Essentially if Zipcar is in your neighborhood (like it is here in Vancouver) then Zipcar will have cars that you can “rent” spread out all over town in sometimes convenient (and other times not so) places.

You sign up online, and they give you a “Zipcard”. This card is used to access the cars that are on the street and keeps track of how long you’ve used the car. But what if someone else wants to use the car too? Well of course you have to reserve the car for the time that you want to use it. But this couldn’t be easier. You can either reserve the car through an app on your iPhone (I don’t have one so I didn’t get to use this feature) online at home, or through their phone reservation service.

Each of the cars has a funky name that I guess is supposed to add fun to the whole experience, and once you’ve reserved your car you can literally just walk up to it and scan your card to gain entry. The keys are always in the vehicle and once you’re in you just go.

I’ve had the chance to use Zipcar off and on now for about 2 years and I can say that I definitely like the service. The cars are clean, reliable, and most of the models are pretty decent cars. I preferred to rent the Mini Cooper when I could and they even have a convertible option in Vancouver… which I’m sure is not so popular for 9 months out of the year.

If you go over your reserved time there are pretty steep fines, but this is to be expected. How would you like it if someone had the car during the time that you’ve reserved? When your reservation is nearing the end Zipcar will actually send you a text message to your phone reminding you that it’s coming to an end and asking if you would like to extend the reservation. Of course the extension is only available if there is no reservation after yours, but this is a really nice feature and I’ve used it a number of times.

All in all I think Zipcar is a great, trendy company that has a lot going for it. The customer service is great, the cars are nice and up-to-date and it’s nice to know that you can get a car in a pinch when you need one. However, expect to pay well for the service. Prices start at around 8 bucks an hour, but most of the cars are in the 10-12 dollar range. These prices are fine if you’re running a quick errand, but if you were to use the car for a golf game for example, it would cost you a ton of cash while it’s sitting out in the parking lot.

If you’re thinking about signing up with Zipcar, you can follow this link to get 25 dollars in additional driving credit from signing up through Cartips.com.

Have an experience with Zipcar? Let us know in the comments below…

Zipcar and the Coop Auto Network are a few car club options that let you do just that, and they generally have cars parked in a neighborhood near you.

But don’t we need less cars on the road nowadays? So what about all of those cars that are parked around town that are just sitting for most of the day?

These were the questions that a smart group of entrepreneurs in the UK have asked, and the result is Whipcar.

Whipcar is a very cool idea that allows car owners to rent out their unused vehicles for money. After a quick 5 minute setup you’re able to list your car for rent during the times when you do not use your car.

It’s really a win-win… the car owner gets to make some cash on the side, and the person seeking to rent a vehicle is able to do so without clogging our streets with more cars.

Whipcar was started in April of this year in London and it’s already caught the mass media’s eye for being such a unique and useful idea. It’s free to sign up and join and is already present in over 300 cities and towns across the UK. For more information check out their video below, or go to http://www.whipcar.com to sign up.

Have an experience with using Whipcar? Let us know in the comments below.

It is essentially the practice of driving a specialized vehicle along unpaved areas, as opposed to traditional roadways. This includes sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and any other kind of natural terrain.

The practice has garnered almost a cult following, once an off-roader always an off-roader. But whether you’ve never tried it or you’re a seasoned professional—it simply can’t happen without the necessary apparatus. And that is where trucks and SUVS come in. Not just any truck or SUV, but a specialized vehicle geared toward life on the off-road. If you’re looking to rent or lease one, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Off road terrains are often only traveled upon by specialized trucks or vehicles designed for such an experience, these include heavy-duty trucks with necessary equipment, SUVs, ATVs, motorcycles, mountain bikes, or even snowmobiles. It’s also ideal if the vehicles have extra ground clearance, sturdy tires, and front/rear locking differential. All of these things combine to make the best possible off-road driving  experience. Due to the practice’s cultural significance, there are several vehicle manufacturers to produce off-road vehicles, or ORVs, including AM General, Land Rover, and Jeep. But if those aren’t for you, it’s not unlikely that you’ll find a vehicle not necessarily marketed as an ORV that could also do the trick. In fact, many trucks are packed with features by default that will assist your off-road endeavors. Many military vehicles are also constructed with off-road travel in mind, so cars like the Jeep or HMMWV would be ideal.

You can even purchase from off-road manufactures like Land Rover, a company who has produced military minded vehicles in many nations.

The most popular of off-road vehicles include four wheel drive pickup trucks, similar to the Ford F-Series, GMC Sierra, Toyota Hilux, Dodge Ram, and the like. Light trucks and station wagon bodies have also been big players in the off-road market since the 1980’s. The common models include the Chevrolet Blazer, Dodge Ramcharger, Ford Bronco, Jeep Cherokee, International Scout, Land Rover Defender, Discovery, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Range Rover, Nissan Xterra, Nissan Patrol, and Lada Niva, 4Runner, and Land Cruiser. The Suzuki Samurai is another fine off-road vehicle known for being less pricey than alternate models. A large amount of these models have ironically become SUV’s with reduced off-road muscle, but many vintage models still offer a fantastic off-pavement experience.

So if you’re in the mood to off-road, and need the necessary vehicle—don’t be afraid to rent or lease one from a company that specializes is ORV rental. There is quite the number of companies out there more than willing to rent or lease you a vehicle for these purposes. After scouring briefly and doing a little research, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed with your findings.

For instance—say you want to travel down to South Africa. Well you buy your tickets and set up lodging at a local hotel. You could say your travel arrangements are made, but you’d be forgetting one very important aspect. You’re forgetting the car rental, more specifically, the all important ORV rental that will change theway you vacation. There is no better way to explore South Africa then through off-road travel, and thankfully, due to car hire, lease, and rental companies—it has never been easier to achieve this than now. All you really have to do is enter a car rental facility, fill out some information, give them your credit card, and they’ll put you in a car immediately. In a scenario like this, you’d be amazed how beneficial off-road travel really is.  There is no greater way to travel South Africa, or any part of the world for that matter, than in an ORV.

After a little research, it is clear to see that these rental companies are the way to go. It’s not just their fleet of off-road muscle that makes them the obvious choice, it’s their custom tailored amenities and customer support. Why sink thousands and thousands of dollars into purchasing a brand new or used Hummer or Jeep when you can rent or lease one for relatively small amounts of cash.

We’ve found that many of the companies posses a very wide and expansive range of all terrain and 4 wheel drive automobiles for rent and off road drive. They are also fully packed with some convincing bells and whistles, like GPS systems and maps of area routes and roads you might find interesting or helpful in your off-road experience. Most of the time, these specialized companies have serious knowledge on the area and instincts to advise you on your journey. Whatever area you select, rest assured that somebody at the rental company can answer any of your questions and give you advice about their vehicles, and the local routes. And because these rental companies are often housed locally, it is very likely the cars they provide are custom tailored to weather the conditions, climate, and terrain of the area.

We even stumbled across a company—Patagonia Rental— that offers outdoor equipment and camping apparatus, such as tents, sleeping pads, miniature refrigerators, pumps and more as part of the rental package. In addition, these also rented out boats if that supplemented your existing interests.

The company proudly displays on their web site:

“You only have to enjoy Patagonian beautiful landscape while you drive on and off road through it safely in our comfortable vehicles. At anytime you can count on our fully personalized attention for anything you may need.”

Regardless of your target area or company, you’ll be sure to find friendly faces willing to help you rent an off-road vehicle. So if this sounds intriguing to you, remember to be careful and have fun!