considering a business...

what does everyone think about purchasing a rolls royce, then turning around and driving for events like weddings and the like? kind of like a limo company, but starting out with just the rolls? i'm thinking about it, but i don't know if i'll like wearing that funny little drivers hat...

 

Could work, im guessing you have the capital... just you need to price it right per hour, also you can just wear a black suit

 

How much will everything cost you?

 

i found one that i'm interested in, drove it, in nearly perfect condition, a 1984 silver spur for 27xxx, not 100 percent sure on insurance as i'm sure i'll need a special kind, gas, maintenance, other normal car costs

 

i do have the capital, however i would probably take out a small loan to cover any unexpected costs such as if the belts need replacing, etc. as rollers are just a little more expensive to upkeep then my chevy...

 

can you make a profit?

What are you gonna do if your car breaks down 3 hrs before someone's wedding?

 

sorry for the 3rd straight post, mods, if you want to move this to the business section, go for it. i'm sorry, i wasn't really thinking when i first posted the thread.

 

This is not the first time I've heard this idea. A Rolls is pretty expensive overhead (brakes on an older Rolls can cost more than $3000). An '84 Spur is not Rolls Royce's brightest star (hence the "affordable" price). Do your homework on this one before you spend any money.

 

Would people want that one or an older one with the round headlights?

 

I know someone that also does this with his Silver Shadow, not sure how profitable it's been for him though.

 

When I first moved to Vegas I wanted to be a "nightclub promoter"... basically a way of getting paid to go out and party... In the same way, you seem to be looking for an excuse to have a Rolls Royce. As I found out with the nightclub thing, dealing with drunk people is a pain in the a$$ and it wasn't as glamourous as I was expecting. I think you would find the same with this... in that you go into thinking it will be a fun thing... but when you get a few crap clients that treat you like a taxi driver, you won't think it's so fun. You are better off finding a way to just buy the car for yourself. A good quote I heard from a friend of mine the other day... "Serve the rich and live with the masses, Provide to the masses and live with the rich"

 

i'm not sure about that, but around st louis here there arent that many rr's around town, much less those that are used for this purpose

it's just an idea, i'm not even sure what i'd charge per hour, i don't know about demand for this sort of thing, but it's the only way i can justify myself buying this car.

 

You might want to consider starting an LLC and then leasing a car under the LLC (you'll have to cosign anyway). Leases for business vehicles are tax deductible - this makes it 35% cheaper.

Check your state regs if need to be insured, licensed and bonded as a limo/taxi and chauffeur.

You'll want to actually NOT drive but hire a driver... you can coordinate and schedule MANY limos (mo' $$$$) than being busy driving it yourself. You may want to drive for yourself for a month or two for the experience and getting off of the ground without needing to pay salaries right away.

 

Going off what Noah said, with only 1 car and one driver, I dont know how profitable this could be. Dont get me wrong, I dont wanna be a "negative nancy" but just a bit of reality.... and im sure you have already considered this.

But I could go out and get a brand new Lincoln Towncar for the evening for $300-$400 bucks, tip included. Say for the same amount of time, I could get your rolls (and I would) for $500. Your looking at 54 times just to break even on the cost of the car....

 

i agree with what you're saying, but this would not be a strict, business only car, it would also be for my enjoyment, so if i can make money by driving a car that i love, why not? what's the purpose of going into business, of course it's to make a profit. so if i'm going to drop the money to buy it, i figure i may as well do something with it. who knows, if i do this, it could lead to an actual career, but i'm getting way ahead of myself right now, granted that i'm not even sure if i'll do this now. thanks for all the input so far guys, keep it coming! i'm looking for anything, negative input, positive input, let me know!

 

Oh, my bad, sorry I mis-interpreted what you were trying to do.

When you put it that way, it actually sounds like a pretty good way to earn some spare cash!

 

i'm the kind of guy that likes to share things, if i'm going to have a nice car, be it a rolls, ferrari, whatever, u bet i'll be giving people some rides. my only problem about getting the rolls is that i can kiss the 308 that i've been looking at goodbye for right now

 

Believe it or not I've thought of this before, but considering my financial status (18 years old and off to college) I won't be doing it. I know two limo/cab services in the "luxury" market. One drives a caddy limo and the other a lincoln navigator both do well but the cars are pretty reliable not terribly expensive to buy and maintain and on top of that they get alot of bussiness. I think though that it could work out well even here in Boise I see a few Rolls now and then mostly late 90s models (seraph?) which go for quite a bit more than what you were looking at. Love these cars though so I see why your trying to get one.

 

you know, i'm in college, and currently have the cash on hand to purchase the car straight up. yes, i'm worried about student loans, etc. my 2 biggest car dreams are to own a rolls and a ferrari. the silver seraph is an awesome car, i've seen a couple floating around stl, however it's well out of my price range. as are many of the older ones, considering the ones that are in my range need a lot of work. i've driven 2 spurs and a silver shadow, and personally i prefer the spur, a little bit better of a drive, but the one thing that i don't like about them is the braking system, which is hydraulic. it's tough to explain unless you've driven one, but it's ready to stop on a dime, the slightest tap and you're stopped. i don't know if it's the same way on the newer ones, granted the newest one i've driven is an 85. i'm gonna sleep on it tonight, give it some more thought tommorow. i found an 83? spur for sale just over the river from here for under 20, which i may go look at, but i have no idea of the condition of the car. thanks for the inputs!

 

The price range your looking at is what I spent on my new car. They are actually very nice cars even after 20 years I've yet to see one that wasn't in incredible shape, I mean they look brand new in and out. But its the mechanics I'd worry about especially on an older rolls (british built right?)

 

the main problem with older rollers is electrical issues, which can get into some pretty good $. one interesting thing about them is that if you look at the wood on the door panels, a lot of them have little knicks and scratches on them, due to the seatbelts hitting them constantly.

 

If you are just doing this to offset some of the cost of ownership, and you can afford it anyway, then I think it's a fine idea. If you actually expect to make money, then I wouldn't bother.

I've never owned a Rolls, but both of the shops I use for some vintage car work also work on Rolls, and the shop owners have commented that Rolls maintenance can even make a Ferrari seem cheap!

 

I was walking down the street once and one of these cars drove by.

On fire.

I imagine that would make for a fun wedding day!

 

Scott,

This is relatively minor, but you'll need to get a chauffeur's license if you don't already have one. You'll also need to get insurance for this type of business, which might end up costing you more than you could make giving the occasional ride. I like your approach, and it seems that you don't have a lot of risk involved since you can afford the car whether it makes you any profit or not. I just want to point out a couple of factors that you should check out before diving in. Best of luck.

 

There was a later model Rolls-Royce that was absolutely gorgeous for sale at Pebble last year. I think the asking price was around 50k. The car you're looking at doesn't really do it for me, I'd much rather roll up in one of those (Silver Cloud III)
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