Queens Zipcar Runs Out Of Zip For Second Consumerist Reader
Well, isn't this a coincidence? Yesterday, we posted a story about the experience that Jen and her friend had with their Zipcar rental car with a faulty electrical system, which broke down three times and nearly left them stranded on the mean streets of Hartford, Conn. (Really. They're pretty mean.) A few hours later, we heard from Matt, who apparently had a similar experience four days later. With the same exact car.
Yes, Matt rented that very same Mazda 3 from the same lot in Sunnyside, Queens on August 12th, and has a screenshot from his account to prove it. The car most decidedly ran out of zip during his rental. He writes:
This is crazy, but the story posted about Jen's experience with Zipcar sounds familiar, because I had the same problems with the same exact same car four days after her experience. The Mazda 3 "McCory" I reserved stalled three separate times on the highway. I had to pull over, dangerously, in high speed traffic each time and attempt to restart the car. Luckily for me, the car restarted with each stall and I never had to contact Zipcar for towing service. Apparently, "The e-mail says they're offering him/her a refund of the difference because they had to switch him/her to a different car" meant Zipcar refunded someone her money to not fix the problem, because, well, I had the same problem. That's pretty disconcerting, especially considering the previous July 22nd report as well. Zipcar doesn't seem too interested in upkeep, eh?
I've attached an image of my bill from Zipcar to prove the car was rented four days after Jen had the vehicle.
Fleet maintenance is a tricky thing, especially with a system like Zipcar's. However, having your car stall in 75+ MPH traffic on the highway is a scary experience we wouldn't wish on anyone even once.
Update: Zipcar has responded to Jen's complaints. We don't know if they've reached out to Matt.
PREVIOUSLY: Zipcar Ceases To Zip For Temporarily Stranded Customer
(Photo: NCinDC)
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WOW....that's pretty ridiculous. Epic fail.
Wow, what are the odds? Actually, I guess, pretty good, since you have to be in Queens to rent from that particular lot.
So it looks like Zipcar didn't fix the problem at all for Jen and only moderately fixed the problem for Matt. In the meantime, they haven't given her a refund for the car dying, but gave him a refund for needing another vehicle. Zipcar fail.
I hate to be a Positive Polly for ZipCar, but sometimes car issues are transient, and tough to find the exact cause of. You may repair something you think is the problem, only to find out later that it wasn't, even though the problem you fixed seemed to cure the problem. many problems show up after driving a few hours, or in bumper to bumper traffic for 30 minutes, which is tough to replicate in the shop, ask any mechanic.
I was having problems with my battery and needed jumps every now and then. I even bought a solar charger, and the problem seemed fine. Turns out it wasn't the battery, it was the terminals. The lead wire wasn't contacting the terminal 100%, and a layer of corrosion had formed. When I jumped it, applying the cables jiggled the connection enough to get it started. But then if I left it, the car cooled and everything contracted, and it would not start again.
I do hope after the second complaint they took the car out of service though.
Their system will track complaints, and if not noted as serious, will keep the car in service; if not noted as serious, they'll add it to their scheduled maintenance; if it is "serious," they'll deal with it ASAP, because in a less than saturated market, any car taken out of service is a car they can't rent out and lose $$ on!
@GitEmSteveDave_PorchMonkey4Life: Good points.
Further, I would imagine, Zipcar has to keep what could be a demanding Queens schedule, and taking cars out of service immediately for "severity-unknown" issues is not their top priority.
They could definitely stand to be more proactive on repairs though..
It is obvious they don't care.
Heard similar complaints with 350zs a while back. Can't remember what the direct problem was but it was electrical. Guessing it's related to the fuel pump.
And it is STILL available to rent.
I just checked.
I had a similar experience with zipcar. When a problem is reported with a car, they don't take it out of their inventory---they blithely keep it available for rent and screw the following customers too.
I was surprised to find a car available on Thanksgiving day morning a year ago. I rushed to reserve it and spent an hour getting to the car's home in New Jersey, only to discover that the car had no key, not even the stashed emergency key.
When I called them they told me that the previous renter had reported the missing key, and gave up on the car. So they made it available for rental again. When I pointed out the insanity of this, they said it was company policy.
They also tried to charge me for the rental, although I got that reversed with a series of emails.
Since Zipcar carries the insurance on it, maybe it's in everyone's best interests if someone rented the car and then totaled it? Zipcar would have a claim against insurance, and future suckers (i mean customers) would have a car that doesn't stall in the middle of 80 mph traffic on the LIE.
Oooooh right, that whole insurance fraud thing. Damn.
@bkdlays: There's a reason that Hertz is generally more expensive than most other companies. They generally have better cars and decent CS.
Generally.
@GitEmSteveDave_PorchMonkey4Life: I believe that's the third complaint, since Jen mentioned in the previous post discovering the vehicle had had trouble before.
@GitEmSteveDave_PorchMonkey4Life: Ca problems are starting to sound like software bugs. That is NOT a good thing. Actually, it is terr-fucking-fying.
@GitEmSteveDave_PorchMonkey4Life: Although it seems like an inconvience to take the car out of service due to the high demand of cars, but wouldn't it be better to check every nook and cranny of the car, electrical system, et al before putting it back on the road? Thats alot less of a headache than having someone get into a fatal accident because of their negligence.
AND BTW what's with the screen name? PorchMonkey4life? Im shocked no one has demanded an apology from you yet!
i had a similar issue a few months back, i was less than 1 mile from picking up the zipcar, got a flat, i spent an hour in a really bad neighborhood waiting for roadside, ended up putting on donut myself, they told me that i was still going to be charged for time i had it, alot of arguments happened to the point where i drove it home (was pouring out) and told them to find a way to come get it, because i was so pissed off that after 4 hours i couldnt even use it for the purpose that i got it. the guy ended up giving me credit so that i only got charged for an hour only if i dropped the car off right away, dropped it off. guess what i got charged? like 2 hours late fee. ended up dealing with corporate for a week before getting my money back, i was pretty close to cancelling, their argument was that when the car is rented to you "its like your car, youre responsible for the time for tires etc" which pissed me off, i rent zipcar so i dont have to have a car, deal with crap like that. anyway, for the most part theyre good, but stuff like this doesnt surprise me after the ordeal i went through.
Did anyone ever think that maybe the car is tired of being passed from driver to driver ... used for a one-night-stand, and then just never taken out again. It can take a heavy toll on a fresh-faced miata or accord that's just breaking in its radials.
@GitEmSteveDave_PorchMonkey4Life: I had a bad electrical problem with one of my cars, a Taurus SHO. After it warmed up, it would randomly stall at idle and take 5-15 minutes to restart.
Taking it to the dealer was fruitless, despite having a warranty. My (aftermarket) warranty wouldn't allow them to replace the Crank Position Sensor for some reason despite them replacing many other sensors. Some online research while this was happening suggested that the Crank sensor was the culprit and was responsible for my problem.
Fast-forward a few weeks later and I ended up having to come out of pocket $93 for the part AND install it myself, which was a gigantic pain in the ass due to its location deep in the bowels of the engine, behind the passenger wheel.
Electrical problems are tough to diagnose but it doesn't seem as though Zipcar bothered to pull the car in question from service to determine if it actually was faulty.
I think they also tried to fix it at the time and thought it was repaired (you're right, it had been reported that there were issues about 17 days earlier than Jen's issues)
Now, is this the same car specifically that Jen got, or the same make and model of car that Jen got. The two are different, and indicate different problems (if it's the same car this is the fourth (remember, someone before Jen, Jen, the person between Jen and Matt, and then Matt) problem it's had and apparently they haven't been able to pin it down - if it's the same model it might indicate that there is something wrong with that particular model or the way Zipcar maintains their cars).
If it's not the exact same car (and I'm not sure how the picture posted proves it is), then Matt's claim doesn't hold up that they just paid someone off and rotated the car back out into use. (And for that matter, are we sure that Jen's car is the same one that had issues after? If there's multiple cars of this make/model, it's entirely possible they got cars confused - again, indicating a serious issue with this make/model or zipcar's maintenance policies).
@coren: other article says Mazda 3 McCory
they give all the cars names next to model numbers, theyre all unique. its the same car.
OK, let's not be ridiculous here. Attacking Zipcar as a company (or carsharing as a concept) based on these two admittedly horrible customer service incidents is like giving up on air travel due to plane crashes. The 99.9% of Zipcar users who are satisfied or thrilled by Zipcar don't write in. You only see the dramatic failures, which are conspicuous only because they are the extraordinary exception to the rule.
@GitEmSteveDave_PorchMonkey4Life: In the previous report we read here, ZipCar said that they had received previous complaints about this car having electrical problems. Today's report at minimum is complaint #3. And the failure is considerable and dangerous, so it would be reasonable to expect the car to be taken out of service even after one stall on the freeway, let alone multiple stalls and an urban stranding.
@bkdlays: we do have a choice in chicago...but personally, i've had only good experiences with zipcar. i looked into igo, but for my needs, zipcar was more fitting.
A hypothetical for the civil law geeks here:
-By renting out cars, one warrants that they are fit for the purpose of driving safely and in conformity with relevant regulations/laws (i.e. the NY VTL).
- Successful passing of a DMV safety/emission inspection is a reasonable standard accepted in the trade of car rental for determining fitness.
- A car with a "check engine light" will NOT pass a DMV inspection (at least in NY).
- Therefore, a rental car with a check engine light on is NOT fit for rental, since it would not pass a state inspection, which is a reasonable standard of safety, etc.
- And therefore, a rental company that rents out such a car breaches the warranty for fitness of purpose, and is liable for a chargeback, etc.
- Alternatively, a car with a lit check engine light is not conforming to the relevant emission laws. Renting out such a car furthers a violation of the law, and therefore a contract to rent such a car is void as violating public policy.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
@MostlyHarmless: That's how electrical problems work in cars. I have a friend who's a mechanic, and he says that sometimes, it's cheaper to just buy a new car rather than tackling the electrical issue. They have a tendency to jump from on component to another.
@floraposte: @ChuckECheese: I thought the complaint she described was THIS complaint, and that ZIPcars letter to this problem/user was sent to her by mistake. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry.
@itiswhatitis: #1, It's OK, I'm taking it back!
As for the car, checking the ENTIRE electrical system isn't as easy as it sounds. If the engine doesn't throw a trouble code, you may think you solved the problem, and it may again show up, because you did fix a problem, just not the exact problem that was causing the behavior. Like when I jumped my car, it was because my battery was low, which was due to the loose connector. But jumping solved one of the problems, but not the actual cause.
@bkdlays: Sounds like Zipcars got their business plan from some girls I've known.
Bad, sorry. Just spewing a little early morning bile.
With all due respect, I have the very same problems keeping my car running. There are several times when I've taken my car to a reputable mechanic, gotten it fixed, then discovered that the problem is still there.
This is just a fact of automotive life. There's no way to absolutely guarantee that something like this won't happen.
At the moment, I have a 2000 Toyota Corolla with a problem that two mechanics have tried - and failed - to correct. I am currently waiting for the problem to become bad enough to be easier to diagnose. I've been driving for 40 years, and this is par for the course.
@GitEmSteveDave_PorchMonkey4Life: I don't disagree with anything you've said. I was pointing out that this appears to be a dangerous problem that ZipCar knows about, has known about, and is actively ignoring. I realize diagnosis and repair can be complicated, but the reason people rent cars is so they don't have to deal with such inconvenience and risk. I suspect ZipCar hasn't really tried to fix the car.
@ChuckECheese:
I think that's a bit of an overstatement. We don't really know if they have attempted to fix the car or not; it's pure speculation. They very well could have had a mechanic spend 10hrs the day after Jen returned the car trying to find the issue. Perhaps he replaced a few suspect components, couldn't replicate the issue and returned the car to service.
@Crim Law Geek:
Let's assume everything you wrote is true (though I'm not sure I agree with it). Doesn't Zipcar still have a valid claim to recover at least part of the rental fee under a theory of unjust enrichment?
@azntg: Haha, no, Zipcar will be out (Damages + 1x Pain and suffering) Trebled for gross recklessness, and grievous negligence. I mean really providing a car that you have a report that it stalls in traffic is just asking to get sued. Providing it after multiple complaints is asking to be sued into receivership.
I don't know, I have used Zipcar in NYC for a while and have NEVER had a problem with them. Sure, the cars are sometimes a bit dirty or low on gas, but customer service has always been extremely helpful.
I'm not saying this case isn't bad. I just wanted to say that it isn't the norm.
@Esquire99: but even after Matt notified them of the issue the car is still back out on the road. I would like to believe the car has been fixed but what if the problem is still there? They are really rolling the dice but putting that car back out on the road
@GitEmSteveDave_PorchMonkey4Life: It doesn't bother me, I find it hilarious, I just didn't want anyone to be offended, seeing how sensitive people are on this site.
It actually doesn't surprise me that they keep unreliable cars on the road. If you think about it, they make tons of money whenever a member gets charged a late fee.
For instance, I used to be a ZipCar member in an area that was dense with other members. Cars were late ALL THE TIME. When a car is late, and you have the next reservation, they give you a measly 15 minute credit (which is approximately $2). However, they charge the late member $50. No matter what. They might not even give you a credit if they can move you to another car, but the late person still gets charged the $50 each hour.
So, why would they want to remove unreliable cars that keep the money flooding in? In addition, members have to pay the deductible on that insurance - so who cares if the car gets in a wreck when it dies on the highway?
Needless to say, I am no longer a member. I used to absolutely adore this service and I promoted it everywhere, but too much of this crap sent me straight to a car dealership.
Nice to see that no one that rents Zipcars is courteous enough to leave a note in the windshield saying the car needs service so the next person knows not to rent that car.
@outlulz: Um, you don't get to go see the car before you rent it. And if you get to the lot and see a sign on it saying it needs service, they're not going to magically cancel your reservation without charges, not to mention that you won't have a car for your needs.
I work for a non-profit car sharing organization, HOURCAR, in the Twin Cities. We're a heck of a lot smaller than Zipcar, but customer service is very important to us. If this had happened to one of our customers we would definitely comp their reservation, and probably give them an additional "inconvenience credit." We'd then make sure that subsequent reservations on the car were handled by another vehicle, to keep the problem as localized as possible. There is really no excuse for this level of customer service.
Someone at zip car needs to take a baking soda and water solution and a wire brush and clean those battery terminals, I'd be willing to wager a small amount of money that would fix this problem that's cost hundreds of dollars and inconvenienced several people.
Well I can see a pattern here that nobody cares about anything regarding zip cars!
Rent it for an hour!.. its cheap, easy, and UNRELIABLE!