Wedding cars

moneymakestheworldgoround

Hi

I was in process of selling my old car, but since advertising I have had 2 requests for hiring it as a wedding car.

I have looked into insurance etc.. and got advice from business link and it seem viable.

My question is around advertising.

Where do you look to book a wedding car ? Do people still use yellow pages, or is it predominately searching the web? Have far in advance do people book their car?

Also, is a cheap quote off putting? I dont have huge overheads, and the insurance is not huge, so other than advertising, I can probably keep costs low, but I dont want people to be suspicious !

Any advice about your experiences with booking cars would be most appreciated.

Yellowbug

why dont you type wedding cars into google to get an idea of prices

i know a lot of people who have wanted vw's as their cars so just do a search for vw wedding cars etc to get prices and terms

what car do you have...im sure the type of car probably changes the amount people expect to pay

moneymakestheworldgoround

Hi

I probably didnt explain my post very well !

Its not the price I am struggling with. I have researched the price and know I can make it profitable whilst being cheaper than others locally.

However, I have read some posts on here when people have had low quotes and are therefore suspicious of why ! So one question is, would a low quote put people off?

Also where do people look for wedding car suppliers - do people use yellow pages, or search on the web? I have a small advertising budget and so would like general opinions of how people have found their cars when booking for their weddings. Do people book a year in advance, or do some people leave it until closer to the wedding date?

Thanks

Yellowbug

ok

all the people I know who have booked wedding cars have used the web to search for companies (and reviews of them)
and if i needed to book cars I would do the same

hmm I dont think a low price would put me off..you may need to do it low for a bit anyway to get people to use you and give you some reviews of your service etc, if you can keep your price low/sensible you should appeal to a lot more people so I would say its a good thing

As for booking....I have no idea, I wouldnt know I would probably phone and ask the company I was interested in as early as possible just in case they need to know a long way in advance...might be worth a phone round a few companies to ask how far in advance bookings need to be made?

Horace

When I look for suppliers - I either google them or look in a local wedding magazine or directory and never in the yellow pages. I look at White Wedding Pages (Midlands), The Original Wedding Planner Book, The Wedding Organiser.

Depending on the car then some people will book a year in advance and others 6 months in advance.

To sort out your pricing..look at what your competitors charge and pitch yourself somewhere in the middle - if you price yourself too cheaply then people will be suspicious and wonder what they are getting. Go to wedding fairs (initially to look and see what's on offer - that may help you with your pitch as well).

Have you sorted out some public liability insurance because you will need that as well as vehicle insurance.

HTH

rinroo

I do most of my wedding research via the web, i rarely ever look in/on the yellow pages.

Everything is done via google/word of mouth with me. A good website with lots of information and a landline (local) number often eases my mind.

I am currently trying to book a wedding car, i have 10 months until my wedding and two of the companies reccomended to me dont have what I am after on my wedding date so, in my opinion i should have booked a car at the same time as I did the church/venue.

I think the reason most and myself included are put off - well maybe not put off but suspicious with low quotes is wondering whether the company is genuine. I think a really good/fast reply to enquiries lots of info be it via an ad or website and being flexible for viewings on the car and a deposit and receipt taken is enough to satisfy, that they have got nothing more than a good deal.

by the way - what car do you have?

nat82

We got our car online so a good website will probably catch peoples attention. If you don't want to list your prices online then a landline phone number and an e-mail address is good.

Our company was the cheapest by far but he had lots of pics on his webpage, replied to all our e-mails kindly and allowed us to go and see the cars before making the decision.

So although he was very cheap, he ticked all the other boxes too.

aimee21j

Sounds like a great idea. I understand your thinking about how cheap is too cheap though. You would need public liability insurance and would need to provide and alternative if you are ill etc.

moneymakestheworldgoround

Hi

Thanks for the replies.

I have a website, created a few pages about a year ago and due to finances ( wanted to debt bust first) I decided not to do anymore with it.

Debt busting is so liberating I decided to sell everything I possess to clear them faster. And then these queries have reignited the old fires again !

I have an old Ford Dorchester. Small limo, 4 door type thing, we were doing it up gothic style to cater for unusual weddings, but these 2 queries just want them due to 7 seater, and local.

I didnt want to do yellow page advert and the replies I have had so far would point me in the direction of building up the web site.

I have started doing an online questionnaire, where people can earn £2 per 5 minute questionnaire and go into a draw for £50 in vouchers. But other half thinks this is pointless. I just wanted as much personal feedback as possible. But weddings are so personal, I am not sure I could generalise what people want?

Anyway thanks for feedback - much appreciated.

rlm_3

I wouldn't use a paper copy of the Yellow Pages (particularly as we are getting married in a different area from where we live and don't have a copy of directory we'd need). However, I have used the Yell.com website when looking for wedding cars and for other wedding suppliers, and then linked through to websites from there.

One thing that did annoy me when looking at websites were how few of them gave even an indication of possible prices. You could always say 'Prices starting from £...' and then you can tailor the quote according the time and distances involved.

A low price wouldn't put me off but then again this is the MSE wedding forum!

HTH,
rlm

Horace

Dont pay people to fill in a questionaire or survey either, that's like giving your money away and you can't afford to do that at the moment. Get your testimonials after you have done a wedding or two.

Have a proper website, show your prices if you can or do prices from...remember that if you have a wedding to do a which is further than 10 miles say remember to charge mileage.

Talk to other wedding car firms near you, you may be lucky and end up working on a freelance basis for them especially if your car is unusual.

Leave your business cards in places like florists, photographers, even bridal shops.

Look in your local free paper for details of wedding fairs and visit them or see if you can rent a stand.