Zipcar Reviews

I was interested in Zipcar after seeing cars were advertised for $10/hour. I signed up, paid the $25 application fee, and was ready to book. Then I realized there was not a single car that was actually $10/hour. At this point I did what I should have done before and looked through Zipcar's reviews, and to my disappointment, realized the company is flooded with negative reviews, reports on the Better Business Bureau, and even has one star on the Better Business Bureau's website. I contacted them to cancel my membership and refund my application fee.

I rented a car from the San Diego airport. Despite leaving several photo and text notices via the app both that night and the following morning that the car had issues I received no response. The car was rented with an UNSAFE temporary tire installed and I returned it early due to the extent of the danger. Temporary tires are only good for 50 miles and even with notice the company did not reach out. The car also had damage to the trunk and bumper, and a dirty interior. I had to contact CS via phone on my third attempt to connect with the company.

Zipcar is pricey compared to a rental, but I was still willing to give it a chance due to the convenience of the service. However, convenience is not worth it if you keep getting surprised by bills that you have no control over. Here is what happened: we have booked a car that wasn’t park in its location on the app. We found it on a different location and used. When it was time to return it, we noticed that there were roadworks on the original location in the app, so we left it in the same place where we found it.

While Zipcar can be a very convenient (though pricey) option for car share/rental, they unfortunately apparently have a policy of not reimbursing flat tires on their own cars, at the same time that their standards of maintenance of tires are poor. I had to spend my own time and money getting two tires replaced (one went flat on the freeway, and the other was "blooming", meaning it was at the verge of exploding, and dangerous to drive with). When I called Zipcar later for a reimbursement, they flatly refused, saying that their policy was not to reimburse repairs. So be forewarned, if something happens to the car while you're using it that's not your fault, you'll be responsible for the costs and labor associated with that.

Zipcar failed to notify me about a penalty ticket which was then passed to DEBT COLLECTORS. Which I found out 12 months (!!!) after the incident. I ended up paying c.£300 for the offense I was not even aware of. August 2021: I had a rental with Zipcar. Apparently, had a traffic offense which I was not notified about back then. August 2022: I'm getting a paper letter from a debt collector agency saying I have an outstanding debt of c.£300.

Edit: Zipcar issued a refund today.

I have deactivated my account as of Aug 2021. They have charged me again $38.20 for July 2022. Seems like it is big scam for subscribers. Please be mindful of any charges after deactivating the account.

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).

I made an account specifically for this review, I'm that upset with them. I applied to join, got rejected after 4 days of review. At no point in the review did they contact me requesting clarification or documents. They then rejected my application citing (erroneously) that my license expired. When I called customer support to point out this mistake and tell them my license hadn't expired and I could drive from another 2 years, they admitted it was a mistake and still said their decision was still 'final and irreversible'. You can't reapply, you can't appeal, and they don't care. This company is committed to being wrong, even in the face of their own objective legal errors.

I reopened my account then requested a new card. Needless to say no cards was sent and Somehow I was not able to sign in to my account few days after of requesting. Then I saw on my bank account Zipcar charging me. Worst part is talking to the responsibles on the phone. Every time I call they put me on hold and takes an hour then the person would say He will let the other department know about my cancellation request then they do nothing! Last person I spoke even told me he cannot do anything about cancellation and no for paying my money back for a service I never used. At this point this become very fishy and wanted to first share here to see if any reaction.

REAL AND ONGOING STORY 07/13/2022 - reserved a 7-seat passenger van - went there found the vehicle damaged - customer service asked me to Uber to this very far location where they only have a 5-seat SUV available - went there but cannot find the vehicle - customer service told me it's parked elsewhere and I had to go there - They charged me $696 for this 3-day trip and I asked for fair compensation for this defective product/service - After multiple phone calls over long time they offered me only $25 of credit and still had not reimbursed me for the gas and Uber which they are supposed to be responsible to begin with. OUTRAGEOUS, NOT ACCEPTABLE, AND INSULTING.

The car that I reserved had no fuel in the car - in fact, the gas light went on after I drove it for 2 avenue blocks. I submitted a photo of the low fuel and had to re-route my trip to get to a gas station. In the meantime, I called customer service to make sure that I reported the severity of the issue - I waited 20 minutes before a customer service rep got on the phone. He didn't speak clearly and his connection was delayed and extremely lagged. After spending the first 45-minutes of my car reservation getting to a gas station instead of getting right on the highway, I asked for a reasonable credit for the time that I spent to fuel the car that should have had at least 1/4 tank. And there was no gas card in the car either.

This company accepted my membership promptly. They have charged me my membership, monthly fees yet never sent me my membership card. No email responses at all. Three calls to cancel and been transferred to a supervisor that goes nowhere. They have stolen money by charging me without receiving my membership. I was told I should call them, they receive many emails. In calling tonight, I just get continuous runaround.

Update: 7/6. Leanna with Zipcar reviewed the situation, and responded via email correcting the issues all around. Billing was updated to remove the $50 late fee. Charged only the $10 for extension of drive time. Also, provided a $15 credit. This is what service is. Of course it took an upset phone call the day of the incident. However, monetarily, Zipcar succeeded and corrected the issue. 5 stars. Good Job Leanna.

DO NOT USE THIS APP OR SERVICE! They rejected my application because I renewed my license recently and it only shows 6 months of driving. I am 61 years old and have been driving for 40+ years. But how do I prove it? They refuse to refund my application fee. I wonder how much money they make from taking fees and rejecting the application? DO NOT USE!

On June 28th, 2022, I was looking for a rental car and thought Zipcar could help me. I had to sign up for membership because it was the only way I could see if I could get a car. It cost me $28.25CDN and found out within 2 hours that I could not get one so I tried to cancel my membership to save the money/charge. It would not allow me to cancel the membership so I called Customer Service and they were useless. She told me that they cannot refund me my money because they have to pay a third party company to process the membership. I said that I was not able to rent a car so why would they charge me. She kept telling me she understood, but never provided a solution.

Do not book with this company, their service is unacceptable and their protocols are mindless and not consumer-friendly. Rented a car for a whole day for important plans but upon pick-up it had a flat tire and no spare, customer service said that due to it being during my reservation time it is my responsibility to stay with the car until the roadside assistance arrives instead of simply offering me another car. The ETA of 45-minutes became 5 hours, still no calls or updates, and they threatened that if I leave the car in its parking spot to go home they'll charge me the full amount of the towing and service. They have offered no other alternatives and have not given me a refund for my booking or compensated me for the day I wasted. Do not use this company as they will not offer help and intimidate you for asking for basic services.

The car I rented on Memorial Day weekend had a bulge in the front tire and I was not going to take it on the highway to the bbq party I was attending! I waited on hold for customer service for half an hour and they asked me to use the app to find an alternate vehicle (obviously there were none given the holiday weekend) but they refused to refund me the $200 charge for the undrivable car!!!! To make matters worse, the customer service rep told me to take alternate transport and they would reimburse me, so I took an Uber for $140, thinking they would pay for it. Well now they are refusing to reimburse that as well!!! They are CHEATERS!!! Stay AWAY!!

I have been a Zipcar member for 15 years and the customer service and the condition of the cars are getting worse. On 5 separate occasions in the past 4 months, the car is not the designated location or it is filthy and smells of cigarette smoke. The wait to reach a customer service rep is getting longer and I know more about their process than the rep. I DO NOT RECOMMEND Zipcar unless you have no other mode of transportation.

Would have given zero stars if I could. They asked me to fill in my credit card details and were supposed to charge me only a monthly fee of $7.91 but I saw unfamiliar charges on my credit card without renting a vehicle. When I called, was told it was the application fee and they refused to reimburse me despite my telling them I wasn't informed about of these charges. A second time I called, the lady at customer service first promised to offer me a credit then said she had made a mistake and couldn't do that. Have never heard of something like this where a company would lie to a customer or go back on their word. I'm now afraid they'll sell my information because all they seem to care about is making a quick buck.

I rejoined Zipcar because I needed a car right away to attend a function. I decided to book the Zipcar for one day. I pick the Zipcar up and drove to and from the function, which a long of a drive. After the returning home from the function, I went to a local grocery store just minutes from my home and after that, I went straight home and didn't drive the Zipcar until the next day...the day I was scheduled to return the vehicle. That next day, I drove the Zipcar to a local gas station only minutes from my home. Even though the gas tank was between the 1/4 and 1/2 tank mark, I wanted to be courteous for the next driver scheduled to use the Zipcar after I turn it. After putting gas in the tank, I drove straight to the Zipcar location returning the Zipcar on time. I used my app to end the trip, which showed...what I thought was my final billing.

When I first started using Zipcar, it was easy to overlook the occasional dirty car that smelled like weed or didn't drive properly. Beware – the more you use this service, the more you learn that cleanliness and professionalism are not the standard, but the exception. My last few rentals have been completely filthy, and customer service is not useful because you can expect to wait 30 minutes to an hour even if you are currently on a rental. If you have places to be and value your time, this way of doing business is unacceptable.

ZipCar is unreasonable and awful. Be warned. I applied to the cost of £10 (about $12.50). Checked all the requirements. No tickets, no fines, safe driver, UK license since 2004. I was confident I'd get approved. After a few days I was told my application was turned down, they keep the money and - no - they do not have to tell me why my application was turned down. I asked them to reconsider, re-look at my application and I was confident a human would see I should be approved. A week later I was told via email my application would not be approved by the appropriate department and they were keeping the non-refundable application fee. They take the money, and give no reason. Because they say they can. Totally not right.

I am so frustrated and dissatisfied with Zipcar’s service and reliability. Since March 2022, I have used their service to get to school from Seattle to Bellevue once a week. Of the 6 times I needed mobility, only two worked without problems. Here is my experience: The cars were not in the assigned parking lot two times, even though I booked them one week in advance. Once, I was assigned to a different vehicle than the one I had booked previously without further information on the reasons. Additionally, it was almost out of gas.

Be careful with ZIP CAR that they take your $28.25 every time you apply. And it is NOT REFUNDABLE. AND THE FEE IS JUST FOR REVIEWING THE APPLICATION. (1) They only advertise their service when you become a member; there is not enough information or notices about reviewing your status if you will be qualified or not. (2) It is sole their decision whether you will be qualified to use the service or not. When you call and ask them about disqualification, they will keep saying your application review is just "rejected." (3) And it is NOT REFUNDABLE funds. Moreover, you will have to pay another $28.25 if you want to submit another application later.

ZIPCAR IS THE WORST. I remember when it was a great company... But now, service is HORRIFIC, the software DOESN'T WORK, tech support is by email only (no more help by phone), and if you have a technical support issue, nobody gets back to you for WEEKS. The latest example: We had an incident in a car (scraped some paint). Zipcar SUSPENDED our membership and said we had to file an incident report. But the incident report system is BROKEN. After a week, a tech replied to my call for help by saying 'we're aware of the issue'. Meanwhile, I'm told the incident can take 2 months to resolve -- but only after I submit the report, which I can't submit because the website is broken. Meanwhile, all my family members have been removed from my account. We're kind of desperate now, and there's no help in sight...

Zipcar is the worst company ever. It’s always an issue and they never take responsibility and the customer service people is just as worst. It’s always the same people with the same attitude. Horrible!!

I have been a Zipcar member in Toronto since 2014. This company has been going down the drain for the last three to four years. Customer Service waits are horrible - waiting for 45 minutes to speak to a person about a problem with a one hour rental - on a recent occasion. Rates increasing without notice; problems with the app.; cars that are booked that do not start when you arrive to pick them up. This last problem happens at least one out of every four rentals now. I can no longer rely on the cars to be in good working condition. When I report it, nothing changes. I am on hold right now to cancel my membership and am now 52:34 minutes in on hold. They have bilked me for long enough. Enterprise Carshare here I come.

I arrived at the garage to pick up the ZipCar, the staff at the garage kept saying the car was't working and insisted that I called ZipCar to change the car. I asked him what's wrong with the car but he refused to tell me, just kept saying that the car didn't work. He started helping other customers and ignored me. I called ZipCar and put on hold for 10min before I could talk to a representative. While I was waiting, I asked the staff if he could just switch the location instead of having me called because I had an appointment to go to. He said no and I had to talk to ZipCar. After he finished helping all other customers, he said he's going to check on the car. When I finally got on the line with a ZipCar representative, he brought the car out and said the car was actually working. Because I was in a hurry, I just hung up the phone. It was 20min late from my original pickup time.

What a pathetic company. The customer service is horrible, they'll suspend your account without warning and they don't seem to care about quick resolutions. The cars are normally dirty and smell like weed. The cars are usually returned without gas so you'll have to spend time filling the tank. Other drivers are always late returning cars so you'll be waiting forever for your reservation.

My credit card information was stolen using ZipCar's platform and Zipcar tried to process a $500+ charge on my card. I was able to work with my credit card company to block this charge and immediately deleted my zipcar account. A year later, Zipcar sends me a 'final notice' email that I would be reported to a credit agency for a $21 charge that was made to my account about a month ago. I feel like trying to rent from Zipcar was the biggest mistake I have ever made. Currently on the phone with their 1866 number so someone can put a stop to this nonsense. I'd advise folks to use any of the other car rental apps. This one has been a disaster for me - a one-time user.

I booked a car. I got to the spot and the car wasn't there. Couldn't speak to anyone at Zipcar so emailed. No response. Got a Gig (rival company). Three days later, no response. Saw on website I'd been fined for returning the car, which I'd never even seen, late. Emailed. Was told no refund as I returned the car late. Explained I didn't get the car. No refund... Finally an automated refund and no acknowledgment of their multiple errors and pathetic customer service.

They have not responded with proper resolution for the past 90 days and as a result my driver's license was suspended. Totally ridiculous and pathetic customer support. I am even surprised they are still in business. These kind of businesses should be shut down by Federal Government for well being of its citizens.

I signed up for Zip Car, paid their application fee, and was denied without reason. I'm 58 and have been driving since 16 yrs old. I have excellent credit and no driving infractions, yet I was denied.

I live in Philadelphia and joined Zipcar in early November 2021. I was approved November 11 by email and my credit card was charged $25. Throughout the ensuing 6 weeks, I called Zipcar (a call center in another country) 3 times asking about my membership card. Each time, I was put on hold for 5-10 minutes while someone investigated the matter. One time I was assured that it would be sent via UPS and I would receive an email with tracking information. It never happened. No one could ever explain why I never received my card or what their process was. I was told that my account had indeed been approved.

Zipcar really lie about everything in they review. They blocked my account after I booked a whole day trip with them. They don’t explain to me why my account was blocked they telling me to check the app. I find this very disrespectful and I feel like this is their way of scamming people's account after charging a $25 application fee. Then they say due to multiple logins on the account it’s being disabled which that’s a lie.I hate their service and I think this should stop being a business nobody can’t count on Zipcar for nothing. I’m upset!!!

Signed up for Zipcar because of their advertisement saying I could use a car right away (link: https://support.zipcar.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025161813-What-To-Know-Before-Your-First-Trip). Was told I can't do so as I had a previous account (closed in 2016). To be clear: I paid for a new activation and the monthly fee (same as everyone else) but was told I couldn't have the same terms as everyone else. The Zipcar web site does not mention that the terms don't apply for everyone. I am really disappointed as a) I can't use a car I needed to, b) I spent hours on the phone just asking for fair terms-same as everyone-and they refused to help, and c) they refused to refund me the activation fee even though they didn't provide the service I signed up for.

Advertised $75-90/day vehicles. After paying for an annual membership, which came to $77.18, I found the only available vehicles in my area were $140/day and up. This is vastly more than I could pay at a regular car rental agency, such as Enterprise, which is saying something since rental prices have gotten sky high lately. I’ve canceled my membership, with no apparent recourse for getting my money back. To top it off, I now see an additional charge to my credit card from Zipcar for $27.57! There aren’t enough expletives in all the languages of this Earth to describe what a shameless scam this is.

I would leave 0 stars if I could. I got a parking violation, which was a mixup from the parking lot and got it cancelled right away. I sent all the documentation proof to Zipcar immediately and for a month and a half - and counting I called 10 times maybe and got 0 response, except that they have a queue. The supervisor of their customer support dept refused to take my call and I have filed a chargeback via my bank now. The worst customer experience of my life.

Never do business with them. Worst company ever. Looters, falsifiers. They looted the money on the name of non-refundable application fees. All the documents requested were submitted as they says application approved in minutes. After 30 minutes they replied, "Sorry your application is rejected because you did not meet the eligibility criteria." Upon asking what documents do they need. I provided all. They are big liars. Never do business with them. They are just to loot your money.

It was a nightmare from the start. Their cars are more expensive per hour than they advertise and there is a 25 dollar (hidden) activation fee so it is not just $7 a month. I ignored it and opened an account to rent a car to get me to a half marathon I was running and had been training for months. Looking back, I should have just had a friend drive me to an actual dealer. It would have been less "convenient" but would have saved me money and been much safer. The car was awful when I got in it. The driver-side floor was all torn up, there were smashed pretzels on the passenger side and the outside of the vehicle was all scratched up. I rationalized this in my head because it was a rideshare and still got in the vehicle.

Absolutely horrible. Took a pit stop about ten minutes into the two hour trip and the car wouldn’t open after we tried to get back in. Customer service left us on hold for ages, couldn’t help, told us to stay with the car for 45 minutes to wait for a mechanic, and said that if we left they’d charge us an abandonment fee. I’m livid, this is a horrible business. Never using again.

While that was the worst instance, I've had only one successful trip with zipcar. Several times they cancelled the car at the very last minute without giving a reason why. Another time the gas card didn't work and I had to refuel the car out of pocket to avoid getting charged massive fees. There are so many other cheap car rental companies out there. Don't use zipcar if you don't have to.

Zipcar has given me the worst service I have ever seen. I was given cars that did not work, cars that were not there, cars that had no gas card or an ezpass. I spoke with representatives that were rude. And very very unprofessional. Now for all this inconvenience that zip car has given me. (Mind you. This has been going on all week.) I was given driving credits and switched to another car due to the previous cars not working or malfunctioning equipment. (i.e. gas cards and ezpasses.). Me as a customer I should not have to pay for the irresponsibilities of others.

I have been a Zipcar business member for over 3 years, renting at least one a week for my work. The quality of the car got worst with time, they don't seem reliable anymore, not to mention that most of the time cars are not available at the scheduled time, asking to move to other locations and losing sometimes one or two hours. Overall I can not take this anymore and decided to not use this company anymore. We tried to talk over the phone and explain the problem but they seem just they don't care.

I would give NO STARS if that was an option. Joined Zipcar for all of 13 days. The number of non-refundable fees charged without notice or advisement on their website is unacceptable, especially for family accounts. Not a company I want to have access to my credit card info so they can freely charge whatever they want, whenever they want. DO NOT RECOMMEND joining this service. Save your money and go elsewhere.

I was very polite and asked to speak with a manager regarding a concern. He told me "the manager said the same thing I told you." I asked again to speak with the manager and he hung up on me. His name is something like Alzoni. I only called them because it was last minute and I couldn't get a traditional rental but I'll have one on standby next time. No wonder I haven't used them since 2014.

This company first of all, do not offer the services that they claim to offer. I signed up, they charged me for membership and all this other stuff, then I couldn't find a car in the area that they said they had available cars. THEN, after cancelling my membership and asking for my account to be deactivated, 2 months and many emails later they continue to charge my credit card every month for a membership that they confirmed was cancelled. Terrible customer service and they are thieves on top of it!

Deducted membership plan charges and was unable to use the service. Information on website and from customer service representative are 100% different. Please call and ask before jumping into Zipcar (in Kitchener, ON, Canada)

I used Zipcar many years ago and they were always clean and well maintained. Not this time. I picked up my car, and it smelled really strongly of smoke. Additionally, the car was really dirty inside and outside. The AC did not work, and there was a notification on the dashboard: "Maintenance due now." This made me nervous, as I did not know what required maintenance. During my drive, it started raining and there was no washer fluid, so the windshield got very dirty, which was scary while I was driving. Throughout my two days driving the car kept stalling out at slow speeds.

I called before applying to make sure I would be able to start driving when approved as a driver. Online there was conflicting info about this, so I called and was reassured over and over again that I would be able to start driving right when I was approved. I was told the Zipcar number would generate on my account right away. So I signed up, and paid the fee to find out that the reassurance I was given was wrong. I was able to cancel right away but they will not refund my $25 application fee for a product that I will never ever use. I am appalled and disgusted at the way this has been handled. Do not recommend Zipcar; try Turo instead!

I rented a car, which I confirmed could be unlocked by phone. I got to the pickup and was unable to unlock the car and Zipcar was unable to send it a signal. Two customers also left - one for the car not being available and another for similar unlocking issues. I spent 90 minutes on the phone with zip car finding me another car, which I told them my phone was international. I was constantly put on long holds on purpose, as no supervisor wants the liability of making an actual decision. Finally after being trekked to another location, and another 35 min on the call to unlock the car; I received an older car, with stains and cigarette smell. I decided to not take the car and now zip car after 60 minutes on hold tells me I should wait to see if a refund is approved. This is a joke. I would be embarrassed to be part of the leadership of this company.

I was a Zipcar member for over 7 years when zipcar "migrated to a new platform" for NYC customers. Previously I was generally satisfied with the service and used it regularly. Then all hell broke loose and I was never able to rent a car again. The customer service has been horrendous. No one at ZipCar was able to explain what happened to my account or to fix it so that I could rent. I finally gave up and cancelled my membership. Fast forward 18 months. My circumstances changed and I tried to renew my membership. I was "approved" for membership but was still not able to rent a car. All the problems that existed before remain and the lack of customer service remained as well. For the last month I have been trying to get the money refunded that I paid for this non-service and even that is impossible. If you have not used ZipCar - spare yourself the annoyance and go elsewhere.

This is a complaint about Zipcar's horrible application process. I applied for a Zipcar membership around June 30th 2021. I provided them with all the information and documentation they requested. After not having heard from them for several days, I contacted them.. 3 different times they asked for the exact same information (that I had already provided). They even asked me to provide a picture of me holding my driver's license.. which I did several times. Their telephone support is deeply useless.. a bunch of reps who have absolutely no power to do anything other than make excuses and repeatedly say "I'm sorry."

I hold a Driver License from both New York State and my home country in France. Accordingly I meet the requirements for membership with Zipcar. (I've rented car with regular car rental company and never encountered an issue). Yet, Zipcar denied my application for membership and told me I could not reapply - even though they said I meet the requirement with my non-us driver license. I asked to cure the problem by resubmitting my non-us driver license and they refuse. More, they refused to issue a refund for the membership fees. This is nothing else than a consumer fraud and their customer service just awful. Stay away from this company, very dishonest company.

I registered for the annual plan and called up customer service to change it to monthly. They didn't. I asked them to delete my account so I can recreate another, they didn't and instead put my first account under "pending review" status. I called them multiple times over 2 months and often complained about how poor their turnaround time was. The "customer service" has zero autonomy. They keep deferring my case to the escalation team and the escalation team does nothing.

The entire experience was a nightmare from start to finish. Booked my car back in March. They changed the reservation twice before my trip on July 15th. I left from NJ to ATL and went to pick up my rental in College Park, we get there and the car won't open with the key card. I tried to go through the app and there was no reservation! But I had an email. It was after 11 pm so customer service was closed which is ridiculous. Customer service should be 24 hrs. We had to select the option for a police officer reporting an accident with one of their vehicles in order to speak to someone. Finally get through and they offer me a refund. What is a refund going to do for me for the next 5 days of me being stuck in a strange city with no transportation?!

#1: Awful customer service. #2: Impossible to find the prices as they are advertised, always more expensive. #3: Car was dirty and smelly. Experience: Rented a car for the first time--signed up for annual fee, which I was told could be refunded within 30 days. Car rental location changed the day before, super inconvenient. After the location switch-up, and a disgusting car, when I called within 30 days to cancel annual fee, I could only get partial refund because I used the service. Okay, but that never happened. Called again: "Once you use the service, we can't refund the annual fee." Nothing is as they say it is. Absolutely awful.

I wanted to try Zipcar to see how much I used a vehicle before purchasing. At first, the service is great and easy to use for quick trips. You don't have to worry about parking, gas, etc. However, the fees are OUTRAGEOUS for a weekend trip. I always ended up renting a car instead, which kind of defeated the purpose of Zipcar. Also, any time I would book for a full day, something went wrong. They'd cancel the vehicle on me with short notice and I'd have to go to a totally different spot to get a new car. They clearly don't like day trip usage.

Do not take their service. They are not what they used to be before. Their customer service is useless and ineffective. They cancel your trips at random and do not give money back. I gave up after politely asking them for various customer problems for more than 2 months by phone and email. I can show you as proof. They just apologize but don't act on anything. Their business is sham and they just want your money but don't bother about giving service. Avoid them and be safe.

I love the concept of car sharing and the ease of which you can reserve and check out a Zipcar. Zipcar also has nice vehicles that are easy to drive. Unfortunately, 9 times out of 10 the cars are often dirty. If you call Zipcar, the support staff is friendly and helpful. But overall, they need to increase cleaning and maintenance of their vehicles. Additionally, the cars frequently do not have gas cards so if you're refilling the tank for the next customer be sure to use your debit card (I paid cash and they would not refund me, though I did scan my receipt and it showed the time of the filling which was during my rental period). Additionally, you often feel like you're racing the clock when you check out a Zipcar for a short errand. It's a useful service if you don't have a car, but there's lot of room for improvement.

I truly believe in the idea and mission of the shared economy. I wish that this concept of sharing items succeeds as it uses resources in many senses more wisely. The problem is us, the human being! Some of us just don’t seem to care about common goods. They treat shared cars/scooters/apartments not with the necessary respect (leaving trash, smoking, speeding, driving against traffic,… ). If we don’t improve our behavior the concept of the shared economy will eventually fail.

I was deeply disappointed after I reinstated my membership following 2 years of a hiatus. After renting a car that was filthy (cigarette ash everywhere inside the car) and smelled like **, I reported the incident. The customer service rep on the phone was very sympathetic and given there was not another car available he offered to credit me the vehicle. Also worth noting the car was only filled half way with fuel and there was no gas card in the vehicle. After spending 25 minutes detailing the car myself I had to drive my family 2 hours in this vehicle.

Terribly run business - always have issues. The cars often break down, and the company does not call you or email you ahead of your reservation time if there is an issue with your car. There have been 3-4 different instances when we have had issues. Most recently, we had a reservation for 11am and the car was still not returned by the prior user by 11:45am. Zipcar never contacted me. When I called, they rebooked us and the only option was over 20 minutes away. I asked the customer service representative to confirm that the car was there and ready to use and he confirmed. By the time we got there, the car would not unlock. We had to call back again.

I love using Zipcar. It is so convenient to be able to just book the car on my phone when I need it and I can almost always find something available within a 10 minute walk for me (I live in a big city). One thing I don't love is that a lot of the cars I get into have "low tire pressure" warning and it's never clear to me if I should be messaging the app or if someone else has done that. It makes me wonder how often they check on their cars...

I’ve used the app multiple times and Zipcar has worked well until recently. The app has given me issues and cost me money because of it. The last 2 times I have not been able to extend a trip when I knew I needed the car longer. When entering the app I either did not have the button available to extend a trip or it said my trip was no longer in progress even though I had time left. The app lets you know when time slots are reserved. Both times, no reservations were booked after me. Paying an extra 30 minutes of time is fine and I have done it before. Because of the issues, I have been charged two $50 late fees. I have sent issues to Zipcar with no response. The lack of response is concerning. The $100 is ridiculous. I will probably use Getaround exclusively because of this.

We recently decided to sell our car as we live in a very urban area and thought we would join Zipcar to use a car when we needed to. We called their customer line and was told we have 22 cars in our area. So my husband joins = uploads his license and selfie as requested. Pay the $25 fee and decided to do the month to month membership. Zipcar website clearly states most people are approved in seconds and can go ahead and book a car. No, we ended up having to walk 3 miles to the airport to hire a car from a rental car place.

Fraudulent activity was noted on my account in January 2021 and my account was frozen. I have been trying to "unfreeze" my account since then (today is 5/2/21) with no success. I called Customer Service today and was told that it was still under review and that I would receive an email when the issue is resolved. I paid for a full year of Zipcar service in advance and now can't use it. I have NEVER had a more horrible experience than I have had with ZipCar. If I could give them a negative 500 stars, I would. Stay away from this company.

I put a cosmetic scratch on a Zipcar and reported it to them. They’ve frozen my account indefinitely as a result. I spoke with their insurance company, Sedgwick, and they confirm they’ve paid the claim. Yet, each time I call Zipcar, they simply say they’re still collecting paperwork about my case. I’ve written several emails and the reply is clearly a bot answer because it’s the exact same reply every time and doesn’t answer questions about my specific case. The lack of transparency is appalling. This is going on 3 months now and I’m now shopping to buy a car—quite the opposite of the company’s stated purpose. Two of my friends also ended their Zipcar memberships and bought cars due to lack of flexibility and availability of Zipcars. Zipcar is a great concept if all the stars align perfectly to enable you to use one.

I signed up for this service not fully understanding that you aren't immediately approved for a rental car. I was intending to use it on my vacation. Less than 24 hours later, I canceled and they still took my application fee. So I paid for nothing. Very disappointing.

1. I have to pay a $10 convention fee EACH TIME in the Boston area. If I rent a car for an hour, the total fee will go up to $24+! CRAZY!!

Everything was a hard to deal with and I ended up with extra charges because of it. I immediately closed my account but I just found out that they are still charging me membership even though I closed my account in disgust 6 months ago. Stay away from Zipcar.

I was repeatedly charged with fraudulent fees in excess of hundreds of dollars. The customer support DOES NOT respond to the open tickets. The customer service phone calls are repeatedly ignored. The business is simply abusive and fraudulent.

I try this company when they were new, they weren't ready yet, I decide to give them another try, it's even worse now, they charge me an application fee, did not even bother to send me a zip key/card, customer service is just non existent, I cancel as this just another headache waiting to happen, forget this company.

I have been an avid user of Zipcar, and I have to say they are SO convenient living in New York City - which is why despite the major inconveniences been thrown my way, I have still used them in a time crunch. (Even though quite honestly, you can get a rental car from Avis, etc for the same price and just have the car for 24 hours!!!!)

It had been several weeks since I reserved a Zipcar when none of my reservation attempts would go through. I called and they said my account was “under review” for “suspicious activity”. I can only guess that someone had broken into my account but I haven’t gotten any more detail than “suspicious activity” and keep in mind - Zipcar never contacted me about this before I called them. I was told it would be 3-5 days to review the accounts, but here we are six weeks later and they have done nothing to contact me or resolve the situation. And they keep charging me the monthly membership fee while I wait!

Poorly Maintained. No reimbursement of out of pocket expenses. Hidden fees. Never use this service. There are better car share options, such as Gigcar. If not, a commercial car rental is a better deal, and less hassle. I used this service once, but never again. On top of a monthly "membership fee" Zip car charges about $.50/minute, so overall a two hour trip cost me almost $100. It was difficult to find the car. Once I found the car, it was difficult to find the keys within the car (Finally I found them buried in a pocket of the middle console). Zipcar cuts corners by having the "members" do all of the maintenance on the cars, while they are paying for rental time, and will charge you a fee if the gas tank is under a certain amount.. So, I had to fill the tank while I was paying a by-the-minute rental fee. There is supposed to be a gas card in the visor. It was missing, so I paid out of pocket. Zipcar never reimbursed me for the gas I filled the tank with before returning the car.

I fall for the "immediate" membership since I need to rent a car on 12/20th, and have an "Zip Station" a block from my place. I paid the fees, took the driver's license front and back pics, and also the "selfie" requested, followed the instructions, and then the nightmare started. I have no immediate response (they are careful announcing that "most" is approved right away, not all).

The idea of Zipcar works great when it works how it’s supposed to schedule a time, pick up the car, pay the one time price for renting it and then return on time with no problem. You paid for the rental that’s it right? No. You wake up the next morning to a few of anywhere between 50-300 has been the most they tried to rob me for supposedly stating you bring back the car way past the time. Even with GPS somehow their system makes this mistake you would think they would fix it immediately and you go on you’re way. The first time maybe but shouldn’t have to keep dealing with this “glitch”. No it happens again and again and if you don’t pay attention to your card you get robbed.

Beware of trying the service, they will charge you year after year even if you never use the service, no refunds available if you cancel, and you can never get a customer service person to talk to. Also, one of the more expensive services available.

My first two experiences with Zipcar were pure bliss. The first car I rented was Honda Civic, only 5 minutes away from me and it was the best car ever. No issues getting into the garage at all. The car was in immaculate condition, almost as if it came straight from the factory. Car was perfectly clean, operated perfectly, smelled great and new. I did end up having an issue with the car disconnecting from my account, which made it malfunction. It wasn't operating properly but, thank goodness I was in a parking spot in a parking lot. I called Zipcar customer service and they were able to fix the situation expeditiously. They were able to restart the car for me remotely, and it began working in perfect condition again.

I used this service for 2 years since I live in NYC and don't own a vehicle. I was an account Educator and Facialist for a few skin care brands and my accounts were from Vermont to Philadelphia. I only used their cars for work purposes as it was seemingly the most convenient car rental service with no hassles...There were some issues I previously had experienced with their lack of customer service back then but, didn't really ever have the time to sit down and write as I was travel/working 60+ hours a week. The last time I used this service was right before lockdown began in NYC from the Covid-19 Pandemic. I only had my corporate card attached to my personal Zipcar account but, I was furloughed on March 23, 2020 and have yet to be hired back to work since no one in any industry is hiring educators especially skin care providers during this unprecedented global pandemic.

I tried to rent the vehicle TipToe on Friday 23 Oct. I received a notice that it was ready to be picked up so I took an rideshare to the vehicle location. It was not present. I immediately called help and was on hold for 19 minutes. During this time I walked the entire parking lot to ensure it wasn't improperly parked. When my call was finally answered, the agent left me on hold for another 7 minutes. When they returned they said the car was at another location and there was nothing they could do. I asked that this trip be refunded and they said they couldn't do that.

Until this experience my previous experiences and those of my family have all been outstanding. That was until our last vehicle. Issues started that the vehicle wouldn’t open and it took over an hour to get help. Among the myriad of issues the one that stands out most is that while driving I saw something drop from the ceiling. We pulled to the side of the road and turned on the interior light to see roaches coming out the light fixture walking along the ceiling. The roaches were there for the food that one of the earlier drivers had left, that Zipcar didn’t clean out. The trunk wouldn’t open due to a prior rear ending that the vehicle had endured and the “dinging” of the open door alarm wouldn’t end.

Updated on 10/06/2020: In addition to the concerns expressed in my recent review, there is also the problem of communicating with Zipcar service reps, once one has finally responded after extensive waiting times. While I understand the need for having a bilingual staff, this is no excuse for employing persons whose frequently very heavily accented English often makes Zipcar employees very difficult to understand. This is a particularly serious problem because customers may be in situations where their safety/comfort may be at risk.

For starters, the car was not clean when I entered the vehicle. Second, over an hour before my ride was due, I attempted to extend my time as traffic and weather conditions were preventing me from getting to the dropoff location on time. When I attempted to extend, it stated that someone had the vehicle immediately after me. I never knew someone had the vehicle after me until I tried to extend it. When I called Zipcar customer service, I was on hold for a long time and the agent was very rude.

I have no words how disgusted I am with this company. Absolutely disgraceful. In my whole entire 32 years of life I have never experienced customer service like this. I paid for a brand new Mercedes Benz to take my daughter to her ceremony and the morning of her event, I was told the car was unavailable and that I was to collect a different car for a completely new and FAR location

I have been using Zipcar for over 4 years, but in recent few years, they cancel my rental in few hours, and then I can't find any car that available. It's getting more frequently. It's not acceptable. I am cancelling the membership.

Rented a car weeks in advanced. They cancelled an hour before. I know this happens but over a week later and still no refund. They also haven’t answered any of my emails and no one to answer the phone when I call. Just tried calling at 10am and it said they are too busy and won’t be able to answer my call and it hung up. No way to get ahold of customer service.

I signed up for Zipcar over exactly one year ago. They charged me $15 for the annual fee, and then said my "Zipcard" would arrive in the mail shortly. Several weeks and many hours on hold later, my Zipcard never arrived. I tried to cancel my account and forget about the experience. Yesterday, a charge shows up on my bank statement: $15 for annual Zipcard fee. I find it fairly audacious for Zipcar to charge me the annual fee for a card I never received. I tried calling customer service, but an automated voice informed me they received too many calls that day, and then hung up on me. I opened a request on their help website, which still has not been answered. If at all possible, find another company to provide you with a carshare.

Just to reiterate the feedback from many people here, Zipcar have atrocious service. My rental was cancelled by them the night before I was due to collect the car. Which is inconvenient but I figured these things happened. But the idiotic thing is that 2 weeks later they still haven't refunded me the money, for the rental THEY cancelled.

Zipcar provide useful services to the needy people. They give low rate rental for their selection brand cars. Cars are in almost good condition. This company provide charming and friendly drivers in case if we need drivers. Zipcar rent fast cars with very affordable rates. We, the customer of zipcars help us to satisfy our need of urgent cars. I often used cars from this company as they can deliver and use their cars for a pleasant and nice ride. Affordable, cheap and luxury cars of zipcars can give very satisfying wonders of the wheels. No need to compete with other car rental company if you use zipcar once as they give more advanced and fast feature that are deliver to happy customers like us.

A company that does not care one bit about its customer’s safety or experience. I genuinely have argument and am consider seeking legal counsel due to the atrocity of this company. How it remains as a business is high questionable and I strongly believe this company should be dissolved. I gave Zipcar four chances. Four more than I ever should have.

Two weeks ago, I reserve a Mercedes GL for a day trip with my wife. The first day in working six weeks straight. To take her out of the city, somewhere nice. Shortly before my reservation time, I receive an email that my reservation was switched from the Mercedes GL to a Honda Civic. How would you feel if you went to a restaurant, ordered a NY Strip Steak, and got served a Veggie Burger instead? I called, the rep found me another Mercedes at a different location, and we were finally able to take off. Only to find out that a) there is no gas card in the car, b) no EZ Pass (consequently having me stuck in the EZ pass lane with half a dozen of cars honking behind me), c) the car is banged up beyond belief (both sides had serious dents, and the bumper had come off), and d) the car smelled like cigarette smoke. Anyway, we were focused on our trip, Zipcar refunded me $60, and I almost forgot about it, until... today:

Zipcar is a larger than life disaster of a company that epitomizes horrible, opaque customer support practices. I rented a car from them for a weekend in the Poconos. The person who had the car before me arrived 15 minutes late. I was on hold with Zipcar the whole time to ask where the car was, but hung up once it arrived (never got a real person). This was an omen for what would happen next.

We live in NYC, upper west side. Have used Zipcar in the past. On the last trip, the driver window would not move up or down so we had a windy trip, but I thought this was just a fluke. But today's experience suggests that it was not a fluke and that this company is tanking: 1) They changed the car and location, except no phone number for the garage, I had to figure out on my own how to call the garage is, and it turned that the location given by Zipcar was wrong and that this garage "does not do Zipcars", thankfully he gave me the location of the garage I actually wanted;