Team-BHP - Self Drive Car / Jeep Rentals in Goa?

Rented an Innova Crysta Automatic from Vailankanni Auto Hires (goacars) for 3 days. Had the car dropped off at our resort in Anjuna and the delivery person was there right on time. It was a realtively new Crysta with just 10k kms on the odo. Car was in great condition apart from a few scratches here and there. Felt like it had just come from a service as the interiors were polished and clean. Took a detailed video of the car, handed over my aadhar, paid the fees and that was that. Car drove like a dream, no mechanical issues at all to report. It came equipped with a touch screen system with Apple Carplay and Android auto so that was just perfect. Clocked in over 300kms over the 3 days and the car made for a great companion and was just so much more convenient than searching for a cab everytime. Dropped it off at Vasco da Gama station at 10pm on the last day and again they were there on time. Did a quick inspection of the car, checked the fuel level, returned my aadhar and that's it. Overall a very smooth experience. Will definitely use Vailankanni everytime I visit Goa.

Hey,
I'm planning a trip to Goa in April, and plan to stay in one of the hotels in Panjim (Cidade). Right now my dates are fixed (7th to 11th April) but I am not sure of the exact day/time I might need the car. My usage is mainly to commute from Panjim to other beaches like Baga, famous shacks, 1-2 forts, etc.

I've been researching and I see most rent out cars for minimum 2 days. Which is why I'm turning to TeamBHP for some of my doubts:

Is there anyone who will rent cars for a few hours or 1 day at max?
Is there space to take cars to most famous beaches / shacks or other places like Anjuna Market, Baga, Forts, etc.?

Thanks for your inputs! :coldsweat

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordSpymaster (Post 5513765)

Is there anyone who will rent cars for a few hours or 1 day at max?
Is there space to take cars to most famous beaches / shacks or other places like Anjuna Market, Baga, Forts, etc.?

Thanks for your inputs! :coldsweat

For 1 day rental you are best off trying to find one locally. Most of the organized vendors have a 2 day minimum policy.

Most beaches have a dedicated parking lot. Anjuna market also has a huge parking bay at the beginning and you can walk through the market.

Quote:

Originally Posted by agastya (Post 5430682)

I too booked from Vailankanni Auto Hires (goacars.in). The booking was done over call and WhatsApp. No security deposit required.[/list]

Thanks for all the feedback which helped arriving at a decision on self drive. I too got a WhatsApp confirmation of my booking with no security deposit required.

The guy from Vailankanni Auto was happy that a Team BHPian was booking and I feel they are look forward to provide great service on this feedback alone.

I have planned an airport pickup (Dabolim) and drop (Mopa) for a 4 day trip and will revert with any specific feedback after trip completion.

An excellent trip planned and executed to a T, all thanks to Team BHP members feedback and guidance.

I am listing interesting highlights below:

Velankanni self drive pickup is at Dabolim Airport near departure gate D1, below the Welcome to Goa arch down the ramp. It's a 50m walk down the ramp where the Velankanni guys wait for you at the car park

It's a quick procedure taking a video of car exterior, paying in advance for duration of hire (including Rs.500 airport pickup charge), giving aadhaar card as deposit and that's it

Was allotted a Suzuki Baleno (fairly new) with minor exterior scrapes. Fuel was near empty, windshield wiper had no liquid and 12V charger socket not working. Thankfully the USB port was working fine so with fuelling done near airport IOC, was able to zip to our resort at Cavelossim within an hour

While we had explored most of the regular South Goa beaches in our earlier travels, this time decided to visit Cola beach (near Palolem)

Parked our car at a open field park near a shop where a dozen beaten down Boleros, Scorpios were parked. For a 100 Rs. per person shared fare or a Rs.500 entire vehicle fare by an experienced local driver, we get treated to a royal 2km off roading experience down a steep hill which needs to be experienced (not for the faint hearted). An excellent drive for someone who wants to test man/machine skills of their own 4x4 SUV

The journey ends down 100 steps to an exclusive beach cum lagoon, where words fail to describe it's beauty

With a chest high freshwater lagoon dotted with palm trees and lush mountains, the family enjoyed 2 hours of kayaking and full immersion in this heavenly bliss

There is a shack with a loo attached and refreshments for a spot of drinks and food down at the beach

The return trip to airport was to MOPA airport (new Goa airport) which is 85kms from Cavelossim. While the drive and car handover was smooth, do note the exit from NH 66 to new airport signposts leave a lot to be desired. You might end up missing the exit and spending a lot of time retracing back (even if you follow Google maps). So do watch out as this advice comes from a guy who retraced 2 times unsuccessfully and yet took 30 minutes just to get to Dadachiwadi exit to new airport.

Goa does throw up a few surprises and this was indeed a very welcoming break :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by IamGetz (Post 5517131)

How was your experience with these chaps? I read your update post, but I'm looking for more detail about the booking process, quality of the vehicle, service quality, charges they took from you, tnc they mentioned, etc.

I am going this Friday, and am looking to get a car for 2 people as I cannot drive a 2 wheeler.

Booking is via WhatsApp at 98221 01598 contact Shawn. Typical cars i20/Baleno cost Rs.1200 per day. No advance or security deposit at time of booking. Details of cars and rates at https://goacars.in. They will call you a day before travel to reconfirm. Exact car make/models are not guaranteed, equivalents can be given as per availability at time of pickup.

At Dabolim car park, I could see atleast 5 cars which were being videographed on mobile by guys who had rented. Minor scratches were visible on most cars (nothing serious though). Sadly self drive cars are sometimes ridden rough by thrill seekers who spoil the experience for other self drive enthusiasts.

Most of the times fuel would be near empty (return empty) hence first priority would be to fill at the nearest bunk with 9am as the cutoff time for return.

Quality of cars was quite good as per my experience with various self drive rentals across India with fairly recent models which are clean inside.

Charges and TnC are as mentioned on WhatsApp confirmation with additional Rs.500 for pickup/drop with a 24 hour contact number.

All in all a very satisfying trip and overall experience.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordSpymaster (Post 5524322)

I will update next week with my experience after I return.

This was due from my side, so sharing my experience of renting a car in Goa via Goacars (Vailankanni Auto Hires).

Process: Called them a week before, and communicated over WhatsApp. Got all car options there, and selected a category that made sense to me.
I took the Baleno Auto category, since I wanted to experience driving an auto + I presumed autos will be in less demand = cleaner and less used cars. Got a Baleno with ~20K on the odo.
At arrival: Walked till the parking (about 100m from arrivals). Found the delivery guy (via details on WhatsApp I got beforehand from GoaCars). Did the inspection, took a huge number of photos (to be safe) and signed the hire doc. Had to give my original Adhaar as collateral.
Cost: Paid 1,500 for 4 days + 500 airport charge + 400 hotel pickup charge = 6,900 INR
Experience: The car was clean, and had no noticeable issues while driving. The USB port never worked for me, so was unable to use AA on the display (Didn't complain to GoaCars to avoid any hassles). Drove well, and was better to have a smaller car in some sections of Goa.
Pickup experience was average, since the time decided on was 8 AM but the guy arrived around 9:25 AM. I had selected 8 AM to not pay for another day and I didn't even though the pickup was late. Could be better.
Final verdict: Would recommend for rentals in Goa, just make sure to read their policies clearly before committing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayjaycleoful (Post 5413163)

"Vailankanni" was near our villa and if I'm not wrong, they also give V cross and Fortuners for rent!

Based on the few previous posts from members and lacklustre communication from the person I took cars from last time, I decided to try Vailankanni this time.
I think they charge a slight premium over the others but it's well worth it and I recommend them.
Positives include:
- Clear and crisp communication on WhatsApp
- Sharing of details of the pick-up/ delivery guy beforehand
- Mechanically strong and clean car

Self drive rentals are the most convenient and cheapest way to move around in Goa. Do it if you think you are skilled enough and are comfortable on narrow Goa/undivided roads. You will see more self drive rentals than white number plate cars everywhere.

I had selected the automatic Brezza/ Sonet/ Venue/ Magnite category. They were kind enough to note my preference of anything except Magnite and gave me the new-gen Brezza.
It was a VXI auto and served the purpose well for 6 days across the state - must've driven it about >300km.
Will definitely take a Thar/ V cross in a future trip :D

Thanks a lot to all members providing the valuable inputs and experience on rental car hiring in Goa.
Was in Goa last week and based on the feedback in this forum, I booked a swift automatic with Vailankanni. I landed on Wednesday morning at 9am and messaged them via Whatsapp as suggested by them and gave my details & preferences. I asked them to drop it to my hotel and they promised to deliver the car by 10:30am itself. The guy dropping the car gave constant updates on his arrival and came by 11am which was ok for me.
The car was in good condition with 13k KM on the odometer and costed me Rs.1500/day and another Rs. 500+500 for pick-up & drop.

Driving in Goa is welcome change for someone in Bangalore with clean, decently wide highway rides and low traffic and the car behaved very well and served the purpose. We used it sparingly (<50km per day for 4 days - just filled 1500 rupee petrol and still left a lot on the car) as we wanted to spend more time also at the resort and just spending the evening to visit any other place. Like @rayjaycleoful mentioned, I could see many such self drive rental cars on the road and it seems it is a very popular mode for the tourists.

Return process was very smooth and the call centre was always responsive and flexible on the place of drop. I was toying of whether I drive to MOPA or I take the hotel drop service (as I wanted to avoid any last minute confusion at the parking zones or delays in return process of the car). But considering the costs of 3k+tax, I decided to take the car to MOPA and fortunately the guy who had to receive the car from me met me midway and chauffeured us to MOPA which took away the stress of any return delays/parking issues.

Rented Kia Carens iMT-D from Vailankanni Auto Hires. Like most have mentioned, communication was smooth over whatsapp. They called me a day prior to confirm my booking. Had booked Ertiga but got allocated a new Kia Carens with just 2600 KMs on the odo.

Drove the car for about 400 kms over 5 days. Our car was speed locked at 80 KMPH. Dropped at the same spot, after quick inspection I was back in the terminal within 10mins! Never had such good experience with car rentals in Goa.

Highly recommended. :thumbs up