Team-BHP - Zoom Car Reviews - Self Drive Rentals in India

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao (Post 3695793)

You bet! Given how you described it, one could theoretically drive unlimited kms and gain credits while doing it, not that I'm against such perks:D

Jokes apart, Zoom should really do away with the kms capping, probably for an additional charge. Current setup really restricts people who want to drive longer distances over shorter times.

I thought the earlier policy was quite fair. You rent for longer duration and return it back earlier. They refund you based on number of hours you return it earlier.

But you lose 50% since you did more kms and they also benefit as they have a car available earlier for the next person.

Their biggest problem must be customers returning late and the next guy suffering. This allows people to try and return earlier.

Otherwise I will do like what you said. Park the car at home till the time is over.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vid6639 (Post 3695768)

If you need the car for 500kms, rent for 50 hours not 14 hours. This will be 140*50 = 7000 bucks.

Now you return the car in 14 hours. You have returned it 36 hours before your actual return time. Zoom will add credit in your account for Rs.70 (50%)*36 = Rs.2520. Effective cost is Rs.4480.

This is what I do with them.

So then I will do this. I wanted my dad to experience the XUV over a longer distance. Have been trying to motivate him to look at the XUV AT as a potential replacement for the Innova.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foxbat (Post 3695791)

I was looking forward to renting a BMW but they don't seem to have any luxury options in Mumbai. Also all the locations are in Navi Mumbai :Frustrati

I feel your frustration. I was also looking forward to using their services, but nothing in South Mumbai.

Personally, I'm not sure they'll ever be able to come to Mumbai proper. They'll need space to keep the cars, and the lack of it in the city would make that a huge challenge.

Bah only 3 locations so far in Chennai.

Porur Karambakkam - convenient to for example the DLF IT park, 13 km from the airport so they might stretch to cover that

Tek Towers in Okkiyam Thoraipakkam (OMR)

Tek Meadows in Sholinganallur (further down the OMR)

Given their "pick up and drop off at the same location" policy this isnt going to be of much use unless you have relatives on the OMR and visit the DLF IT Park for a work meeting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 3698784)

Lets hope pickup locations in Mumbai city open up soon.

Had rented a Zoomcar Figo for the weekend. While dropping off the vehicle there was this guy who was taking feedback on our experience with the brand.
He mentioned (and was pretty sure about it) that Zoomcar would be functional in Mulund and Powai by next month.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 3698784)

Though Zoom Car has started off in Navi Mumbai (1 hour out), spotted an XUV500 in proper Mumbai. Lets hope pickup locations in Mumbai city open up soon.

How do you know that wasn't rented from Pune? I booked and drove a Zoom Ecosport to Mumbai to attend my school reunion a couple of months ago when my car was in the shop! :)
Incidentally my rental was KA registered!

Quote:

Originally Posted by m.shekhar (Post 3699021)

He mentioned (and was pretty sure about it) that Zoomcar would be functional in Mulund and Powai by next month.

They will need to choose locations with care. Navi Mumbai and even Powai are great choices because the floating population of IT folks is higher- these are more likely to rent and use Zoom than regular Mumbaikars from Ghatkopar or Borivali :D

Need a thoughtful suggestion folks. My first indulgence with Zoomcar, and its turning out to be hyper expensive !!!

I am driving from Bangalore to Mysore for a 2.5 day trip.
Starting from Bangalore on 23rd, post lunch (around 2pm) and returning to Bangalore on 25th (around 9pm).

The round trip distance from my house to the hotel in Mysore is about 320kms.
Plus throw in around 100 kms of run arounds within Mysore city.
Comes to a total of about 420 kms for the 2.5 days trip.

Choosing The Ride:

My Beat Petrol gives around 15km/l.
The total trip will need around 28l of petrol (420/15), costing Rs.1960, round off to about Rs.2000 of petrol.

Zoomcar's Figo is costing me Rs.5080, with 550kms thrown in. This is about 130 extra kilometers than my requirement (550kms - 420 kms)

Even though I drive another 130 extra kilometers on my Beat, I would need 8.66l extra petrol (130/15), amounting to Rs.606.
Totalling this with my original expense (Rs.2000 + Rs. 606), the total trip cost comes to Rs.2606.

Zoomcar's Diesel Figo costs just double than what my Petrol Beat costs for this trip.

Zoomcar Figo Diesel:
55 Hours / 550 Kms / Rs. 5080

Personal Beat Petrol:
55 Hours (infact unlimited) / 550 kms / Rs. 2606

What am I missing ? Am I making any mistake in my calculations, or is Zoomcar just ripping off customers with its nice car portfolio, where customer are not closely looking at the actual costs, compared to their own personal vehicles ?

People say hire for longer hours for more free kms. My requirement is not more free kms, but more time. I need the car till 9pm on 25th. So I can't reduce the number of hours to hire. Does this mean that I have no other choice than to drive my own car ?

PS: Calculations made based on Shell Unleaded Petrol at Rs.70/l in Bangalore.

Zoom Car Reviews - Self Drive Rentals in India-figo.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9 (Post 3702086)

Need a thoughtful suggestion folks. My first indulgence with Zoomcar, and its turning out to be hyper expensive !!!

Ideally you should include a few more heads for a fairer comparison, like cost of your personal vehicle apportioned to these 2.5 days (assuming a depreciation rate), likewise insurance, tyre wear and service costs.

I assume you will end up with a number between 3.5 to 4k if you include above heads

And while for you it may appear to be a rip off, in my mind it's extremely reasonable as their costs would include lot many heads like marketing, customer service and operational costs

When I needed to drive farther/more kms in a short span I chose to pay @actual kms than buying more time. It turns out to be cheaper

I have also used myles self drive and it turns out to cheaper for longer rides

Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

Myles has a rather higher deposit and they are quick to forfeit largish amounts in case there is an accident. Zoomcar has a cap on the amount you'll have to pay out, that's much lower.

Also - the opportunity cost of your using your car versus your renting from zoomcar (your wife might need the car, or it is not practical to drive the car you're in for too long a distance or over the sort of roads you have to drive through etc)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9 (Post 3702086)

What am I missing ? Am I making any mistake in my calculations, or is Zoomcar just ripping off customers with its nice car portfolio, where customer are not closely looking at the actual costs, compared to their own personal vehicles ?

There's no ripping off here. Zoom is not economical if you do less kms but take for more time. Even less economical if you're using over the weekend which has higher rates. Plus Zoomcar rates are transparent. If they were ripping off then you would never know that it's 5K. They aren't trying to say anywhere that they are cheaper than your own car.

Secondly, there's no point in comparing your personal vehicle. To get actual cost difference with your car you need to add wear/tear, maintenance, insurance costs. Then you will see that it works out better than even owning your car altogether.

Then you need to compare with renting a car with driver. That needs 250kms daily minimum. So if you take from 23 to 25, you still need to pay for 750kms. This is when Zoom turns out much cheaper.