The Great Zipcar vs Hertz Experiment: which is the better deal?

Yesterday was an OC day. And day before yesterday, I decided to conduct a little experiment to test a theory that’s been bugging me: is Zipcar actually good value?

Here’s why I wasn’t sure.

I needed a car for the day. The car at Zipcar Location 1 (conveniently located a block away from where I was going to be) cost $78.80 USD. That felt expensive.

So I went onto the Hertz site, just to have a peek. And they had a deal in their LAX branch for a much smaller car for the “online weekend day” rate for $25.99 that I’d be able to drop off after 10pm.

That’s almost embarrassing.

But Zipcar includes gas, insurance, free mileage (for up to 180 miles), tolls etc, and is extremely easy to collect and drop off - no checking in or out.

With Hertz, I get unlimited free mileage. But there are hidden extras, like airport tax, “customer facility charges” and state tax. I have to pay for gas and tolls. And insurance. And I’d have to get to/from LAX.

Worth a test. Also, in the time it took me to dither about whether I should rent for Hertz or Zipcar, Zipcar Location 1 ran out of cars. And the one available car (of 7) at Zipcar Location 2 cost £83. And I was less inclined to go there anyway based on my previous Big Blue Bus Boo Hoo adventure. Though I’d have to take the same bus anyway.

But I digress.

So I booked the Hertz car for the pre-pay online deal. And the taxes popped up and they were almost double to car’s price.

“Airport concession fee recovery $3.89

Customer Facility Charge $10.00

California Tourism Commission Assessment $6.74”

And then the $9 in elective charges for “Loss Damage Waiver”

So total approximate charge is $52.31

Still, not looking so good for Zipcar.

I joined the Hertz Gold Pass (for free) to have preferential treatment at the rental establishment in exchange for my data (collect car like at Zipcar: no check-in etc). So all things in terms of access were, essentially, equal. Now to get to the car.

It costs $1 each way on the bus to get to Zipcar Location 1. If I cycle, it costs nothing. It takes 60 minutes from door to getting the car on the road with either bike or bus. With bus, I have to walk three blocks through a perfectly fine neighbourhood on either end. I collect the car in an architect’s parking lot behind a golf shop.

It cost $1 on the bus to get to Hertz. It’s not cycle-able. From door to car on the road: 1 hour and 40 minutes, including a walk from home to the bus stop, 0 waiting time at the bus stop (I had to sprint; I know what happens when you miss a Big Blue Bus), 15 minutes on the bus, 15 minute walk walk through a part of town I’d not adventure at night and rather a lot of faffing at Hertz.

As there was no way I’d walk back to the bus stop at 10pm, I took a cab. The taxi ride back from LAX was approx 20 minutes and cost $25.00 including tip.

The total time spent travelling to and fro Zipcar & Hertz locations is the same: 2 hours.

I travelled 98 miles, so within the Zipcar limit, so there would have been no extra mileage charge. However, because I was driving a Hertz, the gas top up to full cost $8.56.

RESULTS

Total cost Hertz: $86.87

Total cost Zipcar: $78.80

Zipcar is the better deal.

A note for completists: My Zipcar package costs $50 per year and I paid the optional $79 per year for insurance. This would have been my third Zipcar rental, and so if I didn’t take a Zipcar out again for the rest of the year, proportionately this particular rental would have cost $16.70 for membership and $26.33 for insurance. So the total cost for this Zipcar rental would actually have been $121.83. So in that case, Hertz would have been the better deal.

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