Automotive

Car sharing

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  • Feb 29th, 2016 10:51 pm
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Member
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Jul 15, 2012
303 posts
35 upvotes
Toronto, ON

Car sharing

I recently moved to ontario from quebec and i can't justify buying a car at this time with the insurance rates ive been quoted. Was researching the different car sharing options available in Toronto, any opinion on which one is better?

Ive looked at car2go, zipcar and autoshare
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Deal Addict
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Apr 22, 2013
3039 posts
2516 upvotes
Markham
Car2go only offers Smart cars(its owned by Mercedes)...if you need a different sort of car then don't bother.

As for zipcar and autoshare, both are essentially the same and owned by big rental car companies. Zipcar is owned by Avis/Budget while autoshare is owned by Enterprise(its in transition to be called Enterprise Share). I know the Autoshare fleet(I don't know the Zipcar fleet at all) and ever since being bought by Enterprise they've expanded the variety of cars. You can get something as small as a Nissan Micra to as high end as a Audi A4 along with minivan and cargo van choices. If you want to try out EVs or green cars, I know the autoshare fleet contains Chevrolet Volts and some Prius plug-ins(they used to have the Leaf). Most recently the autoshare fleet is getting Nissan Frontiers as the pickup truck option. I suspect Zipcar offers the same stuff...but don't quote me on that. Basically its up to preference and probably more importantly whether there's a location where the cars are located nearest to you.
Member
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Apr 17, 2015
494 posts
212 upvotes
Toronto, ON
Autoshare- Overall cheaper on a a hr/day basis; but overall less selection around the city and not available in other provinces and the US.

Zipcar- Located all throughout N. America; More expensive than Autoshare

Car2go- Smart cars and Mercedes Benz B class; Most expensive on a per hr basis, but you do not have to return the vehicle you borrow to the same parking lot. Sign in, drive where ever you need, and drop off the car and sign out and the participating P parking lots.

Personally I have all 3 memberships as I got a hefty discount on the yearly fee through my school. I would sign up with autoshare (for daily rentals) and car2go for quick drives downtown (there is no yearly fee for car2go).
Member
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Jul 15, 2012
303 posts
35 upvotes
Toronto, ON
I was checking out autoshare and i saw something about a deposit, any more information on that?
Member
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Apr 17, 2015
494 posts
212 upvotes
Toronto, ON
dreadaboi wrote: I was checking out autoshare and i saw something about a deposit, any more information on that?
deposit? Not that I know of.

All 3 take your credit card number in case you damage anything. All three have different deductibles so you'll have to look into that.

Take my numbers with a grain of salt as I got all three through my university, but I paid nothing for them to verify my license/driver history (normal is a nominal fee) and I pay a yearly fee of $15 (autoshare) $40 (zipcar) and $0 (car2go)

I honestly keep all three memberships active for a "just in case" moment when I need to borrow a car on the weekend when normal rental places are closed. Overall if your over 25, renting from a normal agency will be cheaper if you need a vehicle for the day+ and your willing to deal with the hassle of going to the rental place, blah blah blah.. If you want the cheapest go with autoshare... If you want to borrow a car outside of toronto-ottawa-montreal (ie. the states) go with zipcar.

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