ZIPCAR RATES DRIVER
ZIPCAR RATES FULL
ZIPCAR RATES FREE

Mostly, Zipcar is geared toward short-distance rentals since it is limited to 180 miles daily, and most car rentals have an unlimited amount of miles. It is highly advisable to check with the credit card in advance. However, it is still possible to utilize a credit card's primary rental car insurance provided the Zipcar charge is made on the card, and the card issuer is willing to cover it. There is no point in getting limited coverage, in our opinion.

ZIPCAR RATES FULL

The company does offer additional protection: Limited coverage starts at an additional $5 per month, or $50 per year full coverage starts at $9 per month, or $79 per year.

ZIPCAR RATES DRIVER

It is definitely worth pointing out Zipcar only offers secondary protection, meaning the driver is still liable out-of-pocket for damage costs. In terms of insurance, most travel credit cards offer primary insurance, so this can be a negligible cost. For traditional car rentals, we always assume an extra $30-50 on top of the cost, though this can be wildly less or more depending on the cost of gas and how far the car is driven. Zipcar’s main point of differentiation against traditional rental cars is that it includes gas and insurance, though this can be slightly deceiving at first glance. so it is wise to consider the $25 a sunk cost, regardless.) There is a relatively unknown 30-day money back guarantee for new members, where Zipcar will refund the membership fee.

ZIPCAR RATES FREE

In New York City, IDNYC holders get a free annual membership (though the $25 application fee is not excluded from this), making this a great deal. In short: If you're choosing to use Zipcar for at least 10 months, the annual plan is the best bet. Including the application fee, it still takes about 10 months on the monthly plan to break even with the cost of the annual plan. None of this includes a one-time $25 application fee.īasically, the first-month upfront costs are $32 for a monthly membership, and $95 for an annual membership. In New York, the cost for a monthly membership is $7 per month, and the cost for an annual membership is $70 per year. The Zipcar annual and monthly fees vary across state and country, so for the sake of efficacy, we'll tackle costs in New York City. Breaking down costs, including gas and insurance In total, it took about nine calendar days to receive the card. The official Zipcar email came on July 14, saying the card was in the mail. In our experience, we signed up for a Zipcar membership on July 7 (and were more or less approved with a day or so). Getting set up does require some advance planning to get the card in your hands, even though reservations can be made at any point in time.

Zipcar relies on a physical card to gain access to most cars, which comes in the mail, so even though approval can come swiftly, mostly folks are limited by the ability to get up and running by old-fashioned post. In a day and age where it’s pretty easy to get instant gratification through 9,000 apps and Amazon Prime (though that seems like it is happening less and less), Zipcar pretty much seems like a relic of the past. Seems like a good time to revisit the OG of carsharing.Ĭould it be possibly, that in the year 2020 and in the age of a global health crisis, Zipcar might be the most viable option for getting around town?įor specific uses, it does seem like the best option for getting around, and maybe even selectively for short road trips.

Given that most of ridesharing's most popular products, carpooling through either UberPool and Lyft Line, are no longer viable, safe options, private car rides have quite quickly become an unaffordable option as the companies seek to protect what's left. Nothing like Zipcar has survived in its place, and that's most likely because the company sold to Avis in 2013. In the end, though, almost all of them have been the sad casualty of the market, with the pandemic closing the final chapter on these companies. In the past few years, there have been multiple upstarts like car2go and Maven on the scene. Updated: October 29, 2020Here's our full experience taking Zipcar around for a day trip.

Zipcar rates