For those of you who have been sitting on the fence about joining PhillyCarShare, now is the time to join. For the past several months, they've been offering a really amazing deal. Not only is there no fee to join, but if you mention that you were referred by an existing member when you sign-up, both the new member and the existing member receive a $50 driving credit!

For those who haven't looked in awhile, you now can be a CarShare member without paying a monthly fee. If you want to pay a $15 monthly fee, then your usage will be billed at $5.90 per hour plus $0.09 per mile for gas (there are no additional gas charges - when the tank is low, you fill up using a PhillyCarShare credit card in the glove compartment). However, if you expect to use it less than 7.5 hours/month (like me), it's better to not pay any monthly fee at all and then have your usage billed at $7.90 per hour plus $0.09 per mile.

I used to be illogically opposed to CarShare because I loved the apparent ease and affordability of renting a car whenever I needed one. I still rent for most of my usage, but PhillyCarShare is the much cheaper alternative when I only need a car for a couple of hours. For just the price of supplemental liability insurance with a car rental agency - $12-13 per rental - I'll get an entire 1.5-2 hour trip from CarShare (and $1 million supplemental liaiblity insurance is included for free!).

Anyway, I encourage everyone to at least sign up and become a member. If you don't use it, you pay absolutely nothing. However, as a member, it's nice to have this affordable alternative to consider on those occassions when you need a car. PhillyCarShare can save you money and has a host of benefits for our neighborhood.

If you're going to become a member, don't delay - according to my most recent PhillyCarShare statement, they are ending the $50 sign-up bonus at the end of November! Of course, to get the bonus, you need to be referred by an existing member. If you don't know any existing members, feel free to PM me or e-mail me at AOL (same screennname, joeinbh), and I'll be happy to be your referring member.

Can you rent only on Saturdays? I went on their website and it mentioned that Saturday rentals are unavailable. That's the only reason why I would need a car for a few hours. Please tell me it's changed!

Where are you reading that? I just signed up, but there's availability any time you want it, so far as I can tell, as long as a car is available (and with so many, there's bound to be one available).

I just used one of their cars last night. I don't know what that would have meant, but I don't think they would have discontinued Saturday rentals entirely. Did it have to do with the discount you can get with your Carshare membership at commercial car rental companies?

You can get a car on an hourly basis ($5.90 or $7.90) anytime, including Saturdays. On every day but Saturday, you can also get a PhillyCarShare car for the entire day at a cost of about $50 (in line with average car rental rates and much cheaper than paying hourly if you want a car for a full 24-hour period). However, on Saturdays you cannot reserve a car for the full day. That's because a lot of people are like you, Lulu, and use PhillyCarShare primarily on Saturdays. By not letting anyone reserve a car for the full day, more cars are available on Saturdays to be rented by the hour. Hope this clears everything up.

Joe

I said it was "about $50" for the daily rental. I just checked (as I'm getting a car for the full day on Thanksgiving) and it's $48 if you are a $15/month member and $56 if you are a $0/month member. Also, the daily rates are for any 24-hour period, not per calendar day.

Joe

With the deadline for getting the $50 bonus rapidly approaching (you must be signed up by this Thursday to receive the bonus), I thought I'd give the thread a bump.

I hate to be the only one posting in this thread, but in case you're kicking yourself for missing the Nov. 30 deadline, I just got an e-mail from PhillyCarShare saying that they extended the deadline for the $50 refer-a-friend promotion until 11:59 p.m. on December 4, 2006. So, there you have it - a couple more days to take advantage of this great offer.

There also seems to be a car share parade on South Street on Saturday (12/2). Probably a good way to get more info before signing up for Philly Car Share (don't forget to tell them that Joe in BH or I referred you ).


From an email I got from PCS:

PhillyCarShare’s having a parade down South Street this weekend… See all thirteen car models in our fleet together for the first time EVER. C’mon down to South Street from 4-5, this Saturday, December 2nd and jump in the parade, or just cheer from the sidelines. ...Then meet us at Headhouse Square for a whole bunch of fun & activities - great for the entire family. ...

Almost every time I'm out walking for more than 2 minutes I see a PhillyCarShare car drive by - I think just about every person who lives near a pod and doesn't own a car has already signed up.

However, PhillyCarShare is back with a referral promotion. Unfortunately, this time it's $25 for each new member instead of $50. There's no ticking clock on the current promotion - it could end anytime. It's free to join, so there's no reason not to take advantage of the $25 sign-up bonus and try it out.

As before, if you need a referral, e-mail me at joeinbh (at AOL), or PM me here, and I'll be happy to send my name so that you can get the bonus.