[akshaymahajan]

Whats the exact insurance liability for Zoom cars? We rented an Ecosport and a pebble cracked the windscreen. We were charged around 6000 for the same. I dont mind paying up for damages done when the car was with me, but I wasnt provided a bill for this, and with insurance claims, 6000 seems to be an overkill. Shot an email to Zoom care. Lets see!

And also, the car was dirty when we picked it up. We told the representative to note this down. When the car was returned, we were charged 300 as cleaning fee also. That's a rip off considering we returned the car in a cleaner condition than we took it. (We payed someone on the return leg of our journey to wash the car, thinking it was a nice thing to do for the next rental guy)

[audioholic]

A detailed story of our experience with ZoomCars: Part 1

We planned a trip to Madikeri for four days from Monday, 29/6/2015 till Thursday, 2/7/15 consisting of a group of nine people. Considering various factors, we decided to book two scorpios one from Rajajinagar and another from VV Puram both picked and dropped at the same time slots.

The booking process was smooth and we got an advance booking discount of 20% limited to 1500. I had to pick one car and my friend the other at 6AM on Monday. I had got the vehicle details sometime before the pickup time and I reached the location only at 6:30. The SMS unlock did not work and I called up the helpline and they quickly did the same for me and I got the car keys. There was no fleet executive around and I was told by the Customer care that I can drive out without any issues and if there were any damages they told me to take pictures.

Once I started out I found that there was no Tablet in the car and immediately we called up CC again and they reassured that its okay. The first glimpse of the car showed up the following observations:

• Car was relatively new with 11k kms on the odo
• Fuel was filled to the brim
• The car had a Kenwood HU but the rear speakers were ripped out leaving two nasty holes
• Aux cable and mobile charger had packed up and werent working, and the mobile holder was absent too
• Car was fairly clean except for some beach sand left in the seats
• The car drove well and the power delivery was amazing. However the clutch had a kind of obstruction felt while pressing and apart from that no other problems were found
• Came with reverse sensors as an accessory

So we started off from our location to find that my friend picked up the other car with no fuel in it and he had to tank it up completely at his expense.

That was the first time I drove the new gen scorpio and the improvements made over the outgoing version really impressed me. We had lunch in mysore and left towards our destination, Jungle mount adventures in Kakabe, near virajpet. The cars were driven sedately and we had decided not to exceed 100kmph keeping in mind the traffic and the road conditions.

The second and third days were uneventful and we did not use the car much except for a few kms of running here and there and we took it to Tadiandamol which is completely a jeep territory. The scorps effortlessly managed to reach the car parking area after which we trekked the remaining distance. The third day it took us to Madikeri town and we reached back in the evening with just around 100kms covered for the day.

We had to depart the camp early morning on thursday, pass through Nagarhole and reach Bangalore by evening. After breakfast, I got into the car and started it. Once I slotted it into reverse gear, I heard a loud THUD and initially I thought it was something stuck underneath. I reversed the car and wanted to slot to first, when I realised that the gearshift was stuck in reverse and wouldnt move. This was the scariest moment of my life till date with cars and no matter how much effort was put, the stick wouldnt move.

I suspected the clutch cylinder had failed since it was kind of creaky while pressing or some linkage had given up. I started looking in the hood and underside, when I found that there was an oil leak under the car. Further, my doubt about the clutch was affirmed since I felt that the clutch fluid was leaking. To add to this, the clutch fluid level had gone below low mark.

Now the main issue was no tow truck could reach the spot where the car was parked. Hence, I was quite worried about what could be done. Surprisingly, the gearshift became alright and even the clutch was perfectly working once we restarted the car. The only issue remaining was the oil which was dripping slowly drop by drop. Hence, I immediately wanted to move the car to safer ground so that support could reach it and I did not waste any time. I got to know that there was a mechanic about 1km away. So we immediately started and I reached the mechanics place just to find that he had an underbody inspection ramp. Forget the mechanic, I was pleased to find this and I just went on the ramp directly and parked the vehicle there.

As I went down the first thing I saw was that the gearbox drain plug was dripping oil. Seeing this I felt that the plug might have been sheared or damaged. But upon closer inspection, I found these:




I was out of words when I saw this and I couldnt believe such a thing had happened. The mechanic arrived in sometime and upon inspection he told me that something had broken inside of the gearbox and it wasnt an external hit. This increased my worry since the whole GB would have to be opened to fix it. I enquired if there was any mahindra service center available and he told there was one 35kms away. Now it was time to inform CC about this issue and I will continue that experience in part 2, since its very long to compose at a time.

[audioholic]

Part 2 of the ordeal:

Once I got to know what the issue was, I immediately called up the CC. I explained to him that the car has a problem and explained the problem. He told me that I could visit a garage and get it fixed and later claim the bill for reimbursement. He also told that they will return a call to me later to find if all is well. Then I asked the mechanic what could be done. He told me that the leak would be plugged and I can drive it to the Mahindra service center at Gonikoppal, which was 35kms away. Since the car was not showing a single other issue than the leaking oil, he told me that it may be driven to the service center and even I wanted to get the car to safe hands since the place we were was very remote and RSA would have taken ages to reach there.

He did a good job of patching up the crack with MSeal and the leakage stopped completely. I thanked him and paid him before we left. On the way it was the longest 35kms I ve driven in my life as I was really worried if the gearbox would get stuck again. Fortunately, we were able to get the car till Gonikoppal without issues and any leakages. I found an India Garage dealership cum service center there which was a big relief as I knew that the car was at the right place.

I explained the problem to the people there, and also learnt that they are only permitted to service and sell Commercial vehicles. But thanks to their helpful attitude, they readily offered help and immediately put the car on a lift. The Mseal had held up pretty good till then. The manager or person in charge, Mr. Vivek initially suspected that we hit a stone somewhere that caused the crack. He offered to drain all the oil, remove the MSeal and put a better sealant and refill the oil for us, so that we could take it to Bangalore. He also assured that there wouldnt be any problem on the way.

However, once the oil was drained out and the previous Mseal was removed, the shape of the crack brought in surprise to all the people there. That time, they concluded that its an internal problem and not due to any stone hit etc. The stance completely changed and Vivek advised us to not drive it since it would cause further problem. I agreed and gave another call to CC telling them that the problem isnt minor and I wouldnt be driving the car further.

There starts the big confusion and communication gap.

Call #1: Sir if the car is driveable then drive to mysore and leave it there for repairs.

Call #2: Sir senior executive advised not to drive so we are contacting RSA from our side and will lead them to you. I agreed and they told us that we could take our own transport and they will refund the transportation costs.

Call #3 from Mahindra RSA: Asking for details. I explained the whole thing and they said that a truck would be right away and ETA was usually 0.5-1hr. I thought this was impressive. They also offered a free cab for 50kms.

Meanwhile, Vivek at the showroom had provided good hospitality for us and the whole group of people sat in his customer lounge. He also informed me that the tow truck has to come from mysore which is easily two hours away. I was okay with this initially and I agreed to wait till the two truck came.

Call #4 from Mahindra: Sir, we contacted the team at mysore, and the two truck isnt available since it has gone to Ooty to pick another car up. The service provider at Madikeri isnt reachable and hence it might take upto night to get a truck. I was shocked and angry.

Call #5 to Zoomcar: I explained that the tow truck isnt coming anytime soon. And it was impossible to stay till night in that area since there was neither transport available nor an accomodation to stay. I got a blunt reply saying that I have to stay till the truck arrives.

At this moment, I was surprised at their cold reply without even understanding the situation. Moreover, Vivek was humble enough to assure that the car is in safe hands with him and he would take care of it until the truck arrived. He even had a word with the Zoomcar executive where he explained the problem and told that he is again a Mahindra dealer so no issues about the location of the car.

Then, the executive told that I could leave the car there and carry on but again, his senior executive refuses this idea and tells that at least one person must stay with the car. This became very irritating.

In between this, I had to wait for nearly half hour each time to get a call back.

Call #6 was from Mahindra telling me that the truck was being sent from Kannur in Kerala which is a four hour journey for him. They said that the truck would reach at around 5 in the evening which was again quite late.

Call #7 was made to Zoomcar where I had to start from the low level executive to the person handling this case and again the same story repeated. The people there assumed that the car is in an open space even though I told that its already with a Mahindra dealer. This time I yelled at them telling that it isnt my fault if the car breaks down and I cant stay there all the way till night. After that, they assured me that they will find a solution as soon as possible. It was already past noon and it was becoming more and more annoying.

Mr. Vivek enquired about our lunch and offered to drop us to a good restaurant since he too was leaving for lunch. It was really nice of him to help us all the way and it was much needed in the kind of situation we were in. As we reached the hotel, I got a call from a Zoomcar representative saying that they have arranged for a person to come and take over the car from the same town, after which I could leave the place. I was partially happy hearing this since we could leave soon. Then, Vivek sitting beside me in his Jeep got a call from India Garage, Mysore explaining that he should go and pick up a scorpio which is stuck. We had a hilarious moment when he told that we have already met and he has the car in his own dealership. He was the person who was supposed to come and take over as per Zoom car. That made me totally happy and relieved as the person was none other than Vivek himself. I bid him goodbye near the hotel itself since he suggested that we carry on from there instead of returning 4kms back to the IG dealership.

We bid a goodbye to him with heartfelt thanks and had a good lunch. At the same time I got a call from Zoomcar saying that a person called Vivek will pick my car, and check if it can be repaired there itself. I blasted them saying that I was with Vivek from morning and they never understood the situation.

We left to Mysore by Bus and later returned to Bangalore at night by which I was told by Vivek that the car was picked up by the Kannur guys. At the same time, the Area Manager of Zoomcars called and helped me close the booking while he took down the details of the distance we had travelled and the fuel we filled. The documents were brought to Bangalore by me and I told that I would return it the following day.

When I woke up next day, I was surprised to find my booking closed and even the refund was made including the fuel without even me producing the receipts for the same. I went and returned the documents, where I learnt that the car had already got a new transmission and engine before under warranty, and this was the second failure.

Overall, it was a hard day for us and the only comforting thing was the way they handled things in the later stages.

Will I take a Zoomcar again? Definitely Yes. However, I want their customer care to be more single window type than having to call random people and explain the problem to each and every person. At least if I had to deal with one person from start to end, he would know the problem well and any discussions would be done with a single person. That is how things became better when I had to talk to the area manager instead of the Customer care. He was able to guide me better and I could repeatedly call him. The support provided was good and even Mahindra RSA tried their best to help.

Sad thing is, this type of a breakdown is totally unexpected on a new scorpio. Furthermore, since we had two scorpios, both cars had covered the same distance, and were equally old, travelled the same roads together and only two of us drove the entire trip, switching cars randomly. There was no downshifts, redlining and any such dramas done on either car and we had got superb fuel efficiency too, as we covered 515kms in around 2/3 of the tank. In spite of all this, the car gave up on us, only respite that it happened on the last day of the trip and not in the middle.

A last shot to commemorate the trip:



Hope to see the car back in action soon, and a big thanks to all the people in the Coorg region who helped us. Special thanks to the people in India Garage, Gonikoppal and especially Mr. Vivek, whose help we can never forget.

[Aston Singh]

Latest offer for Pune folks!

Pune First Anniversary Celebration - 30% off on 4th-7th July!
Get 30% off on Bookings made on 4th-7th July! Valid for trips completed during 13 July - 12 August

HOW TO AVAIL:
Use Promo Code PUNE01 during checkout

PLEASE NOTE:
Discount will not be applicable on any of these days - 18 Jul 2015 - 19 Jul 2015
1) Offer valid only in Pune
2) Valid for Bookings Created on 4th and 7th July
3) Valid for trips starting on or after 13th July and ending on or before 12th August
4) Discount applicable only on original reservation charges (not applicable on excess Km, late return fee, or other fees/charges)
5) Maximum discount amount limited to Rs 3,000

Note: This discount is valid for all days (incl weekends) except for 18-19th July 15 as mentioned above.

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by akshaymahajan

Whats the exact insurance liability for Zoom cars? We rented an Ecosport and a pebble cracked the windscreen. We were charged around 6000 for the same. I dont mind paying up for damages done when the car was with me, but I wasnt provided a bill for this, and with insurance claims, 6000 seems to be an overkill. Shot an email to Zoom care. Lets see!

And also, the car was dirty when we picked it up. We told the representative to note this down. When the car was returned, we were charged 300 as cleaning fee also. That's a rip off considering we returned the car in a cleaner condition than we took it. (We payed someone on the return leg of our journey to wash the car, thinking it was a nice thing to do for the next rental guy)

The maximum liability must be 5K Rs and not more. Hence you are making the additional deposit. You were supposed to get a clean and washed car , you will have to clean the car only if there is additional filth . I doubt if you can get a reimbursement for it.

[m.shekhar]

Originally Posted by amitksvs

BHPians from Mumbai, I plan to take an XUV for 2 days for an outing with 4 adult and 2 grownup kids on board. How is the Zoom service in Mumbai? Don't see many comments by people who may have used this service in Mumbai. How is the overall condition and upkeep of vehicles? especially the suspension, brakes, clutches etc? Do they really take very long in refunding the deposits, as this was the most oft discussed point in many posts here.

Zoom Service in Mumbai is good. Have used them twice, once booked a Figo for a three day trip and more recently the Ciaz AT for two days.
The vehicles were mostly clean. Not exactly spic and span but clean and were well maintained. The Figo had done around 40k kms and the Ciaz just 4k.

For me, the refund process was smooth (credited back the amount within 2-3 working days) and the overall experience has been good till now.

A few points to note -

1. Pickup points in Mumbai are few - mostly in Navi Mumbai and one each in Thane and Bhandup. Not all cars are available at all pickup points.
2. It'll be better if you download the Zoomcar app on your phone and do the checklist from there while picking up the cars. SMS unlocking is unreliable but the app always works.
3. Remember to click a pic of the odo while picking up and while returning. This helps mitigate and mileage related issues.
4. Customer support is a bit tough to get to but once you get them on call they are pretty helpful.
5. Zoomcar has stopped providing Tablets in the vehicle. Don't know the situation in other cities but in Mumbai this is confirmed.

[wanderer4x4]

Just received the following mail from Zoomcars regarding Ladakh travel. (Though nothing new) It could be that many people have started to take Zoomcars or such self drives from Delhi and now those infamous Ladakh taxi unions have started to escalate the issue, for Zoomcars to come out with this formal communication. Just hope that this does not spill over to private vehicles.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by wanderer4x4

Just received the following mail from Zoomcars regarding Ladakh travel. (Though nothing new) It could be that many people have started to take Zoomcars or such self drives from Delhi and now those infamous Ladakh taxi unions have started to escalate the issue, for Zoomcars to come out with this formal communication. Just hope that this does not spill over to private vehicles.

Yes, please see this thread.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...e-rentals.html

Private vehicles are not part of this, however, it has been reported that some taxi drivers stop private vehicles, check the RC and your ID to see if the car is in the name of the driver. They do not have any authority to do so, but do this anyway and threaten violence if you object

[super.cars]

Zoomcar gets even more cheaper during weekdays.

Figo available for as low as Rs. 500 per day.
What's more, there is also free 150 KMs if opted for 5 days.

source:
http://www.zoomcar.com/commute?ref=E...MCOMMUTE_08Jul

Mods: I'am not sure if posting external links are allowed.
Request the link be removed if that is the case.

[red.devil_19]

I have had a really poor experience with ZoomCar with two of my recent bookings.

1. Booked Mahindra XUV500 (24-25 May 2015)
The refund amounting to Rs. 3290/- is yet to be credited back to me (45 days & counting)!! This is inspite of sending numerous emails / calls complaining to the ZoomCar customer care. Most of the replies were lame & they kept telling me that the refund would be credited soon.

Initially they said it will take 5-15 working days for the amount to be credited. However, weeks passed but there was no refund. Finally, it was discovered that the booking has not been closed by ZoomCar! They said they'll close the booking & initiate the refund ASAP. But the refund never came.

After a month (on 24-June-2015) of chasing them, they asked for my internet banking details so that they could transfer the money through NEFT as they were struggling to credit the money to my citrus account. I shared my bank detils & a day later, they confirmed that they have transferred the refund to my bank account through NEFT & provided me with a UTR No.

However, even after a week the money did not get credited to my account & I had to follow up with them again. Once again the saga started & they kept saying its the bank's fault & they have already done their part. I confirmed with my bank that no such transaction had been carried out on my account and let informed ZoomCar of the bank's response, to which I did not get a reply.

Thereafter, completely fed up of this issue, I called ZoomCar & demanded this matter to be resolved urgently. They asked me to share my two week's bank statement, which I did. Their reply left me completely dumbfounded!! They verified that no such transaction had been carried out & that the UTR number they provided to me initially was wrong. The mail also said that they would process the refund within 48 hours!! Today I received a mail saying they have transferred the money & I have to wait another 1-2 days for it to reflect in my account. Don't know how much longer I have to bare with this!


2. Booked Honda Amaze (28th May 2015)
The booking had been made for 10 hours, as I had to do roughly 100kms (as per google maps). Picked up the car from Whitefield Formule 1 Hotel at 2.30PM & had gone to drop my parents off at the airport. Thereafter, I headed strraight back to Formule 1 Hotel to drop the car off at 7.30 PM.

While picking up the car on 28th May, there was no ZoomCar representative present at the pick-up location. I called up the customer care & they asked me to take the car without any worries as the keys were inside. While dropping off the car at the same location, again there was nobody available from ZoomCar to verify whether the car had been returned safely. I called up the customer car & they asked me to leave the keys inside the car.

However, when the final bill was calculated, I was charged for an extra 57kms!!! I was pretty shocked since I was sure the total kilometers would not exceed 100kms. I called up the customer care & asked them to provide details of the log they had through the GPS tracker. They mentioned to me that the last recorded activity for this booking was at 12.20 AM on 29th May (total 155kms)!! This is after I had dropped the car off at 7.30 PM itself on 28th! I gave the details of all the areas I had driven the car to (and the corresponding time) during the booking & asked the customer care representative to check with their GPS data. He verified the details & that the car was indeed at Formule 1 Hotel at 7.30 PM & at that time distance log showed 98.3 kms only! Finally, the full refund of Rs. 5000 was credited back to me on 28th June, exactly a month from the booking completion!


Moreover, in general I have found that its very difficult to reach out to their customer care over phone as most of the time there is no response to the calls. Besides this, on multiple occasions, the tickets (complaints) I had raised through emails were closed without any resolution or acknowledgement!

I have to say I never expected such pathetic customer support from ZoomCar. They seem to be an incredibly unprofessionally managed organization. I would really appreciate if anyone can provide ZoomCar CEO's email as I wish to share this experience with him & let him know what the ground reality is.

PS: If you're planning to book ZoomCar vehicles, please be extremely careful & do a thorough investigation of your car before & after the booking for any damages / Odometer readings / accessories. Else you may be taken for a ride!

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by red.devil_19

......had a really poor experience with ZoomCar with two of my recent bookings.......

Unfortunately, what you said at the end about being extra careful is all we can do as customers in this country.

The pickup/drop point in my area is usually staffed 24/7 and the staff is very courteous, but I always insist on completing both checklists (pick-up & return) thoroughly, even wait a while if that's what it takes. Also click a pic of the odometer before/after the trip at the Zoomcar location. Takes a few secs to do, and can be invaluable evidence if there's trouble later.

I don't budge from the drop-off spot until they close the booking and I get a confirmation. Takes a while but worth the hassle. Much better than some staffer taking a joyride at your expense, like what (possibly) happened to you.

What happens if they don't close the booking and the joyrider gets into an accident? It's not just about losing the deposit, that's nowhere near the worst that can happen.

"You go saar, we'll close the booking within <blah blah> time, no worries".

"Nothing doing, I'll stand around until I get a confirmation notification, thank you very much"!

[Aston Singh]

Zoomcar has added the Fortuner to their fleet of vehicles.

Currently available only in Bangalore. Rate starts at Rs 210/hour, Rs 5040/day

Let's hope they bring it to Pune as well!

[sanjaykk]

Originally Posted by Aston Singh

Zoomcar has added the Fortuner to their fleet of vehicles.

Currently available only in Bangalore. Rate starts at Rs 210/hour, Rs 5040/day

Let's hope they bring it to Pune as well!

Just saw one today near Sony World Signal, Koramangala.

[SwatiS]

I did a zoom car booking recently and it was quite a good experience except for a few small niggles.
We had taken a scorpio - there were little issues with the 3rd gear and one of the fog lamps was broken. The aux cable provided was totally useless as was the car charger. Please do check these before you pick up the car.

My friend who picked up the car did the mistake of not noting down the odometer reading when she picked it up. After we returned the vehicle, they charged us for 955 km but as per my calculations, we had not exceeded 800km. So I called them and asked to check and told them the route we had taken and where we had been. They said they will check again and logged a ticket. They checked the GPS and told that there was a mistake and we had traveled 851 km and refunded the difference amount. So don't forget to check the odometer reading.

Another thing is that now they have stopped giving you credits even if you return it well in advance.

[Aston Singh]

100,000 Bookings Celebration!
Get 20% off on Bookings Made on 9th and 10th July. Valid on Weekdays and for all cities.

HOW TO AVAIL:
Use Promo Code ZOOM100K during checkout

PLEASE NOTE:
Discount will not be applicable on any of these days
1) Offer is valid on bookings made on 9th and 10th July
2) Offer valid only on Weekdays (Mon-Thu). If the trip includes Weekend days (Fri-Sun), discount will be applicable only for the hours booked on Mon-Thu
3) Maximum discount amount limited to INR 1,000
4) Discount applicable only on original reservation charges (not applicable on excess Km, late return fee, or other fees/charges)