navylad

Having received an email offering One-way ZipCar Flex to T5 from £17, wondering if anyone has done it, their experience, how easy it was to drop the car off?

internetplumber

That's optimistic, the email says the trial only starts today. :-)

Drop it off at the short stay car park opposite T5, apparently.

LondonTechTraveller

Do you members get credit for inviting other members to join? If so send me a code by direct message and I'll see if I can sort out signing up.

internetplumber

We do, I've sent you a referral code, but if navylad sends you one, use that as he started the thread. :-)

navylad

You can sign up using this link getting £25 driving credit for the person who referred you and yourself.

https://zipcar.mention-me.com/me/ref...52/fe/cw?epr=1

LondonTechTraveller

Cheers guys - will take a look.

knoppster

I will be trying this service on Friday (home in Holloway to T5). Looking forward to it! Well, assuming it's quicker (it'll definitely be less expensive than taxi to Paddington and HXP). My only worry is that there won't be any Zipcar-signed parking spaces available when I arrive.

Will update the thread after my experience.

knoppster

Couldn’t have been a more simple drop off. Ended up being about £16 one way. Definitely going to use it again, especially when flying with others.

Lucanesque

I've just signed up to ZipCar to give this a go, slightly nervous as I've never used them before and I've got to be at checkin by 6:45 at the latest, but what's life without a little adventure

Signed up for a business account and they waved the £99 business fee for the first year, and I can transfer it FOC to a free account after my year is up, so worth it to try it out

navylad

EvilDoctorK

Just to add I used this yesterday from LHR T5 to SW12 ... overall very impressed

Pickup couldn't be simpler .. the cars are located in the Avis area on Level 4 of the Terminal 5 car part ( it's at the North end ) .. Booking in the app was no problem, there were a couple of them lined up there ready to go ... You just use the phone app to unlock the car, jump in , grab the keys from the glove compartment and drive off ... Number plates are recognised at the T5 car park barriers so you just drive out

Compared to the frequent messing around that is involved with getting an Uber pick up from T5 it's much smoother and almost certainly quicker exit from the airport.

Main drawback is the only cars are VW Polos which have very little luggage space ... The boot would fit two hand luggage size wheeled bags and a rucksack or one larger checked bag and some hand luggage ... You could fit four adults comfortably enough in the car, but not with their associated luggage !

As I live in the 'drop zone' then I could just park the car outside my house ( where I'd guess it will sit for days, not sure Zipcar Flex gets used too much! ) , put the keys in and lock it up. Overall including loading / unloading and a bit of traffic it took just under 1 1/2 hours and the trip cost was around £19 , plus their £5 airport fee .... At £24 it's not much more than half what an Uber would have cost.

So as long as you are travelling to the 'Drop Zone' and don't have too much luggage ( but a bit too much to use the tube/train) then I'd thoroughly recommend

FlyerTalker39574

I did a T5 pick up on Sunday and was impressed, it’s easier than Uber and some cars have Automatic which is easy. I’ll definitely use this again.

Bastien003

I used the service to drive back home from T5 last weekend. I have only positive feedback and I hope the trial will be turned into something permanent.

When I landed, I checked the app and there were 2 cars available. Once I passed immigration, I checked again and only 1 car was available, which I booked.
It’s an easy walk to the car park (level 4 by the Avis car rental area). When I arrived the car was there and a team from Zipcar was bringing 4 additional cars (maybe they park spare cars somewhere else).
The car is a VW Polo, not really big but enough for 2 people. We had hand luggage only, but one can always flip the backseats to fit bigger suitcases. The car had only 25% petrol left, so we knew we had to refuel at some point. But that wasn’t an issue.
Note that when you book a car, you can see how much petrol is left. If there are several cars available, take the one that has the most fuel in the tank as Zipcar policy asks to always drop a car with at least 25% petrol in it.
In any case, there is a Zipcar credit card in the car that has to be used to refuel. No need to use your own card.

Traffic back home (SW) was as usual and it took me 1h10 (including time to refuel). Total costs was just under £21 (including a £5 extra charge for airport pick up/drop). As I live in the Zipcar flex zone, I parked the car in front of my house.

Couldn’t be easier and I won’t bother with Uber anymore if the service is available. You are on your own in your own car, you can listen to the music you want without being obliged to discuss football with the Uber driver.

PS: can Gatwick be added to the zone?

mgiarc

+1 I used it recently to the airport and it was very smooth. £17.50 from SE24, including airport fee, on a Saturday morning. Clear instructions as to how to drop off (follow short stay car park and then Avis/Budget drop off). No need for tickets etc - number plate recognised. Easy to find the Zipcar spaces, which are clearly marked. Two minute walk into T5 north.

I would have used it on the way back, but I took AA, so landed in T3. Lots of the typical messing around finding the Addison Lee, which cost more than five times the price. Will be Zipcar all the way for me. Only downside is if you have a breakdown or accident on the way, you would have a problem, especially outside the Zipcar flex zone, but I guess that is unlikely.

FlyerTalker39574