[GTO]

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Services offered:

• Local & Outstation car rentals.

What I like:

• Car & driver quality ranges between good to excellent.
• Drivers usually arrive well before time. I've never had them come late.
• Seamless online booking process.
• Excellent customer service. No hassles with refunds either. I've cancelled twice and had the money refunded back to my credit card in a handful of days. No fuss whatsoever.
• Late bookings possible. I've had a cab down my place within 2 hours on a working day.
• One-way cabs available.
• Advance payment not mandatory. I've paid at the end of a trip numerous times.

What I don't like:

• For intracity trips, the convenient UberHire can work out cheaper for shorter hires. UberHire can also arrange a car in just 10 minutes.
• For intercity trips, there are a lot of cheaper providers. But I still stick with Savaari.com for their reliability, quality & safety.
• No self-drive rentals .

Pricing: Definitely on the premium side. You get what you pay for.

Speciality / USP: None in particular. Just a top quality chauffeur-driven cab provider.

What I have bought from them: Have used them for in-city trips (for Mom) as well as outstation trips (Mom again). My kid brother has made about 100 bookings on Savaari.com for his business tours.

Contact Information:

- Website: www.savaari.com
- Phone number: 09045450000
- Locations: Pan-India presence in about 100 cities.

BHPian experiences:

Originally Posted by ajmat

I was pleasantly surprised by Savaari Cabs.

The Bangalore Airport pickup /drop were booked for me by an agency in Delhi. Got an SMS in advance and taxi arrived in time (forgot - there was a screw up on the pick up time, but the call centre sorted it out). Return was also efficient, cab driver told me where exactly to stand.

Cars were clean and drivers polite.

Originally Posted by ghpk

My in-laws needed to visit Lucknow and their plan to go there by car just failed due to some reasons. Now they had to visit Lucknow in a Volvo, and then move in this city to two different locations which were quite far from each other.

With own car and driver plan cancellation, they were worried about completing both tasks and getting back the same day, so I was given the work to arrange their movement in Lucknow. Although I had many friends in Lucknow, but when you need them, they are busy or unavailable.

So tried my friend "Google Uncle" and wow, a couple of listings of car rentals from Lucknow. Called up and they were not very promising, one guy needed advance, other was asking for local reference, I hate this attitude.

Then found "savaari.com" in the search. Called them up and inquired about availability, the toll free phone representative was very responsive, was dead sure about pick up and service. As it was evening by then, I quickly ordered an economy cab, paid only the advance of Rs.250/-. Got email Confirmation and printed out the details.

And to my surprise, the cab was up and ready at the requested location. "ON TIME", clean car, generous driver, booking papers etc. The driver took care of my in-laws and after their work, dropped them to the required location. It was a 70 km run only, they allowed 80 km / 8 hours.


I picked them on return and they had only good things to say about savaari.com services. They asked me how did I arrange this on such a short notice and they being "no interest in internet" types, I said "A friend recommended" which in fact is "Google".

I would strongly recommend these guys, they certainly deserve this post.

Originally Posted by barcalad

This company called Savaari cabs launched some 499 pick up from airport offer. Used them thrice, well enough. In the 4th trip, the driver literally ordered me to come to the pickup point 5. I came. It was a poorly maintained Etios with patches on it's body. Driver didn't start the A/C until I sternly reminded him. No newspaper or mineral water in the car, which was supposed to be there. Extremely rash driving on the Airport Flyover. Wrote an email to the Savaari CC from the car itself. Still haven't got any reply. And that was my last trip with Savaari Cars. Extremely poor.

Originally Posted by Edwardanto

Used Savaari cab in Bangalore for an Airport drop on last Friday. I had never used their service before and this trip turned out to be quite satisfactory. The fare from Singasandra was only Rs.674/- including toll for an A/C hatchback. Initially, I tried booking through the web, but wasn't able to complete the booking without paying full fare in advance. I didn't want to pay up the full amount before the journey, so dialled their call center and did a booking. They gave a discount of Rs.50/- for advance booking. The booking confirmation SMS came immediately and contained total fare and payment made. The cab details would arrive two hours prior to the pickup time.

I received the cab details by SMS 1 hour 15 minutes prior to the pickup time. But the driver called me and informed that he is far away and won't be able to reach in time. He then assured me that he would inform the call center and arrange another cab for me. The new cab details came around 20 minutes later. They upgraded the cab to a Swift Dzire at no extra cost and the cab driver arrived in time. Since the fare was a flat rate and not distance based, they would take only the shortest route. So had to go via MG road. It was afternoon, there was decent traffic, but could reach the airport in 2 hours. An SMS with the bill amount was received as soon as we reached near the airport terminal. The bill came to Rs.624/- as previously appraised.

Originally Posted by for_cars1

For Delhi-Agra-Delhi, I used Savaari.com, the driver turned out to be OK and billing was as listed on their site.

Originally Posted by i10

I recently availed Savaari's fixed rate airport pick up and drop service in Delhi. Car arrived well ahead of time for the drop, drove well and safe. The pick up service was patchy as the driver was waiting near the airport to avoid the parking fees, so he started only after I called. I wouldn't vouch for their service - I almost always take Meru for airport drop - but I was satisfied with the Savaari experience.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Team-BHP Directory!

[aryayush]

I know you’ve already said this but this is significantly more expensive than local providers, which basically ends the discussion for most people.

A trip to Jaigaon from Siliguri costed me ₹3,900 in a Toyota Innova a few weeks ago, and these guys want a minimum of ₹5,000 for it—and even that only covers me up to 250KM, beyond which they will charge extra, which translates to a further ₹1,500. It’s a whopping 67% premium over the local provider!

I can stomach a 10% increase for all the benefits you speak about (most of which are common to local providers you trust), but not this much.

[Turbanator]

Looks interesting, though never used it personally. I did a check for Gurgaon - Chandigarh return and does not look much expensive. Even local vendors charge Rs 15 per km and we all know what kind of interiors they keep,

It’s a whopping 67% premium over the local provider

Perhaps they have a preset distance in the fare which covers basic distance by shortest/practical route plus an allowance for local travel, appears fair to me. But yes in some places maybe they don't have better local contacts for competitive prices or a local user may have some better relations and lower prices

Overall looks good to me and worth the try going by the reviews.

[venki.bala]

We used Savaari for our Pune - Shirdi trip. Driver picked us from Pune airport on dot and was an excellent chap. it was an Innova and we had the car for 3 days and went around shirdi, nashik etc. we were a family of 5 adults plus 2 kids and driver accomodated all our requests for stops and super veggie food. it was a first trip for us and he ended up as a guide and helped us eat local cuisine and treats which we really enjoyed.overall the price was little premium but very satisfied with the driver and the vehicle.

[ksameer1234]

I had used Savaari.com about 4 years ago when we wanted to go from Agra to Mathura. The car was Innova which was clean and tidy with white towel upholstery, driver was well dressed in white uniform and was well spoken. Overall, the experience was pleasant.

Another operator which I have booked from recently is bookcab.in. This has been my choice when I would need car for Mumbai-Pune official trips with some being one-way drops. I found the overall service quality a notch below savaari.com but so were prices.

Then there is Travel House which is an associate company of ITC! Never booked personally but used Travel House cars when booked directly by clients. This is a level above savaari.com when it comes to professionalism. Truly world class!!

For tourists who prefer peace of mind, such online rental services are a boon. Nothing beats the comfort of having everything planned in advance and convenience of paying online through credit cards.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by aryayush

I can stomach a 10% increase for all the benefits you speak about (most of which are common to local providers you trust), but not this much.

I think it is a 10% premium at the most. Here's one of the times I'd booked an Innova from them. 7 days / 1750 km cost about 25k. A quick google search shows me that outstation charges are pretty much in this range for most operators (if you include the driver, overnight & minimum daily km fees) from the organised segment.

[Vishal.R]

I searched for their service between Vadodara and Ahmadabad as We traveled same route last week by Ola out station.

We paid approx Rs. 1500 for drop only for "Prime Sedan" category from Ola.
This also includes discount of Rs. 300.

The quote from Savaari.com is Rs. 3,271 for similar "Toyota Etios or Equivalent" for round trip. This is almost at par with local providers and Ola.

I am not able to see the option of one time drop.

[aryayush]

Originally Posted by GTO

I think it is a 10% premium at the most. Here's one of the times I'd booked an Innova from them. 7 days / 1750 km cost about 25k. A quick google search shows me that outstation charges are pretty much in this range for most operators (if you include the driver, overnight & minimum daily km fees) from the organised segment.

Perhaps it is able to price its services only a little above par in the larger cities then.

[Sahil]

I use Ola Rentals often when I am traveling within India for work trips. I always request for a SUV but never get an Innova nowadays. I like that Innova is the only car that Savaari has listed without "Or Equivalent"
Ola on the other hand sends you an Ertiga or Mobilo which really don't qualify are SUVs.

Rates wise Savaari is at par or even cheaper in certain cities. Only catch is that their fares start from garage to garage which is an outdated model in todays Uber/Ola world. Hope they change this soon. It is a pity they don't have an iOS app nor do they have an interface like Ola Corporate that we use at our company.

[GTO]

Been using them heavily for Mom & some guests at home.

Of late, have noticed too many out-of-town drivers who don't really know Mumbai's roads. That's not a problem in Uber due to the compulsory navigation via their phones, but it is a problem with Savaari as they don't use GPS. This becomes a big problem as the passenger has to continuously tell the driver where to go. It's worse when the passenger herself is not from Mumbai; a guest of mine wasted a lot of time going in circles. Driver didn't even know where Peddar Road, Kemps Corner or Juhu were!

Have complained to Savaari about this.

[vinit]

Sharing my recent experience with Savaari for a multi day trip.

1. I booked a sedan and got a hatchback. When I complained to Savaari, they said, its not a hatchback but a mini SUV. It was Mahindra KUV 100 .I received an SMS prior to journey, wherein a Desire was mentioned. Managing luggage became a big problem throughout the journey.

2. The car had just came from another trip last night. It was full of dust and dirt. Not cleaned at all.

3. Although the driver was polite and ready to go wherever being asked to, he clearly admitted at the beginning of the trip that he is not aware of the route. I had to spend lot of time navigating through Google maps for him. Later he told me that Savaari just simply picks any car that is available in their pool. They dont check whether the driver knows that particular route or not. This is never a problem when we book the car through a travel agent directly.

4. The kilometers that google map was showing and the trip meter reading of the car differed significantly. Since Savaari doesnt use GPS based kilometer tracking, you need to rely on the trip meter reading only. It is better to take the reading at every major halt to avoid such disputes.

5. The real benefit of Savaari is you can book the car at transparent pricing across India.

[GTO]

Not using Savaari at all now. Mom isn't keen on it either because:

1. Of the advance booking required (versus the instant availability of Uber Hire & Ola Rentals).

2. Their driver quality has deteriorated. A lot of them don't even know Mumbai roads. Main problem (vs Uber / Ola) is that Savaari doesn't have a driver rating system. That rating system is the primary reason behind Uber & Ola's consistent service quality.

I'll now use Savaari only for outstation trips where I need the same car (i.e. Innova) for multiple days.

[Chetan_Rao]

My one and only attempt to use Savaari's services went down the drain.

I booked an outstation airport pickup/drop in Nov 2018 (festive season) nearly a month in advance knowing it will be peak demand. The day before my travel, Savaari outright canceled the trip citing 'overbooking'. No coherent answer as to why I was affected despite booking well in advance. What happened next turned me off completely.

They say they canceled my booking because I hadn't paid in advance (no answer as to why they have a 'pay later' option), then offer to arrange a cab if I'm willing to pay two-way fare for a one-way trip.

A stinker to their chief got them to offer reinstating my bookings, but I'd already decided to use alternatives.

I don't intend to use them again.

[ajmat]

I used them yesterday. A relative passed away and I needed to rush to Chennai for the afternoon. I booked a car at 8.00 am on a Sunday to meet me at 1.00 pm at the airport. I had the driver's details on hand by 11 am.

The driver was prompt, the Etios was in ok condition, clean but a little worn but I cannot expect too much considering how taxi operators have got shafted by different companies. Had the car for 8 hours. Came to around Rs. 2100. I did not compare if I could have got a cheaper deal but this was smooth, seamless and efficient. A return taxi ride to Bangalore airport costs more than this.

All in all, I did a trip to Chennai and back via Akasa + Saavari for Rs 7000. If I had taken my car, it would have cost more + fatigue + tolls. How the tables have turned! The car makes sense if I have to carry 2 + passengers and need transport at my destination.