How to choose the right limousine or car service in Philly

Finding a good limo service can be tricky. With so many companies and cars to choose from, how do you pick the right one?

It might be quite challenging to decide what “the best limo service in Philly” is, and here is why. There is a great number of limo companies in Philadelphia and it would be virtually impossible to hire them all in order to compare based on the price, level of service, dependability etc. Of course, you can Google the top 10 car services in Philadelphia, but the ones with a lot of money for advertising doesn’t necessarily make them the best limo service in all of Philadelphia. Do not get me wrong, they may well be, but how can you be certain?

Now, it depends what level of service you are looking for. Here are a few points to consider before hiring a limo company:

• Do you just want a clean black Luxury Sedan or an SUV?
• Do you want a well-dressed driver as well (black suit and tie)? Unbelievably, there are “limo companies” that allow their drivers to show up at work dressed in jeans or wearing sneakers!
• Do you mind the limo being 5-6 years old?
• What happens if the limo you want to hire brakes down one hour before your pick-up? Would that company have another car to send you?
• Wouldn’t be nice if the driver will not ask you for directions every 10 minutes?
• What if the car gets into an accident — did you check with the company to see IF they have commercial insurance? Are they fully insured and certified? Are they licensed?
• Do they even have a website, or a phone number?

Licenses

Every Philadelphia limousine service must have Philadelphia Parking Authority license number. This license is issued by the PPA and allows a limo company to legally operate in the city.

Years In Business

Business Experience is important. Services with some time under their belts are usually better than start-ups. If you run across a new business, ask about the operator’s background. Some of the finest boutique companies are relatively new but are operated by managers and drivers with years of limousine experience.

Insurance

Every car operating in Philadelphia should have commercial vehicle insurance. Town Cars  and SUVs are required to have a minimum of $1.5 million in liability coverage. Vehicles that carry eight passengers or more should carry at least 3.0 million.

I don’t think that if you have a plane to catch and your home is located in the suburbs you will be too comfortable sitting around and wondering why the limo driver hasn’t arrived yet. “Oh well, he has three more minutes to get here”, “maybe the traffic is bad”… Nope, the chances are, if the driver has not showed up yet, he or she will be late. Any reliable limo company knows that the driver should be at the designated location at least 10 minute before the pick-up time. There are so many fly-by-night limo companies around, but who has time to check them all out? After all, everything you want is to get a good price. Until you run into problems…

Another important detail is to book your Philadelphia Limousine in advance. Try to book as soon as you know your flight details to get it out of the way. However, ask the company about their cancellation policy in case you cancel the trip. Ask them about late hour fees (early morning and late night), the number of passengers for the rate you have been given, holiday surcharge, extra stop fee, toll fees, fuel charge or taxes and pets policy. Ask them to give you the grand total for you trip, all included. It is your obligation to ask these questions. They might have all this information on their website, but you probably do not have time to read all their terms and conditions. That does not make them bad companies; it is just another strategy for promoting their business.

If you’d like, arrange to see the car and check it out before the event. Is it clean? Did they give you a different limousine or another color or even another size/brand? Make sure you ask all the questions before the time of pickup.

Do your homework, call them up and ask as many questions as you want. My advice is to try a few companies and if you find one that you are pleased with, stick with it even if they ask 5-10 dollars more than the competition. Do not assume that because one company charges $65 from Philadelphia airport to Downtown Philadelphia and another one charges $85 or even $100, the last ones are automatically better. The chances they are not, the service is the same but you pay more for the name. But why pay extra when you do not really have to.

These are just some important considerations you need to look into when planning your limousine ride. It's important that you take the time to research and learn as much as you can about it. This will help you make an informed decision and get service that suits your needs and preferences.