Originally Posted by
CTNYC
Renting an Elantra for 3 hours would cost me ~$34 or $35 on a weekday with Zipcar, and ~$38 on a weekend.. Not too bad of a deal maybe. However, Hertz has been doing some great weekend rates lately - I can rent an ICAR (Corolla or similar), then almost always get an FCAR through Gold Choice for $25/day... Granted I need to pay for gas, but still seems cheaper.. Weekday rates with Hertz are slightly higher at ~$45/day
Are you factoring in the cost of insurance in the price comparison (in addition to gas)?
If you hold insurance that fully covers a rental car anyways (say because you own a car), then the pricing often doesn't compare favorably, but if you factor in what rental car companies usually charge for that coverage, the numbers usually switch.
Also, with services like Zipcar, you more often than not get the ability (after reserving) to just walk up to the car and go. Most of the local rental car companies have a much slower checkout process (if you happen to arrive at the wrong time like I did last time I used Enterprise, it took a good half hour+ before I was driving away in a car).
In general, I don't see them getting rid of the longer process in general anytime soon, partially due to the desire to push the upsell for better revenue/profits, and to check the cars for significant issues on return, although there are sometimes ways to simplify the process (especially on checkout), although it mostly applies to the larger airport facilities (where they also have more inventory to work with).