Wedding Car

roger_ramjet

I have recently inherited a 97 year old veteran car that has been used in the past for weddings. I was hoping to re-invigorate its use for weddings but was unsure what would be a reasonable rate to charge. This vehicle is fairly unique, little more than a carriage with an engine - and certainly has the wow factor. I see some firms charging £500 plus extras for extended times, additional journeys, mileage. My thought was £450 as a one-off rate with no hidden extras. What does anyone think - does this seem reasonable?

Mrs_Moore_To_Be

I personally would not pay that much for a wedding car, I was going to hire a Delorien for my OH and thats a one off and that was £280. However you do say its very special?

As this is a MSE site you may find that a lot of people say this is too much so it could be worth asking some of the other wedding sites?

When you say its one off with no hidden costs what would you get for the £450, this may 'justify' the cost?

shellsuit

I don't think it would work.

Why would someone who needed the car to do one 20 minute trip, be charged the same as someone who wanted 2 90 minutes trips with 2 hours in between those times?

Not very fair is it?

LEJC

Im assuming that you are setting up a business and that you have investigated theset up/ running and insurance costsfor your car and that is what has led you to determining the proposed price.
The price seems fair assuming that you provide some nice touches in your packages and appreciate that its not just a few hours work that you will have on a saturday...but that you actually carry out a rolling maintainance program on your car to keep it in its best condition the rest of the time too...

There is a part of me that thinks that you may be asking the price question to the wrong people here in as much as most of the brides here are probably looking at something a little cheaper and better value for money than £450 ...and I would love to suggest that if you were to offer the price at half what you propose then demand would probably be higher...but I appreciate that to lower your prices to that level it may not be cost effective for you.

Lots of couples opt to get married today at an all in type venue and there is little need for the grand transport to the church/venue so you may find that when you actually look into your proposition that once insurance is factored in its not actually a viable small business option for you.

Good luck with youe venture if you choose to proceed

FlowerPower

You may want to have the flexibility to offer different costs, as people might want different things that you could do cheaper or others you would need to charge more for. You could always say £X for anything up to 2 hours, or something like that?
It seems a fairly normal amount from the brochures and websites I was looking at, but I second the opinion that you should ask on other sites - MSE will likely skew your outcome downwards e.g. A car I fell in love with would've cost about £400, but couldn't justify the cost to myself for a 10 mins journey, so I've spent a few quid on ribbons and bows and will be in my stepdad's car.

roger_ramjet

The problem with different options is that there are so many variables. Distance to the pick up, distance from pick up to church, reception venue, etc, etc. TBH, the practicalities of the situation drive the decision. So if there is a large distance between pick up and church - unable to do additional journeys as the bridesmaids will be hanging around at the church, while I go and collect the bride. However, with a shorter distance, it may be possible to do a quick turn-around. At the end of the day, the car has probably covered the same distance, it is just each gets a slightly different service based upon the circumstances. The car is open top, and I usually keep it below 30 mph, so a round-trip of 10 miles for example can take 30-35 minutes.

I've seen other firms charge a base rate, plus x amount per mile, plus y amount for additional hours etc - and I didn't want to offer something that seemed penny-pinching, or imagine a bride and groom checking their watches to see what was "on the meter" if you get my meaning.

As for cost. Well, the car has to be maintained, and many parts need to be made if they fail. Paintwork has to be maintained - and all hand-painted, then there is the upholstery and the hood - it all costs. As an example - each tyre is about £250 - and those are comparatively cheap. Some parts are cast and machined out of bronze. Don't forget mot and insurance. Car is valetted before each wedding, and is available during daylight hours for as long as the b&g wants, so we are there for any photos, and sometimes it is nice to go to a secluded picturesque spot after the service and before the reception for some photos.

Finally, given the nature of the car, it is only suited for summer weddings, which narrows down how many I can do in a year - probably a maximum of 14. This is not a fleet operation, it is one man and one car. As I said earlier, the car is pretty special, and warrants a premium imo. It is just how high that premium sits. My dad used to do the weddings for about 20 years, and charged about £250 - a price that remained pretty static throughout his tenure.

Sammy85_2

Im having a 1934 Rolls Royce for my wedding. I get it for the full day, with no time/mileage limitations. Its doing a first run there and back to church with my bridesmaids and mum. Then another run with me and my dad. Its then taking me and my OH to a different location for our photos and then on into town to our reception. Plus how ever long the cars are required at the reception for photos etc. Its £350 and to be honest that was the absolute maximum i would pay.

I looked at a number of different companies before choosing this one, and they all quoted between £200 for a more modern car to £350 for vintage ones. Most had restrictions to their areas of coverage of within 30 miles of the depot (except the newer cars) but none of them restricted you on time or charged extra to go here or there how ever many times on the day.

LEJC

You'll be a very busy man if you manage 14 weddings in a summer...and I guess in pitching your price you need to weigh up the pros and cons of how many weddings you want to do.

Charging £450 a go...may mean you generate 2 weddings per season whilst charging £150 might mean that you could get 9...more work yes but will keep you busier ....I guess it all revolves around what you are prepared to do

As I said before lots of the brides work on budgets here and to be honest the sort of money you are thinking of is out of budget...I appreciate that your car is special and as such should command a higher price but you have to remember that you are in competition with a lot of other wedding cars and the luxury car market and indeed the quirkyness of the camper van or london cab..all of which will be charging possibly less than you.

I am sure your father looked after his car and drove many a happy bride to her wedding but times change and regretably in my opinion the vintage wedding car is pricing itself out of the market...

roger_ramjet

Sammy85 wrote: »

Im having a 1934 Rolls Royce for my wedding. I get it for the full day, with no time/mileage limitations. Its doing a first run there and back to church with my bridesmaids and mum. Then another run with me and my dad. Its then taking me and my OH to a different location for our photos and then on into town to our reception. Plus how ever long the cars are required at the reception for photos etc. Its £350 and to be honest that was the absolute maximum i would pay.

I looked at a number of different companies before choosing this one, and they all quoted between £200 for a more modern car to £350 for vintage ones. Most had restrictions to their areas of coverage of within 30 miles of the depot (except the newer cars) but none of them restricted you on time or charged extra to go here or there how ever many times on the day.

Thanks for that. Very useful. I should add that this is not a business per se, I am a classic car enthusiast who is looking to generate a bit of income to help fund the running costs. Based on what you said, I'll go for the £350 and see how it goes...

Good luck on your big day.

roger_ramjet

LEJC wrote: »

You'll be a very busy man if you manage 14 weddings in a summer...and I guess in pitching your price you need to weigh up the pros and cons of how many weddings you want to do.

Charging £450 a go...may mean you generate 2 weddings per season whilst charging £150 might mean that you could get 9...more work yes but will keep you busier ....I guess it all revolves around what you are prepared to do

As I said before lots of the brides work on budgets here and to be honest the sort of money you are thinking of is out of budget...I appreciate that your car is special and as such should command a higher price but you have to remember that you are in competition with a lot of other wedding cars and the luxury car market and indeed the quirkyness of the camper van or london cab..all of which will be charging possibly less than you.

I am sure your father looked after his car and drove many a happy bride to her wedding but times change and regretably in my opinion the vintage wedding car is pricing itself out of the market...

I agree! I was merely stating that 14 would probably be a theoretical maximum - I would be aiming more to do about 6-8.

As for your last paragraph - you may be right. But I am not looking for great volume, and whenever people have come to view the car they have always booked it then are there... If companies are charging £200+ for a modern car, it must be what the market can stand. And older, more unique cars are quoting the sorts of figure I highlighted. I will start around the £350 mark - which is only £100 than dad was charging 20 years ago.

ellay864

If it helps I'm paying £445 for 2 cars....one will take OH and 3 lads from our house to daytime venue, about an hours drive away and will stay for a short while for photos. The other will pick me and BM up from hotel close to venue and get us there for 11.30am, it'll then stay til 5.30 when it will take OH and me to evening venue, hours drive away. The cars are gorgeous 1930 replicas
http://bellesandbeaus.website.orange.co.uk/