How to Rent a Limousine

Prom season, birthdays, holidays and other special events are more spectacular when a limousine carts you around. Although it seems easy to rent a limo by just picking up the phone and ordering one to arrive at a certain day and time, there's actually more to consider. Review these guidelines before you look into limousine rentals.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Know what your needs are before you call around. Determine how many passengers you will have, the approximate distance between venues, if you just want to drive around and how long you expect to have the limo. These are all questions the limousine company will ask before they offer you a quote.
2. Look beyond the price of the limo. It's easy to pick a limo based only on the cost, but sometimes cutting corners isn't worth it. Instead of a beautiful black stretch limousine, an old, rundown car may arrive with a sloppy driver, the car may arrive late and break down on the way to your destination and quite possibly mess up an entire evening of plans. It would have been well worth an extra $50 to hire a more reliable limousine company.
3. Ask about details for the specific celebration. Let them know if it's for a wedding and ask if they provide the "Just Married" signs or if that is your responsibility. Inquire about the driver's attire and check that it meets your expectations as does the size, color and interior comforts of the limousine.
4. Clarify when the rental time begins, whether at the departure of the car from the company location or when it arrives at the pick up location, and the minimum rental time and fee. If you have a length of time between locations, some limo companies offer a split rental which means they will not charge you for waiting between pickup locations.
5. Get a contact number for someone other than the main office and driver. If the car is late and the driver is out of contact, it helps to ease stress if you can talk to a live person, especially one that can help remedy any problems that may occur.
6. Read the fine print in the contract before you sign and make sure they write in all of the specifics discussed. If not, ask for an amended version to include anything you think is important before you sign.
7. Determine if the limo fee automatically includes a tip for the limo driver and if so, how much. The standard tip is 20 percent. If the fee does not include the tip, then pay the tip directly to the driver, not the limousine company.