They say that timing is everything. Now in tough times you can rent a car – by the hour. It’s something called car sharing.

Zipcar’s car-sharing company has been around for some time now. It offers hourly and daily rentals in cities around the US and Canada.

Here’s how it works: you join the system, then reserve a car online at a specific date and time.

At your appointed time, head to one of the locations within your city, find the car you’ve reserved (parked in a designated space) and unlock the door with your ZipCard. The key will be waiting inside.

Prices start about $9 an hour and include gas, some mileage and insurance.

Even U-Haul has a deal.

It’s called U-Car Share and allows you to share a car for about $10 an hour plus an annual fee.

Now traditional rental car companies are also joining the game.

Enterprise has the “We” car which works the same way, although they primarily partner with businesses and universities.

The good news is that if you’re a business traveler in town for the day, you can save significantly with a short-term rental.

But watch out for dings.

Yes, insurance is covered, but watch out for this: there’s a $1000 deductible unless you negotiate otherwise.

Or get more ideas in our Car Rentals section.

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