MP3 player. Best part is you don't have to worry about insurance or gas! Along with all of this the service is great, from the receptionist to the Director of Marketing, Kaleb. My fellow college students, you need this service. read more

This was my first experience using any type of service like this. I was in Austin for ACL fest and had a free day to go exploring but no wheels. My friend that lives in Austin suggested I check out Zipcar and Car2go. Like the procrastinator I tend to be, I waited until the last minute to check into them, which was one week before I left for Austin. I ended up going with Zipcar because they had an option to pick up my card at their office instead of mailing it out. Car2go I believe only had the option to mail out their cards and I didn't want to chance not getting it in time. Plus I found a $75 credit to use, which almost covered both the annual fee and application fee. The whole process ended up going really smoothly. I applied online. Got an email a day or two later saying that I had been approved. When I got to Austin, I walked from my friend's place downtown to their office on 10th street to pick up my card. There was a girl at the front desk who was super friendly and went over everything I needed to know. Left the office, grabbed some breakfast and while doing so, I logged onto the app to see which cars were available nearby. I reserved a Honda Civic that was parked across from the Driskill Hotel. After I was done eating, I walked over and picked up the car. After the 5 hours I reserved were up, I returned the car back to the same spot I found it. Done and done. My only complaint about the experience would be that the auxiliary cable in the car was shot and distorted the sound. So I had no choice but to listen to local radio. If you're comparing Zipcar to Car2go, I think the biggest differences that I discovered (though I don't have personal experience with Car2go) are these: - Zipcar gives you a bunch of choices of types cars (differing in rental rates) while Car2go are only smart cars. I even saw a truck being offered through Zipcar which is a great inexpensive way to transport furniture if you needed to. - Zipcar charges by the hour (or by the month) while Car2go charges by the minute. - Zipcars have to be returned to where you picked them up while Car2go allows you to return to any of their designated spots. - Car2go is definitely the more prevalent of the two. I think Zipcar is a great alternative to renting cars, especially if you only need the car for a few hours. Even for someone like me who's only going to need a car for a day or two, I think it ends up being cheaper than renting a car the traditional way. Although admittedly, it does suck to pay a lofty annual fee for something I'll only utilize once or twice. I still have a credit on my account so I plan on using Zipcar when I go back for SXSW. Here's a breakdown of my costs to give you a good idea of what you'll be paying: Application fee: $25 Annual Fee: $60 Car for 5 hours: around $45 ($75 Credit covered this) $30 credit left on my account read more

DO NOT DO ZIPCAR. I did a free trial and have called 4 times to cancel my membership and have been on hold for over two hours, no exaggeration. The only way to cancel is on the phone and the hold is is ABSURD. If I could give it zero stars I would. read more

I had found an offer code for $75 in driving credit, which covered most of the annual fee and application fee, so I decided to check out Zipcar over the Memorial Day weekend, when renting from Enterprise was much too expensive by the time you paid for insurance (I don't own a car so I don't have any). I was really impressed that I could apply online, get approved within minutes and go pick up my card at the office on 10th Street that same afternoon. The staffers were very nice, too. I reserved a couple days ahead for the Ford Focus ("Fisk") that lives by Gregory Gym on campus and kept it overnight so I could go to a party miles from my house, make a major Super Target run and do other errands. The whole process was very smooth and easy and the car was great. I use Car2Go sometimes but I hate how those things handle. The Focus felt much more safe and handled very well, so it was actually fun cruising around. I would rather ride my bike everywhere, but now I'm looking forward to trying one of the Zipcar Mini Coopers the next time I am forced to use a car. And if I need to haul something, there's a Toyota truck or a Scion xB. The other thing I love about Zipcar is that for $9/month you can get full insurance coverage. If one of the Lone Star State's many proudly uninsured drivers clobbers you in a Car2Go, you're responsible for the $1,000 deductible, and renting from Enterprise or Hertz I'm always worried if I don't get the pricey CDW because I've read all the horror stories about administrative fees and loss-of-use fees you still have to pay in the event of a wreck even though your credit card supposedly covered collision. The other impressive thing about Zipcar: They e-mailed me a survey the next day to make sure my first experience went well. Now, if they would only put some cars in South Austin, I would have to give them six stars. read more

Used the service for a few months in Austin. Eventually I bought a car because I couldn't justify the poor ROI on the cost of their rentals and limited outings (average trip was 2 very rushed hours, 6-7 times a month plus full coverage insurance). 1 star because of an email notifying me of a $120.00 violation that I am positive I did not receive. I sent them a direct message on twitter but its been a day and no response yet. Called their customer service line who said they were escalating it to another dept., and I am yet to receive a call from them - going on 3 weeks later now. Be careful and try and keep a paper trail of your whereabouts in case they spring some nonsense on you, you'll have proof to defend yourself. Enough to make one neurotic. read more

Cancelling your automatic renewal is ridiculously complicated. There are no links on the website and the phone call takes forever. Never sign up for this. Do car2go instead. read more

Zip car is nothing more than a new marketing scheme for Budget rent a car. I recently get in a small fender bender with a zip car in austin. the Accident phone number was Never answered and it turned into a real pain to ever get this accident reported. Finally 6 days later the adjuster called. When services go online without any viable means of contact, I say DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. read more