hey guys! I was wondering if you (or your followers) had any advice about car renting? I live in a major city without a car, and most of the smaller cons are out in the suburbs, and I'm at a bit of a loss at how to go about getting to them. I've used zipcar previously for a different trip and it was very, very pricey. any advice would be great!
Kiriska: This is actually something I’m interested in too, as I also live in a major city without a car. I usually end up taking buses or bumming rides from generous friends for those localish shows that are just far enough I don’t wanna Lyft/Uber it, so I’ve yet tried renting a car.
So I have not tried Zipcar yet personally, but from my understanding, the best plan is $70/yr and then roughly $8-9/hr OR $70-80/day when renting. I guess that can be considered pricey, though it obviously depends on how often you’re using the service and the distance you’re traveling.
If the event you’re going to is like an hour out, but there’s no Zipcar return area near the event, then you’re probably stuck with the car the whole day, paying the daily rate, which, over a 3 day event (or 4, for setup) can total up to $320 ($80 x 4 days, I’m just gonna use the high end of estimates) – definitely costly!
If the event does have Zipcar drop off nearby, then you could probably get away with 3 hours per day (drive there, drive back, with some extra to account for traffic) x 4 days = $108 for the weekend, which isn’t as bad. It’s cheaper than Ubering it back and forth every day.
You can also try Zipcaring with your supplies the first and last day, then trying public transport the other days, when you don’t have a lot to carry, though if the event is in deep suburbia, your options are probably pretty limited there.
Traditional car rental companies may be a better option if you’re not going to be renting often – I just looked up Enterprise rentals in my area and they’re about $20-30/day for basic sedans, which is much better than Zipcar. SUVs and pickups are still $70-80/day though, so depending on what you’re hauling, you might be out of luck there.
In the end, if car rental is necessary to get to the con and all your options seem pricey, you’ll have to decide if the con will be worth it.
I’m definitely interested to hear if any of our followers have experience with car rentals and/or have any recs though! :O
ETA: Good stuff in the comments! Thanks, guys.
