[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by adrift@life

Dear members,
My first post here , would have liked to start with an introduction but been lurking here since my approval for past three months. But here goes, I am travelling to Delhi would appreciate current scenario on self drive cars. Will be crossing in to Uttar Pradesh, being my first time venturing north would appreciate your inputs. My purpose is to drop my wife into medical college for PG. Need a hassle free experience and cannot make alternate arrangements on short notice. My hindi is limited to spoken and not confident in finding public transport.

I had used a ciaz from mychoize and it was a reasonable experience. It was a yellow board vehicle, but otherwise quite decent. I planned to go to Agra but had to cancel it for various reasons, but my research said that the entry tax should be payable online and then you won't have to wait at the borders to pay tax.

[adrift@life]

Originally Posted by adrift@life

Dear members,
My first post here , would have liked to start with an introduction but been lurking here since my approval for past three months. But here goes, I am travelling to Delhi would appreciate current scenario on self drive cars. Will be crossing in to Uttar Pradesh, being my first time venturing north would appreciate your inputs. My purpose is to drop my wife into medical college for PG. Need a hassle free experience and cannot make alternate arrangements on short notice. My hindi is limited to spoken and not confident in finding public transport.

So took the plunge with Revv, hired a alto k10 for a duration of 2 days, without fuel.
Security deposit inr.2000
base fare inr 3463
allowed kms 284.
I had asked for the car to be delivered at Delhi IGI t1. Was contacted by the assigned delivery driver after landing.
was asked by him to come out of the terminal so the entry fee could be avoided.
car was delivered to me at delhi aerocity metro which he said was their pick up and drop point for all 3 terminals.
Coming to the car it was clean and had run 58k kms.
car was aesthetically in good condition, but never could go beyond 80km/hr steering had huge vibration at the point, the bonnet vibrated a lot too and upon inspection found that it did not lock properly.
managed the drive of 305 kms without issues in moderate and heavy rains.
Returned it early, you have to inform of it with three hours notice for early returns.
During the trip noticed the fuel cap had come off from the car. the attendant at the fuel station replaced it. but during the second refueling i forgot to check and when the car was returned it was missing, so i had driven 130kms without a fuel tank cover. the Revv driver who collected the car did not raise a issue for that.
All the tolls were deducted from the fast tag and bill presented in the end.
I paid MCD tolls on online vahan portal. the excess fuel was reimbursed in the final invoice.
In conclusion it was a hassle free experience for me, only somebody is going to get stuck with that wheel alignment and balancing problem later on.
My suggestion report any problem you face within 40km of using the vehicle, else they will conclude you caused the problem.
thank you.

[goenkakushal]

I have booked Zoom car for delivery at Delhi T2.
Now I have realised that my flight has changed and will arrive at T1.

I have tried to change the location but Zoomcar App is showing error: Car you have selected is not available. Note: I am only changing Location not car or timing.

Helpline staff are simply saying do it from App we cant change from our system.

Can anyone guide if this is going to be an issue during pick up and drop of vehicle?

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by goenkakushal

I have booked Zoom car for delivery at Delhi T2.
Now I have realised that my flight has changed and will arrive at T1.

I don’t have an idea about Zoomcar, but, worst case, I guess you can use the DTC transfer to get to T2 from T1. There is a airport helpline number on that page you can use to enquire if there are any conditions of carriage.

Don’t get the metro, as there is no direct connectivity between T1 and T2/3.

[Bailey]

Originally Posted by goenkakushal

I have booked Zoom car for delivery at Delhi T2.
Now I have realised that my flight has changed and will arrive at T1.

I have tried to change the location but Zoomcar App is showing error: Car you have selected is not available. Note: I am only changing Location not car or timing.

Helpline staff are simply saying do it from App we cant change from our system.

Can anyone guide if this is going to be an issue during pick up and drop of vehicle?

Zoom car normally has different cars available depending on the pick up location. This is why you are getting the above error.

IMO you now have the following options:

1. Pick up and drop the car at T2 as per your original booking.
2. Pick up from T2, drop at T1 - Zoom Car has a penalty for this which you will have to pay.
3. Cancel and book afresh from the available options for T1.

[girishglg]

Hi Guys I am contemplating using a self drive rental car for my upcoming Himachal trip which would be originating and ending at Chandigarh. Since I am a novice in self drive cars and would prefer driving my own steed at any time, I would need some advise from you to make this choice.

I would require a car for around 12 days in the last 2 weeks of December, planning to cover the Kinnaur, Tirthan and Kasol regions of Himachal which might encounter snow. We are just three of us so a sedan or big hatch would be file. Given all these please suggest-

1. Which car would be best suited for the hilly drive and which operator to go for given the base location being Chandigarh?
2. What about the state entry taxes, do we have to pay for a rental car, where should we pay if so and how to pay?
3. What happens if there is a breakdown during the period and how will the rental car take care of it?
4. Any experiences of using the rental car in Himachal and any specific instructions?
5. What other do and dont's to note while booking a self drive car?

It would be great if you can help me on all of these questions to make a choice because the last thing I want is to be stuck with a cab with driver who would be nagging us all through out our journey with his agenda and choices.

[callvvijay]

Guys, need some pointers on Self-drive 7-seater in Madurai, TN. Its gonna be a short 200kms drive spread across 3 days by December end.

Zoomcar offers a Triber which has run 285K kms . The total trip would cost around Rs.12K

I also got a quote from Onroadz car rental agency which is offering Ertiga which would cost around Rs.9K. Onroadz seems to have presence in multiple cities across TN.

There are also a few other rental agencies which seem to be local to Madurai/surroundings. Though I see pretty good Google-reviews for them, I'm a bit apprehensive.

Couple of questions:

1. Doesn't Zoom offer pickup/drop service anymore?
2. Have any of you tried Onroadz or any of the rental agencies in Madurai?

Thanks in advance!

[noopster]

Of late I have been flying to Goa instead of driving down from Pune. There are only two direct flights, one at noon and the other at midnight, and we use whatever is more convenient given the situation.

Since this means no wheels when we land, have started using self-drive rentals to drive within Goa. One that I can recommend is Joey's Car Rentals whose services I have used a couple of times in recent months.

Pros:
* Cars are new and well-maintained with good AT options. Some of the cars I have used are Crysta, Baleno and Thar (all AT)
* Prices are reasonable: daily rental for the Crysta AT is 3500/- and Baleno AT around 1500/- a day. Thar is 5K.
* Pricing is transparent: daily rate, pickup/drop charge and midnight charge as applicable. Plus you shell out a security deposit from which any damages are recovered. Payment by Google Pay, refunds by cash/GPay are instantaneous.
* Yellow on black boards with "Rent a Cab" emblazoned discreetly on the side. Hasn't caused us any trouble with local cabbies or authorities. Seems above board and legit.
* Prompt and responsive: usually responds to Whatsapp messages in minutes, bookings/alterations are fuss-free and they literally operate 24/7.

Cons:
* Part of a day is billed as a whole: e.g. if I book from noon Sunday to noon Tuesday, I get billed for 3 days rather than 2 (if following a 24-hour schedule).
* If you return the car even with small dents/scratches he will assess an amount and withhold it from the security deposit. Very little room to negotiate. I got charged 2000/- the last time because there were minor scratches on the underchassis. Took it as a sign that he takes good care of his cars (however will check the next time I rent the same car just to make sure the damage is repaired!)
* There are some horror stories reported on Google reviews mostly centering around the damage assessment and charges aspect and some rudeness reported by specific employees. Make sure you take a call based on all available information.

Overall highly recommended, especially for airport to airport rentals.

[miles_hungry]

Guys, I am planning a road trip from Bangalore to Goa via Kasargod and Mangalore and back. I am looking to rent a self drive car from Bangalore like zoomcar. My queries are:

1) Are white board zoomcar vehicles legal to enter into Kerala and Goa, if yes then do I need special permits for Goa and Kerala and would love to know the cost involved.

2) Are any cab agencies available in Bangalore that provide yellow board self drive cars for inter state travel. References and cost involved please.

* I am from Guwahati and will be coming to Bangalore for some work in April, will require the car for about 10 days to cover these places.

[Nissan1180]

We rented an i20 from a company named TS Drives (https://ts-drives.business.site/) in Bengaluru. The experience was positive.

The car was clean, suspension was in a good condition, and (for a change) the pickup process was convenient.

If you are looking for a car in Bengaluru, please consider talking to them. I have not had a better experience while renting a car from anyone else so far.

[shamanth]

Originally Posted by miles_hungry

1) Are white board zoomcar vehicles legal to enter into Kerala and Goa, if yes then do I need special permits for Goa and Kerala and would love to know the cost involved.

I guess if you say your are driving rented ZoomCar White Board car it becomes illegal, you just have to tell its friends or relatives car, then no one will bother you. Maybe keep the owners phone number handy if any issue.

[shamanth]

Originally Posted by Nissan1180

If you are looking for a car in Bengaluru, please consider talking to them. I have not had a better experience while renting a car from anyone else so far.

I would say, if you rent a car make sure you have Zero or less than 5k liability insurance on account of accident. This is the biggest risk we take if we take self drive car from small company. Suppose the car had an accident and car get totaled, these guys might ask you to pay few Lakhs.

[miles_hungry]

Originally Posted by shamanth

I guess if you say your are driving rented ZoomCar White Board car it becomes illegal, you just have to tell its friends or relatives car, then no one will bother you. Maybe keep the owners phone number handy if any issue.

Thanks for the prompt reply. I am worried as I have read in many forums that the situation in Goa is similar to Leh Ladakh, where outside state commercial vehicles are not welcomed much as it affects their local cab industry. I hope they won't insist the on having vehicle registered in the name of either self, father or spouse.

[shamanth]

Originally Posted by miles_hungry

Thanks for the prompt reply. I am worried as I have read in many forums that the situation in Goa is similar to Leh Ladakh, where outside state commercial vehicles are not welcomed much as it affects their local cab industry. I hope they won't insist the on having vehicle registered in the name of either self, father or spouse.

Normally Passing from Karnataka to Goa, you rarely get stopped or asked anything if its white board. Once in Goa no one bothers, there will be 100s of KA vehicles. Yes, if you get Black and Yellow board there will be checks as long as documents are correct no issues. Again no issues in Goa riding Black and Yellow board cars, even Zoomcars are available at Goa Airport.

Ladakh is different ball game, there local taxi operators target Black/yellow boards.

While coming back you get mostly stopped at Karnataka side for liquor bottle checks.

[miles_hungry]

Originally Posted by shamanth

Normally Passing from Karnataka to Goa, you rarely get stopped or asked anything if its white board. Once in Goa no one bothers, there will be 100s of KA vehicles. Yes, if you get Black and Yellow board there will be checks as long as documents are correct no issues. Again no issues in Goa riding Black and Yellow board cars, even Zoomcars are available at Goa Airport.

Ladakh is different ball game, there local taxi operators target Black/yellow boards.

While coming back you get mostly stopped at Karnataka side for liquor bottle checks.

Seems like I can go ahead with a zoomcar. Thanks a lot