Self Drive rentals: cost comparison, procedures and more

Of late, I’m getting various questions from multiple directions about self drive car rentals. Most of them are pertaining to cost aspect and few are about the procedures and formalities involved. Many of them change their mind after hearing about the cost, security deposit and risk involved. My earlier posts [read them here and here] on Self drive rentals notwithstanding, this post is an attempt to answer few such questions.

Quick navigation: Cost Comparison * Risks * Advantages * Self drive rates * Procedure * Recent Updates *

Cost Comparison between self drive rentals and normal chauffer driven rentals- Will it be cheap to rent on self drive?

Honestly speaking, for most of the circumstances, self drive rental is NOT economical, except for long trips and high end cars.

Case 1: Short Trip (say 1 day, 150-200 kms, economy vehicles like Indica/Sumo etc): For short trips self drive won’t be economical. Example, for a 200 kms 1 day outing the normal rental of Tata Indica with driver would cost about Rs 1500 (Rs 200*6.5/km + driver batta, effectively Rs 375 per person for four people),the same trip, on self drive would cost about Rs 2300 (1500 rent+500 fuel +Rs 300 delivery & collection charges, Rs 460 per person for 5 pax)

Case 2: Medium trip (Example: 3 days, 1200 kms, Toyota Innova): For medium duration trips , Self drive and chauffer driven rentals can almost break even (Self drive at Rs 3300/day,3600 fuel= Rs 13500, Chauffer driven: 1200*10.5 Rs/km +900 Rs driver batta=13500)

Case 3: Long trip (4 days, 1800 kms or more, relatively high end car): For long trips self drive is far economical than regular chauffer driven rental. Say for a Skoda, 4 days, 1800 kms would cost Rs 20,000 (Rs 16000 rent+4000 fuel). If you want to hire a skoda or similar car on conventional per km rental, you’ll realize that not many agencies will have such cars on offer and those who have will quote exorbitant price. Hertz quotes Skoda at Rs 25/km for non corporate customers. Even at Rs 15/km, 1800 km trip would cost Rs 27000. (Also why would I rent ever a Skoda if I can’t drive it???). Even for economic cars self drive is cheaper for long distances.

Please note that above calculations are based on current rental rates in Chennai. Rates are subject to change w.r.t time, city, rental agency and other factors. Also, if you’re sharing the expenses or want to carry maximum passengers possible, please note that you can save a seat in self drive mode and per head expense can be less, even if total expense is marginally more than regular rental.

Self drive rentals are popular abroad because hiring a driver is expensive there. In India if you are trying such adventure it could only be because a. you enjoy driving, or b. you’re 5 or more in number and don’t want to waste a seat for driver or c. you want full privacy.

Let me reiterate the risks and advantages of self drive as I find it:

Risks: You need to return the car without any dents, scratches or other damages. Else damages can mount to several thousand rupees. Vehicle will be covered under insurance for accidents and third party liabilities and if there’s a genuine (not arising because of driving on bad roads etc) technical failure (say you’d to replace a spare) rental agency will reimburse the expense. But in either case, you can’t abandon the car on the road and reach your destination in another vehicle (which could have been an option if it was a regular rental with a driver). In case of major incident your trip will go for a toss. So, you need to be confident about your driving skills and be prepared for the risk factor involved. Long driving can be stressful at time and one small mistake is all it takes to cause an accident.

I've taken various cars on self drive rental 4 times in the year 2008 (Skoda Octavia, Scorpio, Innova and Swift) and was lucky not to have any unpleasant incident, except for flat tyres. Hope my luck doesn't run out one day.

Advantages: I go for self drive rentals because I don’t own a car yet and find it convenient to rent some relatively up market car and enjoy the drive. Other advantages are: Saving on an extra seat for driver, not having to pay inter-state border fee (in some cases), privacy and complete ownership on the car, for the duration of rental (to flaunt it or to experiment or to explore). Also, the white board cars won’t have that boring white colour and taxi like feeling

What are the prevailing rates for self drive rentals?

Approx per day rental for various cars are given below- These rates may differ w.r.t agency and with age/variant of the car etc. Also most rental companies will give good discount if rented for longer duration.

Santro, Indica: Rs 1300-1500/Day, Getz/Swift: Rs 1800-2000 per day, Ford Ikon, Accent: Rs 2000-2200 per day, Ford Fiesta, Honda City: Rs 2200-2500 per day, Civic, Skoda Octavia, Toyota Corolla, Chevy Optra, Scorpio, Innova: Rs 3000-4000 per day. Note: A security deposit ranging between Rs 5000-25000 will be payable, in addition to full rental amount at the time of taking delivery. Some agencies may insist on some advance at the time of booking confirmation. Any damage to the vehicle is at renter’s risk. Delivery and collection charges of Rs 100-200 may be applicable and few agencies put a limitation on max no. of kms (150 or 200), if rented for just one or two days and additional kms will be charged extra at say Rs 5 per km.

In comparison, conventional car rentals with driver, charged on per km basis, can approximately cost as below: Indica: Rs 6.5/km, Sumo/Qualis/Tavera: Rs 8.5/km, Force Traveler (formerly Tempo Traveler): Rs 9.5-11 per km, Toyota Innova Rs 10-11 per km (Minimum rental of 200 or 250 kms may will be applicable along with a driver fee of Rs 200-300 per day)

What is the procedure for renting a car on self drive?

You can either approach an agency (like Hertz, Avis) or contact individuals who give it on rent, Agencies will have pre-defined rates, requirements and formalities. Usually they need you to own a credit card and hold a driver’s license 3 years old.[Detailed eligibility and websites of self drive car rental companies] Rental amount + deposit will be blocked on your card and upon return, deposit amount will be unblocked. Few individuals who rent their cars may have slightly different procedures. Usually they’ll keep an original document as additional security and need rental and deposit amount in cash. There may be an agreement or any other formality at the discretion of the person.

Jan 29 Update:

Note: 1. Chauffeur driven options needn't always be safe- You won't know how experienced the driver is and how stressed he is (say because of his earlier trip). In self drive you'll have option of hiring services of a driver, if you wish, at an additional cost of approx Rs 300 per day, so that you can ask him to drive when you're tired or otherwise.

2. Most of the travel agencies will have basic variants of cars without ABS, Airbags and other safety & entertainment features. In self drive you can get full details of the car before booking it so that you can know the age of the car, variant, features etc.

3. Be sure to check fuel type. A petrol car may cost cheaper but a diesel car can save substantially in fuel expenses, even if rental cost is more by few hundred rupees.

4. Also enquire about the age of the car. Avoid old cars as they are likely to have worn out tyres. Be sure to note the existing damages while taking delivery

Enjoy your drive... Go to top * Scorpio mHawk Vls review * Maruti A-Star Review * Wayanad Trip in a Scorpio * Chennai-Mysore in Skoda Octavia * New Toyota Innova (2009) vs Mahindra Xylo * Mitsubishi Great Driving Challenge- My views * Zoom self drive cars * 

Disclaimer: Personal opinion and observations only. Rates and terms are subject to change without prior notice. eNidhi India recommends safe driving with seatbelt on.