Review: Car2Go in Denver

BACKGROUND:

My friends and I needed a car to drive around Colorado with! Problem is, we’re 19, and most car rentals won’t rent to us. I stumbled upon Maven on my last trip which is sponsored by GM and decided to try that last time. I really liked Maven! But this time I decided to try car2go, because last time they only had smart cars, but now they rent out Mercedes GLA and CLA’s! I thought my friend would like to try the Benz, so we went for it.

Short Review:

PROS

1. You get a Mercedes to drive around in.
2. Park anywhere in the Home Zone to end your ride.

CONS

1. If you run out of gas, you have to pay for it. (And get driving credits later?)
2. No free wifi in car like Maven.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

You download the app, get approved and you can currently rent in 7 cities across the US, and there’s a couple of locations internationally. The initial sign up cost is $5 (You get a $10 credit after signing up but it can’t be applied to day packages…) Then, there’s a map of car2go car locations in each city and you can pick one out. You can reserve a car2go up to 30 minutes in advance.

When you get to your vehicle, you scan the transponder on the dash, it will open up the car and the key will be inside.

We reserved our car once we landed at Denver and chose a Mercedes GLA. It cost $89 a day (with 150 miles a day included) which may seem a bit steep, but for 18 year olds it wasn’t bad, considering there were only 2 rental car companies willing to rent with us at Denver Airport for the same price (EZ, Fox) and they have very poor reviews and other interesting fine print details.

You can also rent by the minute, at 45 cents per minute.

WHAT OTHER CARS DO THEY HAVE?

car2go has Mercedes Benz vehicles, the GLA and CLA, which are the entry level models and are compact. Both are the same price per hour/day, so it’s up to you on which you prefer. A mini crossover, or a compact sedan.

WHAT’S INCLUDED?

150 miles are included in the car2go, which is less than the 180 miles given by Maven. The thing that really bugged me is that whatever gas is in the car is free, but if you need to refill, you have to pay yourself. They say they will reimburse you in “drive credit” but it sounds like a hassle. This is why before you rent a car2go they tell you the fuel level of the car. Make sure to get one with enough gas. I assumed it would be free to fill up like Maven but I should have done more research…

All the ones near the airport only had 19% fuel so we were stuck filling up the gas. A horrible policy if you ask me. Maven includes a gas card so you can use the card to fill up for free when you need to. MUCH BETTER.

INSURANCE?

Yup, the deductible in case of an accident is $500.

MY CAR!

It was a nice new Mercedes Benz GLA with leather seats and a navigation. Sirius radio too. Car drives nicely according to my friend who was the designated driver. Just a bit compact (as expected). He loved the drive of the GLA, but liked the extra space in our Maven’s Chevy Malibu.

There’s no wifi, sigh. I really liked that about Maven.

The best part of car2go is that you can return it anywhere in the home base area of Denver. There are designated car2go spots all around the city, or you can park on a (legal) city street parking. With Maven, you have to return it to where you picked in up (in certain cities they are testing one-way drop offs though).

THE VERDICT:

While it was nice to have a Mercedes, the hassle of gas refilling and no wifi makes a car2go less enticing. It’s less clean and clear than Maven, which I really enjoyed.

Have you tried Car2Go? Comment below!

Happy travels,

theresorttraveler

MY COLORADO TRIP REPORT:

Check out the rest of my Colorado 2017 Fall Trip here!

• I Survived My First Spirit Airlines Flight (LAX-DEN)
• Review: United Club LAX 
• Colorado Springs Marriott
• Review: Car2Go Carsharing
• Doubletree Denver Stapleton North
• United Basic Economy (DEN-LAX)