If you are looking for a limousine to hire, it is safe to assume that you will want one the has an established reputation for service and reliability. But what else?
No two companies offering American limousines for hire are alike and inevitably you will have to establish between what is hype and fact. A starting point is to ensure that the company is licensed. Although this not a requirement at this stage, from the 1st January 2008 all companies operating limousines for hire and reward are required to be licensed for private hire with their local District Council, or in the case of London, with the Public Carriage Office (PCO). Alternatively, they may be licensed as a Bus Operator by the Traffic Commissioners. Similarly, all of the vehicles that are offered for hire or reward must be licensed by the relevant authority and, only licensed chauffeurs can drive a licensed limousine. The requirement for licensing ensures that the chauffeurs are subjected to both a medical and a criminal records bureau check.
Another little know fact, but nonetheless, very relevant if your are seeking to hire an American stretched limousine, is the question of the private hire plate. All private hire cars are required by law to have a private hire plate fixed back and front. If you are seeking to impress, then a yellow plate fixed to the back of your limousine is going to look a little out of place, however, the news is not all bad. Some suppliers of American stretched limousines have succeeded in gaining an exemption, meaning that they do not have to display the private hire plate. If this is important to you, then it is worth checking with your limo company first.
Standards are important and within the limousine industry, these will vary widely, depending entirely on the type of service the operator actually offers and the level of control over the delivery of this service. For example the ability to deal direct with the limousine company has to be first prize, because you will want to be certain that they completely understand your requirements, you will want to know exactly which limousine is being offered and no doubt, you will also want to be able to speak to someone that knows the limo.
The rise of the limo agent and limo broker in the UK follows the introduction of similar organisations in the USA. However, one of the most respected and arguably the largest dedicated limo site in the world has published a warning on their website. These warnings have been reproduced or linked to from many other industry websites. It is not difficult to identify a limousine agent or broker because they tend to overuse fanciful claims such as, “cheap limo hire”, insisting that they can secure better prices than the public, even though there appears to be no tangible proof that this is the case. The risks however, are far more evident, for example the removal of that essential personal interaction needed when you are looking to hire a limousine for a special occasion.
Therefore the jury is still very much out as to whether these agents or brokers add any real value, or save money. Another issue relating to third party companies promising to save you money is the fact that they tend to give the impression that they have more control over the hire than they actually do. It is inconceivable that an agent or broker can exercise as much control over the hire as the actual limousine company that will be completing the hire. Some also use the questionable tactic of creating generic ‘local’ websites to provide the impression that you are dealing with a local company, rather than a third party agent or broker, based hundreds of miles away! This has given rise to one or two complaints about poor service. These types of complaints appear to be a consequence of poor communication or interpretation, rather than any bad faith or intent. But, if you task a third party with the very simple task of securing your limousine, adding a further unnecessary layer to the process, then it is almost inevitable there will be more mistakes and misunderstandings.
Cars for Stars Limited is a well established and experienced, award winning company providing chauffeur cars and limousines through an extensive branch network. Cars for Stars in London is licensed by the Public Carriage Office (PCO) for private hire. Other Cars for Stars branches are franchised and therefore licensed through their respective local authorities. All Cars for Stars offices are obliged to adhere to the high standards and service as the Group. The local authority licensing regime means that the businesses are subject to regular assessments and scrutiny to ensure that they comply with all of the regulations and standards, the vehicles are also subjected to bi-annual tests, in order that they can retain their private hire vehicle licence. In addition, the chauffeurs must be licensed to drive these vehicles. For a chauffeur to obtain and maintain their licence they must be subjected to and pass a medical and will also be subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check.
Cars for Stars offer a full complement of chauffeur driven cars and American limousines for hire and all of their vehicles are exempted from the requirement to affix a private hire plate to the vehicle. As a full service chauffeur cars company, Cars for Stars offer a range of services, which include business and leisure travel, tours, wedding cars, transfers to and from airports, long-term hires, tours, European travel via the Eurotunnel other forms of event transportation. The range of cars is extensive, but includes a choice of entry level chauffeur driven cars such as the Chrysler 300 and Mercedes E Class, executive, long wheel base cars including the Jaguar XJ, Mercedes S Class and BMW 7 Series as well as the pre-requisite smattering of top marques which include the Bentley Arnage, Rolls Royce Phantom and Maybach 62. Limousines come in different shapes, sizes and colours including vanilla white, black, silver, metallic blue and candy apple red. As a licensed provider, the maximum number of passengers that can be carried, irrespective of size is eight.
If you are not convinced, or would preferr to have a wider choice of potential limousine companies, then please feel free to use the Chauffeur Cars & Limousine Hire Directory.
