GoCar

Guy:Incognito

A picture in the parking thread reminded me. Whats the deal with Gocar and parking. Have they designated places to be left or are they supposed to have paid parking on them if they are in pay parking areas?

Ive never used it but I've noticed loads of them around town (Dublin) clamped over the last while , so i presume users are just dumping them wherever is convenient when they are done? I assume they are hit for the clamping fee by gocar?


Also noticed a good few people smoking in them. Wouldn't be happy paying for a rental that was stinking of smoke.


Is it all indicative of a general "meh" attitude of its users?

colm_mcm

In Limerick anyway, there are designated “car club” spaces. Being Limerick, they’re often taken by the B6 Passat brigade.

Isambard

Mr.S wrote: »

For Dublin - GoCars have free on-street parking in the DCC applicable areas, eg any of the pay & display spaces.

If you're parked illegally (like in that parking thread) then you'll get clapped. GoCar send you the clamping release fee + whatever their callout fee is.

Not sure about other cities but assume it's the same in terms of council parking areas.

i applaud proper parking

HISTORICGOODS

I'm leaving this here for anyone thinking of using GoCar. Don't. I've spent thousands of euros over nearly ten years of membership and they are beyond terrible. Useless. Constant overcharging. The cars never open properly nor close properly at the end of your trip. You're dependent on the customer service centre which takes an average of 10 minutes to get through to when you select option 4, Accident/Emergency. Diabolical.

Joey99

Most of the GoCars I see clamped around Dublin City are either parked in an e-car charging bay while not charging (a$$ move if ever there was one), parked in a disabled bay (worse again) or parked across two spaces.

When they have free parking in every pay and display space in the city you’d really wonder about some drivers.

Joey99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117655779#Comment_117655779

I’ve not been using them long but my experience so far has been A1. Locking and unlocking particularly has been a breeze. Must be a nightmare for them dealing with 00s of different phones, connectivity probs, Android vs iPhone. The concept is brilliant.

HISTORICGOODS

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117658582#Comment_117658582

Key phrase here "I've not been using them long".

I use an iPhone with the latest version of the app, which is always on 4G in my area, and I've been using GoCars 4-6 times a week for the past seven months alone.

Also: they're not your mates. Interoperability with devices/OSs is expected for a product like this -- and it's never been a big issue for the several other carsharing services I've habitually used in different countries/cities since 2011.

billyhead

Is there a subscription fee for being signed up to GoCar?

Dudda

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117670045#Comment_117670045

No. You pay whenever you use it. Kinda like a taxi without the driver. Different fees for how long and how far you go. They may have had a subscription thing in the past, it's only recently come to my area so don't know how it used to operate previously.

chicorytip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117655779#Comment_117655779

How do you delete a post on this new site?

Esel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117705953#Comment_117705953

You can't. In the 24 hour edit window, you can change it to '...'or whatever.

After 24 hours, only possibility is to Flag Report the post and ask a mod to delete it.

chicorytip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117655779#Comment_117655779

I am a regular GoCar user. I find it a good service and certainly user friendly in comparison to standard type car hire. The one criticism I would have is that the vehicles don't appear to be particularly well maintained or, indeed, particularly clean. I had a Renault Trafic from them with a very low level of engine oil - there was a warning message on the dash. I had to top it up myself but they reimbursed for the cost of the new oil without hesitation.

HISTORICGOODS

Just to repeat: I've used GoCar hundreds of times and four days a week since November of last year. I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who has used them as frequently. I'd be less interested to hear from anyone who has used them, say, twice a month, or even once a week for a few years.

HISTORICGOODS

I have used the same four GoCar bases and almost never find a vehicle that's in good repair or doesn't have a warning light. The clutch is gone on at least one local to me and has been for the guts of a year. I have a number of outstanding overcharges with them adding up to hundreds of euros which I've emailed about on multiple occasions and tweeted them about and I have had no reply. I am now looking at Small Claims to get my money back.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117712954#Comment_117712954

Joey99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117716313#Comment_117716313

I just want to flag that you appear to have joined Boards in June 2021 and have made five posts, all on this thread and all highly negative about GoCar. Maybe you are completely genuine and maybe the site is not showing your prior history but the pattern of your usage is troll-adjacent and it seems strange that if you've been having such intense and continuing problems this thread would be the first time you decide to vent about it.

Some of what you say seems completely feasible but I can't help feeling that if your experiences were typical of the GoCar experience then a search for GoCar on here or on Twitter would just show pages and pages of complaints and issues (and it doesn't).

Feel free to correct me if I am wide of the mark but I just wanted to highlight the concern that seemed obvious to me.

Helpmeplz101

Here is a referral code if anyone wants to get €25 credit onto their account when signing up - 10r76v. Many of my friends have used GoCar and all good reviews. I am using it today so will post an update after.

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117966832#Comment_117966832

Main issue I found is it took a couple of days to get account activated. You also need to leave car back to where you got it, which is not ideal. It is highly advisable to link an RFID card to your account, say your leap card, as if you have no phone internet or signal when you go to unlock the car later say in rural Wicklow, the phone app won't unlock the car if either the car or the phone has no connection to the mothership. If you tie an RFID card to the account, you can unlock gocars with no signal or a dead phone.

Helpmeplz101

Ok so I used GoCar on Sunday last. Signing up was fast but I had waited overnight for my driver's license to be approved and decided to call them to get it done quicker. Their customers service is actually really good. You could have to wait 5 mins on the line but they are really helpful and approved my license there and then. Getting the GoCar was easy. I hired a Van and found it very good. I will say the van had alot of marks and bumps but a quick run around taking pictures of these and you can submit a review of the vehicle before you take off. My only issues were that when I arrived back to park the van the space was taken but I was lucky to find a space nearby. GoCar say that you should notify them if you park in a different space or you could be fined. I also had an issue locking the van when I finished so I called the helpline and they locked it. There are small issues with GoCar but overall I found it great. I used a referral code I found on Boards and got €25 off of my journey (so I actually ended up getting the journey for free). I also got €10 credit for registering my leap card on the app. Posting my referral code here again - 10r76v - and I'd recommend registering your leap card too. €35 credit goes a long way in these!

RosieJoe

Hi, anyone have a code for free credit? I missed the above code on registration and it comes back as invalid when I add it to the app.

GBX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2057997986/gocar-sign-up-referral-bonus-25-credit#latest Thread here for referals.

Jbrodders

I have just signed up to GoCar and all seems well apart from the fact that you need to leave the car in the exact same place as you left it. What is the point of that if you have a one way trip. Next question is how strict are they if you leave the car at another bay or has anyone else tried it?

km991148

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117658582#Comment_117658582

Occasional user for about 10 years or whenever they started. Occasional hiccup but no major complaints.

Only problem was the change they made a cpl years back. You could book 15 mins minimum but there is 5 mins grace either side, just enough for a quick cheap trip when needed

Only really seen them clamped in places with shared space (like part time taxi ranks etc.. legal when car left off peak then illegally parked when rank opens).

km991148

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118851369#Comment_118851369

I think you get 4/500m radius of the name of the place the car should be . Outside that, you need a good reason (like no space to park). I think they just charge you if not back, but don't know how much.

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118851369#Comment_118851369

Go car typically have free parking in any valid council parking space. Ideally put it in marked gocar space, bit if that is blocked then nearest legal space. If it's an electric gocar do not park next to electric car charger as car may be clamped after you leave. Electric car parking spaces are tight only while actively charging and once charging is finished car may be clamped and last driver will be fined.

magoo84

I'm a GoCar customer for the last 6 or so years. Rented a car for an hour on Friday, returned it with no issues. Tried to log in on Saturday via the Android app and it displayed a message saying that my account was blocked and that I should contact their customer support. No explanation, no contact details given. After multiple phone calls I was told the car I booked last Friday was involved in an accident and that my account was blocked pending an investigation. They can't give me any more information than that apparently. Absolutely terrible customer service, not to even have the courtesy to tell you your account is blocked or why, and to seemingly presume guilt until proof of innocence. Laughable how their phone line's on-hold music keep repeating the benefits of having a car without the hassle of owning one. There's no way you could rely on them if they can just arbitrarily pull the plug like that.

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119613097#Comment_119613097

There are alternatives like

https://www.yuko.ie/

Just like any hire car you should photo all over car before and after a hire period. Damage from previous drivers or while parked may be blamed on you so you need to protect yourself.

StudentDad

I've seen these gocars around and as a concept they seem okay. Although to my mind there are a few flaws. They cost too much and as an above poster has pointed out, if you're on a one way trip from Dublin to Cork say. the service isn't much use to you.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120868699#Comment_120868699

Any one way rental is expensive not just with GoCar, rental companies have to pay to get their cars returned with one way rentals.

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120868699#Comment_120868699

I find with my own car if I go one way, it also needs to get back somehow too!, but yes not being able to leave the gocar say anywhere in Dublin is a pain, and with modern apps others could find it and hire it from where it's left like the bike hires with no stations.

Say you have a 4 hour business meeting away from office, why not allow someone else take the car and then you hunt for a free car later, assuming you agree and it makes sense.

If there was a dozen cars just up the road from my home I'd consider dumping the 2 cars at home and downsize to one.