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 Leah Jone on April 15, 2012 at 9:58am

I've had I-Go for a few months and love it. For trucks, you need advance planning, but I'm always able to find a vehicle SOMEWHERE in the city when I need it. Then I ride my bike to the parking spot, get the car, do my shopping and my bike is waiting for me when I return.

For weekend truck or SUV usage, just book by thursday and you're probably fine.

Permalink Reply by jennifer james on April 15, 2012 at 10:13am

A nice thing about I-go is that it was created locally. Zip car is from New England and moved out here to compete with I-Go.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 15, 2012 at 10:15am

I've used I-Go for several years now.  My experience has not changed significantly in the last year.  I wonder if the complaints are more specific to issues with specific locations or neighborhoods.  

We only have one location here in Beverly, and we're about to get a second.  Because demand has been up in recent months, I've sometimes found that the car is unavailable when I need it.  Once we get the new location, I'm guessing that will be a less frequent problem.  I occasionally use I-Go in other neighborhoods, and I've rarely had trouble getting a car when I've needed one.  Sometimes I'm reserving a few days in advance.  At other times, it's a spur of the moment trip (reserving within 1 hour of needed time) or I'm reserving on the night before.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on April 15, 2012 at 11:42am

Here is a related discussion from last year.

I use both.  It's awesome we have two companies to chose from which means a lot more options and availability.

I've used Zipcar for real estate appointments if I'm driving with a buyer since they have audis, mini coopers and other higher end cars.

The IGO car seems to be available more often than the Zipcar in my neighborhood.

Zipcar is a bit more automated when I call in (it recognizes my cell phone).  

Both have easy to navigate websites.

All in all, I think it's a matter of what you will use it for and which is closer to your house or work, etc. 

When I sold my car I immediately joined both.  It's pretty inexpensive to join either and I like having options, especially when its a last minute reservation.

Permalink Reply by Jared on April 15, 2012 at 12:10pm

I use Igo and always book the night before and am almost always able to reserve the car I want.  I might have reserved a car once and not been able to find it.  Had to call in and let them book a diferent car for me.

h' said:

Any chance someone who currently uses Zip Car could take a look at this one and let me know how booked up it is say, for the next few evenings between 7 and 10?  Or next Saturday starting around 8 A.M?

http://www.zipcar.com/chicago/car-profile?vehicle_id=330482220&...

Also, if I reserve a specific vehicle, and it's not there, can I just switch to the one that is there?

Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on April 15, 2012 at 12:22pm

I'd take yelp with a grain of salt seeing as they had a class action lawsuit regarding bumping up negative reviews of businesses that don't buy their advertising. 

Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on April 15, 2012 at 12:31pm

H':

That truck, the "Taylaphonic" is available the next 3 evenings for $13/hour or $95/day.  Ditto for Saturday morning, but the price jumps to $13.75/hr or $103/day.  (Now this is on my account plan, so your pricing may differ slightly depending on your arrangement with Zipcar.)  Also, the booking for any car share is extremely fluid, so the availability I see now may disappear in minutes if others suddenly decide to book it.  But I'm guessing that the trucks are the least popular vehicles in their fleet, so you shouldn't have too much problem finding something.  There are other Toyota Tacomas at slightly cheaper prices at Milwaukee/Medill (Fullerton), Belmont/Greenview & Sheridan south of Irving Park.

Permalink Reply by Ace Mann on April 15, 2012 at 2:58pm
You might want to check out Relayrides.com They are kinda like IGO & Zip, but they use regular peoples cars. Don't know if they have trucks.
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on April 15, 2012 at 3:11pm
I heard about programs like this but didn't know one had actaully launched. Sounds like a big difference here is you pay for gas.

Ace Mann said:
You might want to check out Relayrides.com They are kinda like IGO & Zip, but they use regular peoples cars. Don't know if they have trucks.
Permalink Reply by Leah Jone on April 15, 2012 at 7:09pm

I got car insurance after my bike crash a couple years ago. Turned out car insurance (even as a cyclist) would have helped pay some bills. In the case of a hit and run, having car insurance would be a financial life saver.

(I got it at Lawyer Jim's suggestion and haven't needed it since, but definitely worth the cost in my books.)

h' said:

I drive like twice a year currently . . . I think you must drive more than that to justify this expense?

clp said:

...you can't use them unless you currently have car insurance...

I can't imagine not having your own non-owner liability/personal injury insurance, even if you don't own a car.  I carry $1million of liability insurance tho I haven't owned a car for 30+ years.  Costs me less than $250/yr from USAA.  I'm covered if I drive an I-GO, Avis or friend's car.  And their insurance card paves the way for rentals from any firm.  Well worth it, for convenience and peace of mind alone.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 16, 2012 at 2:52am

I've been an I-Go member for 6 years and rented cars in different neighborhoods across the city.  By double checking everything while making an online reservation, I've been able to avoid reservation snafus.  When I've gotten cars, they've usually been clean and had 1/2 tank or more of gas.  I've occasionally gotten a car that seemed to need maintenance and it was fixed the next time I used it.

There have only been 2 or 3 times when I arrived at a location and the car was not there.  The first time, I called and the operator was able to locate the driver - just running a few minutes late.  Got there within 10 minutes, which wasn't enough to impact what I needed to do on that trip.  The next time I had a no show, I called and the car wasn't going to be back anytime soon.  The car next to it was available, so the operator switched my reservation to that car.  No problem.

The first time I tried to use a Prius - now THAT was a snafu.  The little "handy tips" card was missing from the car.  It was in a dark parking lot on a snowy night.  The person I got on the phone was rather inept.  Spent a while using my cell phone as a flashlight and figuring it out for myself.  That one was a zero of an experience among many many experiences that were entirely trouble free or had only minor hiccups.

One word of warning - do NOT be late in returning your car.  If you run into a traffic jam, get stuck at a railroad crossing waiting on a long freight train, or whatever, call in and ask if an extension of your reservation is possible.  It's usually been late at night when this has happened to me, and I've almost always been able to get a 1/2 hr or 1 hr extension - enough to get back.  In the middle of the day, that might be more problematic, depending on your location.  It's definitely worth it to carefully plan your trip and allow a little extra time in your reservation, just in case.

I've used cars from many different locations and found that, with the exception of a few parking garage locations, they've been easy to find.  I've used them on the tollway and there was no issue with I-Pass charges - they were accurate.  The gas card procedure is a bit complicated and annoying.  I find that having paper and a pen handy so you can put all the needed numbers in one place simplifies the task.

Anytime there's been something out of the ordinary or a minor problem to be resolved, a phone call or email has gotten an effective response.  Problem solved.

I've found I-Go to be an effective alternative to owning a car.  I'm perfectly happy to let them handle the maintenance and spend that time doing other things.


h' said:

I-Go:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/i-go-car-sharing-chicago-2?sort_by=date_desc

Zip Car:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/zipcar-chicago?sort_by=date_desc

For whatever reason it seems particularly important to read the reviews in the case of car sharing rather than look at overall ratings, as a lot of the negatives seem to be freaking out over fairly minor problems.

Permalink Reply by Liz on April 16, 2012 at 3:14am

Howard, I've found that on weeknights is fairly easy to get a truck, on weekdays there's no problem at all.  Weekends can vary, if you know you need it, just book in advance, but usually you can find an hour or two free if you're in a pinch.  

Remember that if you need it this week it can take up to 3 days for zipcar to process you application and verify your driving record.  

I've used zipcar for the last year and been extremely happy.  Also an upside for zipcar not being only chicago based, is that you may use zipcar when you travel to other cities.  

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