If you’re like me and don’t own a car, but often walk around campus or busy residential areas, you’ve probably seen signs with the Zipcar logo and a few cars parked nearby with the Z logo on the doors—usually 2 to 4 of them. You may have wondered what this magical Z is all about. Today I’m going to introduce Zipcar, this very convenient car-sharing program.

A Quick Plug Before We Start

If you sign up for a Zipcar membership through my refer link now, you can get $25 off your next car rental!

Refer link: Thanks for using it — enjoy $25 off your rental

What Is Zipcar?

Let’s start with a short introduction from Zipcar’s official website.

Zipcar is an American car-sharing company and a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group. Zipcar provides automobile reservations to its members, billable by the minute, hour or day; members may have to pay a monthly or annual membership fee in addition to car reservations charges.

Although it says billing can be by the minute, in practice each reservation has a minimum of 1 hour, and if you want to add more time, you generally have to extend in increments of at least half an hour.

Let’s talk about what makes Zipcar great. It’s extremely convenient for people living near a Zipcar location who don’t own a car. For everyday grocery runs or weekend outings nearby, you don’t need to rent a car for a full day. Traditional rental car companies also charge an extra younger fee for drivers under 25, and rates of around $15 - 25 per day can still feel like a bad deal. That’s where Zipcar becomes really useful. In general, if you’re just going to the grocery store to buy heavy items, 1 or 2 hours for around $20 is usually enough. If you’re going out for the whole day, it can still be a good deal. Zipcar has an hourly cap, so if your rental goes over 8 or 9 hours in a day, then within the 24-hour period starting from your reservation time, you’ll only be charged for those 8 or 9 hours. The extra “free” time is yours to use as you like.

Joining Zipcar

If you sign up for a Zipcar membership through my refer link now, you can get $25 off your next car rental!

Refer link: Thanks for using it — enjoy $25 off your rental

First, since Zipcar is membership-based, it charges a membership fee. There are 3 types of memberships: occasional driving plan, monthly plan, and extra value plan. Here is the official description:

Zipcar has several membership options to fit your needs. Our standard plans are the Occasional Driving Plan for the committed and the Monthly Plan for the commitment-averse.

If you know you will be driving a lot we also have the Extra Value Plan where you pay a monthly fee  and in return get that amount back in driving credit and receive discounted driving rates. In some metros, there will be additional local offers.


Generally speaking, most of my friends around me choose the occasional driving plan; the other two plans usually aren’t worth it.

Normally, joining Zipcar costs $50 per year or $7 per month, plus a one-time $25 application fee. If you’re a student, the annual fee is only $25 and the application fee is waived. If you have a company, you can also join through your organization, which allows Zipcar use from 7 AM to 7 PM on weekdays starting at $42.

Zipcar for Business: Zipcar also has a business-to-business product that offers organizations discounted hourly and daily rates; Monday through Friday and has special “7-to-7” rates that allow businesses to drive Zipcars from 7 AM to 7 PM, Monday through Friday, from only $42, with gas, parking, and insurance included.

After you submit your information and application, Zipcar will verify your driver’s license information and driving record. Once approved, it will mail your membership card via USPS. In general, it takes 5-7 business days for the card to arrive. After you receive it, you can activate it and start booking Zipcars.

How to Use Zipcar

How to Book Before Your Trip

You can book a Zipcar by calling 1 (866) 494-7227, through the Zipcar website, or in the Zipcar app.

In general, booking on your phone is the most convenient. Here’s an example of how to book in the Zipcar app.

1. Open the Zipcar app and enter the location, start time, and end time for your reservation. You can also choose the type of car you want, such as a sedan, SUV, vans, and so on. Then click the search button.

2.   You’ll then see available cars near the location you searched. By default, it shows map mode first, which makes it easier to see where everything is.

3. Or you can tap List in the upper-right corner to view the results as a list. The screenshot below is a great example: the first location is the closest to the place we searched, but it’s only available for the exact hour we reserved, and the later time slots have already been booked by someone else. That means you need to think carefully about whether you can really return the car on time, because Zipcar charges a $50 late fee if you return it late. Personally, when I rent a car, I usually book an extra half hour or choose a car that is also available for later time slots.

4. Next, choose the car you want and tap into it. Using the first car as an example, once you open it, you can see the time, address, approximate walking time from your searched location to the parking spot, parking instructions (how to access the car), and vehicle information.

5. If everything looks ok, tap next and you’ll see the detailed pricing information. I picked two screenshots here: the car in the first image has a lower rental rate, but the place where it’s parked has an extra MA state convention cneter fee, so the total cost is actually higher than the car that’s parked a little farther away.

6. Finally, click confirm booking.

How to Start Driving

When you go to pick up the car yourself and unlock it, you’ll need your Zipcar membership card. Just hold the Zipcar card up to the sensor near the front windshield, and after a few seconds, the doors will unlock automatically.

After that, it’s just the normal driving process: insert the key to start the car, or use the push-button start if the car has one.

Here’s a small tip: if no one has booked the car in the time slot before yours, you can pick it up up to 15 minutes early. It’s basically like Zipcar giving you 15 free minutes.

How to Refuel

Refueling with Zipcar is free. You just need the gas card inside the car—usually stored in the card holder on the driver-side sun visor—and your Zipcar membership card number, and then you can fill up at a gas station. That said, Zipcar does limit your daily mileage to 180 miles, which is usually more than enough for normal outings. If you exceed that limit, Zipcar will charge extra based on the additional miles.

How to Extend Your Time

You can send a text directly to Zipcar at 866-494-7227 to extend your reservation time, as shown below.

Of course, you can also extend the reservation directly in the app, just like when you first booked it. Extensions can be made in half-hour increments, so you don’t need to add a full hour.

How to Return the Car

With Zipcar, you need to return the car to the same place where you picked it up. Before your reservation ends, drive the car back to its parking spot, turn off the engine, then hold your Zipcar card up to the sensor near the front windshield and lock the car.

Zipcar Simple Rules

  • Keep the inside of the car clean and don’t leave a mess. One time when I picked up a car, it was full of popcorn. I immediately called Zipcar, otherwise the cleaning fee could have been charged to me.
  • If you see that the gas tank is running low, please fill it up soon—for your own convenience and for the next driver as well.

Zipcar Insurance

Zipcar offers several insurance tiers.

  • The default standard coverage does not require any extra fee, but you may be charged up to $1,000 per incident.
  • The plus tier costs $5 per month, with a maximum charge of $375 per incident. I personally don’t think it’s very useful, since most incidents are probably minor ones, and $375 doesn’t feel that different from the previous option.
  • The Premium tier costs $9 per month or $79 per year, and there is no charge for any incident.

Support the Author

If you sign up for a Zipcar membership through my refer link now, you can get $25 off your next car rental!

Refer link: Thanks for using it — enjoy $25 off your rental