Calling any classic owners in the Mansfield area...

Wonder if anyone can help me out. My daughter (16) and a couple of friends are looking for transport to their school prom in a couple of weeks. It's a journey of about 10 miles. They are responsible teenagers (yes, there is such a thing!). Not being the average bimbo teenagers they don't want the vulgar limos that many of the others are using! They'd prefer a classic car. Something large and imposing would be good. Apart from my Merc which is a bit modern, none of my working cars fit the bill.

I was wondering if anyone with a suitable car would be able to give up an hour to drive them there (I'll sort the return journey - it's the entrance that counts!), or consider lending me their pride and joy for an evening (yes, I understand how you feel about your cars!). Obviously we can negotiate suitable reimbursement.

Thanks for listening - it's not the type of favour I'd usually ask, but one's daughter doesn't become a school-leaver every day!

Reply to
Chris Bolus
Loading thread data ...

Massey 135? :D

Reply to
Doki

More seriously though: There's a garage where HiQ used to be on Chesterfield road opposite the city centre. They've had a big black Merc limo in for a while (not hugely classic, early 80s at a guess, not being a Merc man) which looks fantastic compared to modern limos. He also has a selection of 70s Mustangs and other interesting stuff everytime I drive past. P'raps he could hire you something?

Reply to
Doki

Good thought. I'll look into it.

Reply to
Chris Bolus

As well as that, you'd maybe find something looking through the Wedding Car section of the Yellow Pages.

Reply to
Conor

Many reputable wedding car operators won't touch these American-inspired schoolchildren-showing-off jaunts. A friend who runs three Bentleys and a Rolls-Royce in Derby

formatting link
certainly won't consider them.

Apart from not wanting teenagers puking all over their cars, there are the questions of insurance (many wedding car firms are _only_ insured for weddings) and local authority licensing. Once you get into general private hire work, you need to jump through all the hoops of inspections etc. There was a newspaper article a few weeks ago that explained that most of the stretch limo firms were operating illegally - something to do with number of seats and psv regs.

Reply to
Autolycus

We're already onto that one, I've a few ideas. Trouble is they tend to want silly money for an hour's work.

Reply to
Chris Bolus

That I can well understand; for similar reasons some bus companies I know won't touch school trips because the interior gets trashed.

Which was one reason that my girl and her friends (who are unlikely to be found getting drunk anyway) only want transport there. I'll handle the return!

Reply to
Chris Bolus

But it isn't an hour's work: even if it's had well-behaved, sober children in it, it won't be clean enough for the next wedding, particularly if the roads are wet. So there's the time to make the arrangements, and this cleaning time, and a proportion of the general maintenance time, as well as the time spent home to home for the job itself. People don't like their wedding cars to be late, so the outward journey has to allow plenty of time for any traffic delays.

A Phantom III costs around 50p / mile for petrol alone, and with tyres at over a thousand quid a set, and the next engine overhaul probably around 30k, every job must put a few quid into the kitty for maintenance.

Have you tried Bill Colliver? He's in your neck of the woods, but I don't know whether he does non-weddings.

formatting link
You'll probably see one of his cars at the PWA7C rally at Wollaton tomorrow (4th June). Look out for a slightly battered PIII with a B80 engine. Or leave a note on the screen of anything else there you like the look of.

Reply to
Autolycus

Not really. It's not just an hour, it's an hour plus the time it takes to get from base to customer and back to base. As well as a fuel bill just above single figure MPGs.

Reply to
Conor

Hi Chris

unfortunately I'm in Peterborough and My Daimler Majestic Major Limousine is undergoing a brake overhaul otherwise you could have used it for the cost of the fuel.

I hope you can find someone in the classic car movement in your area who is benevolent enough to help you out.

regards Ian

PS I still have that minx engine if you come across anyone who wants it.

Reply to
Big Mc

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.