[KING DYSP]

Originally Posted by im_srini

Hi Mr. King, does Zoom allow clients to park their cars within Zoom's premises while taking out one of their hire cars ?

I understand long term parking could be an issue, how about for short jaunts, like within 24 hours ?

Planning to hire a Zoom vehicle from their Bellandur facility for about 15 hours, since I stay in Electronics-City, it would make my life much simpler if I could simply park my car there for the duration of the hire.

Hello Srini,

Yeah definitely they will provide parking in all their facilities except Mantri Greens and Hebbal.
As they have their facility at Novotel Hotel, Bellandur. You don't have to worry about car safety.
Just hire your favourite car and enjoy your drive.

Wish you a safe journey. :thumbup:

[KING DYSP]

Zoom have added two more locations, Jalahalli & Bannerghatta.
Below is the email I received from them.

Happy Zooming.

Fellow Self-Drive Enthusiast,

As self-drive slowly but surely becomes the norm, we're seeing more and more people across this great city of Bangalore take interest.

To help meet this excitement, Zoom is pleased to formally announce the addition of 2 new locations across the city: Jalahalli (Hesaraghatta Main Rd) and Bannerghatta Rd (opposite IIMB @ Anant Cars). It's now even more convenient to Zoom from South or North Bangalore!

In addition to these new locations, Zoom is pleased to announce a huge influx of Scorpios, Figos, and even Ecosports this month!! Customers have been clamoring for more vehicles and we're pleased to answer this call with some brand spankin' new cars!

And don't forget our special offer for all our die-hard Figo go-ers out there:

For the entire month of June, enjoy unlimited kms on any Ford Figo booking that starts on Monday-Thursday. You now have an uncapped limit on adventure this month!


Zoom off today and become part of the self-drive revolution, click below:
Let's Zoom

We look forward to seeing you cruise around Bangalore. Happy Zooming!!


Sincerely,

The Zoom Team

[desertfox]

They had mentioned to me in an e mail last year that they would launch the self drive service in Gurgaon too soon. Any news ?

[kadurRacer]

I am planning to book a Zoom seven seater for a 4 day trip. We are planning to cover 1000km+ in this trip. I need suggestion as to which of the Zoom's fleet of cars that can seat 2 adults comfortably in the last row.

Please note that I need to place two car seats (rear facing) in the middle row for my kids and hence entry to the last bench should be through hatch door. As I do not have first hand experience on any of Scorpio, Safari and XUV please suggest a car that would match my requirment the best.

[searchingheaven]

I am planning a trip to Leh/ladakh from Bangalore in August/September this year with Zoom cars (Tata Safari). Would like to know if this is viable & what would be the best options/rentals etc(from Zoom).

[im_srini]

Originally Posted by KING DYSP

Yeah definitely they will provide parking in all their facilities except Mantri Greens and Hebbal.
As they have their facility at Novotel Hotel, Bellandur.

Many Thanks ! Yes, I was offered free parking at their facility
I had to pick up the car at Sireesh Auto, Marathalli, since Figos aren't offered at Bellandur.

Originally Posted by KING DYSP

For the entire month of June, enjoy unlimited Kms on any Ford Figo booking that starts on Monday-Thursday.
You now have an uncapped limit on adventure this month !

I had hired a Figo for a trip to Thiruvannamalai recently.
At the end of my trip of ~18 hours I had ~300 Kms over & above the 225 Kms limit per 24 hours.
At drop-off time, I did not know about this Unlimited offer with Figos, but they offered it to me anyway !
As a result, I ended up paying just Rs. 1,500 in total for the Figo for the entire trip !
To put this in context, without the offer it would've been an extra Rs.3,600 for the extra Kms.

A navigation device ( smart-phone with 3G connection ) is offered as standard, so is an Aux cable for the in-car entertainment system.
To those thinking of hiring cars for long trips, I would advise add a buffer ( hours or days ) to handle the typical delays during a long drive.

To the Zoom-Car team, some feedback:
- The locations ( addresses ) at which cars are available for pickup are not easily available ( especially considering not all cars are available at all locations )
- To add a buffer between bookings ( could be a % of the booked duration ) to handle any incidental delays & insulate clients from such delays

The Zoom-Car service is every bit as painless as it's advertised to be

[Vid6639]

Zoom has now added the Mercedes Benz A class to their fleet of cars. Available at Bellandur and Kormangala.

[gadiyar]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Zoom has now added the Mercedes Benz A class to their fleet of cars. Available at Bellandur and Kormangala.

And Whitefield as well!

I've booked one for a 6 hour drive this Sunday. The one at Koramangala seems to be booked for the weekend already.

[sachinayak]

Had used Zoom Car a couple of months back for a long-distance trip to Kumta. Had picked up a Tata Safari and was the first time I was driving an SUV. Picked it up a couple of days in advance to acclimatize.

The overall process was very very smooth. Picked up the vehicle from their EGL campus location. Unlike what they have mentioned on their website, it is NOT restricted to EGL employees alone. The vehicle was in great condition (around 6K km done, just back from service, so very clean). They provided a Micromax Canvas phone for navigation as well, though i never used it as I am more comfortable with Here Maps on my Nokia.

The return was equally hassle-free. They did a quick check to ensure everything was in place and there were no questions asked. I had refuelled for a couple of thousands and this was promptly refunded in a couple of days.

Overall experience was top-notch. Has put my vehicle upgrade plans on hold permanently. For long drives when you have an option like this, why get another vehicle.

Some pics to share

[Kumar R]

This sounds like a great service and something severely (and surprisingly) lacking in Indian cities in this day and age. However the 150 km free mileage is a bit over-the-top since holidaymakers aside, users are unlikely to travel more than 30-40 km a day in Bangalore. If a lower 'free' mileage was factored in, the rental could be set to Rs 900-1000 which would be a really good deal because users would then pay for their own petrol and avoid driving the car extra just to get 'paisa vasool'. I am aware that some rental companies in the USA (at least east coast) also offer 150/200 km free mileage per day but the distances there are much much greater. I am looking at the service as an alternative to what I did when I was in Delhi for a short assignment of 3 weeks where I borrowed a car from a friend to commute to office and back daily.

I am also curious -- the website of Zoom shows photos of their range of cars each carrying a prominent Zoom logo on the sides. Will this be a problem in entering some hotels/clubs/hospitals/housing societies where taxis are not permitted (I have faced this before where taxis had a hard time clearing the watchman). Plus it may also draw a lot of attention to the car (and user) which may be unwelcome in an office/formal setting.

[searchingheaven]

Originally Posted by Kumar R

This sounds like a great service and something severely (and surprisingly) lacking in Indian cities in this day and age. However the 150 km free mileage is a bit over-the-top since holidaymakers aside, users are unlikely to travel more than 30-40 km a day in Bangalore. If a lower 'free' mileage was factored in, the rental could be set to Rs 900-1000 which would be a really good deal because users would then pay for their own petrol and avoid driving the car extra just to get 'paisa vasool'. I am aware that some rental companies in the USA (at least east coast) also offer 150/200 km free mileage per day but the distances there are much much greater. I am looking at the service as an alternative to what I did when I was in Delhi for a short assignment of 3 weeks where I borrowed a car from a friend to commute to office and back daily.

I am also curious -- the website of Zoom shows photos of their range of cars each carrying a prominent Zoom logo on the sides. Will this be a problem in entering some hotels/clubs/hospitals/housing societies where taxis are not permitted (I have faced this before where taxis had a hard time clearing the watchman). Plus it may also draw a lot of attention to the car (and user) which may be unwelcome in an office/formal setting.

Dear Kumar,

I am a regular user of Zoom & hence would like to throw some light on the valid points you have raised.

1. If you are sure that you have to travel for a very small distance like 50-80 kms, you can book the car by the per hour rate. Say 4 hrs, 100 kms, Rs. 600 for Figo. That i think is good enough since a 4 hr 40 km Cab package is costs nearly that much.

2. I don't know if you have driven extensively in Bangalore, but believe me, it is too big a city for factoring a lower free mileage. A run to the airport & you're 100 kms down. I have booked Zoom Cars for a long time now & i have ended up over the KM limit almost everytime. The over-the-limit fee is Rs. 12/KM which is too costly when you compare it to the free mileage costs(Rental/free kms i.e 1500/225=Rs. 6.66). Comparison for Figo. So its better to have a higher mileage than pay by your nose for overshooting it.

3.In most cases it does not create problems at hotels, been to ITC Gardenia & they did not raise a eyelid. On a side note, all vehicles, except the A-Class & 320d have this badging. But i had a chat with some senior Zoom officials and they told me that they are changing their stickering policy very soon.

[Kumar R]

Originally Posted by searchingheaven

Dear Kumar,

I am a regular user of Zoom & hence would like to throw some light on the valid points you have raised.

1. If you are sure that you have to travel for a very small distance like 50-80 kms, you can book the car by the per hour rate. Say 4 hrs, 100 kms, Rs. 600 for Figo. That i think is good enough since a 4 hr 40 km Cab package is costs nearly that much.

2. I don't know if you have driven extensively in Bangalore, but believe me, it is too big a city for factoring a lower free mileage. A run to the airport & you're 100 kms down. I have booked Zoom Cars for a long time now & i have ended up over the KM limit almost everytime. The over-the-limit fee is Rs. 12/KM which is too costly when you compare it to the free mileage costs(Rental/free kms i.e 1500/225=Rs. 6.66). Comparison for Figo. So its better to have a higher mileage than pay by your nose for overshooting it.

3.In most cases it does not create problems at hotels, been to ITC Gardenia & they did not raise a eyelid. On a side note, all vehicles, except the A-Class & 320d have this badging. But i had a chat with some senior Zoom officials and they told me that they are changing their stickering policy very soon.

Hi, Thanks for taking the time to reply and I appreciate your thoughts. Here are some views I had after reading your reply

(1) I agree about the trip to the airport but is that the sort of clientele Zoom is looking at? If I have to catch a flight there is no chance of driving myself to the airport, parking the vehicle, being sure everything is as per zoom operating procedure etc. I prefer and it is much less stressful to simply order a phone-cab service. Same for when you return to the city. If on the other hand some friend or a loved one is visiting you and arriving at the airport, 9 times out of 10 they will take a cab from the airport. I can't think of any reason why I would want to hire a self-driven car and go to the Airport to pick up a friend/ relation unless they were physically disabled or extremely unwell (in which case again, I would usually choose a taxi so as to be less under stress). I can't think of a reason to self-drive to the Airport unless I am working there for a few days and am staying in the city.

The clientele I imagine zoom would be targeting would be: (a) Couples and families) who want a quick trip out of the city (say Nilgiris / ooty) and back in 1-4 days without the annoyance of a driver; (b) Working class professionals based in Bangalore who are presently having to travel frequently to Mysore/Chennai/Bellary on a regular basis and love driving; and (c) non-Bangalore based working professionals who are in the city for a short assignment of 1-4 weeks and who may need a car for daily office commute as well as all sorts of everyday stuff (going to a shop, eating out, meeting friends, movie, etc.).

(2) For very small distances, again, I believe hiring a taxi is more convenient. Unless your home is bang next to a Zoom Pickup spot, it does not seem to make sense to travel and pickup the (Zoom) vehicle from a designated pickup location (23 in Bangalore I understand) -- which might not exactly be walking distance away -- and return it there (and then return home) for a trip lasting 2-3 hours. In fact the whole hourly usage seems unattractive due to this reason. The biggest advantage of a self-driven rental is that you get to keep the car with you (as if it's your own car).

(3) Re mileage, ideally I do not want *any* free mileage. Having rented a car it should be my decision to use it for as much or as little as I want. The service should be for cost of time alone -- and a huge advantage over 4/6 hour taxi bookings would be that you're not forced to log miles to "recover" your investment. The cost of your driving around directly hits your own wallet -- which is the best incentive (or disincentive) when driving your own vehicle.

(4) Totally speculative but assuming a car like the Figo with average on-road price of Rs 5 lakhs and an average 5 year life cycle with Rs 1 lakh being the cost of maintenance/cleaning over 5 years, the per month break even cost would be (Rs 6 lakhs / 60) = Rs 10,000. Per day break even cost would be Rs Rs 334. Even factoring in that the car will not be used for 50% of the month (or 15 out of 30 days), the rental can be set to Rs 900 (or even Rs 1,000) which works out to a profit per car per day of Rs 233-333. (equal to Rs 85k-95k a year). Of course, this is all very very simplistic (there may be capex costs I have not factored in such as cost of office/building) and just a thought to support my view that petrol-less pricing can reduce rates, attract more customer, discourage 'paisa-vasool' driving, discourage 'lending' the car to friends to use up 'spare mileage', reduce wear and tear and also be environmentally conscious.

[WorkingGuru]

Guys, I need some help. I'm considering Zoom as a serious alternative so that I don't have to upgrade to a SUV.

For long drives, I currently use a Linea, but since the GC is 170mm & wheelbase is long, it scrapes EVERYWHERE and that really limits my options given the horrible quality of roads we may encounter anywhere - I kept brave for a small patch once & came back with a rather serious repair bill!

(For the short city run abouts, I'm buying a Nano. So that takes care of it.)

Now, hiring this ZoomCar helps me :
a) Convert my Fixed expenses to Variable - Depreciation, Insurance, servicing, parking, cleaning etc.
b) Choose whichever kindof car I want for each drive - SUV ( or Sedan - Incase I sell off the Linea).
c) Saves me not just the cost but also the hassle of upkeep of a larger vehicle - SUV's (especially for rookies like me) are very tough to maintain. They'll have experts for that & insurance incase something goes seriously wrong. No heartburn then .

So, they have specific tariffs based on hourly - daily - weekly & monthly basis. Majority of my journeys are going to be on 'daily' basis, so I'll consider that for a rough calculation :

• 225km/day cap, which given the prices, works out to Rs.9/km for an SUV.
• Ofcourse, I plan to stay somewhere & not just drive, so a 3-4 day cap(900km) would ideally cover 80% of the drive.
• If its more than 900km, tariff is Rs.15/km, but thats acceptable IMO especially for the flexibility/ease that seems to be offered.

My main contention is that I can no longer bear to have a car that doesn't work properly (causes me heartburn) or is a hassle to service with serious service bills.

Originally Posted by Kumar R

Hi, Thanks for taking the time to reply and I appreciate your thoughts. Here are some views I had after reading your reply.

Interesting insights! But I feel some parts can be taken care (unless you're solely dependent on Zoom). Pointwise observations :

(1) I agree about the trip to the airport but... unless I am working there for a few days and am staying in the city.

Thats true, there are decent Volvo buses & cabs easily available.

The clientele I imagine zoom would be targeting would be: (a)...

They have weekly & monthly packages too, so I guess longer journeys shouldn't be a problem. Maybe they'll also offer some discounts on negotiating.

(3) Re mileage, ideally I do not want *any* free mileage...which is the best incentive (or disincentive) when driving your own vehicle.

We as consumers may demand, but it should be viable. Why'll they allow you to keep a car idle & earning them no money? (Or did I not get your POV?)

(4) Totally speculative but assuming a car like the Figo...

But then you're stuck with that Figo no matter what your requirement. And ofcourse, it'll not only cost abit more but also consider the opportunity cost we lose on spending my time for upkeep & service.

[bravo6]

Originally Posted by Kumar R

If I have to catch a flight there is no chance of driving myself to the airport, parking the vehicle, being sure everything is as per zoom operating procedure etc.

Last I checked, you had to return the vehicle to the location you picked it up from, so for airport drops you might have to stick with calling a cab.

Those flying to BLR will find it useful to pick up a car at the airport, travel around and then return the vehicle and fly back.

(3) Re mileage, ideally I do not want *any* free mileage. Having rented a car it should be my decision to use it for as much or as little as I want. The service should be for cost of time alone -- and a huge advantage over 4/6 hour taxi bookings would be that you're not forced to log miles to "recover" your investment. The cost of your driving around directly hits your own wallet -- which is the best incentive (or disincentive) when driving your own vehicle.

Carzonrent's daily (but not hourly) rentals come at a flat fee and you pay for the fuel. This may interest you. Zoom's excess km charge seem a bit on the higher side IMHO..if, for example you want to go to Ooty for the weekend, booking the car for 3 days (225km x 3 = 675km and paying Rs15 per extra km) would work out cheaper than booking for 2 days and getting only 450km free and paying ~300 x 15 = 4500!
But for shorter trips, especially on weekdays, Zoom works out cheaper! I wish Zoom gives the user both the choices.

You may refer to this page I found for a comparison between Zoom's free km and Myles' pay for fuel concept: http://www.enidhi.net/2014/04/zoomca...-blr-self.html

Originally Posted by WorkingGuru

Guys, I need some help. I'm considering Zoom as a serious alternative so that I don't have to upgrade to a SUV.

I am in the same boat as you! Sedans and bad roads don't get along. Thanks to Zoom, we can now access a SUV for trips that include bad roads, or if 5+ people need to travel.

If you plan your trip, more than a week in advance, the vehicle might be available. Definitely a gamble with sudden plans.

• Ofcourse, I plan to stay somewhere & not just drive, so a 3-4 day cap(900km) would ideally cover 80% of the drive.

With a fixed plan, renting will work out well, but if for any reason you need to extend your booking period, it will be subject to availability. If someone else has a booking immediately after yours, it might be a problem. So even though it might feel like you own the car, you don't really.

• If its more than 900km, tariff is Rs.15/km, but thats acceptable IMO especially for the flexibility/ease that seems to be offered.

Note that for more than 4 days, booking it by the week can be cheaper. Do the calculation.

So in short, it makes total sense to just rent a SUV when higher GC is required, than buy and maintain one. But if you are an impulsive traveller, you might be better off getting your own SUV.

Originally Posted by searchingheaven

If you are sure that you have to travel for a very small distance like 50-80 kms, you can book the car by the per hour rate. Say 4 hrs, 100 kms, Rs. 600 for Figo. That i think is good enough since a 4 hr 40 km Cab package is costs nearly that much.

Can I just point out that renting a Reva is cheaper than travelling by auto! 90 bucks for 25km! And you don't have to hang on to dear life!

[sandeepmohan]

Trying to understand the distance cap and fuel reimbursement thing a little better.

I think most of their cars have a 225km cap in a 24 hour cycle and fuel is provided for such a range. Lets say you exceed the daily distance cap, post which you pay something like Rs. 12/km (eg: Figo) and you end up filling fuel too. Is the cost per additional km adjusted to your fuel bill expense?

Are there perks if you return the car with the level of supplied fuel? From what I understand, there is.