Zipcar

Most Recent Comments

• October 2022 by Amanda W.
  ZERO STARS This was the worst car rental experience and any service experience of my life. TLDR: we were locked out of the car for hours with our stuff inside. We almost missed our train home. They had to sent a lock pick and a tow to move the car. The car was disgusting inside too. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM. I'd planned a day trip to Seattle with my dad (74) for some time. We've had our share of hardships and I wanted to take him on a day trip to Seattle. Something to get him out of the house and help take his mind off things. Anyway... we took the train in and reserved a car in the city for when we arrived. The moment we get to the car, it was pretty gross inside. It was vacuumed sure, but the chairs were stained and there was gunk caked up in almost every compartment and crevice. First there were issues even getting out of the garage. There were no parking passes or any instructions on how to leave a paid parking garage. Once we figured it out, we were relieved to just get our trip started. Next, we drove to a standard, underground parking garage. Didn't think anything of it. I used the door lock to lock the car instinctively (normal thing to do) then realized I needed something out of the car. The app wouldn't unlock the car. I don't have a card because as it's advertised on their site, "You can start right away! Unlock the car with your phone! NBD! You don't need the card!". We we're immediately locked out of the car with all our belongings trapped inside. There wasn't service in the garage so the Bluetooth connection didn't work to unlock the car. I had to take the elevator outside to call for help. I was between phone support and their chat services. We spent hours going back and fourth with customer service, elevators up and down from the car, to get help. Finally, (again, after hours) they decided to send both a lock pick and a tow truck to the car. They said the lock pick would get there in 45 and the tow truck would take an hour and a half. We would miss our train home which was the last train home if we waited for the tow. The lock pick guy showed up in 10 mins because he was in the area and broke into the car so we could get our belongings out. We ended up having to abandon the car in the garage because there wasn't a way to start it without service. Zipcar even said to abandon the car. My dad (74) and myself had to walk through the city back to the train station to go back home. Our trip was supposed to be full of food, museums, and just hanging out with my dad, not thinking about awful things. Instead we took a train to get locked out of a car for 5 hours, then went back home. The issues we had are not one-off issues. They've experienced this before. Read the other reviews (I was foolish and didn't). THIS IS NORMAL FOR THEM. MASSIVE OVERSIGHT. Our entire trip was spent dealing with Zipcar. Do not rent from them. It's a terrible service. I regret every second. I can't believe how bad of a company this is. Do. Not. Rent from them. Even the lock pick guy said to not rent from them. Terrible terrible time. Truly. Also, my dad tried to sign up first. They immediately rejected him, didn't tell him why, and didn't issue a refund for the application fee. He has a clean driving record, excellent driver, doesn't have any conditions, is a TOTAL SWEETIE, has drivers insurance, a normal drivers license... insane. We're convinced it was age discrimination. He asked for a reason, they didn't give him any. They only refunded the fee when he suggested age discrimination. Looking forward to watching this company go out of business. Hope their employees can find some other place to work.
• October 2022 by Bubba S.
  Horrible if you live outside of urban core. I fell for Zipcar's advertising of low rates and ease of getting a car but found the reality was worse than simply renting an old-fashioned rental car. First, I live in NE Seattle. I looked very carefully at Zipcar and they indicated that their cars were available nearby. I only found out that the nearest car was a four-mile bus ride away AFTER I enrolled and was out my $8 monthly fee + non-refundable $25 application fee and taxes. That is switch-and-bait. Second, they charge you $50 if you are late in returning the car. To avoid that, you have to pad your rental with extra time and hope that you planned properly. That adds a HUGE amount of stress, as you are rushing to return the Zipcar or get hit with $50 plus the hourly rate. Last, their cars are poorly maintained. One of them had no windshield washer fluid and the wear-and-tear on the interior made it feel like Rent-a-Wreck! From the looks of the cars I rented, they seem to NEVER wash the outside of their cars or vacuum the inside of their cars, yet they have a draconian policy of threatening you with an over $300 up charge if you leave trash in the car. Do yourself a big favor and just go with a regular car rental company. Its way less stressful and they don't nickel and dime you to death with all those extra fees.
• August 2022 by B G.
  Rented a car today on 8/15/22 and had the worst experience. First car had a dangerous foot-long crack across the windshield, second car was not at pickup spot, third car was covered in dirt, dust, trash, used gum, cigarette stains, sticky goo on the steering wheel and no gas. when arriving at the gas station we found there was no fuel card. It took 2 hours to find a car and there was no helpful assistance from any representative. We dropped the car off hours early and we're charged 3x the amount it should have been without explanation. No one has been able to give a refund for the missed hours, the gas, or the overcharge. Terrible experience and will never use this ridiculous company again.
• July 2022 by Liezel B.
  First time I used Zipcar and I will never used them again. The worse customer service.. I booked my trip and I found a car that is close to location. For some odd reason I check my reservation 30 min before I have to pick up my car and it say the car you rent is no longer available and replacement will be shortly. I was like what the heck, so I called the customer service and this is what they told me we have a car for you but it's about 13 min walk and it's smaller. I booked a van 7 seater and they gave me A 5 seater. By the way it's not 13 min walk I have to take a Uber spend 15$ extra to get the car. This is the supervisor told me when I ask if they can get a car where my original reservation. She said we can't do that and I ask what is the best option let me tell you it really made me angry. You can get the car I offer you or cancel the reservation. I was like excuse me, I didn't f*** up they did but the customer have to suffer. Ohh I forgot to mention why they pull the car last min because it say they need to put in a service. So you tell me.. out of no where 30 min before I'm about to pick up the car it's not safe to drive it.. hmmmmm interesting. But of course I have no choice to go to there route because I have no choice and the time I have to leave it's approaching. When I get there omfg the car is good but it's dusty, it smell, there's a big dent, scratch. I was like I guess this is how they take care of this car or maybe no one really rent the car coz of there service.. so I spend at least 30$ round trip for Uber plus the rental that I return round 2 hrs earlier and still charge me the same price and more coz I went over the 180 miles and I get that no complain. But man I will never rent with them again and I'm canceling my membership with them . This is my first experience and my last.. if I can give this a company negative i star I will. .. way to a place that is inconvenient for me
• July 2022 by David M.
  I use(d) Zipcar because I don't have a car for an extended period and my work is primarily event-based, art/street markets/etc. I booked my latest event and booked a car a month plus in advance, and they cancelled my car about an hour and a half before I was scheduled to pick it up due to "unforeseen circumstances" and "We apologize for any inconvenience or frustration, this situation could have caused," as if I was just planning an outing to the beach or wanted to go ~*~shopping~*~ or something, and the agent I reached when I called customer service treated me like I was stupid and just didn't check if the payment had gone through (a month ago). The email told me I'd get an account credit *on a future trip," but I'm seriously looking into small business loans because I would rather just use up MY money in my Zipcar account and then never use them again, and I advise you never using them either, business needs or otherwise. You'll be strung along for a month, and then given an "oops, we had to cancel, but you can keep using us because we tied up your money" email instead of a replacement car option or refund to your actual account where your rent/food/other survival expenses come out of, just because they want you to book again. I think not.
• July 2022 by Negar A.
  Absolutely worst car sharing company I have ever used. Over $25 application fee for a completely automated system, monthly fees, insurance not covered (approx. $25 additional per day), have to reserve the exact time and duration you want it and have to return to the same location. NO OTHER company (Communauto, Car2Go, Gig Car share) have so many additional costs. I reserved a van for a day, and upon getting there noticed that the car is too huge for us to feel safe driving in. Call them and ask if a change is possible, if there's fees associated to it, and was clearly told several times it would be completely free of charge. Next day see an extra $23 charge on my credit card. Spend 45 minutes on the phone just to be told that their policies are against issuing a refund even if its their own colleague's mistake for giving me wrong information. I have cancelled my subscription and will never recommend Zipcar to anyone. All in all it cost me over $275 in their ridiculous fees and charges to have a car for 24 hrs. If I could put less one star I would. Also the cars, at least in the Seattle area are very poorly maintained, full of others food remains and mess. Horrible, Horrible car sharing and customer service.
• July 2022 by Josh G.
  Horrible customer service. Charge fees because of past drivers errors I had no control of.. also need to make sure to maintain the vehicles properly! Unsafe! Also zip car only lets u park in the spot u picked it up from... so what happens when the spot is taken when u get back??? Well we get charged fees even though I have no control over zip car parking locations
• June 2022 by Tatiana T.
  So, I did zipcar "back in the day" when it first started. My experience with zipcar was fabulous. Cars were well taken car off. Customer service was *great,* although you rarely needed it because everything worked so well. Fast forward a decade. I find myself car-less again after a cross country move. The service works the same in theory. But zipcar is clearly not the same company. Dirty cars (and I do mean filthy) which--sometimes people are like that. But do they clean the car when you let them know? No! (I pretty much reserve the same car across the street from my apt. So yeah--I notice.) But they also just seem disorganized. On my last trip, on top of renting an absolutely filthy care, they had apparently changed the location of where the car lives. I didn't know this at the time. They simply told me "for reasons they couldn't control," that I needed to pick the car up from street parking. Not a problem. It was just around the corner. This was a multiple day rental. So when I went to return the car to where it supposedly lived, not only was another car parked there (which again, happens, because "people gonna people,"), but all zipcar signage had been removed. Not covered or vandalized, but *expertly removed.* Apparently, zipcar had gotten rid of that spot, but in the 3 days I had the car, they didn't think they needed to come up with a plan or communicate that to me. I was racing to get the car back to its spot on time. I found out there wasn't one. Not because of "people," but because zipcar had literally removed the spot. I then parked it in a loading zone, the only space I could find within a 4 block radius and then called them. There's a reason I don't own a car where I live--there isn't much in the way of parking. They tried to convince me to drive further away to find a better space. I declined. I had to decline 3 times--because they really seemed put out by my unwillingess to work for them and walk a mile back to my house for free. And the person I talked too didn't apologize or even blandly "thank me for my patience." He got all bureaucratic and said "he was opening an incident report. And he'd get back to me." An incident report? About how they removed the parking spot for the car during my rental and didn't tell me? And what, pray tell is there to "get back to me" about? This is your company and your car. I don't want to hear any more about it.
• May 2022 by Nicole C.
  Cars are often poorly maintained mechanically. Having to return the car to the same location is usually a redundant hassle, compared to other ride share services. It costs half as much to rent from a car rental location for a full day, then it is to get a zipcar for two hours. The app sometimes works, sometimes not. They upcharge tolls and don't put it in your account payment history, so you can't track them. I subbed for three months, rented a car twice for three hours each, and paid nearly $300 total. Yikes.
• April 2022 by Jennifer G.
  Had a terrible experience with Zipcar. The application fee felt like a money grab, but I dealt with it. Fine. I go to pick up the car I had reserved. It was smelly, there were stains all over the seats and the exterior of the car was incredibly dented - it was to the point that I was concerned it was not cosmetic and was I sure if it was safe to drive. Also incredibly embarrassing to drive around a car in such ill repair. Not to mention the metal wire that kept the key attached to the car was frayed and I cut myself on it multiple times. I was already planning on terminating my membership and never dealing with zipcar again. Then I got an automated email stating that due to my driving record they had permanently closed my account. Excuse me? I had been approved for the account, my driving record has not changed. Additionally the ONLY thing that could be on my record is an accident years ago that I was legally not at fault for. I did not damage the car, I did not break any traffic rules while using the zipcar. Felt like a slap in the face. In conclusion, I would only recommend zipcar to somebody I didn't like. Even then I would feel guilty about letting them deal with this company.
• April 2022 by Aaron E.
  Useless customer service. Another vehicle parked illegally in zipcar spot at 8pm. Not sure what to do I call zipcar and was on hold 30 minutes to even speak to someone. In the meantime I found a street parking spot good til 7am the next morning and walked home. Finally get someone to answer and they barely speaked English. Tell me "7am not good enough need more time--find 12 hour spot" or I pay fees and towing charges and gave me phone number for local police to deal with the car blocking the zipcar reserved spot and told me it was my responsibility to have it dealt with. I asked for a refund for the unused hours of my trip and was told would get credit instead. Get manager on phone after another 20 minute hold who was next to useless, and told me the previous person wasn't allowed to give a credit and offered zero help regarding the parking situation. I asked how to escalate further and he said that he was as high as I would be able to talk to, told me to figure it out, and then hung up on me. Will never again do business with Zipcar nor Avis (who owns Zipcar).
• March 2022 by Scott K.
  I was really excited to start using Zipcar to get SUVs for mountain/ski trips and was super thrilled at how easy the pickup and booking was to snag my SUV for the mountains. The app stopped working so I could no longer use it to lock/unlock the car, but we figured we would not lock the car. The next morning we get up to start loading the car to go skiing and it automatically locked us out during the night. App doesn't work so we're completely locked out with our skis locked in the SUV. I spent 7 hours on the phone with Zipcar getting passed to different departments. They can't unlock it remotely and can't get my app working and keep saying they're sending lockout/repair services but they never come. Eventually a customer service person told me if I find my own lockout service and pay for it it'll be reimbursed. I do my own roadside assistance and finally get into the car, and then Zipcar denied the reimbursement they had told me they would cover. They still charged me the full $300 to rent the car for the weekend even though the Zipcar completely torched our plans.
• November 2021 by Sarah K.
  If I could give zero stars, I would. I used Zipcar back in July 2021 and the battery died on me. I had to call Zipcar Support and was on hold for ~30 minutes and then had to wait ~2 hours for them to get someone over to me to help. Once I got back, my designated parking spot was taken, so I called Zipcar Support again, was instructed to find on-street parking somewhere else. I searched for 30+ minutes and had no luck (it was July 4th night in a busy neighborhood). I called again and was told to find a parking garage nearby. I called again after I parked in the garage and was apprehensive about it since it was a paid garage, but was told that it was fine and that they'd take care of it. It sounded like they were going to send someone over soon to re-park it so I didn't think it'd be a huge issue. Four months later, I receive a $100+ charge from Zipcar for the parking ticket + their violation fee. I contacted Zipcar Support to inquire because I thought this was a little unfair, especially when I was told by someone on their end that it was fine to park where I did. I was told that I was directly responsible for this violation ticket so I had to pay for it. Even before this incident, getting in touch with Zipcar Support has been nearly impossible and when I'm able to contact someone, they're inept and obviously not trained in customer satisfaction at all. This car sharing service is garbage and I do not say this lightly. Pretty much any other car sharing service is better than using Zipcar.
• November 2021 by Yolanda W.
  I recently rented from this company under Flexcar in Atlanta Georgia my card was charged $338.60 initially ( I found out later that it's not a hold, they actually take the money) The day I was supposed to pickup the vehicle it wasn't there and my name wasn't on the list to pickup, after 2 hours of waiting and talking back and forth with costumer service I finally got the car but it wasn't the vehicle I wanted. Upon returning the vehicle my card was charged and additional $113.97 which brought the total taken to $452.57, The $113.97 was my balance for mileage and the $88.60 for the rental which should have been taken out of the money they had ,the $338.00, then refund me my balance. I was told that , they recharge your card for the mileage and refund the deposit....SMH after all of this which took from November 11 to November 18 and still waiting for my deposit back, they felt I only deserved a $40.00 credit It looks like a good deal but at the end of the day the hassle is not worth it. I would NOT refer this Car rental company to anyone. Beware !!!
• August 2021 by Joan J.
  Wish I could give it a zero. Check Better Business Bureau Reviews first. Three months ago they switched the car I was supposed to use at the last minute and didn't give me the option to opt out. After returning the car safely to its designated spot, I received an email the next morning asking me to put a claim in for the accident I reported. I never reported an accident. The car was in perfect condition when I left it. I have sent three emails now and called multiple times. I have now been suspended for 3 months, yet they continue to bill my monthly fee, insurance, etc. and I have had ZERO response from the company regarding my concerns. Always someone will get back to me in 2-3 weeks or 2-3 days and I hear nothing. Meanwhile, I am paying a fortune for other ways to get around because of their inability to respond. Next step is attorney generals office and/or class action lawsuit as I see many other people with similar issues.