Selfdrive Updates-Carzonrent copies zoomcar - eNidhi India Travel Blog

Selfdrive Updates-Carzonrent copies zoomcar

Last time I rented a car from Carzonrent was sometime in June (Grand i10). Since then many things have changed. Carzonrent’s self drive division- MYLES, seem to be copying its rival ZoomCar in many aspects. Consider these

1. Carzonrent-Myles has introduced same models and same colours as that of ZoomCar. Carzonrent Myles used to have white/silver coloured cars (most of them) in their fleet- now they are buying cars of different colours- exact colour that of Zoomcar (Figo- Blue and orange, Amaze- Blue, Ciaz- Purple etc. Zoomcar was first to introduce Amaze, Ciaz etc- carzonrent has added same models. Maintaining some kind of uniqueness in models and colours would have been nice, than copying just like that.

2. Carzonrent-Myles has reduced deposit amount from 30k to 5k, to match Zoomcar- Good move. No complaints on this part.

3. Carzonrent-Myles has increased no of location in each city- earlier I had to go  all the way to Chitlapakkam to pickup, now I have a Myles counter within few kms from my home. Great.

4. Carzonrent-Myles has introduced an insanely low speed limit of 100kmph. Zoomcar has 125kmph. Myles could have at least matched that if not higher. Anyway, this warrants a separate post, so hold on.- Now live here.

5. Carzonrent-Myles has started charging extra for weekends

6. Carzonrent-Myles has started adding their logo on the front doors-again idea copied from Zoomcar

But I am happy they haven’t copied ZoomCar’s “fuel cost included” policy- which involves charging extra to customers on rental with promise of free kms (upto a limit) and then charging insane amounts if that limit is breached. This ill conceived pricing policy remains my single most pain point why I avoid renting from Zoom. Per km fuel cost is usually about Rs 3 to Rs 4, but at Zoomcar we need to pay Rs 12- Rs 15 per km once we cross the limit. I was told this is a “convenience feature” where customers don’t have to worry about refueling. Might be convenient for one day rental, but I would rather same some money instead of this ‘convenience’. When I go on long drive, it is not like Zoomcar guys will come and fill the tank whenever it goes dry- I need to pay a huge rental in advance, again need to tank up, pay to fuel station and then wait for reimbursement from Zoomcar. Where exactly is the convenience here? What if I lose the receipt? Now Zoomcar has introduced 3 tiers of pricing based on km usage- 120 kms, 240kms and 360 kms… Still doesn’t meet my needs- Unless I can plan my trip perfectly well to the last km, this policy is often a rip off to customers- what if I had to change my plans and drive 360 kms instead of 120? What if my usage turns out to be just 50kms a day? It is a lot peaceful with Carzonrent- I can fill as I need and return the car full tank.

7. Carzonrent-Myles now offers pickup & drop service
- which is brilliant- it was there earlier before Myles brand was introduced. Zoomcar still doesn’t offer this service. If they can support one way rental, that will be icing on the cake.

On my past few rentals, the Myles attendant would take my photo with the car just before I leave the premises. I thought it is for sharing on their facebook page, but don’t remember seeing my pic on their social media channel till date. May be the real reason of taking those photos is to give it to police in case I don’t return the car on time.

But even after several years, Carzonrent-Myles has failed to incorporate a simple feature on their website that allows booking modifications. Sometime back they made big announcement of new website- mylescars.com but this site is just a front end that captures basic details and reroutes to earlier carzonrent booking page. Once booked, there is no option to modify. Only way to change your booking is to cancel the booking and make fresh booking. I think Carzonrent should change their IT vendor- they have great cars, policy and potential, but stupid website/technological limitations are preventing them from offering more convenience and features to customers.

Zoomcar has stopped pickup.drop off between midnight and 6 AM, while Myles continues to operate 24x7.

Overall I can sense that Carzonrent-Myles is stunned by the phenomenal growth Zoomcar had over past few years-which is at the cost of Carzonrent. Myles is making several improvements in their product offering, policy and rates, which is all good, except for that stupid 100kmph speed limit.

My take on Myles 100 kmph speed limit here. Read a comprehensive comparison of Zoomcar & Myles here

8 comments:

  1. Hey buddy doing my first zoom ride today based on your recco,the Merc gla no less.in Bangalore, point to be added on is carzonrent looks a lot stronger in chennai and zoom in begaluru, your thoughts

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  2. Do any of these guys have gift coupons? That would be a great idea, if they had gift ideas like "2 days in a merc".

    Do you know of any such gift ideas?

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  3. I got my first car booking from Zoom car using Zoom car coupons when I went for a road trip with my friends. I experienced no troubles. And that photo taking part from Myles sounds really creepy!

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  4. Hi Sushil

    Enjoy your ride in GLA class...
    Carzonrent also has huge presence in BLR, but yes, BLR is Zoomcar's HQ and Zoomcar is doing very aggressive marketing, so they have huge fanfare.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the details. Once I took ertiga on carzonrent and had bad experience while leaving it. They were trying to charge me for the scratches that was already there. Luckily I had taken pic of it before taking the car out. I am scared to take rental cars from then on. Need to try zoomcar someday.

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  6. @Arun
    Usually they mark all existing damages... Yes, better to take photos.

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  7. A good comparison. After being a good old customer for both Myles and Zoom I completely agree with all your points. But instead of terming it as copying, I would rather prefer calling it improvising, this is exactly the change I was excepting from Carzonrent. There's a drastic change in zoom's policies, from being customer friendly in the beginning to being purely commercial now( for ex : 3 weekends of Nov considered to be Black out days where in the tariff is atleast 30-40% inflated) assuming they are the leaders of car rentals atleast in Bangalore. They really need a tough competition failing which they loot the customers seeking car rentals. I was a fan of Zoom earlier back then when they just had 7 cars ( Scorpio and figo) but unhappy to say that I'm no more a happy customer of Zoom.

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  8. Thanks for your comment. Yes, with growth they are unable to sustain quality of service

    ReplyDelete

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