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Author	Topic: A look at the pros and cons of car sharing	Post a Reply Back to Topics

nraacct Champion Author North Carolina Posts:6,976 Points:1,484,025 Joined:Jul 2004	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 3:53:18 PM Ignore nraacct Report Abuse The ability to access a car quickly and give it back after a few hours is exploding in popularity among both college students and city dwellers. Zipcar created the car-sharing concept in 2000. By the end of the decade car-sharing had caught the attention of the two largest U.S. car rental companies as Enterprise and Hertz started competing services. And this week, Avis, the nation's No. 3 car rental company, jumped into by offering nearly $500 million to buy Zipcar. Visit Associated Press for full article

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Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 3:53:18 PM

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The ability to access a car quickly and give it back after a few hours is exploding in popularity among both college students and city dwellers.

Zipcar created the car-sharing concept in 2000. By the end of the decade car-sharing had caught the attention of the two largest U.S. car rental companies as Enterprise and Hertz started competing services. And this week, Avis, the nation's No. 3 car rental company, jumped into by offering nearly $500 million to buy Zipcar.
Visit Associated Press for full article

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TruthMatters Champion Author New Jersey Posts:2,583 Points:557,620 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Jan 7, 2013 2:50:33 PM Ignore TruthMatters Report Abuse On the con side: Great way to catch contagions if your predecessors are pigs!
sjf238 Champion Author Philadelphia Posts:1,215 Points:648,705 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Jan 7, 2013 2:16:15 PM Ignore sjf238 Report Abuse Ok.
blupupher Champion Author Houston Posts:3,690 Points:774,770 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Jan 7, 2013 9:47:29 AM Ignore blupupher Report Abuse too many cons for me, but my sister in D.C. uses it and works well for her.
carloco75 Champion Author Richmond Posts:3,846 Points:626,805 Joined:Oct 2010	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 10:52:46 PM Ignore carloco75 Report Abuse this would not work for me since I'm not a student or a business people... [Edited by: carloco75 at 1/6/2013 10:55:54 PM EST]
WalkingWV Champion Author West Virginia Posts:3,754 Points:788,060 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 5:42:37 PM Ignore WalkingWV Report Abuse Think I'll pass.
SUNOIL Champion Author Toledo Posts:5,375 Points:1,951,005 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 8:22:24 AM Ignore SUNOIL Report Abuse Sounds like a good idea for some, but as for me I would rather have an old clunker of my own.
genoist Veteran Author Orlando Posts:341 Points:165,470 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 7:25:58 AM Ignore genoist Report Abuse I couldn't use it as my only car, but if I wanted to make a day trip and not use my own car it would be great.
Samo1961 Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:2,030 Points:647,400 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 3:37:07 AM Ignore Samo1961 Report Abuse I don't like it, it's like you have no privacy in your own car.
iFueler Champion Author Durham Posts:64,983 Points:204,800 Joined:Nov 2012	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 3:17:08 AM Ignore iFueler Report Abuse the masses will not accept sharing, at least not for now
pricewar Champion Author Ogden Posts:2,075 Points:300,990 Joined:Jul 2012	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 3:13:09 AM Ignore pricewar Report Abuse In the real commuting world, this does not really work to the commuters advantage. Great for the rental companies. There are better ways by far.
TurkishMan All-Star Author Dallas Posts:733 Points:159,325 Joined:Jan 2013	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 1:47:03 AM Ignore TurkishMan Report Abuse Accept it we are selfish
CivicMA Champion Author Boston Posts:2,035 Points:561,620 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 1:14:45 AM Ignore CivicMA Report Abuse Not a good idea for private individuals. Fine for companies in the car rental biz.
kkimes Champion Author Illinois Posts:1,665 Points:1,530,635 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 12:58:45 AM Ignore kkimes Report Abuse There aren't a lot of pros. For a list of cons, talk to your insurance provider. Chances are pretty good that your car won't be covered if another person is driving your car and gets into an accident. In many cases that person will have to have insurance on a car they own to be covered when they drive someone elses car.
oilfreak All-Star Author Houston Posts:707 Points:38,185 Joined:Oct 2012	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 12:16:42 AM Ignore oilfreak Report Abuse I would only share my car with another family member of mine.
must87searcher Champion Author Maryland Posts:9,117 Points:1,807,025 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 12:10:33 AM Ignore must87searcher Report Abuse The idea sounds good, but there is still some question too it.
lesndave Champion Author Texas Posts:3,168 Points:727,655 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:44:46 PM Ignore lesndave Report Abuse Has its place, I guess.
drobbbb Champion Author Maryland Posts:3,585 Points:836,035 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:17:31 PM Ignore drobbbb Report Abuse definitely works better in an urban environment
jl1rp Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:1,969 Points:384,155 Joined:May 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:10:40 PM Ignore jl1rp Report Abuse good for city people in need of a car only a little.
TomT2Lee Champion Author Cincinnati Posts:5,471 Points:1,623,135 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:03:48 PM Ignore TomT2Lee Report Abuse Good in theory, but the practical functionality is low.
BuckyTJones Champion Author Salt Lake City Posts:4,932 Points:967,950 Joined:Mar 2010	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:55:28 PM Ignore BuckyTJones Report Abuse Mine comes with a driver, Me.
esq262 Champion Author Asheville Posts:2,998 Points:673,665 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:26:42 PM Ignore esq262 Report Abuse Good for a college town.
sillywagon Champion Author New York Posts:15,105 Points:1,467,845 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:15:08 PM Ignore sillywagon Report Abuse Car sharing is like Hybrids in that it works really well for part of our population. But most people don't fit really well into saving money with car sharing nor Hybrids. For some people... owning one car makes sense. Car sharing would be the occasional second car. Something to consider. I wonder if car sharing would be cheaper than a taxi?
andy1024 Champion Author Allentown Posts:1,839 Points:474,975 Joined:Dec 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 9:42:57 PM Ignore andy1024 Report Abuse Take the car sharing to an extreme, that would be the bus.
amoshins Champion Author Trenton Posts:2,301 Points:667,020 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 9:25:14 PM Ignore amoshins Report Abuse not for me
Rappcommuter All-Star Author Virginia Posts:519 Points:574,420 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 9:20:03 PM Ignore Rappcommuter Report Abuse As it stated in the article, car sharing has a really good niche market. In colleges and cities where people only need to use cars on occasion and not for long distances.
boatcatawba Sophomore Author Cleveland Posts:229 Points:169,970 Joined:Dec 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 8:21:48 PM Ignore boatcatawba Report Abuse Zipcar is a great idea!
Straitliner Champion Author Illinois Posts:1,640 Points:265,000 Joined:Sep 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 7:58:32 PM Ignore Straitliner Report Abuse I would never share a car, not a good idea.
skinsfan125 Champion Author Virginia Posts:1,604 Points:303,875 Joined:Jul 2010	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 7:45:46 PM Ignore skinsfan125 Report Abuse only share my car with my wife.
jbob357 Sophomore Author Iowa Posts:223 Points:533,735 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 7:43:03 PM Ignore jbob357 Report Abuse share wife not car
TripleHs Champion Author Austin Posts:3,435 Points:940,090 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 7:08:31 PM Ignore TripleHs Report Abuse probably more meaningful to people who have no cars
schatzila Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:5,084 Points:1,043,345 Joined:Jun 2010	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 6:49:06 PM Ignore schatzila Report Abuse Perfect for the folks without a car.
PathfinderSC Champion Author South Carolina Posts:9,652 Points:1,857,365 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 6:38:46 PM Ignore PathfinderSC Report Abuse Not for me.
mastermariner Champion Author Texas Posts:4,812 Points:520,450 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 6:20:09 PM Ignore mastermariner Report Abuse Good for some.
clpassenubye Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:3,374 Points:776,055 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 5:41:43 PM Ignore clpassenubye Report Abuse Its an interesting concept for those that would use this service.
Taxrefugee Champion Author Arizona Posts:1,535 Points:412,745 Joined:Jan 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 5:31:35 PM Ignore Taxrefugee Report Abuse OK here, too.
RitaVespa Champion Author Oregon Posts:3,104 Points:817,970 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 5:18:09 PM Ignore RitaVespa Report Abuse Ok
humblepie Champion Author Toledo Posts:35,292 Points:2,398,095 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 4:51:39 PM Ignore humblepie Report Abuse cajackers love the idea also
gumbyrex Champion Author Fresno Posts:3,431 Points:785,790 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 4:51:28 PM Ignore gumbyrex Report Abuse My nephew lives in downtown San Francisco and finds car sharing to be a life saver. He doesn't have to bear the annual car ownership costs and has the use of a vehicle when he needs one.
MrLefty0706 Champion Author Chicago Posts:1,580 Points:377,810 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 4:31:51 PM Ignore MrLefty0706 Report Abuse A great idea that really benefits people that live in a city that has good mass transit and limited parking. My sister-in-law uses the program whenever she comes to the suburbs for a family event.
schvanda63 Champion Author Lansing Posts:1,411 Points:280,120 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 4:13:38 PM Ignore schvanda63 Report Abuse "The ability to access a car quickly and give it back after a few hours..." Used to be called joy-riding or now Grand Theft Auto.
TC5504 Champion Author West Virginia Posts:1,070 Points:219,760 Joined:Sep 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 3:57:05 PM Ignore TC5504 Report Abuse Sounds like a good idea for big cities.