One of the most frustrating things about transportation services in Portland is how many of these companies operate in ways that feel exploitative. Instead of supporting the community, they create financial barriers that make it harder for people to access the services they advertise. My worst experience has been with Zipcar. I registered and paid the $25 application fee, but I was denied without any explanation. I never received a proper email response, and when I contacted customer service, they avoided my questions and failed to provide any clear answers. It feels unfair for a company to collect fees without delivering transparency or accountability. Practices like this don't help people--they harm them financially and prevent them from using the service as intended. I strongly believe that companies operating this way should be held accountable, because instead of providing solutions, they are contributing to financial strain and making life more difficult for the very people they claim to serve. read more

Charged me $300 dollars to tow a car that had mechanical problems and bead battery... don't sign up unless you want to be left stranded with no car! read more

Rented a Subaru WRX for 2 days, cost me $200. When I arrived at the car it was a base model Impreza that was utterly disgusting. Mystery white stains in the trunk, sticky controls, pet hair and random belongings everywhere. Customer service was an absolute nightmare. The rep kept trying to get me to cancel the ride altogether and get my refund "in 5-7 business days" not even acknowledging me when I told him that would leave me stranded in Portland with no car. No manager would come out, no cleaning crew would come out. Eventually after 1.5 hours on the phone I got a hold of his manager who put me in a different car that was much cleaner but by no means clean. Then they tried to offer me an extension of 1 hour on my rental ($10 value) to compensate. How disrespectful Please consider Turo, Enterprise, etc. don't be pulled in by "you don't have to pay for gas". I wouldn't wish Zipcar on my worst enemy. read more

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They charged me $25 application fee while their ad says that cars start at $10 per hour. I paid and got approved. Well turns out there is ONE car in the area and it's a tiny tiny tiny car for $14 per hour... Bait and switch is what all these reviews have in common - count me in on the class action when it's filed. read more

Rental price is overly expensive and Car owners don't maintain the interior and exterior cleanliness of their vehicles.

Cars, what cars? I wanted to know what cars were available before signing up for the service. Where are they? Are they convenient to me and my location? Good luck infinding out. read more

ZERO STARS This was the worst car rental experience and any service experience of my life. TLDR: we were locked out of the car for hours with our stuff inside. We almost missed our train home. They had to sent a lock pick and a tow to move the car. The car was disgusting inside too. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM. I'd planned a day trip to Seattle with my dad (74) for some time. We've had our share of hardships and I wanted to take him on a day trip to Seattle. Something to get him out of the house and help take his mind off things. Anyway... we took the train in and reserved a car in the city for when we arrived. The moment we get to the car, it was pretty gross inside. It was vacuumed sure, but the chairs were stained and there was gunk caked up in almost every compartment and crevice. First there were issues even getting out of the garage. There were no parking passes or any instructions on how to leave a paid parking garage. Once we figured it out, we were relieved to just get our trip started. Next, we drove to a standard, underground parking garage. Didn't think anything of it. I used the door lock to lock the car instinctively (normal thing to do) then realized I needed something out of the car. The app wouldn't unlock the car. I don't have a card because as it's advertised on their site, "You can start right away! Unlock the car with your phone! NBD! You don't need the card!". We we're immediately locked out of the car with all our belongings trapped inside. There wasn't service in the garage so the Bluetooth connection didn't work to unlock the car. I had to take the elevator outside to call for help. I was between phone support and their chat services. We spent hours going back and fourth with customer service, elevators up and down from the car, to get help. Finally, (again, after hours) they decided to send both a lock pick and a tow truck to the car. They said the lock pick would get there in 45 and the tow truck would take an hour and a half. We would miss our train home which was the last train home if we waited for the tow. The lock pick guy showed up in 10 mins because he was in the area and broke into the car so we could get our belongings out. We ended up having to abandon the car in the garage because there wasn't a way to start it without service. Zipcar even said to abandon the car. My dad (74) and myself had to walk through the city back to the train station to go back home. Our trip was supposed to be full of food, museums, and just hanging out with my dad, not thinking about awful things. Instead we took a train to get locked out of a car for 5 hours, then went back home. The issues we had are not one-off issues. They've experienced this before. Read the other reviews (I was foolish and didn't). THIS IS NORMAL FOR THEM. MASSIVE OVERSIGHT. Our entire trip was spent dealing with Zipcar. Do not rent from them. It's a terrible service. I regret every second. I can't believe how bad of a company this is. Do. Not. Rent from them. Even the lock pick guy said to not rent from them. Terrible terrible time. Truly. Also, my dad tried to sign up first. They immediately rejected him, didn't tell him why, and didn't issue a refund for the application fee. He has a clean driving record, excellent driver, doesn't have any conditions, is a TOTAL SWEETIE, has drivers insurance, a normal drivers license... insane. We're convinced it was age discrimination. He asked for a reason, they didn't give him any. They only refunded the fee when he suggested age discrimination. Looking forward to watching this company go out of business. Hope their employees can find some other place to work. read more

customer support is horrible!! I reserved a car but when I arrived at the car location on time! I could not access the car. I contacted support but my tech issue was not one of the frequent questions so I had to hold to speak to live support. meanwhile the clock is ticking I still need to get to my important appointment and reason for needing the car. I finally spoke to someone but my issue was never resolved and I was charged full price for a vehicle I never used. I ended calling a friend for a ride to my appointment. I would not recommend until they improve customer support. read more

Do not use this rental company They advertise immediate account approval. So, I signed up to rent a car for a trip. I was charged an application fee, an annual membership fee and an annual insurance fee. However, my account was not approved immediately. It took many days for approval, thus leaving me unable to rent a car from them for my trip. They went ahead and charged me $155 anyways for a service they failed to provide. Rent from someone else read more

This is a review for the CS team of Zipcar. I have been a member since 2015 and in recent years any Issue that I can't resolve via the app and have to call it in has been pretty bad. This one today has to do with my replacement card that I order on 10/16/19, it is now 11/15/19 and no card. I called and ask for a tracking number or if I can pay to expedite the card, but neither services is offered. When I talked to the manager he did apologize for the inconvenience and tried to mitigate as much as possible. At the end I still didn't get the support I wanted and needed. I now have to wait from 3-7 business days and with the holidays in two weeks and the fact that it's shipping from the East cost I'm sure I won't get it as promptly. read more

Luckily, we drove the car under 5 miles from our hotel in downtown Portland. We were about to drive to the mountains, after breakfast, but the car wouldn't start. Apparently, I misread the hours I requested the car for, the hour past that it was reserved for, so the car shut down and couldn't be restarted. They tried remotely. It's been over an hour since we tried to start the car to return it. We are held hostage with the car until zip car manager callls back. They have to get the car towed we were last told. Asked if we could leave the car to allow us to rent from another company to save our day trip.....they will call back and let us know.....so disappointing. Just signed up today and will be canceling as soon as this fiasco is over. read more

Contacted zip car to get adress to return the rental to tried to rent it for an additional 24 hrs 14 phone calls my credit card info 7 emails 12 text messages and no adress to return car to wife rented vehicle got put in nospital and I can't get an address to return vehicle so I get locked out of it and they spend $$ to come tow it oh and keep all our personal property that was in it aswell makes sense good way to do business.customer service lyers thieves.W T F .see you in small claims.shoulda just rented one of my two getarounds. read more

Zipcar cancelled my 2:00 pm reservation at 1:58. Not only that but they rebooked me to a vehicle that was more than 3 miles away for the same time without confirming if that vehicle would work for me! read more

So my friend in town has both a zipcar account and a car2go account. So from my understanding both are rent as you go, all inclusive (gas, insurance, parking, etc) modes of transportation. My friend used Zipcar for longer trips because well you can choose what kind of car you want, as opposed to just a smart car. He felt more safe driving on the highways with a full sized sedan. So why the lower rating? Well with Zipcar you HAVE to come back to where you picked it up. Which isn't so bad, but sometimes you really don't want to end up back there. Another thing is they charger you a crazy amount for going over your allocated time. No ifs ands or buts. Sometimes they allow you to extend the rental, but if someone else booked the car or you're out of luck. It probably is a better business model but as a consumer, fees suck! read more

Absolutely ZERO stars. The absolute worst experience with a rental agency. Ever. Background: I used to use Zipcar under a company account ages ago and remember having a decent experience (this was like a decade ago). So when I knew I was going to be traveling soon and in need of a car for the day I decided I'd re-subscribe. The approval process went smoothly and everything seemed fine until it was actually time to book. On the day I needed a car I saw a ton available and for fine rates - the only issue was that I literally couldn't book one. Every time I attempted to book I received an error message asking me to update my payment info. I went through 7 different credit and debit cards, and each one received the same error. This is when I got concerned - maybe something happened - have I been hacked and my accounts drained? I logged in to find plenty of funds available (as I thought). Ok - it must be some kind of fraud alter then. I called the banks. Nope they said that the charges weren't being declined by the bank. In fact they couldn't even see the transactions being attempted to be processed. Meaning the Zipcar system was failing before even attempting the transaction. I called zipcar and explained what was going on. At first they seemed like they were being helpful, but I found that I had to repeat exactly what happened a good 10 times and I was just getting what seemed like a script repeated to me. Eventually they tried to book the same car from their end and also got the same message. No one could explain what was going on. I went through a new questionnaire answering the exact same questions I already had answered. "Is your card valid" - YES "Have you received any back payments" - NO "Did you use a credit or debit card" BOTH "how many times did you attempt the transaction "At least 10 with 7 different cards" "Does you bank have a block on your card" - NO. I then got transferred to another person who I then had to explain the same story to AGAIN, and they said they were going to submit a ticket to the technician because now I was locked out of my account from too many attempts and I'd probably hear from them within an hour, but could be 3-5 business days. So much for my day plans. I went on about my afternoon and guess what - my cards worked perfectly everywhere else. Today (4 days later) I opened my email and got a message that the ticket was "solved". They claimed that my bank declined the card due to insufficient funds and now my account was to be suspended until the fees I owed are paid. No comments about the fact that I tried 7 cards from 3 different banks. AND the exact opposite information I received from my banks and from the previous representatives I spoke to. So, next I login to my account to see what I supposedly owed. Guess what - all transactions were marked as paid and there were no outstanding fees WHATSOEVER. But, because they marked the ticket as solved, I literally couldn't reply to anyone about it or let them know that I'd already discussed with my bank etc. I called the Zipcar line again, and was then on the phone for a solid hour going through the EXACT same steps as I already did days prior and was told "we'll need to start a ticket". There was absolutely no sense that anyone was TRULY listening at all because they just kept asking the same questions and couldn't even understand that I was following up on a previous ticket not having NEW booking issues today. Eventually, their advice was to "just ignore the email" about my account being suspended and try again next time. I asked them what I'm supposed to do because I'm paying a monthly subscription for something I can't even use because the bookings are declined no matter what I do. No one had absolutely ANY idea how to fix the account, they just kept telling me to call my bank and try a new booking. They didn't care that I already had spoken with the bank. They didn't care that I had well more than the funds available. They didn't care that 7 cards and 3 banks all didn't work. No help whatsoever. Just call your bank and try again next time. After another 30 minutes of run around I told them I just want a refund for my application and first month's subscription because I'm literally paying for something that I cannot use due to a glitch in their system that no one can solve or even take accountability for! Thankfully they obliged to this - but overall I lost a good 3 hours of my life just on the phone with these reps and I can only imagine how terrible it would be if you had an actual issue with your car. My advice, don't even bother. The business model is cool and offers flexibility but the rest of the system is an absolute nightmare. read more

I wanted a car for a day so it was pretty easy get one. I took a taxi to the location to get the car and that's when it when to hell. They don't tell you that their Bluetooth system doesnt support international phone numbers (Australian anyway) so I wasn't able to get into the car . I ended stranded at a dodgy car park on my phone for an hour, their customer service was surprisingly fast and responsive. He tried telling me I was out of cellular data but I could see other devices and networks around me so it wasn't that. Anyway he refunded my credit card then and there, hence 3 stars. read more

Complete joke. It started with an app that wouldn't work on data, and that took about a year for them to fix. The cars often don't work and support always takes at least 20-30 minutes to get your reservation changed (then are super stingy about giving you that time back). Then there is the gas situation--they often don't fill up the cars, so you have a one-hour reservation for a quick errand, and you have to spend 25% of that time getting gas so you avoid the penalty. The cars are often dirty, and it's clear Zipcar doesn't inspect them regularly. More recently, they randomly started charging me for a tax I'm exempt from (and other carsharing apps don't charge); support has been worthless in even reading my emails, let alone fixing the problem. Now that another carsharing service is available in Portland, I'm giving Zipcar one month to clean up their game, then I'm canceling my membership. 2 years of membership=2 years of hell. read more

I have been on hold with zip car for 30 minutes for like the fifth time I have called. They are impossible to get ahold of. They charged me a bunch of "misc fees" and I called months ago to get them removed which they said they would do and they never did. I cannot use my zip car account until the fees are removed. I have also been trying to get my account changed from a regular account to a student account and they also said they would take care of that and it's been months and nothing... do they even have customer service reps??? So frustrating. read more

I live on Mississippi which is a pretty densely populated neighborhood. there is only one Zipcar in the entire neighborhood and that is used most of the time. The nearest car for me after that is over a mile away. Sometimes the app doesn't work and won't unlock your car. Unlike Cars 2 Go, do you have to bring the car back in the exact same spot you picked it up in so I have to walk a fair amount to even get a car. They really need to get more cars. read more

ZipCar was once a solid company, but I encourage you to avoid them. There is no customer service, including when you take on costs to maintain their cars for them. They no longer make sure cars are clean or maintained and they rolled out new exorbitant fees this year. Their time is up. It's a cryin' shame. read more

I joined in May 2014. I cancelled my membership in 2016 after showing up to a two hour truck reservation where the previous user the night before left a door ajar, draining the battery. Zip car said it would take two hours to send someone to jump the engine!? A few months later, they auto renew my cancelled account using an expired credit card and I get letters threatening collections! I call to verify that my account is cancelled and that nothing will be reported to a credit agency. Now it's May 2017 and what do I get? A friendly email reminding me to update my credit card because the auto renew is about to go through! What kind of IT account nightmare goes on there? Wish I'd never signed up because it's impossible to cancel. Stay away. read more

Zipcar works well as long as you never run into any trouble that requires them to answer promptly. You can call customer service number a thousand times, they will give you the run around and tell you to wait a few more weeks but you will never hear back regarding your concerns. Highly DO NOT RECOMMEND this service. Definitely DO NOT rely on this service as your mode of transportation to work. read more

I feel like a grown up now. I've been living in Portland for a while and I've never own a car. It's not because I don't want one, but I can't afford one. With how expensive the gas is these days and high insurance rate, I don't think I can't own a car yet, but sometimes I wish I have one. Especially when I need to go to grocery stores, Ikea, or to visit my family in Scappoose. I found online that there's a community car sharing program called Flexcar and Zipcar. Apparently they just merged recently, that made it easy for me to decide with which one I want to sign up with. I signed up with Zipcar. They charged $25 application fee and less than 24 hours, they notified me that I was approved! Their monthly prepay program starts at $50 and up. I signed up for the $75 per month and that's including gas and insurance. It's $8.10/hour and you can reserve by hourly or day. It comes with 180 miles free per month. So with that $75 I have about 9 hours worth of driving per month. After I got approved I went to pick up my zipcard. Their office located in downtown Portland, then I activated my zipcard. I also found out that you can use the zipcard at Paddy's and get 10% off your check. That's just uber cool. On monday night, I needed to go to grocery store. I reserved my car about 45 minutes before I need to use it. I reserved it for 1.5 hour. I picked up the car 2 blocks away from where I live. It's a subaru imprezza. You just swipe your zipcar on the windshield and it unlocks the car. The car was clean, the gas was half full. It has a good radio and CD player. I made my trip to two grocery stores and had dinner. It only cost s me $12.54. Much cheaper than cab and I don't have to carry tons of bags on the bus. I love zipcar. It's affordable, easy, convenient, and it's green for the environment. read more

I resisted the siren song of Flexcar/Zipcar for many of my car-light/car-free years on the presumption that most people make: "It's too expensive." A friend got me to sign up and use it as part of a volunteer project we were working in; like any (bad) good drug, the first time is free, and you pay forever after. Yah- the money looks like a lot, on paper (or data byte). $19 for the 2 hours it takes to go grocery shopping?! But, if you are like me and pretty much already have a car-free life, stopping at the grocery store on your way home on the bus, foot, or bike, is something you already have down, and Zipcar comes into play all those times when DAMN it just makes life easier to have a car for an hour or three and it's totally worth it--still cheaper than the $80+ a month I would spend if I had a car. Because not only do you get to have a car for only exactly the times when you need it and not have to worry about your monthly insurance bill, filling up the tank (well, once in awhile), getting it repaired when it starts making that funny noise, dealing with buying and selling the car, parking tickets, towing fees, windshield wiper blades, oil change, new tires--yep, all of us who have owned a car have been there-- but you also get *exactly* the car you want. A Mini Cooper, a truck, an SUV, or a hybrid. It's like wearing the perfect outfit for the weather. Situations in which Zipcar has totally saved my ass: --Last night, picked up a truck a block from where I was, when we found out about a pet emergency that needed to be taken care of. Got to keep it for 12+ hours for $29. In those 12 hours, put our bikes in the back of the truck and took them home; took the pet to the emergency vet, and home; dropped someone off; took our bikes halfway to work, and were able to half our commute by returning the car on our way in. Have also used the truck to take a load to the dump. --2 weeks ago, used a Honda Element to take a ski trip. DAMN those things are convenient. $80 a day includes all gas, insurance, CHAINS!, a ski rack, the sno-park pass, and a state park pass. For 4 people, that's only $20 each. Way easier than dealing with shuttles, bus schedules, gear or whatever. --a few months ago, used a Hybrid to go across town on a long lunch break to jump on a Craigslist purchase. What would have been half a day off work and $5 in bus fare, was a long lunch break and $10--yes, the hybrids are only $7 an hour! Pretty good deal, especially when you need to get somewhere quick. Have also used the hybrid several times to pick up family from the airport and to run errands across town. So, I have spent $207 in 6 months to drive about 23 gallons' worth of gas (my rough estimate). Insurance in that time would have been $300+, gas would have been over $60. Argue as you will, but seems like a good deal to me. read more

I mostly love Zipcar, though the customer service leaves something to be desired. Like a lot of people in Portland, I don't have a car. I choose to pay more for rent and live really close in so I can bike, walk, or Trimet pretty much anywhere. But sometimes you need a car for hauling stuff, picking someone up from the airport, client visits for work, etc. Zipcar has been a reliable way to get around for a pretty good price, and I only pay a $25/year membership fee since I am on my company's account too. It does get expensive if you need a car for more than one day or to go more than 180 miles (I sometimes have to drive out to the coast for work and it ends up being pretty spendy). I really wish they would have some weekend rentals available for a discounted price - that would really change how I used Zipcar. Also, you probably know this but you can't make one-way trips with Zipcar, you have to take the car back to its parking spot. However, I've more than once had issues with cars and service: - I picked up a car for work once and it was filthy (full of dirt and dog hair) and they gave our company account a credit for it. I picked up a car once on my personal account that was really filthy (animal hair, dirt, fast food cups, etc.) AND had almost an empty tank of gas. I had to first call and report the dirty car and empty gas to Zipcar (which took time), then take it to fill it up (more time), then run home for a blanket to cover the seats because I was supposed to be picking up a friend (even more time), but by the time I had done those things my one hour reservation was almost up. I called to complain about the car's condition and about wasting my reservation, and they said they were sorry, but I didn't get a refund or any kind of credit. - Once I had a car making a really disturbing grinding noise and reported it. They told me that I was probably driving with the parking brake on. Um, I know to take the parking brake off, and maybe you want to pull the car to make sure there isn't something seriously wrong rather than blaming the customer. - I forgot my Zipcard at home once and found out they can't unlock the car for you over the phone without cancelling your Zipcard and issuing a new one. It would have been really simple for them to let me in the car so I could DRIVE home and get the card, but nope, they won't do that. Seems a little absurd. - Once I was running late (due to traffic), and it says on the website to call them if that happens. I ended up on hold FOREVER (which would have made me even more late if I had pulled over to make the call), only to be told there was nothing they could do anyway. When I got back to the parking spot (on time, as it turns out), I asked the person who was waiting for the car if Zipcar had called them to tell them I was going to be late. Nope. So I'm really not sure what the point of that policy is - why have people call when they are going to be late if you don't even notify the next customer? - No warning before they charge you the annual fee. Would it kill them to send a reminder email? I asked them why they do this and they said "It's in your service contract". Well Zipcar, just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD. A little warning would be nice. - It seems like there are fewer cars and less availability than there used to be. For example, they replaced a great Honda CRV in my neighborhood (with a forest pass and snow park pass, too) with a cargo van that is pretty much always there (indicating it doesn't get used much). It is harder and harder to get a reservation without a lot of notice on a weekend. If more and more people are using Zipcar, why are there fewer cars? - More cars are being clustered in parking lots rather than parked on the streets than they used to be, which I understand in theory, but in practice means a lot of us no longer have cars within easy walking distance. - There used to be tons of hybrids, which were cheaper per hour than other cars. Now there are very few hybrids, and all the rates have gone way up. There is one hybrid about a mile and a half from my house that is less expensive, but that's pretty far to walk when you're in a hurry, and there is no day rate (most cars have a 12-hour maximum rate that is cheaper than the hourly rate x 12). - Some cars have Sno Park passes but no chains. Um... you know you're required to carry chains in the mountains, right? Overall, I still like Zipcar and plan to continue using it, but I am concerned that the service might be declining, and it doesn't meet all of my car rental needs. As someone who REALLY wants to remain car free, I hope they beef up customer service, work on consistent policies, add more cars (and more hybrids), and think about expanding service in the future. I'd also like to see more cars with Sno Park and NW Forest passes, since hiking/skiing trips are what a lot of people in Portland use Zipcar for. read more

There are three Zipcars located in downtown Vancouver, WA which I drive between 2-4 times a month, for long or out of the way trips, for minimal hauling, and sometimes for fun. And they have dozens more cars located across the river in Portland, OR. I usually reserve them for 2 or 3 hours per occurrence, when I have a number of stops to make. After I'm done with business, I take a joy ride to use up any time that's left over. The cars are nearly new, spotless, well maintained, and in my area they're all hatchbacks, adequate for moderate loads. For larger loads, such as an IKEA purchase, there are a handful of pickup trucks and minivans in Portland. You're supposed to fill the gas tank if it gets below 1/4, and pay for it with the plastic card provided in the sun visor. I'm on their "occasional" driving plan, where each rental appears as a separate line item on my debit-or-credit-card statement, at a bit less than $11 per hour. This includes everything; gas, insurance, sales tax, and up to 180 miles per rental. Most cars are half price ($5.50) between the hours of 12am-5am. The $50ish annual membership fee includes minimal auto liability insurance, with a $500 deductible for an at-fault accident. The deductible can be lowered by choosing a somewhat higher annual fee. Even if you already own a vehicle, what if it goes in the shop, or you need to haul an occasional load. Carrying a Zipcar membership card in your wallet inexpensively provides you with the flexibility of a backup car, at a moment's notice, rarely ever dealing with a person. Other than the annual fee, the only charge is when you drive. So being a member should be an easy decision, even if you don't use them much. If you're going to purchase a car, why dread doing test drives at dealerships, when Zipcar is enjoyable to work with? It ought to be worth paying them $11 per one hour test drive, just to avoid being annoyed by dealers. They won't even know you're evaluating Suburu, Toyota, Scion, Honda, Cooper Mini, Volvo, hybrids, etc. And the more models you test drive, the more first hand knowledge you'll gain about the state of the art. If you live in a small town, you can still become a Zipcar member. Schedule a dozen one hour "test drives" some weekend in a city they serve. And for less than a car payment, your large purchase will be better informed. Rent Zipcars in many cities and countries, and never listen to rental agency threats about all the fees they're authorized to pull from your debit-credit card, unless you "upgrade" to their outrageously priced insurance. Normally I reserve cars on the Internet. But sometimes I'll see a Zipcar when I'm walking down the street, and I just have to drive it. A quick phone call to their automated voice prompting system determines the availability. Next I wave my membership card past the magnetic reader that's located inside of the windshield, this unlocks the doors, and the car is available immediately. Each time I make a stop, I repeat that process which locks the doors while I'm away from the car. You are expected to return the car to its home location by your scheduled finish time. Twice I've extended rentals until later in the day by calling in, and fortunately the system confirmed the availability. On another occasion I returned a car a few minutes late and they assessed a $50 penalty. One time the previous renter was late in returning the car that I had reserved, so I called Zipcar customer service and a representative reserved a different car for me, a few blocks away. This taught me to rely less on Internet availability, and to confirm the physical presence of the car I want, in the assigned parking spot, a few minutes before I make a reservation. However, if I am going to reserve one well in advance, without seeing it sitting there, I try to do so 30 minutes "after" it's scheduled to be returned by someone else. This leaves a time buffer in case the previous renter returns it late -- the 30 minute buffer also prevents another reservation being inserted before mine, since there's a 1 hour minimum. If you absolutely must count on availability, I suggest placing your reservation 1-2 hours ahead of needing it, and even then have a contingency plan. The presence of Zipcar in my area was the deal breaker that allowed me to say, "Hasta la vista baby" to the auto industry (YouTube.com/watch?v=D_7vVOnpyJY). Recent events considered, I've not regretted that decision. So a year ago, when my last car finally died, I sold it on Craig's List. The next day, I called my auto insurance company to cancel them. And the world's still turning. Now I'm a bus and light rail kind of guy, backed up by Zipcar -- wheels when I want them. read more

I had yet another great experience with Zipcar today and it prompted me to write a review. A few reasons I like it: 1. There are close to 10 cars within a mile of me in NE Portland. 2. I don't have to own a truck, or worse yet, borrow a truck from a friend and worry about refilling the tank with gas, buying them a six pack and being forever beholden to them for their golden benevolence. 3. The cars are shiny, new and clean and don't smell like my friend Tony's stinky Corolla (seriously, wash your gym clothes!). 4. I don't have to pay for insurance, gas or maintenance. No more surprise broken timing belts and the resulting $2k bill for a new engine. 5. I can handle reservations and everything else from the seamless iPhone app. If only I could ditch my Zipcard and just use the phone to initially unlock the car... 6. I like racing the clock to return the car. Stoplight cameras can't catch me now, muhahaha. Or can they via knowing my reservation times? Whatever. Denial is a happy place. For those business trips on days where it is absolutely pouring or where I need to get somewhere on the west side (GASP), Zipcar is fantastic. Plus, I like thinking (probably incorrectly) that drivers around me are terrified because they think I rarely (screeeech...swerve) drive. Little do they know that I hone my driving with my GF's car. Where else would I learn how to signal the wrong way while I switch lanes? Throw in a great staff who aim to please and a cause I believe in and Zipcar gets a solid 5 stars! read more

My 1st time using Zipcar I was hoping to reserve the car a block away from me, but they won't let you reserve until you get your card and they wont even let you see availability either. So needless to say I was very disappointed that the car I wanted wasn't available and no car near me was available, and I infact had to take 2 buses to get to the one that was my only option (according to Zipcar.) I went and picked up the car (Soul Food) there was stuff left in it from the pervious driver that really kinda surprised me...like a water bottle and hair ties, the seats and floors had grass on them and the dash was very dusty. I'm not sure what I was thinking... I thought maybe a cleanup fairy would come vacuum it and make sure it was all pretty and ready for my zipcar cherry poppin' moment. It's like that moment when you discover that new person your excited about just went on a date right before yours....on the same day. Sad Panda:( But the car is new and drives sooooo smooth I quickly forgot what a dirty little slut it was. I had a great time at Lava Canyons made possible by this car. I do have to say that ,even though I'm only 5'3" I couldn't even get into this car without feeling like my head was going to get ripped off from how low it was. So my plan of action was a running start head first... that got the job done anyhow. I took the car to the car wash, vacuumed it out, and filled u the tank before I returned it. Who cleans out these cars anyhow? A few suggestions I have. -More vehicles to choose from. -Have people clean up after themselves(It wasn't the best first impression, if I hadn't already paid I might not have put out.."Soul Food" is a dirty bird. -If I drop off the car early(Which was 6 hours early, don't charge extra money to change that. Because that car was just sitting there for hours. Someone could have been using it. But there it sat and sat and sat today.(I was just following the sites suggestion of giving yourself extra time, I had no idea how long a drive like that would take me) -It would be cool if as apart of your site and the cars history we as members could "Tag" the particular vehicles some of the cool places they travel to.(I would have put, Mt.St.Helens, Lava Canyon, Ape Caves and Fred Meyers. That's all I got. Good day! read more

Flat out - I love Zipcar. We signed up over the winter when my vehicle was broken. Didn't know what was wrong with it and we were anticipating a HUGE repair bill. I have no issue using mass transit the majority of the time, but since we live in Clackamas... it comes in handy to have a vehicle for the occasional trips to Beavertron and Silverton for the kiddo's baseball games. I have been extremely pleased with Zipcar's customer service. The few times that we have had issues (like the time we were 9 minutes late due to traffic... really, an hour into downtown?!?!?!) it was resolved quickly and to my satisfaction. We've won water bottles, movie tickets, and more from the Portland office and driving credit from Zipcar online... I love that this company appreciates their customers... members... and it makes me more willing to promote them to others. I love running into the Zipcar guys around town... especially when I have my Zipcar swag with me... it's like a little non-verbal " 'sup?" complete with the head nod. :) Side note - My favorite car is Moshi-Moshi and if anyone hurts my baby car... ;) read more

I live downtown and I have an Acura TL that I use occasionally to get to work, or for local errands that I can't walk/bike to. I used to have a truck but fortunately I am no longer abused by its insatiable desire for petrol and the insatiable desire for more money from my apartment office to have 2 parking spots. But sometimes I need to get something big and I don't always want to pay the delivery fees.... and I noticed all of the Zipcars in the neighberhood in the best parking spots. Sign up on the web is simple, and the company acts very "hip"; names all of their cars, has a nifty FAQ page, and lots of reasonable communication to get you ramped up for your first use. I used Zipcar for the first time this weekend, and it was very good overall... I needed to pick up some long boxes and there was a Honda Element 5 blocks away from my house. I rented it for 2 hours ($22 including gas, insurance, yada yada) to get over to Ikea and back - worked perfectly. They even have a gas card in the visor (they like you to leave a 1/4 tank) so you can fill up. The car was in great condition, and was extremely easy to get (vs. going to Hertz and spending a fortune, or Home Depot and getting one of their trucks). I liked it so much I wish I could get rid of my car... unfortunately it is a lease and Acura doesn't let you sell leases. Next time I am going to try the convertible Mini to go cruzing. Overall brilliant idea and I can use the service all over (North America and Europe). read more

This service is a fantastic alternative to regular car rental with the big name car rental companies. The pricing wasn't bad at all and it fulfilled our needs for it. 2 important observations for both Zipcar and potential customers. 1. The service is great but you will be paying a bit up front that might be better spent towards an Uber. If Zipcar was able to modify its business model for people who are just vacationing in Portland for a few days as oppose to this monthly subscription and then cancel bit, I think it would be able to better distinguish itself as a rental company and it would be much more convenient for customers like myself who may only need it for 1 or 2 days out of my 4-5 day trip. 2. I've seen some people complain about surprise charges, and after reviewing the terms of agreement and the rules, It's very easy to see why people got charged when they didn't expect it. So I advise everyone read the terms of agreement VERY CLOSELY. Lastly, I don't know what it is but a couple of these reviews have something in common that I feel is an easy fix. The guy at the front desk (didn't have a name badge or anything just "front desk attendant") could try to be helpful without sounding annoyed at every little question. Seriously, I don't know if it's just terrible to work with Zipcar or if this guy hates his job, but when we walked in we got some pretty piss-poor customer service: annoyed at every question, no smiling or professionalism, and just tapping away at his computer until the next person comes in that he can be annoyed at. "Front desk attendant," its not personal, but you need to take a lesson in customer service 101. I've worked customer service and retail and it's key to retaining customers and helping build your brand. Surprise! People that are using Zipcar are probably renting for the first time and probably have questions about how it works. Not everyone who comes in is knowledgeable in car rental so maybe instead of being abrasive and unapproachable, you could give being helpful and personable a try. As I said before, the service is a great alternative to regular car rental services in different scenarios, but the actual customer service could use some help and may explain some of these other reviewer's confusion and surprise at hidden charges and unhelpful employees. read more

Renting a Zipcar while visiting Portland is the way to go. Forget renting a car at the airport and paying $30-35 daily parking fees at the hotels. We only needed a car to go outside of Portland and for late night outings. Although you have to pay a $50 annual membership fee, the hourly rate (which starts at about $7 depending on what kind of car) is very reasonable. There are many Zipcar locations throughout downtown Portland that you should be able to find one nearby. While we stayed at Paramount Hotel, we visited two different pickup locations. One time, we rented a VW Golf and another time, we had a Subaru Outback. Both were fairly clean inside and it was easy to lock/unlock the car (either via your membership card or iPhone app). Using the gas card for fill up was convenient as well. read more

Zipcar used to be a phenomenally fantastic service. Now, not so much. With low rates, a fleet of comfortable cool cars, and great city wide coverage, when Zip first came to Portland it had a lot of great things to bring to casual drivers and a lot more potential. Now, perhaps in relation to Zip's not so recent merge/ buyout by Avis, the service has declined greatly. It's a struggle to obtain service from a person, and certainly a person that can tell you or do anything more than the automated service can. In addition, while Zipcar has added the cargo van, it charges premium rates for this vehicle as well as slipped in its own premium charges with over mileage fees; this in addition to having lower mileage range than the standard daily/ hourly Zipcar rental mentioned in your member agreement. With Zip's expanded member base, they've also seen fit to provide little amplification of their current fleet, and to this extent have included should we say.. less than fun, less than rad vehicles that you'd be better off paying for at a car rental lot? I think so. Long story short, Zip lacks the convenience of Car2Go while still charging the same rates and more. They've slipped in a few rules under the radar that may charge you significantly more than the sticker price, and perhaps I should also mention their mobile app is full of glitches. I personally would not vouch for this service in its current state. If you really need the convenience of wheels with minimal cost/ hassles, I'd recommend Car2Go. read more

Looks like everybody loves zipcar, so there's not much use in writing a review, except to satiate my desire to sing its praises. I feel like I'm living in the future sometimes when I use it. I was on the bus a couple weeks ago on the way to an appointment and missed my stop and went over the bridge on accident (oops!) and would've been at least a half hour late, but then I realized I could call zipcar while on the bus, find the closest zipcar as the bus was cruizing downtown, reserve it and get directions and show up early. Really? I love those moments when I realize I'd really like to have a car right now, within a couple blocks, and I do. It's awesome. See something at a garage sale you can't live without and can't carry? Partner calls you at six am with a flat bike tire? You and three friends need to get across town right now? Realize you left the stove on? And you get to drive all kinds of different cars. You need a truck? Sporty little subaru? I really didn't realize how much easier a lot of problems would suddenly be if I had a car within walking distance anywhere in the city. A clean, reasonably priced car, with gas in the tank and instructions in the glove compartment. I have a crush on zipcar. read more

I've been a member for just a few weeks but I've used the service quite a bit in those weeks and love it! I live within 30 seconds of several Zipcars and almost always have a car at my disposal now. The cars are always clean and even have auxillary jacks for iphone. If nobody has booked the block of time before your reservation you can take the car 14 minutes before your reservation starts.. basically 1h14m for about 10 bucks.. a seriously great deal. Very pleased with Zipcar so far! read more

I've rented through zip car 2 more times since my first initial (bad) experience, and both have been great. They were very smooth rentals, both getting in and dropping off, no hassles. Clean, convenient, and a good deal. You need to be very aware of 2 things before renting though: you must drop off in the same location as pick-up and DON'T be late ($50 late return fee). Other than that, it's a great way to get around. read more

I've been trying for several days to set up a zip car account. It refuses to accept my drivers license number. After calling twice and holding for at least 30 minutes each time- I finally got someone on the line. I explained my situation. The customer service representative promptly hung up on me. So, I won't be using this service ever! read more

Set up my husband under my account but not only were we charged $25 entry fee but monthly fee also went up. I called to ask for refund as maybe he would join next year as he's not in Portland much (and no point paying now each month). They refused refund. Said We'd have to pay $25 again if he signed up next year. Asked to request for refund but customer service person REALLY rude and fairly certain he didn't send request as he said he would likely because I asked for his name. When I asked for his name a second time he hung up. Think it was Edward Hernandez. Unbelievably bad customer service. No way to contact via chat or email. I've used them twice and they are on expensive side. Had issues with first rental as gas card doesn't work. I'm going to explore Car2Go read more

I've been renting cars a few times a month to get groceries and stuff for my apartment and there's nothing negative I can say about the experience so far. For errands, the hourly rates end up making much more sense than going by the day elsewhere and there's no surprise $20 (or so) charge on the bill that I've seen in at least a few places. The only caveat is that their cars do rent quickly at some locations. I'm not the type to book as early as I probably should, and if you know you want a car at a set time a day in advance, it might be a good idea to reserve it instead of hoping it'll be there an hour before you're trying to get somewhere. read more

The car and the customer service received were outstanding.