[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

I have a zoom car booking for this week, but I haven't received any call for confirmation.......

Does Zoomcar call to confirm bookings? I've never got anything except texts for all transactions, any calls needed were always initiated by me.

[saadat1992]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Does Zoomcar call to confirm bookings? I've never got anything except texts for all transactions, any calls needed were always initiated by me.

No, zoom car doesn't do that.
You get a call only for the refunds, in case the refund bounces off your Account.

[noopster]

An interesting e-mail pops up in my Inbox today:

Dear Zoomer,

We’re pleased to write to you with a very special opportunity to participate in an exciting new program from Zoomcar.

We know that you love Zoomin’ around town in our self-drive vehicles, but what if we told you that there was a way to obtain a permanent discount on your Zoomcar bookings while also earning some extra income? Sounds too good to be true? Well, with the new Zoomcar Associate Program (ZAP), this opportunity is now becoming a reality!

With ZAP, Zoomcar allows individuals to purchase one or more vehicles, lease the vehicle(s) to Zoomcar, and then share in the revenue as we run the car on our platform over our standard operating period. Think of it as an all-new asset class for you to invest your hard earned money in. In addition to this monthly cash return, we will also throw in an extra goodie: 25% off all your weekday Zoomcar bookings for the entire 30 month lease tenor!

For ZAP, it’s possible to avail a bank loan (through our preferred lending partners at advantaged rates) or purchase a vehicle outright in cash. Once you provide the initial investment, the Zoomcar operations team will take care of 100% of the operating modalities. So you can just sit back and share in the fruits of our collective efforts on a monthly basis. Suffice to say, given our scale, we can always obtain the best deals on vehicles and their maintenance so we both save money

Please email us at zap@zoomcar.com to learn more about the operating details of this exciting new scheme. Together, we’re confident that we can continue to redefine the self-drive car rental market in India.

Thanks again for your continued support!

Regards,

Zoomcar Team

Crowdsourcing to build their fleet? That's a novel approach, right? Wonder how they will manage the logistics with such a lean team in place!

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Does Zoomcar call to confirm bookings? I've never got anything except texts for all transactions, any calls needed were always initiated by me.

I got a call from the site executive when I didnt turn up at the booking site at Pune airport even after an hour of my pickup time - Told him I was still in Bangalore and would take time And that was all we spoke. After that I had to call him to ask directions to reach the site.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by noopster

An interesting e-mail pops up in my Inbox today:


Crowdsourcing to build their fleet? That's a novel approach, right? Wonder how they will manage the logistics with such a lean team in place!

Great opportunity for manufacturers to crashtest their cars!

[Thad E Ginathom]

I wouldn't invest my "hard-earned money" in a vehicle for others to abuse.

Does anybody remember a taxi/travels company in Chennai that started an invest-in-a-car scheme about ten years ago? It ended badly.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I wouldn't invest my "hard-earned money" in a vehicle for others to abuse.

Does anybody remember a taxi/travels company in Chennai that started an invest-in-a-car scheme about ten years ago? It ended badly.

Very rightly said Sir. When it comes to one's own vehicle, it is not driven rash and well maintained to an extent depending on the individual.
When it comes to driving X's car, then it is one and only one factor-abuse the vehicle to the core.
Rather than investing money on renting the car to others, i would rather put the amount in FD (No Risk)

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I wouldn't invest my "hard-earned money" in a vehicle for others to abuse.

Even I found that 'hard earned money' thing too much for the context in which they are speaking.

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Rather than investing money on renting the car to others, i would rather put the amount in FD (No Risk)

I would like to differ here. Agreed, that 'hard earned' money is safer in an FD. But this is not comparable to an FD. An FD will give you returns in terms of interest. Here, you will be a part of their business and you will get a different kind of returns. One thing is for sure, that is though you would be owning the car, I dont think you will be using it anytime or even seeing it regularly. Its just like giving Zoomcar some money and getting interest out of it.

I sent a mail to them asking for further details and clarifications. The mail they sent was too vague to qualify itself as asking for an investment. They should be more clear and at least give the main terms and conditions.

I am curious to know how the maintenance and repairs are handled and also what happens at the time of an accident. Also, how is the revenue sharing handled. For example, not all cars in all locations are utilized equally. Hence, if my car lands in a location that is not so much in demand, they shouldnt show empty logbooks and say no revenues.

I would be happy to enter this scheme suppose they agree to take care of the maintenance and repairs and assure me of a revenue that will be greater than the EMI that is supposed to be paid for the car. It will just be like an additional income and at the end of the three year lease, I will dispose the car and clear whatever is left of the loan, if at all there is any. Main decisive factor is the revenue sharing method.

[bluevolt]

So used Zoomcar for the first time. Had hired a Scorpio for 15 hours - Cost Rs. 1800 For 75 Kms in this duration. Car condition was good, it was base model Scorpio. Though the sound quality of speakers were not good.

I covered 60 Kms and gave the car back late by half an hour. After handing over the car back at the location from where I collected it, I received an SMS that an additional Rs. 500 has been deducted from my security amount due to late submission & penalty because of that.

I mailed Zoomcar that I had informed the supervisor that I am stuck in traffic and the extra half an hour could have been compensated from the 15 kms that I didn't use (Drove for 60Kms out of 75Kms). Within couple of hours, I received an apology mail and got my complete refund amount in citrus balance.

I have withdrawn money from citrus & transferred back to my bank account but it has not reflected yet in my bank account though citrus balance is now Zero.

Does it take time to reflect the balance in the bank account?

Overall it was pretty decent first time experience using self drive rentals in India!

[anku94]

I got a Zoomcar recently and had a pretty bad/hassling experience.

We got a Mercedes GLA for one day (around 8k-9k) and had registered for a pick-up and drop. The delivery experience was pretty smooth, except for the fact that there were bird droppings on the hood. (This is for a luxury car, which they supposedly advertise for dates etc!). Other than that, the car was okay, and did not give us any problems.

The drop experience, however, was a total headache. We arrived 10 minutes after the drop time and there was no one on site (we had requested for a pickup/drop from our office building). We called the customer care, and they were clueless about it. They instead told us that we had to pay 2000 rupees as damages! This was without anyone even having inspected the car!

After a couple of minutes of holding and transferring and shouting, they finally dispatched one person. That person took about 1.5 hours to arrive. We took the car for a lunch nearby, came back and relaxed in the office cafeteria before he arrived. We asked him about the 2000 rupees in damages, and he said that he did not have any idea about it, he was not a Zoomcar employee, he just did pickups and drops. He also said Saar, it's 2000 rupees only, let it go!

Anyway, he starts looking at the car and there were no damage issues. He however asked us for some document that the guy who had delivered the car supposedly gave us, but there was no such document. Again a round of calls through the customer care, encountering clueless people as usual until someone got hold of the pickup guy and that document was forwarded through whatsapp. Meanwhile we called the customer care again to talk about the 2000 rupees damages and they said they'll look into it. Meanwhile the pickup guy left with the vehicle.

Later when we saw our Citrus account, 2000 rupees had been deducted from the security amount. It took another 2-3 days of following up before that was corrected and we got the full amount back.

[Chetan_Rao]

The inevitable just happened, my Zoomcar bubble finally burst today.

I had booked an Ecosport from their BSK 1st Stage location weeks in advance, for a week-long vacation beginning today. Pickup was scheduled for 0730 AM. Here's the sequence of events: (ZE: Zoomcar executive, ME: yours truly, CC: Customer Care executive/manager)

0600 AM

ZE: Hello Sir, this is XXXX calling from Zoomcar, good time to talk to you?
ME: Sure, what's up?
ZE: Called to inform you that we have a shortage of vehicles at your selected location. The car you've booked is due for service today, so we won't be able to allot it to you. Would you mind picking up a car from a different location?
ME: Why am I being told about a scheduled gap-of-service at the last minute? If you had had a breakdown or something, I can understand, but a scheduled service surely isn't a last-minute thing given my booking was done weeks in advance?
ZE: My apologies sir. Would you pickup from another location?
ME: Where exactly?
ZE: JP Nagar, Rajajinagar, Garuda Mall. You pick a spot.
ME: It's Monday morning and rush hour will begin around my pickup time, and all these places are a good 10+ kms away from where I am so the round trip will take at least a couple hours, if not more. Can't you arrange a drop?
ZE: Sorry Sir, pickup/drop is a paid service and I can't arrange at the last moment. I'll arrange an XUV for you at the original location. You'll get details via app/sms shortly.

0645 AM

Zoomcar SMS with vehicle details received.

0700AM

At pickup point:

ME: I've come for a pickup.
ZE: Your name and driving license please.
ME: Here you go.
ZE: Please provide the pickup checklist OTP you've got.
ME: I've sent unlock instruction through app already, I'll fill it myself.
ZE: You can do it, just give me the OTP.
ME: My pickup checklist just vanished, what happened?
ZE: We completed it for you.
ME: When? I'm standing right here and you haven't even looked at the car.
ZE: The OTP completes the checklist, we've already inspected our cars so no need to do it again. You can take the car.
ME: No I won't, I'll inspect it myself.

I sort of knew at this point how this will go, but I approached the car hoping in vain this can still be salvaged. Oh well!

Issues with the car (XUV reg# KA-03-AC-0064):

1. The exterior was dinged, scratched and damaged in multiple places, with pieces of cladding and other bits missing from multiple spots.
2. The interior was grimy and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in ages.
3. The interiors stank like a damp dungeon, and there were multiple cigarette butt holes/spots on seats and trim.
4. One of the rear seats was ripped to shreds.
5. The rear right tire was nearly bald, with barely 1-2 mm of tread depth left. All FOUR tires were of different make/tread pattern.
6. The spare tire was PUNCTURED with a nail sticking out of it.

I didn't bother looking further and pointed out my concerns to the ZE. Here are his responses to my issues:

1. Damaged exterior: No major damages saar, this is regular wear and tear. I'm not convinced but fair enough. It's the least of my issues anyway.
2. Grimy interiors: I just cleaned it saar, dust comes in, can't help. When I inquired how the speedo/center console is covered with enough grime that I can't even read the dials, he just shrugged.
3. Stink: What stink? The car is absolutely fresh.
4. Ripped rear seat: Do you need the seat?
5. Bald rear tire: It's totally fine. People take this vehicle all the time. Never been an issue.
6. Punctured spare: You won't need it, but I'll swap it with another car since you insist. When I asked him what about the other car needing a spare, he said it's booked for a city drive so no need for a spare. Nice!

He swaps it with another XUV (KA-03-AB-8112) while I call customer care. This isn't over yet.

0720AM

ME: I'm calling regarding a booking. I'm not satisfied with the car provided and need to sort this out.
CC: Please provide your details (name, DOB, email, reg. phone#).
ME: Here are my details. I have several issues (list provided), can you please help?
CC: Let me check with our team and call you back, give me 10 minutes.

0740AM
ME: I was expecting a call back, what happened?
CC: Our team is busy, please wait another 15 mins.
ME: I've already been here nearly an hour, can you please hurry up?
CC: Will call back ASAP.

0810AM
ME: What happened to the call back?
CC: They're still tied up Sir.
ME: Can I speak to your supervisor?
CC: She's busy too. Can I arrange a callback?
ME: No thanks. I don't mind waiting, just patch me through.
CC: (One minute later) My supervisor is now available, I'm transferring the call.
ME: Hello, do you have all the details or you need me to go again?
CC: No need sir, we're sorry for the inconvenience. I'll have our field agent call you within 10 mins.

0820AM

ZE: Hello Sir, this is XXXX.
ME: I should've refused your offer when you called me the first time at 0600. This has turned into a nightmare.
ZE: Sorry for all the inconvenience. Would you mind picking up a car from another location? I can arrange a car at Garuda Mall or Rajajinagar.
ME: You still want me to run around after paying for a car and being treated like a beggar for 1.5 hours?
ZE: No compulsions sir. You can refuse.
ME: What happens then?
ZE: Either take the car at your location, or we can give you a refund.
ME: That car isn't in good condition, as I've repeated on multiple calls after giving them my bio-data on each one.
ZE: It's perfectly fine, I just spoke to my onsite ZE.
ME: A bald tire and a punctured spare is good condition to you? I won't even mention the other bits. I guess my definition of good differs from Zoomcar's, lets leave it at that. How am I supposed to get to the other location?
ZE: I'll have another ZE take you there. Give me 10 mins, I'll call you back.
ME: Ok.

0845AM - 0920AM

ME: Your field agent was supposed to call me.
CC: They're busy on another call.
ME: Get me your supervisor please.
CC: Should I...err...
ME: Don't even think about it, get her on the phone however long it takes.
CC: She's online now Sir.
ME: This has been going on 2.5 hours now. Can I just have my money back and we can both consider this closed?
CC: Let me check again Sir, we don't want to lose a regular customer.
ME: Too late for that Ma'm, you've lost this one already.
CC: Give me one last chance Sir, I'll talk to my team and call you back.

0935AM
CC: Hello, this is the supervisor. You can handover the key to ZE and leave. We'll initiate a refund.


So, after booking weeks in advance:

1. I'm denied the car for frivolous reasons (scheduled service is not a last-minute event)
2. Offered a terrible replacement car with 61K+ kms on the ODO (could've been 600K+ for it's pathetic condition. Poor car!)
3. Conned out of an proper checklist assessment
4. Dismissive attitude at the pickup point throughout, plus on some of the calls.
5. The other XUV was delivered to another customer, without informing him that the UNSECURED spare hanging under his car is punctured. If this doesn't count as gross negligence and unprofessional behavior, I have nothing to say. Who is responsible if that unsecured spare comes loose and injures/kills someone while the car's being driven?
6. Asked to run around town to pick up another car at my own expense, as they can't be bothered to make up for an unfulfilled order paid for in advance. A drop grudgingly offered to another spot never materialized after an hour's wait.
7. I noticed their 'cleaning' methods first-hand. All they do is go over the car's interior and exterior with a Jopasu duster lookalike, followed by cleaning glass portions with a spray can and a dirty rag. This is irrespective of the car's initial state. Ain't that great!
8. Absolutely no regard for wasting a customer's time and ruining their plans. Even though they parrot 'my apologies' faster than a trained bird, there's absolutely no drive to actually remedy the situation.

While I was leaving, two onsite ZEs left in a hurry to attend an RSA call for a customer whose car had broken down just 5 kms from the pickup spot.


I must be stupid to think I shouldn't own a car if I only need it sparingly, relying on service providers instead and do my bit to reduce the traffic mess. My one year experiment without a car is done, I'll pop over to the Test Drive & Reviews section to contemplate which contraption I'll add to our choked roads.

Thanks for NOTHING Zoomcar.

[vinit.merchant]

No doubt they are venturing into crowdsourcing their fleet.
They are not in a position to dispose them and also not in a position to replace over-aged and under maintained fleet. And good loyal customers are turning away.

It hurts the most when a well planned vacation goes for a toss.


Their most attractive USP which attracted a lot of customers (5k limited liability + even if this 5k was collected, I do not see them using it on the car) is now becoming a point where they are loosing customers. Completely ill maintained cars, and to top it off, they do not even provide a replacement car if it breaks down enroute.

[Chetan_Rao]

I can understand unforeseen operational issues, that's precisely why I bothered to spend so much time (silly me!) trying to sort it out, but the only message I got from them directly or indirectly, politely or rudely was "Either take whatever we're offering, or take your money and bugger off. Your vacation is ruined, you say? Do we look like we care?".

I've lost subsequent bookings for accommodation and other stuff (ones that can't be rescheduled) because of their callousness, not to mention intangibles like a long-planned and well-earned vacation after 6 months of non-stop grueling grind at the workplace for both me & the better half were wiped out in an instant. Given summer vacation season, there's hardly anything decent available at short notice. We have to grit our teeth and go back to work tomorrow morning.

I feel pretty right now!

[ozzyrules]

Hey guys, couple of questions.
I've booked an EcoSport from Zoomcar, Chandigarh for a week-long trip to HP. This is from their railway station pickup point. Anyone hired an EcoSport from there recently? I mean, what to expect kind of thing?

We're headed first to Dharamsala. Where do I pay the inter-state tax? Are there clear markings?

On the return leg, we're visiting Amritsar. Inter-state tax required for Punjab too?

Thanks in advance!

[Vid6639]

The initial honeymoon period is getting over for Zoomcar. It was all rosy when the cars where newer and they had lesser customer base.

Now that it has gained popularity and they have all sorts of drivers, the complaints are piling up. Not to mention that their prices have gone up.

This was the biggest logistical nightmare I foresaw for Zoom. How the cars will fare in long run.