Rent car in India without a driver . . . One way car rentals in India

Question: Hello there

We will be visiting India from the end of February until mid March. The plan is to rent a car in Mumbai – without driver - and

drop it of after about 4-5 days in Goa, preferably Siolim.

Can you recommend us a rental company that provides this service.

Your help is much appreciated.

Best regards from Zurich

Verena

Answer: I can’t recommend any particular company but here is some information you can mull over! Avis car rental is an international company with rental locations in India and of course in Zurich. Avis has car rental facilities at Mumbai airport. They do rent cars without a driver. To give you an idea of the charges, to rent a Toyota Innova from Avis in Mumbai, the price is Rupees 4600 per day plus taxes. This price includes unlimited miles. A deposit of Rupees 50,000 is also taken when car is rented without a driver. This is supposed to be a *refundable deposit. To get the current price, I actually called Avis in India just now and spoke to one of their sales representatives Mr. Ramlakhan Dariani, (91 22 33990099). He was kind enough to give me the prices, car rental price and deposit would depend on the type of car you rent. However, Avis will not allow the car to be returned in Goa. If you rent from Mumbai, it must be returned in Mumbai. There are other companies that do allow you to rent from one location and return at another location.

Returning car in different city

One company that does allow return of car to a different location that I am aware of is ECO Rent a car. Their phone number is 91 9654999666. They would rent you a car in Mumbai and you can return it in Goa. Their charge for the same car mentioned above, Toyota Innova is Rupees 5000 per day. Their deposit is Rupees 100,000. They will also charge for the cost of sending a driver from Mumbai to Goa to pick up the car. I called one of their reps to get the price. Their website address is www.ecorentacar.com There are many other companies that you can find on the Internet. When searching the net, please keep in mind that renting a car in India without a driver, is referred to as self driven car rentals.

Security deposit on self driven cars in India

*Most companies that rent cars without driver charge a large security deposit. While this is supposed to be a refundable deposit, in case of any damage to the car, be prepared to loose this deposit! With some companies, you may be able to negotiate a lower deposit. However, it’s usually far better to rent cars in India with a driver, in such cases you would have no liability for car damages and no security deposit is required. More on car rentals in India on Nri Information: Car Rentals in India - A Guide on renting cars in India >>