Zipcar

[younglions]

Anybody have experience with the zipcar service? What do you think about it? The prices, the cars, the convenience? What do you like most? What can be improved? Is it worth the setup and annual fees if you are an occasional driver?

Any insight into zipcar service in Princeton would be especially appreciated.

[glasses]

Use it in Cambridge, MA. It is exactly what it looks like--convenient, relatively inexpensive, etc. And, at the end of the day, you don't have to worry about your car getting towed from wherever for whatever inane reason.

Look into student discounts. I got my account when I was an undergraduate, even though I had a car of my own at the time, and my college had a program with Zipcar that sliced the annual membership fee. A lot. (It was a just-in-case move that ended up completely paying off; even though I loved it, my car was altogether unreliable, and occasionally did not go for no apparent reason--since I did not live in college housing, I really needed the thing to get to class, work, etc.) Anyway, even though I've since graduated for some time, they don't seem to care--my annual fee is still at the same low happy place.

[Stories]

Agree with Glasses. Definitely a worthwhile service if there's a lot of cars in your area.

[zourah]

I'm in NYC, so I probably don't use my membership quite often enough to make it really worth the annual fees. Then again, it's enough of a convenience when I do need it that I'm not planning on giving it up, either. I've moved four times in the past year and a half, and being able to just grab a friend and book an SUV makes the process pretty simple. I'd think that in a place with less omnipresent public transit, it would really be a help.

[chi0]

I've used Zipcar for a few years in Chicago and I think it works really well. I live in the city and I don't own a car. The cars are generally in great condition, and they're all recent models. Good variety, you can get something like a Mazda3 for a quick trip, or a Ford Escape if you need to haul something big. I actually used Zipcars three times when moving between apartments.

It's not worth the hourly cost if you're going to use the service as if it were your own car, but if you limit yourself to a few large shopping runs per month, you'll definitely save money over owning and maintaining a car. It's sort of like renting vs. buying a home - you don't have the resale value of your car if you use a car sharing service, but you also don't have to pay for monthly parking, maintenance, insurance or even gas. All those definitely add up to more than the annual and hourly Zipcar fees.

One thing that I noticed is that on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, if you try to book a car on short notice, there might be very few available and they might be located far away. This has only happened maybe twice, where I wanted to use a car but wasn't able to. But you can book your time in advance to be sure you get a car (one day before is usually fine). Also, the keycard system works fine, although it's a little awkward to swipe the card on the windshield every time to lock/unlock the car.

Agree with the last person, it's probably worth it in Princeton because of the public transit situation - I have buses and trains all around me, and I still find that I need a Zipcar once in a while.

[MaximKat]

I wonder what is the situation with cars availability in Champaign-Urbana, with only 6 cars in the town. Is it possible for someone with subscription from another city to see online how many cars are reserved? If yes, could you please do it for, say, this and next week (and, especially, weekends) and write about your findings here?

[chi0]

I wonder what is the situation with cars availability in Champaign-Urbana, with only 6 cars in the town. Is it possible for someone with subscription from another city to see online how many cars are reserved? If yes, could you please do it for, say, this and next week (and, especially, weekends) and write about your findings here?

I checked on Champaign for you, and the website showed 4 cars. This Saturday (tomorrow), one car is available all day and the other three are booked most of the day. All 4 cars are mostly available on Sunday, and next weekend they're mostly available as well.

[MaximKat]

Hmm, it is better than I thought Thank you

(2 other cars are situated on campus and are available for students only, that's why probably you didn't see them)

[fsmn36]

Sigh. Something that would be so awesome for me since I have no car (and considering grad school, will not have one for a *long* time still) and yet...not located in my area. One day I will actually live in a non-college town in the midwest and be able to take advantage of things like this. :roll:

[younglions]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Seems like zipcar is a great deal that will allow me to leave my car behind.