Zipcar Reviews
A link has directed you to this review. Its location on this page may change next time you visit.
- 4,241,839 reviews on ConsumerAffairs are verified.
- We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are real.
- We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
- Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness.

Zipcar rejected my application even if I have a valid license. They are indeed modern thieves that steals $25 from their customers without providing any service. Seems like that is what they always do to their potential customers. I have seen many complaints like this on social media, and I will help spread the word using my knowledge as a marketing expert. I understand how much it will cost to cover this negative WOM. I hope such practice can help them understand the cost of earning a free $25 is more than 100X of $25. Listen, Zipcar managers, my friend, I do not care about losing $25, but you should care about making your potential valued customer losing $25.
Why is no one doing anything about this company taking people's money? I signed up last night and this morning realized there are never any cars available in my area. I called them this morning, no answer, put on hold for almost an hour, cancelled my Zipcar subscription and closed my account, sent them an email and no reply. So they took 28 dollars plus another 10 dollars and intend on keeping it for my 12 hr signup regret… I’ve read through a lot of reviews and they do this on a regular, why has nothing been done who can hold these trash companies accountable!!!!
Thank you, you have successfully subscribed to our newsletter! Enjoy reading our tips and recommendations.
First time rental went well, second time around they withdrew and charged me A late fee of $50 plus tax. This all occurred 4/24/2023. I’ve been trying to dispute this till this day and they’re refusing to help. Now I have no choice but to report them to Better Business Bureau and more than likely, take them to court. Oh they got the wrong person to mess with my hard earned money. At first when I spoke to a representative, she said, I returned the car to the wrong location…wait, What?! I lived in the Bronx all my life. If it’s true you have a GPS in the car, how can’t you tell the location??? Then the second representative said, I returned the car to the right location, but it was late. It affected the next member from renting. REALLY??? How I took a cab back to the garage and the car was there. I took pictures. Oh yeah… I have a case that WILL be solved! Save your money and time! DO NOT rent from this company.
I had a scenario wherein I booked a ride and got charged $82.64. I, unfortunately, could not ask for a refund on the day and after life got in the way, took a few months to finally get on a call to ask for a refund. I did not even touch the car or open the ride and despite it being a one-off situation, I did not get a refund or a single penny back. Spoke to a rep and a supervisor and it was bad. They did not even provide me a link to put in a customer review. Horrible service. They love to keep their consumer's money lol. Their policy states you have to cancel before 3 hours...OK, cool, but what if you are running to a hospital, or something else got in the way? Canceled my membership with them. Use a GIG and have a much better experience. Thanks.
They choose to continue to bill even if I haven't used the product in 5 years. Overall unethical business practices and I would not recommend them to anyone. If the product was reasonable, perhaps I would have used it.
Do not waste your time, and just use a traditional car rental company instead. This company has a great idea for a product and could have had a lifetime consumer. However, they've been nothing short of a nightmare to deal with. I successfully rented a car 8 months ago and on the FIRST rental had an issue where the car would not lock when I returned it. I called their help line and they told me to leave the car unlocked and they would look into it. At that point, I was not using the account enough, so I cancelled the subscription with plenty of notice before the next month's bill.
This month, I thought that I would give them a second chance because it sounded more convenient than picking up a car at an agency. However, their online system would not approve my license and did not tell me why. I independently searched their eligibility requirements, and I met the criteria because I paid on time, did not damage the car I rented, have not been in any accidents, and have a valid driver's license. So, I reached out to their help desk, which is when the bulk of the issues occurred.
I talked to five different people who all told me something different over a two week period. The first person told me to add my credit card information to my account. So I did, but their website simply did not work and would not allow me to click the "finish application button". Then I called their general help phone number. The representative was friendly but clearly wasn't trained to help with IT related issues. So he told me that the only way to activate my account was to send a pictures of all my personal documents (license, passport, etc.) OVER EMAIL and that this was the only way to reactivate my account.
I tried to say I did not feel comfortable sending this over email, but I eventually caved against my better judgement. Then I got an email back from a new customer service person saying the issue was that my account was locked so they had deleted my original account and needed me to create a completely new account and pay another fee. So I called a second time. Again, the representative was polite but clearly did not know how to help me and simply told me to go ahead and create a new account. I went ahead and tried to do so, but I was not approved again. So I called a third time and talked to another representative on the phone who said she did not know how to help. So, she referred me back to the specialized group that could only be contacted via email.
This time they sent me a generic email saying that my license was blocked due to either "delinquent on membership fees, closed for viability (late returns, violations, damages, etc.), failure to agree with the terms and agreements, or failure to pay the application fee. At this point, I am FUMING because I paid every bill from the original rental 8 months ago, did not damage their car, and it seems incredibly fishy that they conveniently told me this after two weeks and 3+ hours of filtering through their customer service groups. The only thing I can come up with is that the monthly fee didn't get charged correctly in the process of closing my original account or something went wrong with the car locking issue on the first rental, and neither of those were my fault.
-A middle class 25 year old who lives downtown without a car and has nearly perfect credit.
Just make sure you never travel without the physical Zipcar. I was running errands, walk out of the store and all of a sudden the car is "offline," thus locked and I am unable to get in. I call customer service thinking they can unlock it remotely. They cannot. The guy said he was going to call Roadside Assistance, put me on hold and then ultimately hung up.
I had to take an Uber back to my house, pick up the card, and Uber back to the store. Meanwhile, I called customer service again and asked that at the minimum could they refund the cost of the trip? The response was that it needed to be escalated. Huh?? So the car goes offline, by no fault of mine, I'm standing outside in 30 degree weather waiting for this customer service guy like 30 mins for him to ultimately hang up the call. Customer service is TRASH. This service is unreliable and they really need to make some changes. Clearly I should have read the myriad one star reviews before signing up. I repeat, UTTER TRASH.
I returned the car on time only to find that someone was in the designated spot. I stayed on the phone with agents for 20 mins trying to find another spot nearby only for Zipcar to charge me a late fee because I had then past the return time. They weren’t willing to overturn the fee.
Borrowed a Toyota Corolla. Lots of damage on the exterior. Equal amount of damage on the interior. Worse of all, brakes made a super loud sound when applied. Felt like the brake pads were fully worn out. Really long braking distance. Shocking they would rent out a vehicle in this condition, putting customer's safety at risk. When contacted customer service, was bounced from one agent to another. Finally one agent said that a previous customer reported issue with the brakes before, but they still did not fix it. But allowed the vehicle to be in service. Shocking!!! Even a warning was on the dash that the vehicle requires maintenance. When I requested a refund, the rude lady said they don’t issue refunds. Garbage company.
This company denies the application of African Americans. Apparently, we’re all broke and incapable of payment. Customer service was trash. Please avoid at all costs! Find another company to rent from.
Zipcar author review by Lauren Fix
This ride share program is a smarter way to get around the city. Drive cars by the hour or day in neighborhoods, cities and airports across the globe. There are over 11,000 in their fleet.
Benefits: Gas & insurance included. Save hundreds over car ownership.
Car Choices: Choose from sedans, hybrids, vans and more.
Cost: Membership starts as low as $7 per month.
How it works: Download the app, join and get your Zipcard. Then reserve your car on the app, online or by phone for a couple hours or for the day. Go to your car and hold your Zipcard to the windshield. The door unlocks and then drive away.
Locations: Major cities, airports and 300 university and college programs that are bases for expansion into individual and fleet membership in the surrounding city.

Lauren Fix, also called The Car Coach, is an automotive and auto finance expert. Her understanding of vehicles has made her the “go to” person on TV, radio, print media and the Internet. She has authored multiple books and writes a column for several outlets, including Parade Magazine, NewsMax and Car Coach Reports. She is a regular guest on major news and morning shows, discussing the latest updates on cars and car financing that will help drivers make smart decisions when buying, maintaining and financing cars.
Zipcar Company Information
- Company Name:
- Zipcar
- Website:
- www.zipcar.com
You’re signed up
We’ll start sending you the news you need delivered straight to you. We value your privacy. Unsubscribe easily.