Why are wedding cars so expensive?

“Is this car for a wedding?”, asks the chauffeur company. “Erm, yes it is” one replies hesitantly. What difference does it make? It seems like all you have to do is mention the “W” word and everyone wants to add a nought on the end of your quotation. Why is this? Are we being ripped off?

Why does the price jump when you mention wedding?

It might seem like the car hire company are just trying to milk you for all your worth. Their minimum charge is £50, the wedding venue is just 2 minutes away, but they want to charge £150, just because its for a wedding!

At first glance it would appear that chauffeur companies do mysteriously hike the prices up for wedding travel. Compared to an airport transfer the cost of a wedding hire might seem extortionate. However when you examine this further, then this price difference might seem reasonable.

Generally a wedding car will be an significant investment for a chauffeur. A Rolls-Royce Phantom for example costs £270000, not exactly small change. Only the very well-heeled can afford to hire this calibre of car. For your wedding, you might have planned to hire a Rolls-Royce for your wedding car. Even if your wedding venue is within confetti throwing distance of your house, finding a Phantom for your wedding will never be a cheap option. There are remarkably few chauffeurs available to hire with this exclusive car. What often compounds matters further is that chances are your wedding will be on a Saturday. A June wedding maybe everybody’s preferred wedding date, because of this your wedding car will never be cheap. Your wedding chauffeur knows that in order to stay in business he or she will have to recoup much of the investment during these valuable wedding Saturdays. The chauffeur will also be very aware of his obligation to your wedding. In contrast to his day job chauffeuring clients, the wedding clientele are a lot more exacting.

Most chauffeurs enjoy driving wedding cars. Weddings are generally a joyous occasion, a happy time, which a good chauffeur will enjoy too. However, the stakes are very high. The car will need to be valeted, ribbons and floral decorations prepared and the Champagne chilled. Many people do not understand the lengths a good wedding chauffeur will go to make sure everything is perfect. This preparation is what separates the good from the bad in the chauffeur industry. The good chauffeur will have planned the route, and in some instances have driven a “recce” run first, just to check for the unforeseen and to plan the perfect route. A regular chauffeur driven journey is generally a lot simpler. Most chauffeurs keep their vehicle clean, but there is a difference between the clean required for a regular chauffeur run, and the valet necessary for a wedding car. The wedding car will not only be under scrutiny of the bride and groom, but also of the wedding guests and of course the wedding photographer. The wedding car needs to be gleaming in order to look great in the wedding photos and video. Similarly, the chauffeur will need to be of matching attire, again another differential between the good and the not-quite as good in the trade.

The single biggest factor in the cost of the wedding car hire, is that it is not normally possible for a chauffeur to do anything else on your wedding day. You might have booked him for the 3 hours hire, but practically speaking he can do nothing else. He can not chance taking any work before your early afternoon wedding. Just in case he gets caught in traffic, or for any other problems that might arrive in this pre-wedding job. Similarly a good chauffeur will not book a job after the wedding incase the wedding goes into extra time, which sometimes can occur. So although you only want the car for 3 hours, it is a complete days work for a chauffeur. When you factor in his time to get to the venue, valet and prepare the car, plus return to his garage after the event, clean confetti from out of the seat pockets, it is a full days work whatever way you look at it. A very enjoyable and rewarding days work, but a days work never the less.

You might expect a new Rolls-Royce or Bentley to be expensive to hire, but even more sensibly priced cars like a Mercedes-Benz are a considerable investment, normally circa £70000 for a long-wheelbase S Class. Sure you could fit in an E Class Mercedes or even a Toyota Prius, but when you factor in your huge bridal gown, that extra legroom is priceless! Anybody can buy a flash car, but it takes a lot more than that to being a good chauffeur. The car is the tool of the trade but the craftsman is the driver. His attitude and professionalism can make or break a wedding journey.

iChauffeur’s Andy Senior said, “yes, the chauffeur is more important than the car. We get a surprising amount of frantic calls on Saturday afternoon. ‘Please help, our wedding car has not arrived’. In some cases this will be from people that we have even quoted for, but decided that they would go for a cheaper quote from someone else. I would say that price should not be the priority in booking a wedding car.”

He would say that, but why wouldn’t you go for the cheapest quote? Well, if you have three or four wedding quotations for the same car, and one is dramatically cheaper. How are they providing a car so much cheaper? Do they actually own the car? Are they properley insured?

So, what you are looking for is a reputable wedding chauffeur company. One key point to remember is that if the wedding car companies main concern is the price, then you can see how they are driven. Finding a company that focus on what you actually want, and not how much they are getting paid is very important. For example, did they ask you about your preferred ribbon colour?

You don’t need to spend thousands of pounds on a wedding car, their are many affordable and professional wedding chauffeurs. Not all will have a shiny new Rolls-Royce, but many can provide a very nice car to your taste. You might like a vintage car, a wedding taxi a huge pink wedding limo or even an “Only fools and horses” three-wheeled wedding van! Their are as as many styles of wedding cars, at a multitude of different price breaks. No matter what your wedding budget is the principle is the same. The chauffeur can make or break the day. Do the company inspire you with confidence or will they leave you waiting even before you make it to the aisle? Ask what the chauffeur will be wearing, what time will the car arrive for a booking? Will it be there at the agreed time or do they allow a little bit of time before the appointed time?

How to get the wedding car service you want

Do your homework and you will be able to find a wedding carriage supplier that ticks all the right boxes. Don’t try and mislead them by saying that the job is not for a wedding. Don’t try and get a one way hire, and then ask them to put ribbons on the car! You might find yourself without that all important ride to the church as the chauffeur company can’t find anybody to actually do the job for that price. Just as bad is if they do find a driver who will do the job for such a cheap price and what will the quality of his service? Will he be on time? Will he be smart? Will the car be smart and clean? Will the driver work with the photographer? Will he be co-operative and helpful or will he be watching the clock so that he is not late for his next job?

Wedding Car Checklist

• Give accurate times and locations including postcodes - don’t try and cheapen the price by giving misleading information, this can often backfire.
• Can you see a picture of the actual car or are you being shown a library image?
• Ask friends if they have had any good experiences with chauffeur companies and wedding car firms.
• Go with your gut feeling, if that quote seems too good to be true - it possibly is!
• Remember if you need the car to drive you to the airport after the wedding are they licensed to do so? - Wedding cars do not need a special license.
• Are they insured for Private Hire journeys?
• What are their contingency plans if their is a problem with the car or driver on the day?
• Get an email or written quote.
• If possible get married on a Friday or Sunday instead of Saturday.

Enjoy your wedding journeys!

At the end of your wedding day. You may have taken your last journey with your father before he gives you away. You will have taken your first journey as a married couple. You will have the pictures and video to prove it. Whatever you expected and wanted from your wedding travel is now history too. I hope you enjoyed the ride!

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 12:25 pm and is filed under Cars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.