BREAKING: Zipcar Stops Sucking Balls?
Benjamin | Monday, December 22, 2008 at 6:12AM 
My wife and I have this private joke where anytime we have to go to Jersey or some other god-forsaken place, and we're trying to figure out how to shlep the kids all the way out there, one of us will look at the other and go: "Oooh, how 'bout Zipcar!?"
Hilarious, right? I mean, everyone knows that Zipcar literally never has ANY cars EVER EVER EVER, unless you book like 4 weeks in advance, and even then, the people before you probably won't bring the car back on time, and the guy making $6 bucks an hour at the garage Zipcar blackmailed to hold their shitty cars who couldn't give less of a FUCK looks at you when you ask if he by any chance knows where the car is and whether it will be back soon and just goes: "Zeepcart?"
I love talking to people who have never used Zipcar before. I was talking to this one guy recently who was like, "Oh, that's interesting - I've heard of Zipcar - it's that car-sharing program, right? So what's the deal, you just walk up to any zipcar on the street and you can jump in and use it, right? Really cool!"
And I said, "No that's not the fucking deal, jackass, the deal is it's just like Hertz except they never have any cars. Quit talking about it like it's some kind of hippie Kibbutznik share-a-car; yeah they pay insurance for you, and gas, but it doesn't matter, because they never have any cars. You can't GET a zipcar unless you go pick it up at 165th street and Lenox Avenue. It blows."
Think I'm lying? Check out their subway ad in the image above: Zipcar, the car for people who don't want one. See?! They're proud of it! Wtf!?
Anyway, I was all set to mock them again on Sunday, when we needed a car for an impromptu Fairway run... However, Arecibo wasn't picking up - maybe due to the snowy conditions and high demand, which always cause the cab companies to show their true colors when it turns 'em into the supply-side fat-cats they wish they always were.
So I went onto Zipcar's site just for a good laugh - and what the fuck!? Check this shit out:
Unbelievable!? 20+ cars available at the last minute? 3 of 'em at OUR garages? And get this: It wasn't just doing that Orbitz-patented bait-and-switch that gives you the finger after you actually try to choose a car...I mean, we actually got one!
What'd they do, get more cars? When did this happen- should I have read some of the spam they're always sending me? Did Zipcar stop sucking balls?
business gripes 
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Reader Comments (4)
It was just the snow. They still suck
I think it depends where you live but I've had really good luck getting cars last minute from the 11th and 12th street locations in the slope. Of course, while the number of cars has increased, so have the number of assholes that refuse to bring the cars back on time, so there's still some give-and-take.
When I first started using ZipCar a couple years ago, it was great. Then, both the prices went up and it became increasingly hard to get a car, and we barely used them for over a year. I've started using them again recently and have also noticed that they tend to have more cars on short notice ... so yeah. Maybe they're sucking less and maybe the higher prices were worth it...
I've been using zipcar for about 5 years now and aside from one obnoxious SILTH who arrived 20 mins late and didn't even bother to say she was sorry (at the Union St. garage), I have not had a single solitary problem. I do always try and book ahead as much as I can...which is actually a good tip.
If you are thinking you maybe/possibly/might need a car, make a reservation just in case! You have up until 24 hours ahead of time to cancel. It's definitely way harder to get a rez in the summer or on holidays, but I actually really love zipcar...