Zip Car vs. I-Go

Sorry, yet another car thread.

From time to time I need use of a small pickup truck (like today would be really nice) for rehabbing and landscaping needs.

Looks like Zip-car has a pickup at Milwaukee/Western/Armitage, and I-Go at Chicago and Damen, which are roughly equidistant.

My main question-- there are very few of this type of vehicle available from either agency, and it's really the only reason I would sign up-- are the vehicles you want generally available when you need them? Or are there frequent times when everything is checked out?

Also-- Yelp has a few reviews suggesting the I-Go experience has really tanked over the last year-- have people found this?

Thanks.

(And please no obligatory mention of the trucks at Home Depot or Menard's-- you can't use them unless you currently have car insurance.)

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Permalink Reply by Justin B Newman on April 16, 2012 at 3:22am

Depending on your landscaping needs, a Honda Element might be as good, or almost as good, as a pickup. They have a large cargo area, that is designed to be easily cleanable. For moving any bagged material, I wouldn't have any hesitation about using one.

-jbn

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 16, 2012 at 4:32pm

Ouch! Now that's a seriously scary story. Not quite equivalent to I-Go, but it highlights areas where insurance law may not be up to date with the current market. Would any lawyers in the house care to comment on this?

clp said:

Re insurance and car sharing...an interesting article in the NYTimes about a bad, bad situation. Nevertheless you can't fault the motives of those that car share:

...The original reason I signed up is still very much true,” she said. “I don’t drive the car very often and am environmentally minded and want other people to use the car rather than buying cars of their own.” She also has a dog and feels for other dog owners who can’t find dog-friendly rental car companies...

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 16, 2012 at 4:34pm

I have used a Honda Element a few times when I've needed to carry a lot of stuff. The cargo area is quite substantial, and the rear seat folds fully out of the way, making that cargo area fully available for large loads. The wide tailgate helps make this type of usage easy.

Justin B Newman said:

Depending on your landscaping needs, a Honda Element might be as good, or almost as good, as a pickup. They have a large cargo area, that is designed to be easily cleanable. For moving any bagged material, I wouldn't have any hesitation about using one.

-jbn

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Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on April 17, 2012 at 3:50am

I am an iGo member, just in case of emergencies. My first two experiences a few years ago were: first, the location to pick up the car was a block north of where the car actually was and they had to remotely unlock the car, because my card would not work. The second time, my card was replaced but still did not work, they could not open it remotely and I had to walk 6 blocks to get to another car that they could open remotely, causing me to be 20 minutes late for my appointment. I would have switched to Zipcar, but iGo gave me a free membership for my troubles.

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Permalink Reply by Liz on April 17, 2012 at 4:35am

Just remember not to get too locked up with a particular model, some zipcar equivelants to the element are the ford explorers, minivans, honda CRVs, the best part about these car sharing companies is that you can get the car you need for the trip you're taking.

At first I was stingy about using a car when I wanted, but then even with more trips (1-2 full days a month and 2-3 1-3 hr. trips) I am still spending less than I would on a car I owned fully on insurance and gas alone.

The full day trips are often work related and I get to claim milage for them, so I break even with the cost and get comfortable luxury cars for long drives (I can spend 6 or 7 hours driving to and from a site). This saves me the hassle of going out of my way or worrying about the rental companies hours or what car they'll give me.

Again if you're looking to use one this weekend I would recommend getting the ball rolling on filling out the applications, it only takes a few minutes, and it does take a couple days to get everything processed. Zipcar lets you pick up your membership card from their downtown office, if you want to get it when it becomes available instead of waiting for the mail. I'm not sure if i-go does the same.