Zipcar

I rented out a car for 24 hours on a snowy weekend. 3:00am Friday until 3:00am Saturday at $ 110.
The car got stuck in the snow, so I called customer service at 5:30. They were friendly and after 4 – 5 call back and forth, where they could not find roadside assistance, I was asked to ‚“call the police.” I did and the police of course could do nothing as I was not blocking a bridge or highway. I contacted customer service and was instructed to leave the car and find a safe way to get home and that I would get a full refund since they could not help me and I did not use the car beyond 2 hours and 15 minutes on a 24 hour subscription. I left the car at 7:30am
I loved Zipcar before this experience and they apparently loved me since I am bombarded with e-​mails and surveys constantly. I’ve been a frequent user that has consistently reported any trouble with my reservations and always leave the car with a full tank of gasoline. I’ve helped people move as well as recommended Zipcar across states.
Having walked 2 miles home in the snow you get to the realization that I cannot judge a company when things are at their best and they have no reason to act. Instead they should be judged when they should and they do. Zipcar refunded my account $ 39 via email after 3 attempts to contact them. I was billed for the 2 hours I used the car and the 2 hours I sat waiting for assistance.
This has become the new way of doing business with loyal customers that I detest. No character, or principles based on previous experience, promises they make or customer loyalty in the face of profit margin. If service and after care is priority in a time of need I cannot recommend Zipcar in Philadelphia.

New to the city, no car so joined Zipcar after hearing about this through friends. It was easy and convienant for a quick 3 hour trip around the city to do errands. The car was easy to find and easy to reserve via the app. Only problem was the car was a bit dirty.

Additional information from today’s review.
Approx. 10 minutes after I wrote the review below I received a call from Anthony (who turns out to be the guy who replied to my original comment in August).
Anthony offered a refund of the $ 21.00 but proceeded to explain the cancellation policy to me. Which I didn’t need explained. I did my part. I cancelled a day in advance. But I have increase my review to 2 stars, because I actually got a physical response.
Honestly, he offered a refund, but I have trouble depending on this because in my previous experience with billing, nothing was ever done correctly… so we shall see.
I will keep it only at 2 stars because still…$ 21.00 cancellation fee is ridiculous and that fact that it took so many calls, emails, reviews, and comments to get someone on the phone that seemed knowledgeable and a positive attitude. I appreciate the follow-​up from Anthony, but the damage has been done… I am looking forward to my year membership expiration.
Original Review from Today 09/​25/​2015
So I wrote a review about a month back. As you can see, a zipcar rep responded to my comment and offered to look closer into my situation if I private messaged my zipcar account number, which I did. Never heard back from them. So the response seems like it was just fake effort to look like they were attempting better customer service.
I reserved a zipcar for Wednesday, ⁹⁄₂₃. Cancelled it on Tuesday, ⁹⁄₂₂ through the application because a friend offered her car for me to borrow. I even checked it later on that evening to confirm that it cancelled, which it was. Sure enough I got an alert on Wednesday morning reminding me of my reservation. I then again, cancelled it. But of course ZipCar charged me a cancellation fee of $ 21.00!!! 21.00!!! Again I repeat $ 21.00. (minus the 5 extra fees they charge when renting a zipcar — see picture)
I get the purpose of the cancellation fee (but not a $ 21.00 cancellation fee??). If a car is reserved and then cancelled in a short period of time, it lessens the chance of someone else renting the car for that time, fine I get it, but $ 21.00
Their phone application is glitchy, as per my previous comment when they allowed me to reserve a car that wasn’t available because it was in the shop getting maintenanced.
So basically ZipCar is unreliable, unfair, charges without cause, can’t manage refunds and fixing situations and customer service is below par.
I unfortunately already paid the $ 70 annual fee, otherwise I would cancel ZipCar. I asked for my membership fee returned, prorated, but I was denied. Zipcar is not worth the headache. I spend more time on the phone with ZipCar fixing problems than actually using their service.
Go Über… besides being cheaper and faster, they have their billing department figured out.

For a quick trip to the store or a day trip I have used Zipcar for over a year. Zipcar is convenient and affordable. The car are clean and new. The only downfall I can say is that the gas card is not accepted by all gas stations.

I have had zip car for a little over a year. I’m not a frequent renter, but when I need a car for a couple of hours zip car is there. I use a lot of different companies, and I travel often. The customer service of zip car is so poor that it is literally my only Unilocal review rating anything other than a restaurant/​hotel. However, I’d like to share my experience in hopes that someone else doesn’t regret joining zip car as much as I did.
We decided to rent a car to go see a friend in New Jersey. First I must state that a 24 hour rental for zip car in Philadelphia is $ 98. Enterprise car rental is $ 42 literally half. The UPSIDE of zip car is that enterprise was closed early the day we made the spontaneous trip. Essentially you’re paying for the convenience of a car that is park and ready to go any time you need it. In this case that was more than ok with me.
We picked up our car, which I believe was a Mazda. We drove it 15 minutes outside the city to our destination. When we woke up in the morning, I had a missed call from zip car. The voicemail said that the car needed to be returned right away because of issues with a battery. I called back and got through to a representative quite quickly. She informed me that the «low battery» notification had just gone off. We went to the check the car and sure enough it did not start. We both had to get to work, but don’t worry Zip Car isn’t REALLY about fixing their mistakes so the day turned into a nightmare. It took OVER 3 HOURS for zip car to get their «service» to show up. Please note that their tow service was a man in a broke down car in no uniform. He was so clueless he tried to get us to help and we did because I actually felt sorry for him. I was very weary about driving the car back to Philly but he assured us it would be fine. The purpose of us getting the car was to have until the next day until 7 (as we said 24 hours) so that we could grab groceries before returning the car.
Since we could not go to work, we both took personal days (thanks Zip car!) and the representative assured us we could go pick up our «new» car. A couple of days later I noticed on my credit card statement that I had two $ 98 dollar charges on my credit card. The woman obviously made an error and charged us for an entirely new reservation. This seems pretty easy to spot, no? Well try calling their 1 – 800 number because she basically could not seem to grasp what I was telling her until I spoke to a supervisor who told me she’d forward to the main office but assured me that it would be taken off and apologized. I then told her that I don’t understand why I even have to pay the first $ 98 dollars as Zip car GAVE me a car with a DEAD battery. She said I had to call the main office for that.
Fast forward to a week later and I still don’t have my credit for the DOUBLE billing. I call the main office in Philly to find out that the manager is «gone for 3 weeks.» I’ve never heard of anything like this in my life. I asked where he was and I was told he «bounces around.» Then I asked how to reach him and she said by email but it could take a while. I asked if I could leave my phone number and have him call, she couldn’t even confirm he’d call me back.
After calling the 1800 number 3 MORE TIMES, I finally got my money back from the double booking. They told me that they would adjust me for the «hours lost» during the battery problem. They totaled that to be $ 21. What an absolute joke.
I am by no means a cheap person, and generally don’t complain but the manager never even returned my call and so I cancelled my membership. Enterprise has SO much better customer service and is actually cheaper, so many this happened for a reason.
My experience: You’ll get a car with a major problem (their fault) you’ll wait for a towing company for 3 hours (their fault) they’ll supply you with a car for the rest of your reservation and make a mistake of charging you twice (their fault) and then they will make you jump through hoops to get your money back. Later Zip Car, you have competition. Since you don’t call customers back, and don’t employ general managers to actually take care of business, maybe you read Unilocal.
Oh and if you need more proof that this place is run by the most clueless people on earth: simply read the manager response.

I think it’s about time I review zipcar here on Unilocal.As part of the wave of new ridesharing and carsharing services, zipcar really stands out as an innovative, cost effective replacement for car ownership.
For several years, I owned a car in the city, but living in the city the cost is not worth it. However, it’s important to have access to a car at times, for road trips out of the city, trips to King of Prussia, or grocery shopping.
The ease of reserving a car by the hour or day in the Zipcar app on my iPhone or on the website is unbeatable. Reserve a car for around $ 10 per hour or $ 90 per 24-​hour period and that includes gas (180 miles per 24 hrs) and insurance. The process of picking up and dropping off the car is simple — just tap your zipcard on the card reader and you’re in.
In summary, would highly recommend Zipcar for anyone without a car or with occasional need for an extra vehicle.

Moral of this review: contact the local zipcar office from the beginning.
Read this because this is going to be useful.
There is referral program on Zipcar that says you can refer a friend and get 40 (or maybe 80) hours of free driving. I did it. I referred a friend. Here is what happened:
1. They didn’t give us the free driving hours.
2. They charged me for my friend’s application fee. They charged her as well for her application fee: They charged us TWICE!
I later called them and asked about this and they refused to admit this is a mistake and were kind of aggressive.
BUT THEN, they referred me to a local office. I received this magical phone call, telling me the application fee is refunded, my driving credit assigned to me AND the lady said «I notice you are a student at Penn, we have a sponsor program that your yearly membership drops to 25, wanna switch to that plan?» and of course I said yes.
Ok. Even though I had a couple of angry hours, but right after my case was referred to local office everything was solved sooooooooo smoothly.
*Conclusion*: contact the local office from the beginning.

I have never written a review for anything but my experience with Zipcar this past weekend was so horrible I couldn’t resist.
We live in center city and are a one car family. My husband is already enrolled in Philly Car Share now Enterprise and I needed a car this weekend for a girls trip so I thought I’d spread the love and enroll with Zipcar, BIG mistake.
My hub. went to pick up the car Sat. morning for me and when he went to the garage the attendant was rude because my hub didn’t know which was the Zipcar since it wasn’t marked and there were 4 other Audi Q5’s. Also I got a call while he was at the garage that the previous renter didn’t return the key and of course he didn’t have his phone and already left frustrated because when he finally found the car there wasn’t a key.
I then went back to the garage and met a (very nice) Zipcar representative there with the key who was very apologetic. So 30 – 45 minutes later I was ready to go.
Zipcar offered to comp. me the 30 minutes and some driving time which was nice but the situation was still frustrating and my hub NEVER had anything like this with Enterprise. Anyway, I was on my way and not holding a grudge until the way home and the car doesn’t start. At this point I was only 30 minutes away in NJ but the car wouldn’t start. I tried, my brother and husband and nobody could get it. So I left the car there because I had to get my kids home and called Zipcar. They said someone would pick it up. They called 2x at 12.30 am, (which was weird) totally inappropriate. Then this morning I called to follow up and the rep said it had already been picked up. I spoke with my Mom this evening, the car is outside her house, and she said it’s still there and due to the snowplow’s it could get towed or ticketed. So I call Zipcar again for about the 5^th time in 48 hours and they said they’d get it tomorrow that the rep made a mistake (obviously). Also I forgot to add that I told the rep originally when she called to comp me in the beginning for the 45 minute delay, that there was a malfunction sign going off on the dashboard, a key x-​Ed out, she said not to worry it didn’t mean anything I should worry about. Meanwhile the next evening the car doesn’t start and I’m on the phone constantly with this unorganized disappointing company.
Beware!

I have been using zipcar for over two years now and i am HOOKED! The convenience you get with zip car compared to other car rental companies is unbeatable. Since insurance and gas is incorporated in the price you dont have to worry about added costs which you usually get when you rent a car. You also dont even need to talk to anyone or spend time at a car rental counter. You can easily book through the app and get a car whenever you want.
They really have locations EVERYWHERE downtown and you can always find a car when you need it. Whenever a client meeting that requires driving pops out of nowhere zipcar is always there to save me! I had an experience once when someone did not return the car on time but that was once out of 30+ times i have rented. The customer service personnel were very helpful and refunded me my money and helped me get another car.
Also, big plus the cars are new and really clean!

I find ZipCar services in Philly to be extremely convenient.
Their main office on 12^th street is also speedy and helpful. I have misplaced my key card more than once (not surprising at all if you know me) and they were very accommodating in getting me a replacement on the spot.
If you live in Center City, you’ll find a car location within 3 blocks almost anywhere you are. If a car is unavailable or there is an issue with your reservation, they always call ahead to give you the update in order to help reposition your plans. No complaints here, I’m a ZipCar advocate.

Love Zippy car! It’s my way to say, «F You Parking Authority.»

Zipcar,
We use you as a second car when needed like so many others. The cars are always in great shape and quite a selection in our hood. I’ve never had a problem… UNTIL 1 of your cars had a problem with the alarm across the street from my house! I called 3 times that night and nothing stopped it. AND then it happened AGAIN… hello… we like to sleep @ night. Especially during the week! The only thing that got this fixed was posting a nasty comment on your FB page. It should have been fixed on the first call.
Other than that — we’ll keep zipping! **** … coulda been 5 stars, but this is still too fresh in my mind!

I’m hovering at 3.5 but went for the 4 because Zipcar is lifesaver for the carless community.
Perks:
–Everyone who works at Zipcar on 12^th is really friendly and energetic. When you have to communicate with them, it’s always pleasant. Same goes for the phone operators.
–The office is small, bright and adorable
–Zipcar has a ton of cars. I’ve never had to walk farther than a few blocks to find something. There are a nice variety of cars, too.
–Parking spots are better than the car share
–After a lot of math, Zipcar ends up being cheaper than car share for me
–You can have multiple accounts within your account. I.E. I have a personal and work account so that I don’t have to get reimbursements.
–Overnight rates are cheap
Cons:
–As everyone mentions, the $ 50 late fee is killer. My advice? Give yourself extra time and don’t be late. It’s not that hard. If you’re really in a bind and something bizarre has happened, they’ll work with you. Like that one time I reserved a car from 3 – 4 and in my mind thought, «Oh, Liz, you have the car from 4−5» picked up the car at 359 and drove around in essentially a stolen car for an hour. They were so nice about my stupidity.
–Most cars include an aux cable. Most of these cables are broken.
–For some reason I’m always stuck with the person who leaves the car at juuuuust ¼ tank of gas so I’m putting gas in which is annoying when you’re on a schedule
–One way trips don’t exist.
–If you’re going to hang out somewhere then things get really pricey.
Until I buy a car, I’ll be keeping my membership as the positives and convenience outweigh the negatives.

…well, now that philly care share was bought by (a for-​profit company), they now have the exact same insurance coverage as zip car. So… if you’re not afraid of the insurance situation, go with zip car. Customer service is great when you need it, and, even better… you rarely need it with easy online and mobile app reservations. It really works exactly as promised.
As for pricing… you’re paying for the convenience of being able to step out of your house, walk 4 blocks, and get into a car as if you owned it, so don’t bother comparing the price to a regular rental car service, which remains the hands down choice for long, weekend getaways (zip car’s pricing structure privileges shorter over longer rentals.) But when you’re comparing prices, don’t forget the time you spent online, googling for weekend deals, *traveling* to the Avis/​Hertz office, waiting in line, filling out forms… its not exactly convenient, and certainly not something you’d go through for a Saturday run to Ikea.
But you really only see the «real cost» when you look at annual costs. I have kept track of my actual expenses, and in my most expensive year, I spent about 2100.00 on zip car (zip car’s prices include insurance *and* gas). My usage: never longer than a day but I have longish rentals (~8 hours) as I mostly use it to make a 90 mile trip about 4 – 5 times a month, with the occasional in-​city errand; 98% of my trips are weekday rentals (cheaper), and I do the monthly-​fee wheel-​deal for a lower per/​hour cost (I think this is only available in Philly).
For comparison, I’m about to buy a car because I’m moving to the boonies. I can expect to pay 2,000/year in car insurance *alone* for a late model, used car… almost the same amount I would spend on the total cost for a zip car.
Using zip car as a slightly-​more-​than-​occasional car is not only convenient, it turns out to be cost effective as well.

I had just got back into a ZipCar this past weekend I drove the «Muldoon» this was after some hiccups with my old account but once I spoke with the office I was free to reserve.
The best part I love about driving is driving FAST, it was so much run I went to Cherry Hill Mall and had a great time.
The car was clean and had so much to offer
The best discovery I made is the ZipCar App I can lock, unlock and beep the horn… that was so convenient if i could not get to my card… plus it was cold so i did not have to wait for the beep
Thanks Zip car I will see u again for Christmas.

I’ve never had an experience with zipcar go as planned.
1^st Experience — the car had a dead battery and I needed to go to another location. But the service of the man on the phone was great. I was given a credit for 2 extra hours for the trouble and also probably because it was my first reservation ever.
2^nd Experience — the car wouldn’t start. No credit or anything was given but I was able to get into a car parked right next to the one that wouldn’t start.
3^rd Experience — checked by bill and I was double billed for what happened during my 2^nd Experience. I was charged for both cars! Although when I called the lady on the phone took it right off my bill (and will show up next billing cycle). Thank you for being friends BUT this shouldn’t have ever happened.
I will say the cars are much cleaner than those I had a Philly Car Share. It’s nicer not to have a huge logo across the whole car either.
I’ll let you know if I have a 4^th Experience. But right now I think I’m good for awhile.

Moving to Philadelphia from NYC, my wife and I did not have a car. We never needed one, especially with the cost to have one in NYC.
Before buying a car, we decided to give Zip Car a chance. We got in on a promotional deal where we paid $ 35 for a year membership, and got $ 35 in driving credit back. So, we felt there was really nothing to loose.
Well, our first Zip Car experience was not all smooth and perfect. First, we got a call that the previous driver was running late. They offered to give us a free hour with the same car (it was expected to be 15 minutes late) or take another car, no extra charge for it being a more expensive model.
We took the upgrade since we were going shopping and felt the extra room could not hurt.
As our reservation came close to ending, we extended it for one hour. However, that hour approached quickly too. I tried to extend it another hour, but was told I could not. I then proceeded to the option to speak with a customer service rep, who informed me it would be a $ 50 penalty if we were even a minute late. This sent us into a frenzy.
We rushed to get the car back, but not being from the area, made a couple of wrong turns. Despite this, we managed to get to where the car was due only a few minutes behind schedule.
We got a rep on the phone again to see if there was any flexibility with the $ 50 charge. He would not give us any guarantees and was very reluctant to share his opinion on how it would shake down, but said it was possible that after posting that we could request to have it reversed.
Upon further inquiry, we learned that the $ 50 charge was good for one hour. The only motivation we had to return the car early was in hope that we would get the $ 50 back since we were not that late.
The rep on the phone pleaded that we return the car for the sake of the next driver. We decided to return the car and booked another car that was at the same location.
We unloaded the car and transferred all of our purchased goods, which was quite a bit.
Despite the kink in our trip, we actually take blame for being late and understand that it’s important to respect the next driver’s reputation.
Our second trip was planned much better and everything went smoother.
And, when the $ 50 charge posted, I called and was given a one time refund since we are new to the program. There was no hassle at all in making this request either.
In a nutshell, if you plan well, Zip Car is a great deal. And, if you don’t plan well once, you are likely to be forgiven. Just don’t let it happen again, because it will cost you.

ZipCar has been a life-​saver when my wife takes our car for a trip and «forgets» to let me know. Also when our car’s in the shop. When I moved into my current house, there was 1 zip car 6 blocks away. Now, there are 6 within 3 blocks. Can’t complain about that.
They’ve been great at helping our neighborhood group with a donated truck rental for tree plantings and block cleanups.
And every time I’ve called, the customer rep has been really nice and helpful.

I’ve been a zipcar member for almost a year. Car sharing is fairly common and easily understood, but what happens when things go wrong? The short answer — Zipcar’s outstanding customer service has your back.
A couple days after Philly’s snowpocalypse I reserved a car for two days. My rental was off a snow covered alley and completely blocked in. A quick call to zipcar, and they switched my reservation to the already plowed adjacent car. The snow-​free car was in a higher price range than my original reservation, so they comped the difference.
After my first day of driving was done (Saturday, 11pm), I decided to return the car for the night and got stuck in an icy hole. Yes, stuck. F***ing stuck, 2′ from my return spot. Another call to zipcar (national hotline) and service was on the way. Scheduled eta was 1 hr. Less than 45 minutes later, a friendly service tow showed up and was able to free the car.
Based on the snowy conditions, I decided to cancel the second day of my reservation. I also put in a request for a refund for the second day, since the car was literally stuck in the ice. Well, after one online complaint the Philadelphia manager called to let me know the entire trip would be refunded. I was also given a customer survey, which I gladly filled out.
So, this is my long winded thanks to Zipcar for really taking care of me. I couldn’t have asked for a better service.

Yesterday was my first Zipcar experience. I needed a car for the entire day to run around town, picking up and dropping off boxes of supercool Unilocal swag and running promotions. The Honda Civic I rented, the cheapest car in the fleet at $ 86 incl. tax for a full sixteen-​hour reservation, was ideal for this urban jaunt.
The car was parked just three blocks from house. Contrary to the user agreement, it had not one drop of gas in it. A quick phone call to the automated customer service line (printed on your Zipcard) to report that fact was made, and off I went to the fueling station. This was a minor inconvenience — as Mary S noted, you are a bit at the mercy of the prior driver for many things.
Otherwise, I had a blast zooming around in the roomy Civic. The trunk was enormous, I could have put my bicycle in it had I wished, and the included iPod cable was a fun touch. Next time I might spring for the Mini-​Cooper!