I have been experimenting with not owning a car and had used Zipcar a couple of times -- one car was spotless, another was dusty but fine. My last trip, however, changed my mind about the company completely. While driving on the freeway, I got tire pressure warning lights, followed by a loud flopping and then a scraping sound. I pulled over on the shoulder with cars flying by at 70 mph. It was dark and frightening. I stayed buckled in and called Zipcar for help -- but what followed was worse than the breakdown itself. The customer service team, clearly based overseas, seemed to have no grasp of the situation I was in. They repeatedly told me to get out of the car to inspect the tire and look for a spare, even after I explained I was on a dark freeway shoulder in the middle of the night. Their focus was on ending the trip and assuring me I wouldn't be charged -- not on my safety. Eventually, with no clear plan or updates from them, I accepted a ride from a stranger just to get off the freeway -- something I would never normally do. Thankfully, he was just looking for gas money and not worse. Hours later, I got texts saying a tow truck was coming, and later that the car had been towed. None of that was communicated to me while I was stranded. Maybe the car wasn't maintained properly, maybe it was just bad luck -- but what's certain is that Zipcar's customer service is completely unprepared for emergencies. I'll never use them again, and I'll warn friends and family to avoid them too. read more

ZipCar was good at the beginning but it just started going downhill sometime in May 2023. Yes, I've been late a few times but it was due to traffic which is not my fault. But this last time, it was heavy traffic and a really bad car caught on fire completely and traffic was backed up 30 minutes to an hour. I tried to call and let them know that but they didn't care whatsoever. So, they charged me $100 plus the hours that I used, too, and then, they suspended my account without letting me know when I was tried to go to my account and pay for the cost. I called and there were no English specialists or customer service agents that I could understand. I asked them questions but they didn't even answer my question clearly. If I am suspended, how long am I suspended for? 6-8 weeks? Forever? Like give me more information than, "this is a final decision and it can not be reversed". That's not an answer to my question at all. Then, you guys still want me to pay but I can't even continue to use ZipCar after that. That's a waste of my hard work money that I earned. Ever since I started using ZipCar, it's been problem after problem with their own property, I was stuck out in the heat for 3 hours because their ZipCar wouldn't even start. I had to call customer service and they had to transfer me to a technician just to work on their own stuff for them when they could have sent someone out. If I am suspended, they could have said, "6-8 weeks like they do with car accidents" which I think is crap. If a late person can impact another member so can a car accident can impact another member. If you guys can suspend someone who had a car accident for 6-8 weeks, you can suspend a person who is late for 6-8 weeks. At least give them some type of clear explanation instead of the crap, "final decision and can't be reversed" nonsense. That's not my question. HOW LONG WILL MY ACCOUNT BE SUSPENDED FOR?!? 6-8 WEEKS??? A MONTH??? A YEAR??? INDEFINITELY?!? LIKE SERIOUSLY?!? DO ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMON SENSE WHEN IT COMES TO CUSTOMER SERVICE AND ENGLISH?? At least, give people a chance to pay for their balance instead of closing their account. That's how you lose CUSTOMERS!! Duh! I'm not going to keep calling ZipCar because they give me bullshit answers anyways! Gives me more motivation to fix my own broken down vehicle even quicker now. Thanks, ZipCar for your poor customer service and lack of information! read more

This is actually the Davis, California location First nothing against people from India. But oh yeah one thing. YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND One WORD they SAY!!!! Now I was at location on time. But apparently they said I was one minute late. The car would not unlock. Had to wait till 30 minutes went by so they could reprogram the car The out side of the car was so dirty. Disgusting Well anyhow I needed to rent again a Zipcar. But the bad experience Surprise because they messed up my card was locked for 24 hours. Went to Enterprise No one at Zipcar could help me. But I would not actually know that because I can't understand them WOW. NightMare. Speak English!!!! read more

They closed our account after receiving a report from the next driver of a heavy smoke smell in the car although we reported the smell when we picked the car up. That they would just close the account and charge us a $50 penalty fee after being a customer for 7+ years without fully investigating just shows they lack ethics and don't actually support their customers. The arrogance too is astounding given the existence of Turo which delivers their cars to your location. It is unbelievable they treat their customers this way but I see from other reviews it's who Zipcar is and what they do. read more

It used to be so great and easy but prices have gone up to the price of a normal rental or Uber trip and customer service is so bad. Hard to reach, barely speak English and not helpful at all. Booked a car at a day rate which was more expensive than normal car rentals around and then get charged a $50 late fee despite calling them twice asking to extend the car. Very rude and unprofessional when inquiring about this fee. Ended up cancelling the service read more

Zipcar is ok , but the only thing is they have a worker named Snowy , she's unprofessional/ not helpful at all. She likes to hang up on people a lot and needs to be fired. read more

This has got to be the most inconvenient thing that's happened to me. And to make it worse their customer service people are AWFUL . They can't answer any questions and management Jose( I can't remember the last name) isn't anymore help at all . They cancelled my account sending me this email. Mind you I haven't had any tickets nor have I even been pulled over in the 6 months I've had this Zipcar account. And when you call to see why they just read you back the email .Asked to speak with management (Jose) and all he would say is go to the dmv to get a printout of my driving record. Dude I would know if I've gotten any tickets don't you think nonetheless I do not recommend. And don't forget they always put the cars where you almost always have to pay for parking if you leave another vehicle read more

Zipcar - Car Rental Near Me

So, after a very bumpy first time with Zipcar followed up with some good, personal customer service, I'm giving them a good review. Notice, this review is for the Sacramento local people, not the corporate website. That one gets at most two stars and I'll be trying to figure out how to rate them. I had some problems with my first rental. The car doesn't give feedback if you card in properly other than unlocking the doors. On the car I rented, it is extremely quiet and you cannot tell that it worked. So, scan in and pull on the handle. If it didn't work, try again... and again. This is not a good way to work with the entry system, but you get what you get. Also, filling the tank may require 7 digits of your card number not 6 like it says on the website. I don't know as I could never get it to work. Oops, I meant 6 not 7. :-D read more

Customer Service fail. I had wanted to rejoin for serval reasons but this was my first reason but they cared so much (not) that they quit me! Dear we don't give a, We apologize for the vehicle change. However we will not have any vans available in the Sacramento area in the foreseeable future. If you like we can refund your membership fees, as it looks like you joined recently for the purpose of renting a van. We hope that you can find a solution to your transportation needs. Please let us know if you have any questions or if there is anything we can do for you. read more

I hate doing this. I don't have time to write Yelp reviews anymore, so I only do it when a service is exceptional, or quite bad. From the rating, you already know which this is. We have been Zipcar members for four years, I believe. Over those years we've had the usual trouble-cars being late and we were not being notified, cars parked in a different spot and hunting them down in the California heat, etc. There was always more good than bad though, so even though we had frustrations, we just cut back on using Zipcar and instead used services such as HelloEnvoy and Amazon for groceries and household things. Unfortunately the last incident just pushed me over the edge. Memorial Day we rented the car to visit an amusement park. We were gone all day and arrived very early the next morning. I noticed dog hair in the car but forgot to call. The charge was put on our account, since I didn't call it in. I called and explained that we did not have our dogs in the car, because we went to an amusement park (and I could prove this,) and the rep took the charge off our account. Then a few days later, I get a call from the local office. First, she didn't ask if it was even a good time-right in the middle of the day, I am working. Had she asked, I could have dealt with this later. But she didn't. Actually, she didn't ask anything at all. She immediately tells me the rep should not have taken the $50 charge off and proceeds to lecture me on how this has "been a problem for you guys a lot." If the rep took the charge off and wasn't supposed to, that's between the rep and Zipcar. If your rep made a mistake, you need to talk to him about that. The woman on the phone didn't ask what happened, she just proceeded to lecture me on and on about this being a problem for us in the past. My dogs are in the car twice a year for their vet check up. And we use the crate twice a year. And you know what? Their breeds don't shed. They don't. They have to be groomed, but they don't shed. Come over to my house. Look at the floor, the bed, the couch, the rugs. You will not find dog hair. They do not shed. My mistake was not calling it in from a previous user-that is my fault, absolutely. I was tired, it was 1am and we'd been in the sun all day and I just drove two hours home. But she didn't listen, she kept talking over top of me insisting it was our dog's hair. Finally she decided to take a different argument. "Well it only takes a minute to call and leave a voice mail." You're right, absolutely. I didn't say I didn't have time, I said I forgot. I'm human. I work 60 hours a week, I have a husband and two dogs and a house. I'm sorry, I can't be perfect all the time. I forgot. Okay? I forgot to call after we got home at 1am because the car was dark and I forgot there was dog hair in the car. Then, it was-"Well you have a history of this." -____- So if we've been members for four years and there's been three times (the number she gave me) I forgot to call and report the previous user's state of condition with the car, doing the math, that's an average of a year and three months, give or take. So forgetting to report every 14-15 months means I have a "history." Sure. Then I get a lecture of how I need to be considerate of other Zipcar members. My husband and I are very responsible people. If it was our fault, I would accept the charge, I have no problem with that. I hate having to defend myself with this default it-was-the-person-before-me philosophy. It's a flawed system. I was very upset and canceled the service. The rep didn't ask why at the time, they just asked why we became members originally. Zipcar called my husband the day after I canceled our membership. He missed the call (again, middle of the day when we're working) and so he called back. "We would like you to rejoin Zipcar, but we need to talk with your wife since the account is under her name." I receive a call from the local office again. It's Gaby. I will assume it was the same woman I spoke with before from the local office, because she was just as rude as the first call. She says to me, "Your husband called about reactivating your account." And I said, "No, you guys called us." "No he called us." "No, you guys called him." "Well I'm looking at our records and he called us at 10am." Again, arguing. "You'd like to discuss becoming members with us again?" I said, "No, we would not, thank you." My biggest disappointment is the lack of humanity. The humility with this rep, Gaby, was just incredible. Argumentative, rude, talked over me, assuming. I know customer support is hard. It's really hard, I'm well aware. But there's no excuse for being a total bitch. I hope your boss reads this. read more

I've been using Zipcar in Sacramento for about two years now, and I'm happy with it. The most common issue I've encountered with the service is people would leave their garbage in the car. But customer service is awesome. If I ever had an issue, many times they would give me free driving credits or upgrades. It's great for driving around town for a couple of hours to run errands. Con: it can get pricey if you use it for more than a few hours. I used it to go from here to Silicon Valley and back within an 8 hour time period, and it cost well over 100 bucks. I also wouldn't use it to visit people in the Bay Area for overnight trips because the cost is more than a round-trip ticket to LA. Pros: easy to book online or on your phone, great app, don't have to pay for gas, convenient locations in Downtown and Midtown, don't have to pay for maintenance... It's a great service if you live in midtown/downtown. read more

I decided to live a carless life for economic and environmental reasons. I found out about zipcar and have been using them for the times I do need a car (shopping or day travel) for some months now. I absolutely love them. It is super simple and painless to sign up online and since I work for UC Davis I get half off on the yearly subscription. A credit type card is used to scan in and out of the cars (keys are in car) and a phone app to find and reserve cars at a whim. So far all of the cars I have driven are new, with usb and bluetooth capabilities, some have more perks like GPS and back up camaras for parking. I have driven a mini cooper (lots of fun), prius, ford escape hybrid, Honda CRV and even a really nice Mercedes (I love this because if I ever decide to buy a car again I have test drove a lot of different cars). Most the time I am driving a new car that I would not be able to afford. Gas and insurance is included and if you do not want a deductible you can pay (0 deductible $9/mo) monthly which can be easily switched on and off month to month. They have great customer service if you ever have a problem with car or need help figuring anything out. I recently lost my wallet and could not get into the car when I called zipcar they unlocked the car directed me to a hidden stash of cards which I took one and read off the numbers over the phone. It was instantly activated and I was on my way in 5 minutes. Not what I expected and I was very impressed. The cars are worth it when renting hourly but if you pay the 24hr price it gets pricey after a day. For me I feel it is worth paying the 24hr fee for one or two days, especially when I am traveling, since they have zip cars at aiports all over U.S., because I hate waiting to rent a car. You bypass all the paper work and waiting for the car, having to pick up and return during their hours and paying for gas (gas needs to be at least 1/4 tank whenever you return a zipcar to its parking spot) and this is way worth the amount I pay. If I need a car for more than a couple of days I would definitely go with a rental instead. The only complaint I have about zipcars is that they only are located in midtown, CSUS campus, and UC Davis campus area. I really hope they extend their cars out into the greater sacramento areas so I do not have to bus to and from the cars. Overall I absolutely love Zipcar and would highly recommend service to anyone who does not wish to own a car. So far I have saved a ton of money not having to pay for GAS, insurance, car maintenance and repairs, new tires, parking, tickets and taxes. read more

After moving from SF where Zipcar is a way of life for most of us, I was worried about how I would transition into Sacramento with out a car. Would I need to buy a car on day 1? Well, the answer is no. I'm still doing great with my bike and Zipcar getting me where ever I need to go and handling my small to big tasks. I also LOVE the staff. I believe there are 3 of them in the office and they are all great! I've worked mostly with Gaby when I've had to call or when I signed up and she is just too cute! They are so friendly and helpful. If you are worried about not having a car in Sacramento then have no fear, Zip car will take care of you. I've made it to appointments in Davis, had lunch in Roseville, got a van to move a dresser into my new place, yet can still ride my bike to and from work and save more money than having my own car! I'm very thankful Zip is a service being offered in more than just the BIG cities. Thanks for coming this way Zipcar!! read more

Zip car and the local branch heard about this from the previous yelp review. It's amazing in 2015 we get better responses from businesses from yelp/social media rather than from calling or emailing customer service. All my charges were dropped due to the duration it took to resolve when the local branch marketing manager got involved. Thank you! But a word of warning: I highly recommend taking the additional insurance from Zipcar or getting your own car insurance with the use of zipcar. Another measure: read your TOS and know that you are liable for damage even if you are not in the car, just like your own car, even if this occurs before the next reservation while the car is parked on the street. This sucks, I think this policy should be refined. I will be taking photos of all sides of the vehicle when entering and exiting it at any stopping point even though I am not sure if this will help. read more

Before you read this, you must know I haven't actually used Zipcar. I have been researching rental cars for a couple days for something that I need and I came to the conclusion that this is the best option. I signed up online which was pretty simple, with only a couple minor flaws with clarification on the website. So, I needed a car because I am in a bind, right? I looked on the Zipcar website, and it said the Sacramento office is open til 530. After about 45 minutes on public transit I arrived right BEFORE 5, and they were already closed with all the lights off. It's just really annoying that their website is incorrect and people need this service to be precise. Otherwise, they will get people like me having horrible days taking all our anger out on them. read more

I was the biggest Zip car fan when I first started using the service. However, when I ran into problems, I realized that their customer service was horrible. Here is a list of issues: * They charge you extra if you speak to an operator to reserve a car. * If a member reports that you damaged a car (even if you did not) you are charged large fees. * If a member reports that you did not leave enough gas in the car you are charged a fee (even if you did leave enough gas). *Often times gas cards are missing from Zip cars. In which you have to pay for the gas our of pocket. * Often times keys are missing from Zip cars. Good luck calling them for help. * They do not inform you when another user is running late. They wait until you call them as you walk up and down the street looking for the missing car. * When you do call, they constantly remind you of the rules and charges. *They turn Zip car members into snitches on each other. If the Zip car is a little bit dirty, you get a fee charged.The best thing to do is to take pics of each rental to protect yourself. However, that's no way to make customers happy! Like I said, I was a huge fan of Zip car from the start. I told all my friends to sign up for the service. Now, I cannot recommend them to anyone. It comes down to their poor customer service. They make you feel unwanted as a customer. You feel like you are inconveniencing them when you call. I wish they had a competitor in my city. read more

I'm probably just mad because i paid the $25 application fee when had i known the requirements were as follows i wouldn't have applied because i knew i wouldn't meet them. Hopefully this info will save someone the $25 i wasted. According to our policy, applicants need to have had no more than 2 "incidents" (moving violations plus accidents) in the past 3 years, no more than one incident in the past 18 months, no alcohol violations in the past 7 years and no major violations in the past 3 years. After posting this review I was contacted by zipcar and advised the application fee is non-refundable however they went against their own rules and refunded my $25. Too bad they don't go against all their rules and allow me to qualify to pay for the use of a zip car... read more

I am not satisfied at all about the unpleasant service that I received: - I lost 1h of my time because the car wasn't in the parking; - I was obliged to ask for a new reservation; - the girl made an extra wrong reservation, charging me 189$; - my zipcard doesn't work very well. It was a nightmare!! read more

I just returned the first Zipcar I rented. Everything about the experience went perfectly. The car was new, clean and mechanically sound. I would recommend Zipcar to anyone who only needs a car occasionally as I do. read more

For the time being, I'm giving Zipcar a low rating. I've been waiting about 2 weeks to get cleared (the website proclaims it can take as little as a day) and have sent inquiry emails and have yet to hear anything back. read more

Curious I have tried and tried to find terms and conditions of membership for zipcar. There is none available unless of course you pay a $25 non- refundable membership fee. It makes me wonder what are they trying to hide. I can't speak for anybody else but if I'm going to join a membership I want to know what the terms and conditions are before I join or pay a non-refundable fee. read more