Zipcar

I spent the first several months of my life hating New York City. If there was a word stronger than hate I would use it. It was like a deep, white hot burning in my soul. I would regularly find myself bursting into tears in the middle of an outing (this is not a joke, many tears were shed waiting for the 1 line when I was late for church).

A friend of mine got a Zipcar membership and would mention in passing that she would use it on her weekly trip to the grocery store. The reason I had dismissed Zipcar initially was because I already felt like I was hemorrhaging money just existing in the City. Anyway, I didn't see my husband letting me splurge on something so frivilous as a car sharing membership. That all changed after he had to endure so many outbursts at my hate for public transportation. When I finally looked into Zipcar, this is what I discovered:

You can have either an Occasional Driving Plan (OCP) where you pay an application fee (which is waived in many cases by being a student or associated with a certain group) and then a yearly fee or an Extra Value Plan (EVP) where you still pay an application fee, but then also pay a flat monthly rate and get a set amount of hours. If you drive a lot than this makes sense because overall you pay less per each hour used. The EVP plan, however, requires you spend a minimum of $50 a month and I never drive that much for the errands I run. With an OCP you just reserve the car as you need it and pay by hour, with the lowest cars now coming in at $8/hour. They have Civics up to BMW, pick-up trucks and minivans. With the exception of the $8/hour cars, you can rent a car for up to 7 hours and pay the hourly rate, or just rent for the full 24 hrs and pay the daily rate ($77/day).

Zipcars also include gas and insurance. The insurance deductible is $500 if you get in an accident, but you can also include a nominal yearly or monthly fee to have that deductible waived. The rule is if you have the car and the gas dips below a 1/4 tank you have to fill it up. A gas card is included in the car. You also get an extra driving credit if you wash the car or have the oil changed while you have it and these costs are reimbursed. You might wonder why you would ever take time out to have the car washed, but there was one time when I rented the car for 48 hours because I had many errands to run in preparation for the birth of my baby and I actually found myself with time to wash the car.

For the most part the cars are parked in garages all over the city, with the occasional row of Zipcars parked in dedicated spots along a city street. Instead of needing a key to get in, you flash your Zipcard at the front window where a little gizmo is located and the car opens up. The key is inside the car which you use to drive, but they advise you to leave it in the car at all times and use your Zipcard to lock and unlock the doors.

Not only do I use my Zipcar to take me and a friend to the grocery store, but I also take it to New Jersey every other month to stock up on staples. I also discovered that it is a heck of a lot cheaper to pick up/drop a friend or family member from JFK by renting a Zipcar than it is to pay for a car service. A car or cab to or from JFK usually runs about $60, and I can get to the airport and back in about 2 hours (more on the airport in a different post). I'd rather rent a car for $8 or $11 and hour and enjoy driving at my own control than pay someone to do it for me.

If you ever find yourself unable to return the car at your designated time, you can call the 1-887# and extend your reservation by 30 mins. This only works if the car has not previously been reserved by someone else, but I have extended my reservation many times and have only had one experience where it has been previously reserved. Also, you can show up to pick up your car up to 15 mins early without an extra charge. Those extra 15 mins make a HUGE difference if you only have it for 90 mins to get to the grocery store and back. Obviously you can only get the car if it is there, so be prepared to wait if the car is being used by someone else. Again, very rare but it has happened to me once.

Lastly, Zipcars come with EZPasses which are boxes usually stuck on the windshield that allow you to pass through the toll without using cash. These charges show up on your bill about 2-4 weeks later. My husband and I once drove to DC and back and were concerned that our EZPass wouldn't work in other states besides NY and NJ but it worked the entire way.

Zipcars are really a wonderful way to improve your life in the City. Used wisely and shared appropriately they give you most of the freedom of a car and none of the hassle of insurance, gas or a car payment.

2 side notes.

One, people ask me frequently if I own a car in the city. Instead of dedicating a whole post to this I will just say that if you have a large family, travel a lot, or plan to stay in NYC long term getting a car might be something you may consider. Keep in mind that unless you have a car that you don't mind getting dinged or weather damaged you will need to pay for a garage space that may or not be located on your block. These spaces run anywhere from $250/month and way, way up. Also, if you choose to park on the street you will have a lot of competition. Tickets are given out all the time and the streets are cleaned twice a week so you usually have to move your car twice every week even if you're not going anywhere, and you have to actually remember to do this. If you have an old clunker that you don't mind moving than it might be worth it for you, but I can usually get everything I need with a Zipcar.

Two, there are now other car sharing companies out there. I don't know much about them except that they aren't as widespread as Zipcar in that their cars are located in fewer places. Also, Mint cars will lock up on you if taken out of state and Hertz has less than five locations in the city.