one man band executive drivers car

[Monkeylegend]

CHIEF said:

Thing is anyone doing this as a business has to take running costs into consideration, fuel, maintenance, reliability issues all eat into profits.

A 4 pot Merc 220 diesel will be a damn site cheaper to run than a S320cdi or an Audi A8

For me personally I'd prefer to be wafted about in an S Class (not an old one mind) or an Audi A8 but I put this to people.

Is it better to use an E Class that is reliable and does 50mpg and make a living or take a gamble get a bigger and more expensive car to run and charge accordingly running the risk of losing custom because your not as competitive as the next man who runs that E Class?



To anyone here who uses these services I'll say this.

Glad to see there are some who are looking at this from a business perspective.

The customers priorities are:

- Will the car turn up at 04.00 as booked
- Will I get to my destination safely, comfortably and on time, in a clean vehicle
- Will I pay an acceptable, competitive cost for this

They won't care one iota at that time of day if it is a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

The operators priorities are:

- Will my car start so I can get to my 04.00 appointment in time
- Will I get my customer to his required destination safely. comfortably and on
time, in a clean vehicle
- Can I do this at an acceptable cost to both the customer and myself so I can
operate at a satisfactory level of profitably.

I care a lot if it is in a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

Edited by Monkeylegend on Friday 5th October 09:31

[famfarrow]

sodslaw said:

not tempted by a 7 series?

730d for economy or 745li?

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

comes in just under £7k too

Edited by sodslaw on Thursday 4th October 12:39

Heaven! but of the two cars OP the E Class

[braddo]

Targarama said:

Luckily my 5:10am ride to the airport yesterday was an A8 3.0D. I sat in the front, lovely drive from the wilds of Oxfordshire to T5. I hope I get something relaxing this evening for the trip home.

It's interesting to hear that you sat in the front. Does the driver get a bit surprised when you jump in beside him?

[Monkeylegend]

braddo said:

It's interesting to hear that you sat in the front. Does the driver get a bit surprised when you jump in beside him?

I prefer all my customers to sit in the front.

[slippery]

The chauffeur company that I use runs the 4 cylinder diesel E Classes. They run them the over 300k miles and they still look and feel fresh when they sell them on. The engine noise is a bit crude, but once you're rolling it's not really noticeable and I would far rather arrive somewhere in a newer E-Class if I was being driven, than a dated looking S-Class. They always seem to use silver, which looks smart and probably stays looking presentable on a rainy day! OP, if you only have 3 clients, perhaps you could consider getting their opinions? I have to say though, that it really isn't going to be very long before the S-Class of the vintage you are talking about is going to be looking very old.
Others have mentioned the A8 and I run one at the moment. Without exception, everyone that sets foot inside it comments on the quality of the interior, even when they are used to travelling in other premium brands. The 3.0TDi A8 (I have the 4.2 petrol), would be a great all rounder and you would get more enjoyment from it when you're not using it for work, than you would in the E220. You would also not get stranded on the rare occasions that it snows if that's important to you.

Edited by slippery on Friday 5th October 10:15

[Targarama]

braddo said:

It's interesting to hear that you sat in the front. Does the driver get a bit surprised when you jump in beside him?

No, I know most of them.

[WhereamI]

Monkeylegend said:

They won't care one iota at that time of day if it is a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

I care, I won't complain if it is a diesel E class but all other things being equal it wouldn't be my first choice.

[Targarama]

Monkeylegend said:

Glad to see there are some who are looking at this from a business perspective.

The customers priorities are:

- Will the car turn up at 04.00 as booked
- Will I get to my destination safely, comfortably and on time, in a clean vehicle
- Will I pay an acceptable, competitive cost for this

They won't care one iota at that time of day if it is a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

The operators priorities are:

- Will my car start so I can get to my 04.00 appointment in time
- Will I get my customer to his required destination safely. comfortably and on
time, in a clean vehicle
- Can I do this at an acceptable cost to both the customer and myself so I can
operate at a satisfactory level of profitably.

I care a lot if it is in a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

Edited by Monkeylegend on Friday 5th October 09:31

The punter does care though, but it is not as high a priority as the other things listed here. We all understand why a driver would choose a 4 pot, but that doesn't stop us preferring a silky 6.

I guess the vehicle choice also depends on the target customer. The OP is obviously looking to offer a quality service and isn't trying to get punters to sit in a Zafira (f-ing awful car IMO). If you have the contacts you may be able to run a top class motor and charge a premium. Or maybe your 'better' car gives you a competitive edge.

[yellowbentines]

slippery said:

You would also not get stranded on the rare occasions that it snows if that's important to you.

The only time I've been stranded in snow in my E Class, there was hundreds of cars ahead of me on the motorway stranded also, AWD/4WD would have been useless, only the ability to fly would have got me home quicker!

[LooneyTunes]

Monkeylegend said:

CHIEF said:

Thing is anyone doing this as a business has to take running costs into consideration, fuel, maintenance, reliability issues all eat into profits.

A 4 pot Merc 220 diesel will be a damn site cheaper to run than a S320cdi or an Audi A8

For me personally I'd prefer to be wafted about in an S Class (not an old one mind) or an Audi A8 but I put this to people.

Is it better to use an E Class that is reliable and does 50mpg and make a living or take a gamble get a bigger and more expensive car to run and charge accordingly running the risk of losing custom because your not as competitive as the next man who runs that E Class?

To anyone here who uses these services I'll say this.

Glad to see there are some who are looking at this from a business perspective.

The customers priorities are:

- Will the car turn up at 04.00 as booked
- Will I get to my destination safely, comfortably and on time, in a clean vehicle
- Will I pay an acceptable, competitive cost for this

They won't care one iota at that time of day if it is a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

The operators priorities are:

- Will my car start so I can get to my 04.00 appointment in time
- Will I get my customer to his required destination safely. comfortably and on
time, in a clean vehicle
- Can I do this at an acceptable cost to both the customer and myself so I can
operate at a satisfactory level of profitably.

I care a lot if it is in a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

You missed out the other customer priority: Can I work in the back?

If you've ever tried getting two people + 2 briefcases in the back of an E then you'll realise it just won't cut it (especially if the passengers want to use a laptop en route). S class or 7L no problem at all...

Oh, and if you've got a temp PA who has screwed up the pick up time, you may well care about whether it's a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol!

[sparkyhx]

lexus LS - you could have a tennis match in the back - personally I think the best place to be in the back of this side of a bentley/Rolls

If you want lower running costs - LPG it

[Monkeylegend]

WhereamI said:

Monkeylegend said:

They won't care one iota at that time of day if it is a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

I care, I won't complain if it is a diesel E class but all other things being equal it wouldn't be my first choice.

That's good then because it's the diesel Merc E Class we are talking about.

[Monkeylegend]

From the OP's point of view the answer to his question is without doubt the '07 E class is preferable to the '05 S class.

The E class will make his business, the S class will more than likely break it.

[braddo]

Monkeylegend said:

braddo said:

It's interesting to hear that you sat in the front. Does the driver get a bit surprised when you jump in beside him?

I prefer all my customers to sit in the front.

I've always had the impression that the more common etiquette (for want of a better word) was that passengers sat in the back (obviously a 3rd passenger would sit in the front). Perhaps that's more prevalent in London/SE?

Spotting a chauffeur driven car with a passenger in the front isn't exactly as obvious as the alternative though.

[WhereamI]

Monkeylegend said:

WhereamI said:

Monkeylegend said:

They won't care one iota at that time of day if it is a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

I care, I won't complain if it is a diesel E class but all other things being equal it wouldn't be my first choice.

That's good then because it's the diesel Merc E Class we are talking about.

Yes, and I'm saying that whilst I wouldn't complain about being sent one it wouldn't be my first choice, I'd much rather be sent an S class.

[Monkeylegend]

WhereamI said:

Monkeylegend said:

WhereamI said:

Monkeylegend said:

They won't care one iota at that time of day if it is a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

I care, I won't complain if it is a diesel E class but all other things being equal it wouldn't be my first choice.

That's good then because it's the diesel Merc E Class we are talking about.

Yes, and I'm saying that whilst I wouldn't complain about being sent one it wouldn't be my first choice, I'd much rather be sent an S class.

From a customers perspective I am not disputing that, but you can build a very successful business with the E class without the inherent problems with an '05 plate S class.

If you are working in one of the big cities then the S class is a viable proposition but not so much so in the more rural areas.

[icetea]

LooneyTunes said:

Monkeylegend said:

CHIEF said:

Thing is anyone doing this as a business has to take running costs into consideration, fuel, maintenance, reliability issues all eat into profits.

A 4 pot Merc 220 diesel will be a damn site cheaper to run than a S320cdi or an Audi A8

For me personally I'd prefer to be wafted about in an S Class (not an old one mind) or an Audi A8 but I put this to people.

Is it better to use an E Class that is reliable and does 50mpg and make a living or take a gamble get a bigger and more expensive car to run and charge accordingly running the risk of losing custom because your not as competitive as the next man who runs that E Class?

To anyone here who uses these services I'll say this.

Glad to see there are some who are looking at this from a business perspective.

The customers priorities are:

- Will the car turn up at 04.00 as booked
- Will I get to my destination safely, comfortably and on time, in a clean vehicle
- Will I pay an acceptable, competitive cost for this

They won't care one iota at that time of day if it is a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

The operators priorities are:

- Will my car start so I can get to my 04.00 appointment in time
- Will I get my customer to his required destination safely. comfortably and on
time, in a clean vehicle
- Can I do this at an acceptable cost to both the customer and myself so I can
operate at a satisfactory level of profitably.

I care a lot if it is in a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol.

You missed out the other customer priority: Can I work in the back?

If you've ever tried getting two people + 2 briefcases in the back of an E then you'll realise it just won't cut it (especially if the passengers want to use a laptop en route). S class or 7L no problem at all...

Oh, and if you've got a temp PA who has screwed up the pick up time, you may well care about whether it's a 4 pot diesel or a V8 petrol!

Another vote to the being able to work in the back as being a huge priority - to me that would be far more important than the engine size, fuel type or the brand of car. I'd rather go in the back of a Volvo or Citreon that had a fold down table and room to work, than cramped in the back of a Merc of Audi which didn't.

For me I'd say having room to work on a laptop would be my 2nd most important point... it would only come behind the driver turning up on time.

[Monkeylegend]

iced tea said:

Another vote to the being able to work in the back as being a huge priority - to me that would be far more important than the engine size, fuel type or the brand of car. I'd rather go in the back of a Volvo or Citroen that had a fold down table and room to work, than cramped in the back of a Mercy of Audi which didn't.

For me I'd say having room to work on a laptop would be my 2nd most important point... it would only come behind the driver turning up on time.

I think people underestimate the space in the back of the E class. My clients have no problems working, sleeping or just enjoying the ride in the back.

The majority of Chauffeur drivers working the London airports cannot be wrong surely?

The S class, Audi A8 and 7 series BMW are undoubtably better cars but that's not the point of the OP's post. You don't buy a sledgehammer to crack a nut, as they say.

[Monkeylegend]

braddo said:

I've always had the impression that the more common etiquette (for want of a better word) was that passengers sat in the back (obviously a 3rd passenger would sit in the front). Perhaps that's more prevalent in London/SE?

Spotting a chauffeur driven car with a passenger in the front isn't exactly as obvious as the alternative though.

Depends how well you know your customers.

Generally in my experience those that sit in the back either do so because they treat you as the hired hand, or they are st scared of your driving

[AC43]

Monkeylegend said:

The S class, Audi A8 and 7 series BMW are undoubtably better cars

I'm not sure the 7 Series is better from a passenger perspective. I was in the back of one from City Airport to Vauxhall last year and thought it had a shockingly hard ride. For a passenger limo experience not my cup of tea at all.

It's the sheet waftiness of several generations of Mercs that does it for me - I've been driven about all times of the night and day to and from airports, tired, jetlagged etc etc and 124's, 126's, 210's and 211's all do it for me.

This is what led to my first purchase of a Merc almost ten years ago now. I genuinely think Mercedes build cars for passengers and drivers, not just drivers.