I own a car (and love doing so), but I also have zipcar for a few uses cases. The insurance issues are covered because I have a car and thus car insurance, and because my zipcar is paid with a good credit card.
1) Zipvan. U-Haul is essentially rape. Zipvan is $12/hr for a Ford E-series van (E-250 I think). Perfect for transporting stuff. Also just barely fits in most underground garages (6'6"), but fits, unlike trucks (although U-Haul does rent vans, too). Only needing a van for an hour or two is perfect.
2) Use when on a trip. The thing I hate is renting a car at the airport (say, $20-100/day), then driving it to a hotel, paying $50/day to park, and not using it much (maybe not even until I drive back to the airport). Yet, if you have to go to a colo or something, having a vehicle is essential, and a taxi really sucks.
3) Trying out random cars. I wanted to see how I felt about the A3 and the BMW and the Volvo. etc.
4) When my car is broken, and I need a car at the very last minute, there are a few zipcars near my house. If I'm not picky about the vehicle, I can almost always find something within walking distance; failing that, long walk or taxi. Public transit from Oakland to the Peninsula is defective (3h+ for a trip I can do in a car in 45min). This saved me when my garage door was broken in a way which prevented me from taking my car, which I discovered a few minutes before I needed to leave. The alternative was paying $150 for a taxi (which in the Bay Area isn't even that likely to work), or stealing a car on the street, so Zipcar paid for itself.
My big problems with zipcar are that a lot of the cars are badly maintained or dirty, and I nearly always end up filling them up with gas (and often the stupid card doesn't work, so I pay on my own credit card and get reimbursed), and they don't have any really awesome cars (I'd love an A7/A8 for $25/hr), and the problem with "oh no, what if something goes long and I have to extend".
1) Zipvan. U-Haul is essentially rape. Zipvan is $12/hr for a Ford E-series van (E-250 I think). Perfect for transporting stuff. Also just barely fits in most underground garages (6'6"), but fits, unlike trucks (although U-Haul does rent vans, too). Only needing a van for an hour or two is perfect.
2) Use when on a trip. The thing I hate is renting a car at the airport (say, $20-100/day), then driving it to a hotel, paying $50/day to park, and not using it much (maybe not even until I drive back to the airport). Yet, if you have to go to a colo or something, having a vehicle is essential, and a taxi really sucks.
3) Trying out random cars. I wanted to see how I felt about the A3 and the BMW and the Volvo. etc.
4) When my car is broken, and I need a car at the very last minute, there are a few zipcars near my house. If I'm not picky about the vehicle, I can almost always find something within walking distance; failing that, long walk or taxi. Public transit from Oakland to the Peninsula is defective (3h+ for a trip I can do in a car in 45min). This saved me when my garage door was broken in a way which prevented me from taking my car, which I discovered a few minutes before I needed to leave. The alternative was paying $150 for a taxi (which in the Bay Area isn't even that likely to work), or stealing a car on the street, so Zipcar paid for itself.
My big problems with zipcar are that a lot of the cars are badly maintained or dirty, and I nearly always end up filling them up with gas (and often the stupid card doesn't work, so I pay on my own credit card and get reimbursed), and they don't have any really awesome cars (I'd love an A7/A8 for $25/hr), and the problem with "oh no, what if something goes long and I have to extend".