Ev BogueFor the last year, I decided that every time I needed to drive a car, I'd rent a Zipcar.
I went into Mint today, and discovered that I'd spent $1,450 on Zipcars between September of 2010 -- September of 2011. This includes two 4-day trips between cities for adventures.
I was reminded recently by G.B. that the average person spends $9,000 a year owning a car. $1,450 doesn't seem like much to me, considering I've driven many very nice cars (my favorite is the Mini Cooper Convertible).
When I look at Zipcar, I see a company that is revolutionizing the way we live. It's taking the burden of ownership away from the individual. For me, this is amazing. I don't have to worry about paying for insurance or gas. If the car is damaged while I'm not using it? I don't have to pay for that damage. Zipcar even cleans and maintains the cars for me.
Zipcar tells me that if I'm in an accident (this hasn't happened yet), I only have to pay $750. If I was more accident prone, I could offset this price by opting to pay a monthly fee to Zipcar for more personal insurance.
Zipcar also gives me more options: I've driven so many different cars in the last year, I've never had time to be bored with them.
When I look at all of these facts, I see the ultimate savings in time. I might have spent $1,450 on Zipcars last year, but I saved untold amounts in time. Since I'm using Zipcar, I don't need to invest time in maintaining a car, parking it, making sure that 'it's alright' in the world. Instead, I can relax when I'm not driving a Zipcar.