A limousine is usually an extended sedan. Strictly speaking, this extension is merely to allow for extra legroom in the passenger seats, but the extension usually goes far beyond that simple capacity. Many luxury limousines include such luxuries as drink bars, refrigerators, televisions, and sound systems.
Limousines are not made only from sedans, either. Recently many new designs of limousines have been hitting the streets, with everything from extended black SUVs to a "rough and tumble" limo model from Humvee.
Limousines rarely carry more than seven or eight passengers, with a single seat in the back and often a couple of fold-down jump seats, as well, besides the driver and passenger seat in the front. Because these cars are so long, they stand out and look expensive - indeed, one wonders if this isn't the real reason for owning or renting one.
Limos, as has already been stated, are especially useful for the pomp and circumstance that seems so closely attached to them. For everyone from the politicians to the lawyers to the businessman to the President of the United States himself, limos are very often used to simply show one's place in the world - the way fancy carriages or private train cars might have been used a hundred years ago, for instance. A good limo is a mark of high society, a sign that it's owner has finally "arrived." The man or woman who owns a limousine, with its very own tuxedoed chauffer, is respected by those in the upper echelons of society.
The use of a status symbol is not the only reason people use limos, however. If you're of a more everyday persuasion, a limo is often nothing more than a fun and significant occasional investment, whether you want to take a date to a prom, treat your bride to a great treat on your wedding day, or just throw a party people will remember for the rest of their lives. If this is closer to your style, you're in luck - limousine rentals are cheaper than most people think.
For most people, this is a simple question. If you'll only use it once or twice, it's painfully obvious that you don't need to buy one. If you plan on mixing with the big shots, though, it might come in handy. How much, exactly, would you be paying if you had to buy a limousine?
The answer is, quite a lot. For a new limo, you're looking at anywhere from around seventy-five thousand dollars to over a hundred. If you're thinking of buying a used car, it's a little better - older models can be as low as fifteen or twenty thousand. If you've got money to spend and people to impress, it could make a decent investment - check out your options, see what's available, and decide just how much of a bite you want to take out of that Swiss bank account.
If, on the other hand, you'll be using it for a prom or a wedding, how much do rentals cost?
Limo rentals are most often charged by the hour, with rates that vary widely depending on the dealer and on how you intend to use the dealer. Because a limo is such a large investment, most dealers also stipulate a three-hour minimum rental time, so make sure to factor that in when you're thinking about how much you'll be spending.
Rates vary quite a lot depending on what you're looking for, but generally fall in the range of between fifty and a hundred dollars an hour. The larger and fancier the limousine, the more you can expect to spend on it. Prom limousines and wedding limousines are rented for a set period - sometimes as much as five or six hours, which can quickly add up, especially against the meager bank accounts most high schoolers, college students, and newlyweds tend to own.
You can sometimes get a good deal for a limo, but remember - you get what you pay for, and this is just as true in the limo service as in anything else. Believe it or not, it really is possible to get a "cheap" limousine, and you'll be able to tell, by old seats, rust spots, even problems with the air conditioning or sound system. If you're looking to impress, you might as well get a good limo, as a rusty or old one will do nothing but make you look like someone over reaching your bank account.
If you're looking to rent a limo to take your date to the prom, you'll have your own special set of circumstances. You're young - you don't exactly have experience in this sort of thing. What do you do? Whom do you rent from? As to rental services, see the section on how to rent below.
First, what do you pay for? Unfortunately, even during the few hours of the prom, you'll still have to pay for the limousine - during that time, it's in your service, and so the driver is on your paycheck. Resign yourself to having to pay for both the drive to and from the prom, as well as the time you stay there. Also, limousine drivers are paid based on gratuities - tips, in other words, like waiters in restaurants. Budget another fifteen percent on top of the rental price for the gratuity.
Assuming the prom went well, you might eventually have cause to rent a wedding limousine. Like a prom, you're going to have to pay for the ride to and from the wedding, as well as the few hours during the ceremony when the limo isn't in use. There isn't any way around this - budget in the full wedding time when you're calculating the rental price. Again, drivers are paid by fifteen percent gratuity rates - don't forget to budget that price, as well.
If you're lucky, your wedding will be one of the best days of your life. If you're unprepared, it may not be, and, well, you might not want to see where it goes from there. Whatever else happens, you can at least make sure the limo service runs smoothly if you adhere to a few simple tips. First, make sure you get a written contract with your limo dealer. If the dealer isn't willing to give you a contract, they probably have a reason - that they can't guarantee good service. If a rental service refuses to sign a contract, find a different rental service, especially if their prices are unusually low.
If you're headed into an airport on business or for some other reason and just aren't looking forward to that smelly taxi or crowded bus, why not just rent a limo to take you where you need to go? Most major airports have links to transportation rental services from their websites - start out there. If you fail to find anything on the airport's website, try using Google or some other search engine to find a term like "limousine rental Dulles" or something along those lines. This will bring up a list of rental services near whatever airport you'll be flying into.
After you've found a rental service, you can schedule a limousine to pick you up at the airport and take you to wherever you need to go. Arrive at that business meeting, or at the state capitol - maybe even at the steps of the Capitol building in Washington D.C., itself - in style. Again, there's little more impressive than a stretch limousine when you're set to impress.
Most limousine rental services are separate from normal car rental companies in that they only offer rentals of luxury vehicles like sedan stretch limos or the newer SUV and Hummer versions. Try checking the local yellow pages, or, if you'll be flying in and don't know the area or have access to its phone books, try the Internet. These days, the Internet knows just about everything, and can help you quite a lot if you need it. Get online, navigate to your search engine of choice, and type in "Limousine rental Houston," or whatever city you happen to be in at the time. You'll get a list of rental services, prices included - shop and compare from the comfort of your own home, and make limousine rental easy, if not necessarily cheap.
Whatever you end up doing, limousines will always be fascinating. Whether you want one for your own personal use - your own private traveling luxury lounge - or are planning on renting one for that prom or that wedding, or are perhaps even thinking of renting one out or driving one, limos are a great field to look into. The Internet is there to help - by getting online, you can find all about the histories of limousines, the nearest rental and training services, and everything that's great about this industry.
So check it out today. Limos are there to make an impression, so why not do it? Pick up your date in one and make her the envy of the high school and yourself the envy of the female half. Or, if you're a girl, pick up your guy in it and show everyone that, in America, the women can have some fun themselves.
Get a great ride back from the airport, ride home from your wedding, and throw a party people will talk about at your funeral. Whatever you do, make limos a part of it, and make life interesting.