RSS FeedFlexcar for a Weekend
Most residents are familiar with our car sharing options of Flexcar & Zipcar, many of you probably use them as your only auto just like my girlfriend & I do. But when you have to have a car for several days, or even a week, do you still use a car sharing service or do you take a regular rental?
We almost exclusively use the car sharing services for longer term rentals as well, even though the initial costs are higher than a regular car rental. We’ve kept shared cars for as many as 10 days, and while expensive, the overall cost and convenience has made it our preferred course of action.
Two of the best arguments in favor of using the car sharing are the convenient locations (not having to go to the airport or train station to pick up & return), and the fact that you know exactly what the car will cost you up front. For the second point I don’t mean airport taxes & other added fees (although those are high for regular rentals), but costs like gas and insurance.
When using a regular rental, those of us with no car have no other option but to buy the additional insurance for regular car rentals. Yes, most credit cards offer some form of a collision damage waiver, but often those cap the total replacement car costs at a fairly low amount ($25,000 or so) and you still need liability, and maybe uninsured driver protections. Those fees plus the cost of gas can really run up the cost of a regular car rental.
With Flex/Zip car, insurance and gas are included. And you typically do not pay for evening hours, in fact many of the cars only have you paying for 5 to 10 hours per 24 hour period.
Of course with a car sharing service you have to plan well in advance to find a car available for longer term rental, so this is not for a spur of the moment trip.
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Comments
No limit on gas that I know of, but some cars or plans do have mileage limits.
In my long trips I’m usually incuring long distance driving on the first & last day (driving to the beach for instance) but then limited driving while at my actual destination. I’m not suggesting car sharing for a cross country trip, more like a week at the beach of an out of town wedding.
you make an interesting argument and in theory I agree about the convenience over standard rentals for long-term use but I think you aren’t being considerate enough of other car sharing customers. zipcar/flexcar should try to stay as close to a short-term model as possible. In fact I wish they would implement some rules where certain cars are set aside solely for short-term rental. I get a little annoyed when cars are inexplicably booked for days. its one thing to have a car booked for a long 3 day weekend. But one of the zipcar spots near my house had 2 cars booked solid for days on end. One was for 4 and half days and the other was for a full 9 days. this can become problematic when you need a specific model car with the right cargo space, etc. to get over to home depot or wherever.
Shelley: I can see your point, of course I’m sure Flex/Zip prefer to have the cars booked constantly from a financial standpoint. And of course the more fun cars to drive (mini’s, convertibles) and the more useful cars (Elements) are going to be rented more often. I’ve had to go outside of the neighborhood several times to get a car. Still I don’t consider longer term rentals to be inconsiderate of my neighbors.
I like the idea of designating some cars for short term only rental though.
Flexcar does limit you to a 3 day rental period, but they allow you to do back-to-back rentals so you can extend it past that period by making several reservations for the same car.
When I looked into the insurance issues, I came away with the impression that the Zip Cars only gave you the State’s (or District’s) minimum liability coverage, which is the same that rental car agency’s are required to provide (though car rental agencies don’t advertise this). This ends up being around 25K per person injured which doesn’t seem like a lot. If others had insight it would be appreciated; rental agencies are not clear about this and I’m loathe to give them any more $ than necessary.
I tried Flexcar/Zipcar for a while but the cars were never available when I wanted them and my job does not allow me much room to plan in advance. I now keep a car in PQ and while the $220 monthly parking fee is expensive, the convenience is well worth it. Flexcar/Zipcar are a great idea, but I didn’t find them very practical in my situation.
Note too that you don’t need to go all the way to Union Station or an airport to get a traditional car rental. There is an Enterprise in the convention center and another car rental place in Blageden Alley (Rent A Wreck?). So they too can be pretty convenient to GP.
ml; excellent point, although typically you cannot get the super cheap rates when picking up a car at one of those locations. The cheapest rates (in my experience)apply only to the airport/train station locations.
the best way to get a car is to quote a price on priceline for about a $10 or $12 rental. it usually works… zipcar seems to be a fad. cabs/bus/metro works well too 
the ‘city’ model of living has been around for a long time in europe. check it out.
And carsharing is now prevalent throughout Europe. I don’t know how someone can just declare that it’s a “fad” here. Just because you don’t use something doesn’t make it a fad.
Yeah, it must be a fad…like that internet thing with all the tubes.
Zipcar is fantastic and I ‘ll recommend it to everyone. It’s great having a car for the occasional errand without having the hassle of gas, parking, and insurance.
I love flex car. You can’t beat it. Last month they ran a special to commit to 3 hours per month for $9.99 (includes gas, insurance, etc). Can’t imangine this being fad, as it is practical. Most fads are not practical. This is the future.
Zipcar is a lifesaver — and money saver. Since getting rid of my car 3 years ago, I maybe spend 1/5 of that in Zip rentals, and the rest goes to pay off my condo faster. No parking hassles. No insurance issues. And I have never not been able to get a car within a few blocks.
I truly like the idea of Zip/Flexcar. But I do agree with Shelley that there should be a cap on it or the company needs to offer more vehicles.
As for rental agencies, I used to work at one, and just make sure your credit card has coverage (typically they do but CC companies love to screw you more than rental car companies, so double check). And to get the insurance, you can get insurance through a standard insurance company with no car attached. It’s a little tricky and some aren’t willing to do it, but it’s called a suspended policy (at least at All-State). You are still covered as an insured driver and the cost is only about $40 a year. Thus no need to buy the rental agencies’ coverage, which is a pure money making scheme for them.
Another rental tip, buy the prepaid gas tank. This way you can return it nearly empty and not have to fret with finding a gas station when you are already running behind schedule and even if you return the tank “full”, the rental agency always can fit at least one-two gallons in at $5+ a gallon to charge you.
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Is there a limit on how much free gas zipcar or flexcar will give you? If so, traditional rentals might be more useful for long-distance trips.