Booking a Limo for your special event can be confusing, expensive, and worst disappointing. Here is a few tips from my 15 years in the Limo industry to help you get the best experience for your dollar. When booking a limo there are so many mistakes you can make that will make it more likely that you will have a negative experience.
1. You Get What You Pay For.
If you call 15 Limousine and Transportation companies you and make your decision solely based on price, you have set your self up for disappointment on your special night. Companies with prices significantly lower then the competition are more likely to be failing. Cheap companies are much more likely lack of proper training, standards, maintenance, and have older damaged vehicles. Also they may not have the correct insurance or licensing to do business.
2. Ask questions more then just price.
The best question to ask that gets you a lot of information quickly is, what is year, make, and model of the vehicle I will be using during my event.
For SUV, Sedan, and Van trips these vehicle should be less that 5 years old. A limo company can easily put 50,000 miles on a vehicle in one year, so there 5 year old Cadillac could have 250,000 miles on it in 5 years.
Stretch Limos, Party Buses, and Motorcoaches should be less then 12 years old these vehicle are designed with commercial use in mind so they can last longer in safe and serviceable condition longer the standard vehicles.
Note that the Lincoln Town Car that the were commonly stretched for decades and is what most people think of when they think of stretch limo stopped production in 2011!! This means that if companies are still using this style its at least 13 years old and almost certainly older. A better choice for a modern stretch is the Chrysler 300 or Cadillac XTS.
3. Read Google Reviews for the company before you book!
Don’t just look at the star rating, which is the least useful information of the review. A company could have been in business for 25 years and their review could be 4.1 stars not because they aren’t a great company but because if they have thousands of customers the unsatisfied customers are 10 times more likely to review. Good companies are almost certainly to busy to ask their happy customers to leave a positive review. But Google reviews can be valuable information when booking a Limousine or a Chauffeured Car Service. The things to look for is: Are there recent reviews? Are the last 5 reviews positive? After reading 6 or 7 reviews both positive and negative you should have a good idea of the company and how much they care about service, quality, and value.
4. Tell them if you were referred by one of there current customers
You are 100% going to get a better price and service if you are linked to an existing customer if the limo company. They have a much greater incentive to give you the best if your business is associated with customers they already have.
5. When asking for a quote say: “What is the all in price?”
Some limousine companies may not like you getting this piece of advice. They want to quote you a teaser price then suddenly your credit card is charged for 40% more. I think companies should be upfront and transparent. If you don’t say this in the beginning any questions you ask will probably raise the final price you will pay. Is tip included? Is there a charge for Meet and Greet? Is there Ice in the cooler? These questions can become up charges raising the cost of your trip. The All in price should include everything and all the services that make the company a top level provider.