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Comment by sebleon | Hacker News Reader

> Outdoor Activities

Renting a car (via Getaround, Zipar) on weekends can be cost effective

I don't find Zipcar all that affordable except for the very shortest of trips (read: < 3 hours). Anything over that and you're better off renting a vehicle for the day through traditional routes.

Same experience. I can rent for $100 for the full day. Problem is usually I have to pick up the car from the airport since local garages office hours are limited. There is very few available on the weekend.

Zipcar usually has both and hourly and day rate. The day rate is typically something like $85 and the process of picking up the car is typically much easier than a traditional rental.

Don’t forget you have to add up taxes and other shitty fees. They come out like $100+ for Zipcar. Those $7.5 an hour deal is hard to get because they run out quick and then the ones left are far to pick up - at that point just call Uber or give up...

That's crazy expensive. I rent for around $30-$40 (Canadian dollars). Booking several weeks in advance, mind you. I often rent over Saturday night to Sunday morning. The near by place doesn't open until 9:00 on Sunday for returns, so I rent at 9:00 on Saturday even though they are open at 8:00 already, so I can return it within the 24 hours. During certain peak season times, they about double the rate. At those times, I favor the co-op in which I have a membership.

Depends. I did take one from Avis roughly $70 for a whole day with some fee. But not all the time and again depends. I have AAA though. Just to be clear, for zipcar, one full day can be super expensive. Deals like $85 a day is seasonal (like Labor Day).

You get good rates at the weekend/holidays because they generally don't have enough parking spaces for all their cars so want them off the lot.

I can get a car from AVIS for $30 to $40 CAD per day (not including gas: typically that is another $10-12 or so).

I have a membership in a car share, but I rarely bother with it for the above reason.

For an hour or two or something, it's good.

Most recently used it for trips to emergency. I mean, the co-op car is out there on the street, walking distance, whereas you need a reservation for the rental car, can only get it during the opening hours, from an outfit that is several miles away.

Yet, there is no guarantee that the share cars will be there for emergencies; it's just luck. If it's 3 a.m. the odds are excellent. 3 p.m. on a Saturday; not so good.

If zipcar's like our Enterprise Car Club here in Nottingham, the massive advantages are:

    1. No need to travel to rental (out-of-town) centres, it's round the corner
    2. Don't have to pick-up or drop-off during office hours
    3. Don't have to wait half-hour for all the paper-work and stuff
    4. Don't have to answer a bunch of obnoxious questions
    5. Don't have to dig out a load of documentation
    6. Can decide to take one on a whim, with no notice
    7. Can hire it for 2 or 3 hours instead of days

You pick up the car and go.

I don't use it much as generally taxis are cheaper, but if I want to go on a country walk or do a large shop, it's very handy.

I think it works out slightly more expensive if you hire it for whole days, but again all those conveniences apply.

Zipcar is rent for 30 min blocks, pick up from one of the nearby spots where a car is available; and if your Nottingham is the UK one

1. Traditional car rentals in the cities where this article is relevant are easy to find.

2. Not an issue, at least for dropoffs afaik.

3. Not an issue. With Hertz and National I just walk into the car pickup spots (skip the office because I have membership + reservation)

4. Like?

5. No need to, just cc and driver license.

6. Agreed, but zipcars are unavailable all the time too.

7. Agreed.

I work at a ski resort, I ski anywhere between 3-7 days a week. I lug some level of gear between home and the mountain every single day because sometimes I'm keeping the option of skiing elsewhere open. Renting a car would not be effective for me.

I did this for a while after I moved to the bay area. Turns out, it adds up quickly. A weekend of climbing or backpacking or skiing comes in around $300. On top of that, it's less practical. You have to go get the car, higher mileage trips cost more, you can't rent for longer than a few days, etc. If you're going out of town every weekend, and possibly driving during the week too, car sharing services aren't quite as great as they seem.

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