zipcar

Peño

Peño

Peño

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Joined
17 Jun 2005
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I'm surprised there are no threads on this!

Is anyone a member of this car club? If so, what is your experience of it thus far?

Personally, I think it's a great idea and have just signed up. To cut a long story short, my car was recently written off by a drunk driver. I calculated that it cost me on average £2,400/yr (£200/mth) to own and run that car in the 5.5 years that I owned it.

A zipcar membership is £59.50/yr, a car in my area is £8.50/hr (or £75/day; 40mi included, then 25p/mi), and living in London there is always a zipcar a short walk away, 24hrs of the day. I get to drive a range of the latest cars depending on availability, and I don't have the hassle of servicing!

Now, it's very hard to estimate how much a zipcar will cost per month because it is of course based on usage. But only time will tell and certainly with my low annual mileage, it makes sense to at least trial it for a few months.

Surely if you live in a city with really good public transport, this is the best option for a car?
 
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You've hit the nail on the head in that these schemes are great when you're in a big city with good public transport where you would pay to park or struggle to park your own car, risk it being damaged 24/7 but then never really use the thing.

They work really well in London, but I'm yet to be convinced that they're much of a great idea anywhere else tbh. Doesn't seem a particularly cheap way to hire a car but I can see the " convenience" appeal if you have the occasional need to transport stuff short distances and only need it for a couple of hours
 
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I think if I lived somewhere urban enough that it wasn't worth owning my own car I'd rely on public transport and occasional hire cars.

There is a City Car Club scheme in Norwich, about 3 Polo Bluemotions that look like they've just done a re-enactment of the hire car scene in Days of Thunder :p
 
There's a bank outside Clapham Junction, I wouldn't get exited about driving something new, they all look like mid range diesel VW's either silver or black that look like they've had a short hard life.

The only thing that'd put me off is I bet they stink of smoke.
 
maccapacca said:
There's a bank outside Clapham Junction, I wouldn't get exited about driving something new, they all look like mid range diesel VW's either silver or black that look like they've had a short hard life.

The only thing that'd put me off is I bet they stink of smoke.
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One of the "Six Simple Rules" is No Smoking :D

I'm definitely excited to drive the latest A3 next week! Admittedly however, it does seem like they have a deal with VolksWagen because (especially in SW London) it is swamped with Golfs, Polos, Tourans, Transporters... even Up!s. There is the odd Focus and Corsa though.

With regards to insurance, the damage fee is £750 (which you can waive) and you can request a Letter of Insurance Coverage should you ever wish to go back to car ownership (which should have the same effect as NCBs).

It's such a great model for the casual urban driver and also you can choose on-demand the type of vehicle you want based on your needs.

If anyone cares, I'll keep this thread updated with how I am coping without owning a car in London!
 
Used zipcars/streetcars at one of my previous companies I worked for. It worked quite well for us and it was fairly cheap tbh. Booking and car collection was nice and easy, few cars different pick up locations withing walking distance. The location was Putney (SW London).
 
So I lost my zipcar "V plates" just now ;)

I had a friend stay over and due to engineering works it would be really difficult for him to get home by public transport.

Within 2 minutes, I had a Mk7 Golf booked a 10min walk away. It's a 25mi round trip and Google maps said that would take 1hr 18mins. I booked the car for 1hr 30mins.

Now I'm not going to talk about the car itself - I will say though that I managed to stall it. Thankfully the Golf is the most common car (and I previously owned a Mk4) so for those quick trips, a seasoned zipster should accustom to the vehicle roster quickly. Unlocking the car was simply just holding my zipcard onto the RFID reader on the windscreen, and the ignition key was tagged in the glove box with a green LED.

Because it was a spur of the moment booking, I naively thought I could return it within the 90min time slot. I got to my friend's house with 40mins left! Thankfully, I received an SMS on my return journey saying that the car would be free until 8am tomorrow so if I wanted to extend then I could do so. I thought I could safely get back on time if I took an alternative route.

The addition of a time constraint does add unnecessary pressure, and there is a £35 late penalty. However I noticed that I was also a safer driver, knowing that it was a rental vehicle.

I managed to park up 3mins late and in a rush, not the best of all parking either! It was a fun experience and definitely very convenient to just have a car ready to hop into and use. Next time I will pay that bit extra to have the car for an extra 30mins to accommodate for traffic, refueling, getting to know the car etc. So far (excluding membership) I have paid £12.75 on car journeys. I'm hoping this change in commuting habit will save me a few hundred next year!
 
Sorry but I'm not feeling the sales pitchy excitement you seem to be.

They're just hire cars, nothing special about them or the service tbh. Once you've experienced a myriad of low spec, tiny engined vehicles from every manufacturer on a regular basis it really loses its charm....especially if you get lumped with a pug pseudo estate or MPV
 
It's not so much about the cars, it's the change in attitude to car ownership in a city with very good public transport. It's about the same price (if not, cheaper) of a traditional rental car with the added benefit that you can hire 24/7 within a small radius.

Of course, this is like preaching Christianity in a mosque but if it's smart, efficient and saves you money, then it definitely shouldn't be ignored or laughed at.
 
I don't think anyone is ignoring or laughing at it though? Its just a hire car service specifically suited to London ( plus maybe one or two others) that's been around for a while now.

The services need to work and be relatively hassle free otherwise nobody will pay the premium. Its not a bad thing that it works well for you, but neither is it any sort of revolution
 
Sounds a bit salespitchy alright, do you work for them?

Can you give us a rough breakdown of the £13,200 your car cost you over 5 years out of interest?
 
Zipcar certainly interests me next year when I'll likely be living within london and not having space for a car, but wanting them on occasion. hmm.
 
Seems like a real drag, and very inflexible compared to owning your own car. Is it only me that takes trips where you have no set return time in mind? Having to plan the duration of every single trip up front, or pay through the nose to hire for a whole day doesn't seem like a lot of fun to me.

They also seem to make a big deal of their "Occasional" and "Monthly" plans as though they are substantially different, but there's barely anything in it. You pay an extra ~£12pa to pay monthly rather than upfront, and everything else is exactly the same.
 
commited said:
Sounds a bit salespitchy alright, do you work for them?

Can you give us a rough breakdown of the £13,200 your car cost you over 5 years out of interest?
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No I don't work for them but I do tend to "up-sell" when I like something ;)

I'm aware that this particular sub-forum has a passionate motoring community so zipcar won't cater to the majority. However it works really well for the casual urban driver, or even those that need a cost-effective and convenient MPV, van, or even alternative car.

I owned a Mk4 Golf for 5.5 years with the following costs per annum:

Car: £410 (straight-line depreciation)
MOT: £49
Road Tax: £225
Insurance: £1,010 (average over 5.5 years - first car, fully comprehensive)
Residential Permit: £119
Fuel: £430 (average)
Parking: £70 (average)
Servicing: £475 (average - includes tyres, wipers, bulbs, oil, major work, labour etc.)
TOTAL: £2,788

Cheap motoring as it was and I'm still browsing for another car (to own) which may even double what I was spending. However now that I can put it into context with zipcar, it seems like owning a car in London is a waste of money. I could treat myself to a couple more holidays next year! :)

Dogbreath said:
Seems like a real drag, and very inflexible compared to owning your own car. Is it only me that takes trips where you have no set return time in mind? Having to plan the duration of every single trip up front, or pay through the nose to hire for a whole day doesn't seem like a lot of fun to me.

They also seem to make a big deal of their "Occasional" and "Monthly" plans as though they are substantially different, but there's barely anything in it. You pay an extra ~£12pa to pay monthly rather than upfront, and everything else is exactly the same.
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It's only inflexible to a certain extent - in that you spend an extra 5-10 minutes walking to your car instead of having it outside your door. Otherwise it's easy as opening up the app on your phone, searching, and booking! I literally did that in 2 minutes as a spur of the moment booking last night.

The whole time-based driving is admittedly unnatural and will take a while to get used to. For example if I wanted to drive home to my parent's house, I don't plan upfront how long I will stay for. However it also gives you a good excuse to leave if they keep feeding you to the next belt size :p

Just ran rental quotes and a Golf for the day ranges from £32 (Enterprise) to £49 (Avis). With zipcar it's £59 for your first 40mi (then 25p/mi) but fuel is included! Excluding the annual membership fee, there's about an 80% premium over traditional car rental. Certainly some of that goes towards convenience and 24/7 availability - most rental companies are closed on a Sunday and require minimum 2hrs hire. However if it suits you enough to even change your driving habits and attitude to car ownership, then I'm sure the savings will offset that premium!

The 'Monthly Driving Plan' makes no sense given that there's a 12-month commitment anyway. Like you said, it's an extra £12.50 for (as far as I can tell) exactly the same service. That's just over the price of an MOT anyway so even if you owned a car you'd have to pay a one-off cost like that at some point!
 
For 'a' car, yes, they are a good idea. However, for 'a good' car - not really. I don't know of groups with proper performance or premium options. If I could pop down the round and jump in an F10 530d it'd probably be worth it.
 
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PMKeates said:
For 'a' car, yes, they are a good idea. However, for 'a good' car - not really. I don't know of groups with proper performance or premium options. If I could pop down the round and jump in an F10 530d it'd probably be worth it.
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Stupid comment. I think the majority of people in this country would disagree and consider a new VW Golf a 'good car'.

F10 530d would cost significantly more, for the typical type of user, wouldn't it?

As someone that lives in central London (zipcars target market), this makes a lot of sense (it even covers congestion charge). For the rest living out of the capital this isn't a feasible alternative to car ownership.
 
Peño said:
I owned a Mk4 Golf for 5.5 years with the following costs per annum:

Car: £410 (straight-line depreciation)
MOT: £49
Road Tax: £225
Insurance: £1,010 (average over 5.5 years - first car, fully comprehensive)
Residential Permit: £119
Fuel: £430 (average)
Parking: £70 (average)
Servicing: £475 (average - includes tyres, wipers, bulbs, oil, major work, labour etc.)
TOTAL: £2,788

Cheap motoring as it was and I'm still browsing for another car (to own) which may even double what I was spending. However now that I can put it into context with zipcar, it seems like owning a car in London is a waste of money. I could treat myself to a couple more holidays next year! :)
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Obviously the big cost here is insurance and that was clearly a combination of age/time driving and postcode to insure a Golf for over £1000 a year average. Your last year of ownership will probably give a better idea of that cost for the future, clearly.
£430 fuel presumably equates to around 4,000 miles/year. Will you be covering 4000 miles a year in your zipcars? I doubt it since you'll probably try to stick to a) the 40 mile limit per rental and b) short rentals as it otherwise becomes expensive quickly. That 25p/mile extra? I suspect any car they give you will cost more like 10p/mile in fuel if driving sensibly; my own 2.8L petrol will do around 20p/mile with a mixture of driving.

By the way, seriously good effort on spending £475/year on servicing :eek:
A full service including cambelt should probably not cost more than £350 unless you're at a main dealer, <£200 without cambelt; bulbs and wipers cost literally pennies and a few minutes to fit; and four good tyres recently cost me less than £300 (and I expect them to last considerably longer than 4k miles! :p)

Anyway it sounds like for someone in your position zipcars is a good way to go so best of luck with it :)
 
zegna said:
Stupid comment. I think the majority of people in this country would disagree and consider a new VW Golf a 'good car'.

F10 530d would cost significantly more, for the typical type of user, wouldn't it?

As someone that lives in central London (zipcars target market), this makes a lot of sense (it even covers congestion charge). For the rest living out of the capital this isn't a feasible alternative to car ownership.
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What does the 'majority of people in this country' have to do with driving around in London? The majority of people in this country don't live in London, and can't afford to use Zipcar. Zipcar have Audi A3's, so obviously feel there is at least some market for the slightly better car. In the US you have Audi A4's and Q5's, and C-Class Mercs, and Mini Cooper Convertibles. Your comment is stupid.
 
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