Car sharing clubs / alternatives to owning

skinnypunter

Has anyone got experience of schemes like Zipcar?

We're considering becoming a single-car family, and renting a larger car when we really can't make do with 'er indoors Citroen C1 (for the uninitiated, that's a roller skate with an engine). This is driven by money-saving / vaguely "green" attitudes.

Opinions, please...

scrumpydave

We use City Car Club. After a few years without a car now I find I hardly ever use it!

Pross

Problem with car clubs is that they really only exist in bigger cities.

SmellTheGlove

Have been using streetcar (now zipcar but I can't seem to drop the old moniker) for about two years after the departure of my (still slightly missed) Alfa.
Probably use it a couple of times a month.
Now, if you're keeping the Sh!troen anyway, and only hiring bigger a few times per year, you'll probably find conventional hire (Avis etc) is a better bet. You don't then necessarily need the convenience of the streetcar parked on the next street corner/in the supermarket car park etc. and for longer hires e.g. holidays they aren't really cost effective.
Personally the club suits the way I need to drive and it is very handy to be able to just drop the car on x-day at midnight say, doing away with the logistical faff of getting to the hire shop in the morning. Plus you always drive a reasonably new car. However for a week's holiday or some such I'll use a hire.
If saving is your chief aim, then at risk of stating the obvious, the biggest savings result from having no car at all.
But don't take my word for it! And if you aren't in one of the bigger cities check out Whipcar - peer-to-peer sharing, bloody good idea. Am a member (free and fairly painless to join as a driver) but have not yet taken it for a spin.