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Car Sharing Service (GO-Autoshare)

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Now that we are having a baby we will need a car occasionally. Rather than buying a car that will be used only a couple of times a week I'm thinking of using one of these services. Anybody have any advice on the two different companies and how they work? I'm leaning to Zipcar only because they have two cars litterally 50 feet from my condo. Thanks in advance.
 
I'll probably end up buying another car soon anyways. I've tried the no-car thing the last 5 months and quite frankly it sucks.
 
Ed,

I've used Zip car for two years in Boston (I spent my time in T.O and Boston).

I was referred to Zip Car by friends who used it and swore by it. I could never really understand the appeal before I started using it. By the 3-4th time using it, I now swear by it, and I am convinced that it will take off in Toronto as it has taken off in Boston. They don't have a lot of locations now, but given time the locations spread like crazy (there are zip car locations every where in Boston).

The biggest advantages to this paradigm of renting is:

-It is a very easy transaction. When you traditionally rent a car (ie. budget, avis,etc), there is alot of paper work, insurance, gas, etc. For Zipcar, it comes with a debit card for gas. All you have to do is pay the hourly. Once you are a member, booking online is very simple.

-The locations of traditional car rentals are usually not very convenient.

-Last minute rentals. You can literally rent a car on a whim, with minutes of needing it, as long as it is available.

-You can reserve a car literally for an hour.Total cost would be only about $10.

-Also, I believe the membership is transferable to other cities. So if you were say in New York and needed a rental car, you can use your Zipcar membership there too.

One of the disadvantages is that when someone has the car booked the hour before you, sometimes they come back late. There are heavy penalties for being late, but sometimes it is not enough incentive.

I can't speak on behalf of autoshare since I never used it, but it seems like a lot of there locations are in garages of condominiums for exclusive use of the condo owners.
 
I was looking on Zipcar.com. They say for a rental of up to 24 hours, you get 150km. If the car isn't checked by anyone on each return, how do they know how far you've driven it?
 
Ontarian1976,

It's all GPS. They can even unlock the door to if you lock yourself out.
 
Little off topic, but Zipcar has expanded to London, England.

Cool that with your membership you can book a car online in either Canada, US or England..



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Newsflash: Zipsters Can Now Drive on BOTH Sides of the Road 12/12/06

Those Brits blessed us with The Office, Gordon Ramsey, Monty Python, Little Britain and 007. So it just wouldn't be American if we didn't at least try and return the favor. It is with this newsletter that we announce Zipcar's splash into London! Actually, the whole venture was entirely unintentional. One of our little Zipcar MINIs got homesick, hopped on a freightliner destined for London, met another MINI with a matching tailpipe and it was love at first sight. Next thing you know they were popping out mini MINIs and BAM, there you have it. Zipcar in London...
 
Zipcar had a shopping night at Roots on Bloor this past Tuesday for members. 30% off everything.
 
We just joined Zipcar... and love it so far.

Super easy to use, and they've expanded a lot here since the spring - we have a bunch of cars a 10 minute walk away from us in the east end...

You can see a map of their locations here at their website.
 
They've got two at Yorkdale!

That's where there should be more car sharing services - at the end of subway lines for quick country or suburban jaunts. I see a few locations around the north end of the Yonge line as well.
 
I had zipcar in NYC, which I previously mentioned, got fed up and bought a Mini Cooper. I did buy the mini because I had zipcared one and I liked it, but Zipcar really when it gets a large following is only good for when you need it for a couple of hours. I found its not a good car replacement option though because when you need it for longer, ie. the weekend, saturday, etc. etc. (in NYC where it is very popular) people book way in advance for the weekends, and getting a car for the weekend with only a month notice, it will either be impossible to rent, or not practical to travel an hour or two each way to get to an available car. People booked in advance when they know they have an every saturday committment, months in advance for months at a time, a block of 2-3 hours every saturday.

And when I actually did rent a zipcar, it wasn't within the 10 locations within a 5 block radius of me, I always had to travel 50 streets and a couple of avenues to get to it.
 
I'm at Front and Church and I've never had a problem. There's 6 or 7 lots close by. Of course, I was one of the early members. As it gains popularity it might be harder to get a car as easy as it has been. Speaking of which thanks for reminding me to book it for Christmas day today.
 
I had zipcar in NYC, which I previously mentioned, got fed up and bought a Mini Cooper. I did buy the mini because I had zipcared one and I liked it, but Zipcar really when it gets a large following is only good for when you need it for a couple of hours. I found its not a good car replacement option though because when you need it for longer, ie. the weekend, saturday, etc. etc. (in NYC where it is very popular) people book way in advance for the weekends, and getting a car for the weekend with only a month notice, it will either be impossible to rent, or not practical to travel an hour or two each way to get to an available car. People booked in advance when they know they have an every saturday committment, months in advance for months at a time, a block of 2-3 hours every saturday.
Click to expand...

Roch, Perhaps it is just a NY thing?

I mentioned this in a post before, but I have been doing zipcar in Boston for over 2 years, and in Toronto since it started and I've never had that problem. Zipcar usage in Boston is a lot heavier than in Toronto.

My primary usage of Zipcar is for day rentals and for 2-4 hour periods. i can get a day rental almost all the time with only 3-4 days in advance booking in both cities to locations that are within a five minute radius. And many times you don't even need the 3-4 days.

I use my same membership that I registered once in Boston, for both Toronto and Boston, which I find tremendously convenient.

I only wish that they didn't put a big Z on the side of the door.

The other inconvenient thing is that for ZIPCAR in the U.S. you get 150 free miles, but in Canada you only get like 125 free KM.
 
Probably is.
Zipcar in Manhattan would make sence when car rentals in Manhattan hover min $110 a day, pre-insurance and gas. Too many times I found myself renting at Hertz because of lack of availability. Nearing the end of my membership, the cars were becoming noticably more dirty (one instance I had tons of sand everywhere) and with more garbage (candy wrappers). And my gas cards were not working.

On the flip side, paying for gas and then faxing in the receipt, responses and credits from them were fast and hassle free.
 
I love Autoshare, in part because they park at my house and also because they are home grown. however, they really need to incorporate a dashboard swipe card system to replace the paperwork. Trying to complete my trip log with a frozen Bic pin gets old. I like the competition of the Zip car, but I hope both can thrive. Autosharing is such a great idea that has taken so long to mature in NA, in large part because of the conservatism of the insurance industry.
 
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