While routinely digging through the iPhone App Store to see what new treasures I might find, I came across an application called ZipCar. I was curious, so I read the description and learned of a different kind of rental car company. ZipCar rents by the hour and you never have to see another human being to get a car. Not only that, but you can unlock the car from your iPhone? This, I had to see. After a couple emails last week, my shiny new ZipCard arrived in the mail and I was ready for a review.
No paperwork or people
We all need human interaction at times, but there are some times where it just seems unnecessary. Renting a car isn’t always one of those times, but ZipCar seems to have thought through some extra details to help get people renting without a lot of human interface. There’s a couple ways to do it. The first, of course, is the web site. It’s pretty simple to use, but the part I enjoyed the most was the fact that I didn’t have to read through tons of fine print to rent a car. I didn’t have to sign 15 things either. In fact, I didn’t touch one piece of paper throughout the whole process, which I think is part of what ZipCar is trying to accomplish for the environment. They even tell you to not bother with a receipt for the gas.
The second way to reserve a car is via new iPhone app, and it’s smooth. This was how I reserved my car. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that I found myself on a screen with a time and date (current time/date) selected for the reservation and I had to back track a bit to find where to change it. The idea is that you’re walking up to the car, reserving in on the spot, but for me, this was a bit of a pain. Other than that one glitch, it was very fast and intuitive. I was able to find and reserve a car near me in about 2 minutes.
Cost and availability
Let’s talk about the cost first, because it can be much better than a standard rental, depending on your needs. When you start out, it’s $25 to apply and $50 per year, but the cost can go up depending on the plan you want. I think the one I chose would work for most people. The rates start at $8/hour or $66/day and go up. It sounds much better when you throw in the free gas and insurance. That covers 180 miles per day, even if you only rent for an hour. ZipCars become cost effective when you just want to move some furniture for a couple hours or just need to run an errand that you can’t do with public transit. The short term rentals are key here.
While it looks like there’s still some cities ZipCar needs to hit, there’s plenty already covered and they’ve made a really important strategic move connecting with the universities. I had a few location choices for my reservation and I went with the ASU West campus. I don’t think there’s a lot to choose from, depending on location. It looked like ASU West may have only had a couple cars and I imagine other locations (like ASU in Tempe) would have several more based on more need. In any case, I didn’t have any problem getting the car I wanted on the day and time I wanted with just two days notice.
The little details
Those who read this blog often know that I’m a fan of companies who pay attention to the little things that make an experience perfect. ZipCar has won me over in this area with some small details. One of these is the text and email notification system. Email is pretty standard, but I have the option to have a text reminder sent to my phone a half hour before the reservation start time and more importantly, another a half hour before the car is due back. And you can reply to those texts to extend your reservation, cancel it, etc. They really seem to be working hard so you don’t have to.
They want you to play, too. Sure, you could unlock the car with the card, but if you could do it with your phone instead, over the Internet, you know you would. I couldn’t resist. It didn’t seem to work if the car was left alone for a long time, but if you just left it and went back for something, you could use your iPhone to unlock it. In my case, it didn’t work to unlock the car when I came out from and hour or so lunch, but when I had just stopped over at my dad’s and he walked over to poke around in it, I was able to unlock the car (and lock it again) from my phone. The horn option was fun a couple times, but then it’s just a little annoying to run around honking it all day.
ZipCar in action
Yes, I said free gas
If you watched the embedded video above, you may have seen one of my favorite parts of my experience with my ZipCar. I rolled up to a gas station and put gas in the car without spending any of my own money on it. Every ZipCar comes with a gas card and it work unlike any credit card I’m used to using. The card is inserted like a credit card and the system asks for your ZipCard number. You enter that and then the car’s mileage when prompted and it lets you fuel up. Where does the bill go? Who cares. I don’t have to pay to put gas in the car before I drop it off, so I’m happy.
Conclusions
ZipCar is awesome. I loved the free gas, the availability, and the iPhone app, but what really stood out was the all-digital rental experience that left me with no arguments, headaches, lines, hold time, or miscommunications. Instead, I was left with a fast reservation at a good price and that goes a long way. I definitely recommend grabbing a ZipCar if you find yourself in need of wheels for a short period.
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