German Car Forum

Well, summer is here and I want to go places but can't go anywhere without asking someone for their car. I don't like doing that and I don't own a car since I live in the city.
So I've been thinking of getting one of these Zipcars I keep seeing on the streets. Cool idea if you ask me. You don't have to buy a car or insurance. You just register with them and once you're approved, you get a Zipcard so you can open any Zipcar you reserve.

So, anyone got a membership there? How long did it take untill they sent you the Zipcard?
Also, how does it work? Are these cars parked on the street or in parking garage? I'm just too tired to go through their FAQ's right now to find out more.

More about Zipcars: http://www.zipcar.com

You know, I participated in a very similar program back in Germany. It was nice because I didn't have a car and, for the most part, didn't need one except on certain occasions.

In the end, I was very relieved to have enrolled in the program. There were certain occasions where I needed a car, and I needed it now. On the other hand, things got expensive pretty quick when time and milage racked up, and oftentimes a car wouldn't be available when I needed it most.

At the end of the day, the program was equal amounts of give and take. There were times I was delighted to have access to all the vehicles, and there were other times when I'd get a huge bill and wonder what I was thinking. I guess, all in all, it's a good thing when you really need a car, and isn't such a good thing for recreational use.

I heard about this concept a couple of years ago. This is a genious plan because it really is a fun thing. However, I do think that these companies will be phased out or just go out of business once the market for it ends.

There's also the fact that the more the plan goes into use, the less appealing the cars become. Some of the cars that were heavily used in the car share program I participated in were kinda funky with baby seats and cigarette burns. It was nice when the brand new Smart or Yaris was available, but less nice when I had to settle for a Ford Mondeo Kombi.