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- Category: Industry News
You asked for it and we listened. In this column, we ask operators of all sizes and from all walks of the industry a question about their business and report their answers so you can assess how your own company compares to your peers. If you would like to participate, please email Rob Smentek at rob@chauffeurdriven.com for next issue’s question.
TOPIC: What’s most important to you when purchasing a vehicle? Price, warranty, features, the relationship with the dealer, incentives, prestige of the brand/model, client demand/request?
Michael Barreto, President
Metropolis Passenger Logistics in Philadelphia, Pa.
Nick Boccio, General Manager
Buffalo Limousine in Buffalo, N.Y.
Fernando Carlison Jr., CEO
Mundi Limousine in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Richard de Krijger, General Manager
DMC Limousines in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Karl Guenther II, President
Statement Limousine in Sheffield Village, Ohio
In my opinion, corporate customers aren’t as focused on expensive high-end vehicles, but more on mid-range equipment, customer service, cleanliness, and safe professional chauffeurs.
Joe Gulino, President
Gem Limousine in Woodbridge, N.J.
These days, many quality problems tend to occur on tech features, such as navigation, adaptive cruise control, reverse-parking assist, and telematics systems like GM’s OnStar. It’s important to note that redesigned or newly introduced vehicles will experience more quality problems during their first year of production than subsequent years. This is natural since manufacturers have to deal with unforeseen production glitches and errors. I recommend waiting until the second year of production before buying a new car—it will not only save you money, but you’ll experience fewer quality problems.
Factor 2: Cost of ownership. The long-term cost of owning a car is considerably more than the actual price you pay for it. Ownership cost includes depreciation, fuel, maintenance, repairs, and insurance. The largest of these costs is depreciation. Foreign cars tend to hold their value a little better than domestics.
Factor 3: Reliability. If you’ve ever owned a car that was always in need of repairs, then you understand why reliability is such an important factor. The good news is that most vehicles nowadays are highly reliable. New car warranties cover at least three years or 36,000 miles, and some even go as high as 10 years/100,000 miles. Nevertheless, you still want a car that’s going to be dependable.
Agustín Hernández, Owner
Blackcar Offers in Mexico City, Mexico
Gus Ortis, CEO
Executive Transportation in Minneapolis, Minn.
Jess Sandhu, Director of Operations
A&A Limousine & Bus Service in Kenmore, Wash.
It’s not only the increase in preventative maintenance spend and repairing failures but the slight increases in both fleet size and subsequent auto insurance needed to accommodate all the new downtime.
We’ll probably stay with Lincoln even though they only have “hatchbacks” now. The industry can help itself by providing good high-mileage fleet operating expense data.
Charles Wisniewski, President & CEO
Teddy’s Limousine Service in Norwalk, Conn.
But, as we all know, things are not that great for getting newer SUVs or stretch limousines; we are what I call “open to buy” for 3-5 new stretch limousines, which are not being made for many reasons that are beyond my comprehension. The latest in our industry are new 2019 stretch limousines for which the build will not be completed until next year—so new is actually three years old. I’m hoping someone builds out the Aviator as the new stretch as it has the look. As for SUVs chip availability is up in the air, plus the increase in price makes it impossible to make money with them. Hopefully, we will get back to a stable flow of vehicles soon as we all need them.
Cliff Wright, Owner
Royal Transportation Group in Orlando, Fla.
We’ve loved hearing your answers to our benchmarking questions—but we always welcome suggestions for future topics, too!
Send an email to rob@chauffeurdriven.com you just might see your query answered in our next e-News.
[11.02.21]
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- Category: Industry News
The National Limousine Association (NLA), which announced its roster of candidates for its Board of Directors election in October, is ready to start the election process next week. This year's election will take place online from Tuesday, November 9 at 9:00 am ET to Thursday, November 11 at 8:00 pm ET—a shorter period than normal.
NLA President Robert Alexander of RMA Worldwide confirmed in his weekly letter that members will soon receive their unique voting credentials via email (the address associated with your NLA membership profile). If you need any assistance or have any questions, contact the association at info@limo.org.
Candidates were offered a chance to make their case and earn your vote during a series of live streams last week. The debates were hosted by Bill Faeth of Limo University and were broken down by region. If you missed the debates live, you can view them on NLA’s Official Member Group Facebook page here (must be a member):
Visit limo.org for more information.
[11.01.21]
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- Category: Industry News
Keep yourself informed and connected to other members of the industry by attending these important meetings. You can also view meetings for the rest of the year on Chauffeur Driven’s Industry Events page.
National Limousine Association
Candidate Debate Day for Board Elections
10/27 hourly starting at 11 a.m. ET (via Limo Growth’s Facebook page)
Bus Association of New York
Annual Meeting and Marketplace
11/7-11/9 at the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown (registration required)
Arizona Limousine Association
Fall Educational Summit 2021
11/8-11/9 at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale (registration required)
Illinois Limousine & Bus Association
Coffee With the ILLBA
11/9 at 10 a.m. CT via Zoom (registration required, email illinoislimousineassociation@gmail.com)
IMEX America
Annual Convention
11/9-11/11 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas (registration required)
Global Business Travel Association
Annual Convention
11/17-11/19 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando (registration required)
United Motorcoach Association
Weekly Town Hall
Every Thursday at 2 p.m. ET via Zoom (registration required)
Did we miss your association meeting? Let us know! Email susan@chauffeurdriven.com or rob@chauffeurdriven.com to be included in our calendar.
[10.26.21]