Zipcar Reviews

Terrible and misleading. I was charged a 27.00 membership fee and was denied car rental by my surprise. In info they said I could get it back. Then when called for refund I was denied again. And no help at Customer Service.

I have been a Zipcar member since the beginning when this company started and they deleted my account because I got into an accident. This unfair...I have been a loyal member since the beginning. The accident was not my fault. The driver of the other vehicle ran the red light...the state trooper took the information and he saw the whole thing. This company doesn't care for their loyal members.

I rented a car to do Uber for two days. They have me the wrong car. After picking them up and driving off and charged they tell me to bring it back because I couldn't do Uber, it was raining. I had to catch another Uber ride to the next pick up, then I pick that car up and the same thing happened. Had to catch another Uber. All expenses on me, get the 3rd car and I had to walk for about 45 minutes to get it because I ran out of money, I had a long Uber ride so I was late on returning the vehicle. I sent messages stating I wanted to extend, I pull over to finally buy me some food, I get back in. Car out. Wouldn't turn on. They cut it off while I'm on phone with customer service telling them the so wouldn't let me extend. It kept freezing, they come your the car when I wanted to extend and left me stranded, the car was dirty when I got it.

I had rented several times from Zipcar when my car was stolen. At first the company was great, now it is absolutely horrible. The app will charge you and not reserve the car, and forbid you have to speak to a CS representative. They are horrible, rude, will hang up and have the time, they are mumbling on the phone, saying a supervisor will call you back, which never, ever happens.

Zipcar is an absolute joke! Renters must use their phone to lock and unlock the vehicle! Last night I needed to call the police because I had no way to unlock the car in a remote area without internet access!

This morning I arrived five minutes early for my Zipcar reservation only to find another Zipcar blocking mine in the garage. The attendant couldn’t move it because he didn’t have the access card. I called Zipcar immediately and spoke with Pamela, who flatly said there was nothing she could do. Really? They can unlock cars remotely — the attendant could have moved it in seconds — but she simply refused to help. When I asked for a supervisor, none was available (of course). Zipcar is extremely strict when it comes to charging me for a late return — $100 for being five minutes late — yet takes zero responsibility when the problem is their fault. Absolutely unacceptable and despicable customer service. If you value reliability and accountability, stay far away from Zipcar.

I was experimenting with not owning a car and had used Zipcar a couple of times — one car was spotless, another was dusty but fine. My last trip, however, changed my mind about the company completely. While driving on the freeway, I got tire pressure warning lights, followed by a loud flopping and then a scraping sound. I pulled over on the shoulder with cars flying by at 70 mph. It was dark and the situation was a little frightening, but I was only 10 minutes from my city - I figured it was a situation we could sort out pretty easily given how close I was to town. Still, cars were going by fast and I was in the dark on the side of the road, and I stayed buckled in just in case someone accidentally hit me as I called Zipcar for help — but what followed was worse than the breakdown itself.

My booked and prepaid car was not available on the provided garage. I never got a notification that the pick-up location changed and the new location was 50 minutes away from my home. Zipcar provided me the information after 7 phone calls that they have no car available for the pre-booked period at the location where I was. This resulted to lose all my meetings, had to get a rent a car from a trusted company and pay 5 times more, because of the late time booking on Columbus Day. Do not risk with Zipcar. It is not worth it!

I rented my second vehicle as a university freshman and I returned it to the same location from where I got it from, but I got contacted by Zipcar saying they couldn't find the vehicle. I was very cooperative, replying to messages and being transparent about certain things. I hadn’t seen one message a few days after they sent it and then I received an email saying my account was terminated. They provided no genuine reasoning, simply saying I violated community guidelines. Just because they can't find a car that has a big green Zipcar sticker on it, my account was unprofessionally deleted and customer service refuses to give me my account back. Horrible rental company as a user that recommended it to so many people, which lead to some of them actually spending money on this irritable company.

I’ve been a member with Zipcar since April 2025 and spend $450 a month with them and have gone through having two cars canceled on me last minute with no warning or notice and no replacements as they promise to do. Every time I call in, it’s offshore and they can never forward you to a manager without asking you questions to validate your identity then reading their policies. There is no one in United States that works for this company, not any supervisors to speak to when the agents can’t help you. They don’t take care of their longest customers and frankly are overpriced.

HORRIBLE!! My account got deleted right after paying for a university plan. Driving history is clean and amazing, background is also clean with nothing on my record!! Called 15 times, emailed 3 times just for them to say they can't give me details about why I was rejected/terminated but guess what? They are literally horrible at customer service and I do not recommend anyone to take part in this! Especially universities!!! After they do the check on me they always had a different tone of voice and I'm not saying everyone I talked to was a racist but I am a ** woman who is trying to make college life easier. If my payment goes through I'm going to have a bigger problem! Especially with someone saying they got charged over $1000 in hidden fees AFTER they terminated their account!!!!

Horrible experience. Couldn’t get the car to start, called and they got it working but it made me 10 minutes late for the return, for which they charged me $62.81 for being 12 minutes late. When I called back they said that there was no note in the record and couldn’t refund me because I didn’t report it, which I did. The car was old, completely banged up, full of scratches, dents, missing exterior parts, smelled old. I will never use them again, do not use zip car - they should be sued and put out of business. Total scam.

They provided an unsafe car. Something felt very wrong with the brakes and the maintenance required light was on. I couldn’t take my trip with a car in this condition, so I immediately returned it. However, they refused to provide a refund.

This app is definitely a scam. I downloaded the app yesterday (July 26, 2025) and logged in. Then they asked me to subscribe and in return they took my card information and charged me 27 dollars. Then they asked for a photo of my driver's license and I uploaded it and they sent me an email. In the email they said my account was closed for a few reasons and I would not be able to log in again. In other words, they stole 27 dollars from me and did not refund it. I sent an email about this and they did not respond.

It's a total SCAM. Already during the registration process—and even before showing you the cost—they charge your card without consent. Then, once you try to contact support, no one replies to your emails or messages. You're left with no service, no refund, and no way to cancel. Avoid at all costs.

I was signing up, they charged me twice for application fee, application was rejected. When I called, she said that she can't refund me the 60 dollars, only 30. Didn't mention why application rejected, I have all the requirements, valid driver license, age requirement, last ticket I had was 8 years ago. So pay attention, you might be applying and rejected for no reason, and then get charged for it.

As a Zipcar member for over 20 years in Seattle, I can NOT recommend. I have seen a slow, steady decline in quality of every aspect of their service. Last month I had a reservation and there was no car. I was told to travel over a mile away for an alternative car, which I did at my own expense. Customer Service kept giving me the runaround. To this date, my issue is not resolved. Clearly, everyone is checked out at Zipcar. I am sorry to describe what was once a wonderful company in this way. I sincerely believe in their mission to have fewer cars on the road. I don't think Zipcar will be around in a year or so unless they make massive changes.

I've cancelled my Zipcar account.... What started out as a great service has turned into an expensive nightmare... Prices have gone up while service as DECLINED tremendously!! As example... I reserved a car... Arrived on time to pick-up... Previous driver had not yet returned the car... 20min later I contacted Zipcar support... I'm told no more cars available at the garage... I was told they would book me at another location...

I feel like I have been preyed on. This company is charging me over $400 because they only have 1 way to pay. I had no idea that they prey on vulnerable people. I’m sick to my stomach because now I cannot pay for my hotel room because these vultures don’t tell you they are out to screw you over. They don’t want to help you they want you at all. I don’t know what I’m going to do. They screwed me so bad now I have no way to take my things because I have no money. I can’t even make it up through Uber because I cannot get a car. I have no idea what to do.

I'm a customer And this is upsetting how they play with your money. You never can get to talk to a manager. I'll be waiting for my refund for over eight days for something that was unfairly charge. They don't give you promotions they never are able to help if you have a gray car. I do not recommend for you to use this application. The only reason why I keep using is because I'm only able to use my debit card but this company is not for our people. I'm very disappointing.

I am writing to warn others about the deceptive practices of Zipcar. Their advertising claims a simple $25 application fee, but what they don't tell you is that there are hidden fees that can add up to over $200. I was shocked and disappointed when I saw the excessive charges on my account. When I reached out to their customer service department, they were unhelpful and rude. They claimed that it would take days for the pending charge to clear, but refused to escalate the issue or provide a refund for the hidden fees.

Horrible experience with a car condition including unmaintained brakes that is a huge safety concern. They abuse customers by adding extra charges unfairly and on top of that if you file a support ticket and call to the help center they scream at you unprofessionally, say the supervisor will call back but they never do

The car was dirty, it was reek of ** smell, the car had damages. I had another issue in the past that the car was missing its fuel card and it was low on fuel. This car fuel card was missing for a while. I had to return it early because I didn't have the money to "spot" ZipCar to put gas in it and I was already frustrated with ZipCar. I was told by the CSR that I would get my hour back, it never happened (they can see it on their text or voice recording). I called about it later next day or two, waited about 1/2 hour for manager to talk to me and then I was informed that the manager is in a meeting and that he or she call me.... Never happened. Customer service is horrible and it leaves a lot to be desired. I guess you can be like that when you're the only one of its kind. I still have to use it because of certain necessities and I paid for an annual membership (which I won't be renewing).

I had an absolutely devastating experience with Zipcar on Christmas Day. Seven weeks ago, I booked a car to be picked up at 1:00 PM on December 25th, planning to visit my 84-year-old parents, bring them Christmas dinner, and spend the holidays with them. This was a critical trip for me. When I arrived at the pickup location, I discovered that my booking had been cancelled without any prior notice—no email, no phone call, no alert. Nothing. To make matters worse, when I called customer service, the only “solution” offered was to pick up a car hours later in downtown Toronto, leaving me stranded and unable to reach my parents on time. This delay would have meant they’d spend Christmas evening alone, waiting for a meal they wouldn’t have received.

Zipcar is charging a $25 fee and still not approving applications. I don’t have any tickets. The money was able. No other reason to deny. They are just collecting applications fees and making money. I’ve rented cars from Enterprise and Alamo. Why not zipcar for a few hours? Smh.

Never had an account with this company or heard of them until last Friday. When my husband received an email from them stating "Heads up you received a speeding violation". Granted he had received some emails already but he thought they were spam/junk. Like why would I be renting a vehicle in Bronx, NY when I live VA. No mind. Until Friday that he received that email. This is when I stepped in. I had him call Zipcar right away and try to find out what was going on. The customer service rep who was obviously in another country was short from anything nice. Told my husband to just go ahead and reply to the email and say that's not him. And that's it. End of conversation. The email was a no-reply-email. You cannot reply to those. It was late so we waited to the next day to call again. But who can sleep.

Zipcar changed my car and location an hour before I left - to a much further location - and then said I couldn’t cancel. Also then charged me a late charge yet did not allow me to extend the trip. When I tried to reach out no one would help. It’s a scam. I don’t support. Cars are also crappy.

Zipcar is disgusting, they charge me for a late fee right away for being 13 mins late whereas they should have a 30 min policy for being late cause one might be in traffic, etc. They give you cars that’s messed up, tires broken, things inside the car then try to blame you and they had cars never work. They want you to use your own funds then you gotta go thru 20 different things to get reimbursed and it takes almost a week to get the money back on your debit card. ZIP CAR is the worst place to ever rent from and the customer service people are ignorant and they don't help you, they don't care.

Booked a trip for $152.38, the email and app told me I could cancel for a full refund until 6 AM the day of the trip. I canceled the day before at 12pm and only got half of the amount. Called customer service and spent 30 min on the phone for nothing.