Its time for another guest post by long-time Zoomcar member Shrinidhi Hande. Thanks once again to Shrinidhi for helping us build up this community! Check out his blog at www.enidhi.net
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When you rent out one of Zoomcar’s super luxury car like a BMW 320D or Mercedes A-Class, you will get extra attention on the road and you might also face some risks not applicable to ordinary cars. Here are some tips/precautions to take while driving out in a super luxury car.
1. Book Hotels with covered parking & security: If you book a budget hotel which doesn’t have proper parking space, you might be forced to park your car on the roadside in the night. Expensive cars attract more attention and are more susceptible to theft attempts. Thieves dont mind laying their hands on anything that they think is worth a few thousand rupees- including logos. (Branded new Mercedes tri-star logo costs Rs 6,000 to replace). So while booking hotel rooms, be extra sure to ensure that hotel has adequate indoor parking with security etc.
2. Be mindful of the roads you take: Some roads in India are pretty bad and are not suitable for luxury cars. Luxury cars will have lower ground clearance and softer suspension, which may render them vulnerable on a bad road. Spend some time analyzing the route you may have to take for the trip and keep in mind alternate routes that can be taken, if you find that roads are very bad.
3. Visiting Forest Resorts: If youre heading to a resort inside a forest, it is possible that last few kms of the resort can be covered only on a jeep or a high ground clearance vehicle. If this is the case, you might have to park your luxury car at a distance, which may or may not be safe. Do check with the resort/homestay about the road conditions.
4. Rain Clogged Roads: Many of our roads tend to get inundated during monsoon and our cars are not designed to be driven in water for long (Except few SUVs with snorkels). So a flooded road can play spoilsport in your tour plans. You don’t want to be stranded in the middle of the road with a 30 lakh car you are responsible for. If your destination is likely to be receiving heavy rain during your visit, avoid low ground clearance cars. Take a SUV instead.
5. Drive carefully: With lots of power at their disposal, 3 series or A class can easily tempt the driver to speed up. While speed thrills you, it can also kill you. While your car may have best of the safety feature and you might be the most skilled and experienced driver around, the same cannot be said about other road users and drivers and vehicles which may decide to come in your way. So please drive within safe limits, always be alert and attentive.
6. Be Careful at Valet parking– Not all valet parking staff are well trained to handle auto transmission, paddle shift etc. Where possible, park the car yourself, even if it means little more inconvenience. (Remember the news where a Delhi Hotel valet wrecked a Lambo?)
7. Be mindful of strangers trying to pose in front of the car: When you’ve parked your luxury cars, strangers might be tempted to pose next to the car and get their photographs clicked. This is all fine as long as they dont touch the car. But some overenthusiastic public may lean against the car or do things that can result in scratches/dents. You should be mindful of this.
8. Crossing villages: Some villagers have made it a habit to leave some animals on the streets- such as chickens, hoping that they get crushed by a tourist vehicle and then villagers can surround the vehicle, make a scene and extract a few thousand rupees in the name of dead animal. Keep your speed in check and be mindful of stray animals and birds while passing through village limits. More expensive the car looks, more will be the demand for compensation.
9. Dip the light in the night: Luxury cars will have more powerful headlamps than ordinary cars. They can cause more blindness and confusion to driver of the vehicle ahead. During night drive, be sure to change to low beam when you see a vehicle coming in the opposite direction. Even if the other driver doesn’t change to low beam, do your bit, because one blind driver is always better than both drivers getting blind.
10. Dont let others drive: When youre renting a luxury car, therell be high demand from friends and relatives that they should be allowed to drive the car for a while. This may not be safe, as they tend to get excited and over speed. Please check Zooms policy on this. Cars with manual transmission need some time and effort to pickup speed (you need to gain some speed, change to higher gear and repeat this process a few times to reach 100 kmph+), but in an automatic like 320D, keep the pedal pressed for few seconds and car can reach high speeds without much effort. In the hands of inexperienced/super excited person, this can result in catastrophe before anyone realize whats happening).
Zoomcar offers BMW 320D and Mercedes A-Class luxury cars starting at just Rs. 165/hour inclusive of fuel, insurance, GPS and even taxes! Can’t wait to get behind the wheel of one of these beauties? Book today at www.zoomcar.com
2 Responses
When I go out on business I like to rent luxury cars, it makes the trip that much more fun. I would agree that when possible use covered parking to get maximum security. It can be fun, but those cars attract a lot of attention.
When I go out on business I like to rent luxury cars, it makes the trip that much more fun. I would agree that when possible use covered parking to get maximum security. It can be fun, but those cars attract a lot of attention.