[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by RoadSurfer

Hi anshumandun. How come is the vehicle with DL passing? I guess you booked the car in Hyderabad.

I don't know. I booked the car in Hyderabad and got DL registered car.

[Sujair]

Booked a zoomcar (swift) for 5 days in from Coimbatore . Got a KA registered vehicle . Car pickup was smooth , the executive asked me to take photos of all the dents (which were quite a few) . Once i hit the highway I realized that there was a heavy engine noise after crossing 60 kmph . This was very annoying and worrying as we had planned to do over 1000 kms . The tyres were half bald , indicated that they had no alignment from a long time .

Overall , the whole trip we had our hearts in our mouths . Luckily there were no issues . While returning the car we had to justify every dent with the photos we had taken while picking up the car .

[gkveda]

Originally Posted by RJ411

It could be. But the way in which they handled and communicated this was not fair.

I understand your situation RJ411. Definitely whether it is intentional or Unintentional, this kind of behavior is not acceptable. Zoomcar management need to go back to drawing board to plan how they can improve the customer experience.

[LandCruiser]

I was considering booking zoomcar. But their prices and options were very limited. I was particular about getting a AT car but they did not have any suitable options. The KM limit was very restricting.

Reading the experiences here I find it horrible. It is time they improve their services. 90K run car full of dirt and faulty equipment is completely unacceptable. It will not be a pleasure driving such car on any trip and will spoil the holiday mood and plans.

[InControl]

Well I Have a good experience to share.
Booked a Scorpio for 7th Jan from 5.30 am to 3.30 PM (For a Distance of 150 kms) as I wanted to take some visiting relatives(10 of them) for a trip to Nandi Hills.Received a message with the location link and when i reached there the car was ready. It was the Red Scorpio that had already done 1.2 lakhs km and I was quiet apprehensive as to how it would drive(i had gone through this thread before going). The Body exterior was however perfect. Took a video of the vehicle (interior, exterior, odo etc)as a proof and then started.Got an idea of the Car dimensions on my way back(I have a Ritz at Home). The car drove perfectly and did not face any hurdles all through. Returned back the car with 145 kms logged and at 3.25 PM(they do give a 20 min buffer) Received the 5k reimbursement message on my way back to a citrus account
Here is a pic below.

[mrinmoy_s]

I have booked ZoomCar twice so far.
In March 2016, I had my school friends coming from my home town and we had a plan to drive from Mumbai to Goa and back. Since we were 6, my Rapid was not considered and booked a XUV500 from ZoomCar. I picked it up from Mumbai domestic airport without much hassle. The car was a new one (less than 1 year) with only 9k on the ODO. The drive was a breeze and other than small niggles with the music system, everything else including the AC worked fine. It was a great trip and ZoomCar was a great enabler.

In December 2016, I had a wedding to attend at Mysore/Kabini. Booked an Ecosport from Bangalore airport. We landed at Bengaluru around 10PM and called the local contact person. My booking was supposed to start at 10:30PM and after repeated calls the car reached the pick up point (opposite Kati Zone) only at 11:15 PM. We discovered that it was not the actual pick up point and the driver drove us to the actual pick up point which is almost 5km away. We were 4 of us and thus it wasn't a problem. I wonder what would have happened if we were 5 and how we would have accommodated ourselves with the driver driving for that 5km.
Anyway, after reaching the actual pick up point, the checklist was filled and the entire formality took about another 20 mins and we were finally off to Mysore around 12:00 AM. We were happy with the car as it was clean enough and drove well even after having ~85k km on the ODO. The first leg of the journey was smooth but the next morning, at Kabini, the AC stopped functioning and started throwing warm air. We called up ZoomCar and they suggested we get it fixed from any garage and submit the bill to them for reimbursement. We didn't have so much time and asked them if they could provide a replacement car from their Mysore operation. This was replied with saying "Not Possible". Since the weather was pleasant, we decided to continue our journey as the car showed no other sign of trouble. Finally on our way back to Bangalore airport, we realized we would need to extend the booking by 2 hours. We called them up and they said payment has to be done using the App/Website only. Now there came a problem. We were unable to get a proper 3G/4G connectivity on the highways and the app refused to work properly for payment. Finally we could somehow managed to do the payment and it was extended successfully. We reached the drop off point well within the extended time and the dropping was smooth.

I was more or less ok with the experience barring the AC issue. It would have been a significant trouble had it been summer. They should at least try to provide replacement cars from their nearest service location (in our case it was Mysore) for such problems.

So it is a mixed feeling (one pretty good and one not so good) for me as far as ZoomCar is concerned. I would probably try Myles next time and then compare.

[girimajiananth]

I rented a zoom car a couple of days back (ford figo older version / pre face lift) with 92K on the ODO. The car in question was reasonably in good condition. There were plenty of scratches on the body and bumper. The horn was very feeble though. The basic cleanliness of the car was acceptable. The mechanical condition of the car was nothing to complain since it was a battered rental car. For some reason the brake had a very sharp bite and I was a bit afraid that I would lock up the wheels since the car had no ABS although I am a very sedate driver.

When I went to the pickup location, the fleet executive recognized me since I was quite friendly with him the previous time. I saw a brand new scorpio with dents on the hood and a partially broken headlight. When asked about it, the fleet executive told me that the car was only a few months old, and had done hardly 6K Kms. People who rent it hardly know how to drive . They stall the engine a few times even before exiting the parking lot, have no regards when it comes to taking care of the car.

One guy had rented a Honda city for a day, instead of leaving the car at the pickup site, he left the car a few KMs away, called up the fleet executive, told him to pickup the car if he wanted it back and left the key inside the car .

As customers, we too need to be more responsible. I only wish zoom car can identify such responsible customers and prevent irresponsible people from renting the car. I suggest bring back the 5k deposit back.

[Nissan1180]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

One guy had rented a Honda city for a day, instead of leaving the car at the pickup site, he left the car a few KMs away, called up the fleet executive, told him to pickup the car if he wanted it back and left the key inside the car .

As customers, we too need to be more responsible. I only wish zoom car can identify such responsible customers and prevent irresponsible people from renting the car. I suggest bring back the 5k deposit back.

I want to believe what the Zoomcar executive told you, but having received the worst treatment from them recently, I really think they were lying.
Zoomcar has insurance on all its cars and I don't know why a customer should get a battered vehicle when they paid for a clean one.
Bringing in the 5k deposit would allow them to fleece innocent customers to pay for irresponsible drivers who break their cars. I was charged 2k for a damage I did not cause. My crime was to not have insisted on shooting a video of the car initially because I did not know that it was necessary.
They are unethical, and they will get what they deserve.

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by Nissan1180

I want to believe what the Zoomcar executive told you, but having received the worst treatment from them recently, I really think they were lying.
Zoomcar has insurance on all its cars and I don't know why a customer should get a battered vehicle when they paid for a clean one.
Bringing in the 5k deposit would allow them to fleece innocent customers to pay for irresponsible drivers who break their cars. I was charged 2k for a damage I did not cause. My crime was to not have insisted on shooting a video of the car initially because I did not know that it was necessary.
They are unethical, and they will get what they deserve.

Point to be noted. I am sorry that you had a bad experience. The reason you got a battered car was because of an irresponsible person who rented it before you. I agree that innocent and responsible motorists like you and me should be protected. I somehow feel that there should be a process or a scrutiny in place to weed out bad drivers who spoil rental cars.

[dhirajs]

Had a really bad experience with Zoom Car, Delhi.

Rented a Mercedes CLA for a day in December.
Had to go pick it up from a dingy basement parking lot in TDI Mall(somewhere in west delhi). didn't get an option for door delivery.Very unprofessional....Staff.

Car was a mess, extremely dirty. Had to take it for a wash immediately...,which delayed my trip to Agra by almost two hours.

Wont rent from them again!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

... I somehow feel that there should be a process or a scrutiny in place to weed out bad drivers who spoil rental cars.

The last time I dented a rental car in UK, it cost me something like forty or fifty thousand rupees (equivalent in pounds). Like... really a lot of money. That's a deterrent.

And the reason for getting a damaged car is never previous renters. Each rental agreement is individual: the reason is the rental company.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The last time I dented a rental car in UK, it cost me something like forty or fifty thousand rupees (equivalent in pounds). Like... really a lot of money. That's a deterrent.

Very True.

I am sure what you paid was the "deductible/excess" under comprehensive insurance of that car.

As you know the alternative is to pay more money up front to get a CWD (Collision Waiver Deposit) which usually is around GBP 50 per day. Then usually no questions are asked about scratches etc, except when its a major accident/incident involving a police report etc.

But the condition of even the cheapest rental cars when they are rented out is so spick and span that you feel guilty to get it dirty.

Best Regards & Drive Safe

Ram

[narayan]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The last time I dented a rental car in UK, it cost me something like forty or fifty thousand rupees (equivalent in pounds). Like... really a lot of money. That's a deterrent.

I don't think it cost so much if you go for the below option as per Ram.

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Very True.

I am sure what you paid was the "deductible/excess" under comprehensive insurance of that car.

As you know the alternative is to pay more money up front to get a CWD (Collision Waiver Deposit) which usually is around GBP 50 per day. Then usually no questions are asked about scratches etc, except when its a major accident/incident involving a police report etc.

But the condition of even the cheapest rental cars when they are rented out is so spick and span that you feel guilty to get it dirty.

Best Regards & Drive Safe

Ram

In 2015 Jan when I rented out cars extensively in the UK and Ireland, even the excess amount to be paid to get full waiver wasn't even GBP50. It was lesser. I was going for the entry hatch back like Fiesta and equivalent every where and my total cost per day, if I recall correctly, was working out to less than GBP30-40 OVERALL including the collision damage waiver insurance. If you opt out, prices crash to GBP15-20 LEVELS. And this was HERTZ rates and the cars were always in tip top condition delivered with a full tank.

Out of 3 rentals, in one of them, while parking, I ended up getting a good dent on the rear door because I did not notice a huge concrete stump. I was so happy I took the waiver insurance else I might have paid around GBP500 OR so for the damage.

But around a month after my trip, to my dismay I got a speeding ticket from somewhere in Wales for travelling at I think 40mph in a go slow zone for which Hertz charged be GBP60 or 70 as their processing fee.

[noo.b]

I’ve only dealt with zoomcar once and the experience wasn’t good

I was in Mumbai to attend a two day conference and my wife joined me as well, we were to leave for lonavla post this conference. I booked a Honda city for our travel as I wanted to drive down myself.

The pickup point was in Andheri East and the pickup was scheduled for 1 p.m I got to the prompted space only to realize it was an open / unguarded parking besides the road with a few more zoomcar vehicles parked there. There was no attendant in sight, I got the code on my app and located and unlocked the car. Since It was my first time using zoomcar I assumed I could locate the car key inside which I obviously couldn’t.

So after waiting for 15 minutes while it was raining I called up the customer care and the executive apologized profusely and mentioned that I would get a call back, which I did and I was told that the attendant had gone out to get a car refueled and would be back shortly. While I waited for him to arrive I looked at the car minutely and to say that it was in a shabby condition would be an understatement. There were scratches and dents all over. The interiors were dirty and dusty and looked like someone had had a drinking party inside with crumbs of food lying around and a fat layer of dust on ac vent fins.

The car had no GPS device, I enquired about it with the attendant and he mentioned that zoomcar doesn’t offer the service anymore which was the first of many unpleasant surprises. The top of the windscreen had many layers of cello tape applied to it. I pointed this out to the attendant when he came and he said that the windscreen had been replaced recently and the tape had just been put temporarily to hold in it place while it set. I reluctantly agreed to it. Asked him to show me the boot and the spare tyre only to realize it had none. He casually pulled one out of the other city parked besides it.

I asked him why can’t I just get the other car as it looked a little better and he said that one’s already booked. Anyway since I was already short on time and had lost about an hour and a half of my booking I agreed to carry on with the car. When we started it I realized it had no fuel which I highlighted to him immediately and he offered to go with me to the nearest fuel bunk to get it refueled. Having no choice I agreed and drove off with him in the car. Just as I took a U turn I saw a lot of water coming in from the top of windscreen, then realized it seeped in from the part where the cello tape was applied. This was the last straw and I decided to abandon my weekend trip. Made a video of all the shortcomings, spoke to customer care, told them how they ruined my planned break and told them about the video.

I was asked if I would prefer to have another car however that would take a while, I politely declined their offer and asked for a refund. I stayed on in Mumbai, thankfully so cos it rained cats and dogs over that weekend, got my money back within 3days and I swore never to try Zoomcar again.

[r_nairtvm]

Will this be swansong or resurrection/revival ?

This was the question that came to my mind as soon as this little bit of news caught my eye today



http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/A...12012017017035

I have a feeling that they had shifted to this model "softly" a while ago and that in way explains the rapid deterioration of the condition of the cars and the service levels as being expressed here.

I was also surprised to learn about Ford's involvement in this venture (the earlier news of this had escaped my attention). I do hope that Ford has done its homework in backing this venture;

Best Regards & Drive Safe

Ram