Zipcar Reviews 

Zipcar charges a $25 application fee (plus applicable state tax) but does not provide adequate disclosure of the reasons for denial, does not always provide the reasons it has denied an application and then pockets the fee without giving a reason. This is unfair and deceptive practices and should be prohibited from operating in this way by each state that regulates (an collects fees) from their business.

1. There wasn't that many available cars than I expected a few days before the trip
2. Big hole in carpet/interior parts broken
3. Car shook when accelerating and breaking
4. Tires all needed air
5. Horn didn't work (almost got hit by a car and couldn't even alert that they were bout to hit me)
6. It was $500 for 2 full days...

Ultimately I could have rented a car for the same amount of time and money, but had a super reliable car that worked and didn't need maintenance. I canceled my account and I tried to get a partial refund...they gave me $14 for the 3 hours I didn't use it when I returned it early....

Really disappointed.

Ten times better than all the other ride share apps. Just gotta learn the ropes and be positive.

Booked van. Parked my car 1st in bay that costs £5 per hour in Clapham. Walked short distance to van , no van. Call Zipcar. Given new postcode van had been moved. Walked to new location, no van. Called Zipcar given a brand new postcode told it was short distance away. Walked for 10 minutes, found Van exactly half hour after my booking time which they ever so kindly added back on. Dropped van back 2hrs later from where I picked it up and locked via the app. 10 mins later got a phone call from Zipcar asking me where their van was, it's late ! Told me I should have called them to let them know where I dropped it off! You can't make this stuff up! Person who called me was rude and unapologetic for all the morning hassle they caused me. Had to put more money on bay where my car was parked. They had been great before today.

Zipcar is convenient, flexible, and easy to use. I’ve been using Zipcar for over four years now. Since we only have one vehicle, the ease of reserving, picking up, and returning a Zipcar eliminates the hassle of dealing with traditional rental car companies. Recently, I had to take my brother, who has a broken foot, to two back to back doctor appointments. Renting a small SUV was incredibly easy and made the process of getting him to his appointments so much smoother. Thank you, Zipcar, for making the experience seamless and stress free!

Zipcar is a convenient and reliable service, much more so than rental car agencies. Their support works! I ran into an issue and got an agent on the phone who solved it. I love it and recommend it!

They moved my reservation 2 times on the morning of the reservation. When I finally got to the 2nd location the car was not there but had been parked on the street 4 blocks away by the prior user. The car had substantial exterior damage. This happens more often than not and the only compensation the company would offer was 2 hours of driving credit. Looking for other options for the future.

For around 2 years I was using zipcar in london, very good costumer services very polite to be honest the most of them was greek and that it was for me positive because I was in greece for 16 years. I was very careful trying to send them photos all the time for the condition of the vehicle, calling them if something change or traffic or smells from the car. But couple of weeks ago the zipcar suspend my account with no reasons. I send them many emails asking them why? What I done wrong what's happen? The only answer they give to me was THE DECISION WAS BEEN MADE. WE ARE SORRY. guys why? You just are dropping off your costumers? Why? And my neighbor told me the same they suspend his account with no reason. I hope zipcar to have good drivers like me. Because many of vars or vans was crashed scratches from drivers who don't have even license driving.

I recently rented a ZIP car in Manhattan. The car arrived with the usual dents and scratches, and a mediocre interior with stains—par for the course with ZIP car. However, this time, there was a terrible stench inside the car. ZIP car requires a 10-minute inspection before renting, involving photos and comments on the vehicle’s condition. One would think this app-based technology tracks these comments in real-time, but it turns out it doesn’t. The 10-minute exercise is purely in vain.

I reported the awful stench immediately upon renting and returning the car. Was there any follow-up from ZIP car? Of course not. Did they apologize or try to correct the experience? Absolutely not.

I then contacted ZIP to complain. The lady on the chat portal acknowledged my feedback but said nothing could be done unless I called to complain. I explained that this was an unreasonable burden on the customer and would fail any legal fairness standard test. She placated me but refused to take any action. When I asked her to escalate the matter or provide someone more reasonable, she refused. She did acknowledge that she would correct it for ZIP car in the future and make a comment about the vehicle, but for the customer who had to endure the terrible stench for two hours, tough luck!

What kind of company puts itself first and the customer last?

Really awful experience. I have used Zipcar several times however recently I rented a van for a day to move house. After I moved I was charged an extra 160£ for PNC fines. The fines were for entering restricted residential areas (which I was moving out of and into). When I received the fines I contacted the council to explain this. However, as Zipcar had paid the fine without telling me (taken the money from my account) there was no way the could be contested. The council were very apologetic and stated I should have been made aware of the fines before they were paid. When I contacted Zipcar about this they took 25 days to get back to me and simply said I should have notified them before the trip. This is not what it states on their own website. In fact it explicitly says that you will be give the opportunity to contest fine. They have been so so so unhelpful and are now just ignoring my emails. They are scammers please use a legitimate van hire.

I've used this service now 4 times and I've had a HORRIBLE experience 3/4 times. The first reservation, I showed up and the car wouldn't unlock. I had to call support and it turns out the car's battery was dead. They offered to find me another vehicle but I decided not to so they gave me a $10 credit. I tried a second time and didn't have any issues.

During the third trip the car I was driving had an expired plate so I received a ticket while it was parked and I had to dispute the ticket with Zipcar despite the fact they are responsible for ensuring the vehicle owner is up to date on documentation. They gave me a $35 credit as an apology so I decided to give them one more try. My last reservation was scheduled for today, they had an issue with the vehicle and it was no longer available. The app said they were working to find me a replacement. My reservation time came and went and they never found me a replacement, processed a refund, or contacted me again to let me know there were no other vehicles available. I had to contact customer service and request a refund be provided. Disappointed with the service, app interface, customer service and overall experience.

Zipcar can keep all their credits because I'll never use them again.

Amazing! What a wonderful way to rent a car last minute and everything is very clean and easy to jump in and go!

This company steals your money I would not suggest it they double charged my card then charged me for mileage even though it says unlimited mileage this company is nothing but a scam

They get my 10 pounds first and then didn't accept my 12 years old driving license that I can able to rent cars in the EU and USA. Which is very weird for me. Then after I wanted to delete my account they didn't give me my 10pounds.

I tried to apply for a membership but they said my email address wasn’t registered in my name, but it was, so they cancelled my application just so they could keep my £10 application fee. Very annoyed, won’t be trying again, awful company.

I’ve used Zipcar for about 7 years and it’s honestly not as convenient as you’d think. It could be the area that I live in, which isn’t bad or unsafe. Or it could be that Zipcar just doesn’t care to maintain the cars like they used to when they were trying to gain memberships but it’s… less than convenient. I’ve rented cars multiple times only to get to it and the car 1. Wasn’t there 2. Covered in pet hair (how do they know I don’t have pet allergies or I’m picking someone up with it - which is normally the case) 3. Didn’t have the sufficient amount of gas that they require to be in the car at the end of the trip or 4. The app is not allowing the pre-driving checks and now I’ve wasted time I’ve paid for to do something that someone maintaining the cars should be doing. And maintenance is my biggest BIGGEST issue with Zipcar. The cars used to be kept up regularly and now it does not seem like they care. And considering that either the membership itself has gone up and the cars per hours have gone up (they also change the price for the weekend and when holidays are approaching which makes the car $1.50+ more expensive an hour. For what ?!?! Again, Zipcar was advertised as being convenient but I’m not “zipping” anywhere with the amount of stuff I have to do or call the company about because it’s not right. Last time I called, I started the conversation with “I’m driving the car now and this is the issue.” Her response was “read your ID number or tell me your account number”…. I JUST SAID I WAS DRIVING! That sounds pretty freakin unsafe. I don’t like talking for no reason. When I do speak, I am very particular about what it is I need. And to constantly ask me questions that are answered or request something that I clearly told you I’m not capable of doing makes me feel like there isn’t a customer service mindset. It’s more of a “get you off my line so I can deal with the next person” type of mindset. And considering the amount of money I’ve spent with them over the years, I’m quite freakin over it if I’m being honest.
They also charged my sister TWICE for an application fee when she didn’t even finish the application. And then told her it would be back on her card in 2-3 business days. So she has to wait for her account to get out of the negative when they shouldn’t have taken the money anyway ?!? She said it sounds like a scam and she’d never use them. Did I try to talk her out of it?? NO! Because I’ve debated on deleted my account plenty of times and above are just a FEW of the reasons why.

Honestly the worst hire car company ever! The IDEA of zip is brilliant - the concept is brilliant: being able to access cars to get you around London is wonderful idea! But the company itself is a shambles! The customer service and lack of diligence as a company is diabolical! The cars are not vetted or looked after correctly. I hired a car for a corporate trip outside of london for 3 days. I picked up the car at night as we were driving from London to Wales, the following morning after I had arrived at my destination, I was in absolute disbelief at the state of the car! I had noticed the dent in the side of the car when I picked it up and sent a photo to Zip, but I had not been able to see the extent of the damage to the front of the car due to how and where I picked the zip car up from! The parking bay was right next to a wall in a block of flats, I had to climb in the passenger seat to access the drivers seat as I could not open the drivers door!!! The car was missing a fog light, the entire front bumper was hanging off, the plastic alloy around the wheel was also hanging off and a large piece of metal was sticking out of the side of the car wheel! If someone had walked past that heel they would have seriously cut themselves and I would have been liable as the driver! I knew I did not cause the damage to the car so I looked in the log book, and to my dismay the damages had been reported from the end of May 2024 up until the week before I hired the car which was at the end of August! The car was not fit to drive and should not have been on the road! It could have caused serious injury to me or someone else! Furthermore upon leaving our destination 2 days later, the car had a fault with the stop start button and Zip had to call the RAC to help fix it! Adding a 3 hour delay to our drive home back to London! Even the mechanic was in shock at the state of the car and stated we should not pay for driving in such a death trap! I am just happy I was able to get us home safely. It’s an absolute disgrace that a car hire company would leave their cars to get in such bad conditions. Someone else needs to buy Zip Car, rebrand and upgrade it as how it operates at the moment is absurd! It’s disgusting and Zip Car should be ashamed of themselves for putting their customers as such high risk! No one has called me back - I requested a call back from a manager and I just keep getting told to wait for a response which may take 24-48 hours but it could take london! Zip Car are not a serious company and something needs to change!

Tried to charge me for dog hair that I reported. After multiple bad customer experiences, broken cars, this has been the final nail in the coffin. Better to spend the money and go with an actual rental car agency.

HORRIBLE, PLEASE DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY OF YOUR MONEY!!!!! I have a thousand stories to tell about how horrible they are, and whatever happens, customer service WILL NOT HELP. They make you wait for days and days. It’s a bunch of rude foreigners over the phone that do NOTHING TO HELP AND CAN BARELY TALK

This is a company of thieves. They charged me £75 for an alleged parking violation and despite multiple calls and emails they have yet to provide me a copy of the alleged PCN. The customer services department is unable to provide a number for the department which took the money or provide redress, nor are they willing to put me through to a manager