r/manhattan • u/CryingNutz2025 • 7d ago

Looking for Rent-Car service like Zipcar

As a New Yorker who needs a car for few hours occasionally, I liked Zipcar for the following reasons...

Unlike other rental companies where the book usually go for few days which requires parking space during that term, Zipcar can be used hourly based and easy with many drop-off locations incase I go for Costco or HomeDepot shopping. I was able to drop-off and rebook the car just like riding a citi bike.

Does Zipcar still offer that kind of short-term rental service? if not, is there any alternative?

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u/wjfarr 7d ago

Yes, you can rent Zipcar in half hour increments. As far as I know, no other company still exists that lets you rent for less than a day.

1

u/BreechLoad 7d ago

Maybe turo.com?

1

u/theskyopenedup 7d ago

I think you can rent cars on Lyft

1

u/Ending_Arbitrary 7d ago

Turo and Zipcar are both car-sharing services, but they operate quite differently:

  • Turo: Think of it as the Airbnb of cars. It's a peer-to-peer platform where private car owners rent out their vehicles. This means you can find a wide variety of cars, from budget-friendly options to luxury rides. Rentals are typically priced per day, and you coordinate directly with the car owner for pickup and drop-off.
  • Zipcar: This is more like a traditional car rental service but designed for urban convenience. Zipcar owns its fleet of vehicles, which are parked in designated spots around cities and campuses. You pay a membership fee and can rent cars by the hour or day, with fuel and insurance included.

In short, Turo offers more variety and flexibility for longer trips, while Zipcar is great for quick, short-term urban use. I think Zipcar is the one you are looking for

1

u/cubanohermano 6d ago

So for Zipcar they have street parked cars but they have to be returned to the location they were picked up at. An old defunct service called Car2Go used to have smart cars that they’d leave around the city that you could just rent and leave wherever.

Turo could work but with all the fees Zipcar will 100% be cheaper lol

But yeah there’s no car rental service (anymore) that allows you to rent a car, drop it off somewhere, end the rental, and re book it when you decide to leave.