Zoomcar vs Myles- Blr Self Drive Comparison

I've written lots of posts about self drive rentals, but there's still more to write. In this post I am comparing 3 key operators in Bangalore, for self drive car rentals. Purpose of this post is to help you select right agency for your specific needs, as each of these agencies have their pros and cons.

My detailed review of Zoomcars can be found here,  Revv here and recent Myles experience can be found here

	Zoom zoomcar.in	Myles (Carzonrent) Mylescars.com	Revv revv.co.in	Remarks
Sample Rent Amount (Weekend)	Swift 2520 (120 kms), 4200 (360 kms) XUV500: 4680 (120 kms), 6720 (360 kms) Fuel included, Rs 12 to 15 per km extra beyond free kms	Beat Rs 1912, Swift Rs 2853 per day a day XUV500, Rs 3799 a day  + fuel extra, unlimited kms	Swift/Celerio 2040 per day for 120 kms, Rs 3576 for unlimited kms XUV500 Rs 4056 for 120 kms, Rs 5976 for unlimited kms + Fuel extra + Per km 8 Rs beyond 120 kms + +300 Rs mandatory pickup and drop charges	No clear winner- all depends on usage. Refer illustrations in the end I like the simplicity of Myles which keeps rental amount and usage/fuel expense separate
Fleet	17 models in BLR	29 car options in BLR (MT and AT counted separate)	15 models in BLR
Pros	Many locations allow you to park your car/bike and pickup rental Few new models introduced Very expensive for my long drives- say 1000 kms in 2 days Better speed limit (125 kmph)	Easy pricing- rental & usage separate- no need to worry about how many kms I will be using (I can drive just 5 kms or 500 kms a day-no extra km charges and no lost money on unused kms) Works out lot cheaper for my ultra long trips	Relatively new cars Better speed limit (125 kmph) Likely to be cheaper than Zoom in most cases overall
Cons	Massive overspeed penalty (Rs 2500) Min charge Rs 1000 even for minor scratch/dent	100 kmph speed limit Booking modification is a pain Fleet getting older Can't park your bike/car n pickup rental vehicle	Combi pricing is confusing to me- have to keep an eye on km restrictions, have to fill fuel and need to pay excess km charges Unlimited km option is way too expensive than Myles Mandatory pickup & drop charges (Rs 300- can't avoid) Can't park your bike/car n pickup rental vehicle
Deposit & Liability	Zero	5k blocked on card	Zero	If you don’t have a credit card, you   can’t rent from Myles
Fuel charges	120/240/360 kms per day worth fuel included in rental, for subsequent use, per km charge of Rs 12/15 applied, fuel expense reimbursed	Car will be given full tank, to be returned full tank. No km limit for daily rental (km restrictions apply for hourly rental). If returned less than full tank, a 15% charge in addition to fuel expense will be levied	120/240/360 kms per day worth fuel included in rental, for subsequent use, per km charge of Rs 8/15 applied + customers needs to return full tank Unlimited km option also available but expensive
Fleet and Pickup locations	About 20 in Blr and counting, Many locations in Pune and NCR	About 12 in Blr and counting, available in many other cities, including Mysore and Mangalore	No designated locations, will be delivered at customer specified address
Pickup-drop	Available, Rs 300	Recently introduced	Mandatory- Rs 300	Carzonrent charges Rs 750 extra for airport locations
One way rental	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Vehicle Options- Compact	Figo, Swift, KUV1OO, Baleno, Ritz, i20 Elite, Jazz	Swift, Jazz, Figo, Grand i10, Beat, e2o, Baleno	Celerio, Swift, Baleno, Grand i10	Not all cars are available in all locations
Vehicle Options- Sedans	Amaze, City, Ciaz, Aspire	City, Ciaz, Amaze, Vento, Etios, Corolla Altis, Sunny	Aspire, City, Amaze, Sunny
Vehicle Options- SUV/7 seaters	Ecosport, Scorpio, XUV500, Fortuner Endeavor	Duster, Fortuner, XUV500, Innova, Creta, MU7, Scorpio, Ertiga, Ecosport, Safari	Innova, Ecosport Scorpio, Duster
Vehicle Options- Premium cars	A Class, GLA Class	Fortuner (Looks like C and E class discontinued)	Audi Q3
Interstate permit	AP state permit will be refunded by Zoom	To be paid by customer	To be paid by customer
Automatic cars	BMW 320d, A Class, Reva e20, GLA class	e2o, Grand i10 AT Creta AT, Jazz AT, CIty AT, Fortuner AT	Audi Q3
Booking Process	Very simple	Manageable- could be simplified. Need to sign few pages, block amount on card etc	Very simple	Instead of taking copy of passport, DL each time, Carzonrent can take it once and store it
Offers	Refer brand's FB page	Refer brand's FB page	Refer brand's FB page
Speed restriction	125kmph Rs 2500 penalty	100kmph, ridiculously low	125 kmph
Cancellation Policy	Possible but charges apply	Free up to 24 hours	Possible but charges apply
Mobile App	Yes	No	Yes
Accessories in the car	None	Depends- usually Tissue paper and fire extinguisher	fire extinguisher, Aux cable
Active on Social Media	Yes, very active and responsive	Yes, reasonably active	Yes, reasonably active
Hourly Rent	Available, Min 4 hours	Available, (Min 2 hours)	Available, Min 10 hours
Weekly/Long term	Available	Available
24 hour operations	No. (Between 6 AM to midnight only)	Yes	Yes
Booking Modifications	Very Easy, Charges apply	Impossible (need to cancel and re-book)	Yes, easy

Refer below table for rental illustrations to identify which is cheaper when

Illustration 1: Weekday, quick city ride (80 kms)- say for a lunch date, 4 hours, Honda city (MT) Zoomcar is clear winner for very short usage.
Zoom cars	Myles (Carzonrent)	Revv
City, 4 hours XL at Rs 640 (60 kms) + Rs 15 * 20= Rs 300 Total: 940	City rental Rs 687 for 40 kms + Rs 12 * 40 kms=480 Rs Total: 1167	Minimum Rental duration= 10 hours Rs 1050 for 150 kms + Rs 300 pickup/delivery +  250 fuel = 1700
Illustration 2: Weekend short trip, 150kms- like Blr-Nandi hills and back, 6 hours, Compact SUV (Ecosport) Revv and Zoomcar seems to work best for short term, do your maths and decide.
Rs 1320 for 90 kms + Rs 15 * 60 kms = 900 Total: Rs 2220	Rs 3250 for 6 hours, only 60 kms included  + Rs 12/km=1080 extra, fuel included = 4330 total It makes better sense to rent it for whole day and spend extra on fuel (Rs 3856 rental + 600 on fuel= 4456	Minimum Rental duration= 10 hours Rs 1590 for 150 kms + 600 Rs Fuel + 300 pickup and drop Rs 2490
Illustration 3: Weekend short trip, 300 kms – like Bengaluru-Mysuru and back, 2 days, Small car (Ex: Baleno) Almost neck to neck- no clear winner- decide based on your preferences- Need High flexibility as our plans are not 100 certain= Myles. We know exactly what how much we will drive: Zoom/Revv
Option 1: Rs 3120 per day at 120 kms/day Rs 6240 rental + 0 Fuel + 720 excess km charge (Rs 12 per km * 60 kms) = 6960 (Rs 7k approx) Option 2: Rs 3960 per day at 240 kms/day Rs 7920 rental + Zero Fuel  or excess km charge = 7920 total. You can drive another 180 kms at no additional cost	Baleno 2 day rental: 6184 Fuel extra (about Rs 1000) for 300 kms Total: Rs 7184	Option 1: Rs 2520 per day at 120 kms/day Rs 5040 rental + 1000 Fuel + 600 excess km charge (Rs 10 per km * 60 kms) + Rs 300 pickup/drop = 6940 (Rs 7k approx) Option 2: Rs 2856 per day at 240 kms/day Rs 5712 rental + 1000 Fuel + Rs 300 pickup/drop = 7012 (Rs 7k approx) – In this option you can drive additional 180 kms with fuel cost only without triggering extra km charges
Illustration 4: Weekend trip ultra long drive, 1000kms (Ex: Bengaluru-Karwar or Pondy and back), XUV500, 2 days:  Myles is clear winner, but you will have to crawl at 100kmph on highway
XUV500- 360 kms per day XL package at Rs 6720 per day 13440 Rental, 720 kms included + 280 extra kms at Rs 15/km= Rs 4200 Total: INR 17640 (plus you will have to spend on fuel and wait for it to be reimbursed)	XUV500 2 day rental: Rs 3779 per day = 7558 Fuel cost for 1000 kms- approx Rs 5200 Total: 12758 Rs	XUV5OO unlimited package at Rs 5016 per day 10032 for 2 days + Fuel cost for 1000 kms- approx Rs 5200 Total: 15232
Illustration 5: Long term rental- 1 week, 2000kms, 7 seater- Scorpio Revv is expensive. Decide between Zoomcar and Myles. Zoomcar may be preferred as it protects against actual fuel cost
Option 1:23280 for 1680 kms + Rs 15 *320 kms= 4800 = Rs 28080 total Option 2:  30240 for 2520 kms	19236 in rental + Rs 8800 in fuel approx = 28000 total	Rs 29632 unlimited kms + Rs 8800 on fuel + pickup= 39k Rs 25600 for 1680 kms + excess km charge 3200 + 8800 fuel + pick-up:  38k
Note: While Revv charges a mandatory pickup & drop charges, with Myles and Zoom it is optional. Unless you have someone who can drop you or you can park your own vehicle at the pickup spot, you should also factor cost of reaching the pickup point and back- taxi, auto or public transport, if you’re not availing pickup/drop facility. This computation assumes that you have a cheaper way to reach the pickup point. Rental amount as displayed in corresponding websites at the time of compiling this post. Rentals are subject to change Fuel expense calculation is also approximate and may change over time based on fuel cost, driving style, vehicle and other parameters One accidental over speeding and you'll be poorer by Rs 2500 with Zoom. Simplest thing rental companies can do is work with car dealer and electronically limit the car to a max speed, so that customers can never exceed that speed no matter what. But overspeed penalty is easy and free money so rental agencies find it more convenient to charge a penalty.

Conclusions: 

Zoom scores heavily in terms of simple process, interactive website and support, not having to worry about fuel. Myles (Carzonrent) on the other hand little cumbersome w.r.t process, but works out cheaper for very long drives. Revv works out relatively better than Zoomcar whenever you under utilize or over utilize the kms.

• Weekend, ultra long drives- Myles will work out cheaper 
• Weekday and Long term rentals- if your usage is within 200-250kms a day, Zoomcar or Revv will work out cheaper
• Weekend, depending on kms run and vehicles chosen, equation can tilt both ways. Compare and decide
• If you don’t have a credit card, you can’t rent from myles. Zoom and Revv allow members to rent even without credit cards. Also amount blocked on your card can take up to 3 weeks to get released. If you don’t have enough credit limit or if you need your credit card limit for some other purchase, better to go for Zoom even if the rental is expensive by a few hundred rupees. Ease of process with Zoom makes it a lot hassle free, compared to the pain of waiting for Carzonrent to release your money. If the cost difference is small, I recommend Zoom.
• Carzonrent doesn’t allow modifications to your booking. You can only cancel and rebook- Zoom and Revv allow shortening/extending booking.  
• A dedicated comparison between Zoomcar and Revv is available here, when I rented a city from both agencies.

Also read exclusive vehicle reviews:
Drive a Mercedes Benz without robbing banks 

Read about Zoom's July 2014 policy change

Zoom: BMW 320d * Ecosport * Scorpio * Figo * Reva

Carzonrent: XUV500 * Ertiga * Duster * C Class * Carzonrent Goa experience *
Revv: Audi Q3 * Ford Aspire * Honda city *