Self-Drive or Chauffeur: Which Should You Book?

Every car in our fleet can be booked either way. You drive it, or someone drives you. The right answer usually isn't about budget, it's about whether the driving is part of what you're paying for. Here's how we help clients decide.

Is the drive the experience, or is the arrival the experience?

If you're picturing yourself on a road, book self-drive. If you're picturing yourself stepping out of the car in front of people, book chauffeur.

• The weekend is built around a drive. The Great Ocean Road, the Blue Mountains, the Gold Coast hinterland.
• You want the car for a full 24 hours or more, on your own schedule.
• You want to drive a supercar specifically, and driving it is the point.
• You're shooting content and need the car available and repositionable all day.

What's included: the vehicle for your booked window, comprehensive insurance, the daily kilometre allowance, showroom collection or delivery, a 20 to 30 minute handover brief, and a 24/7 support line.

• It's a wedding. You're in formalwear, there are photos, and nobody wants to be parking.
• It's a corporate or airport arrival. Flight tracking, luggage handled, a professional at the door.
• It's a casino night at Crown Melbourne, The Star Sydney or The Star Gold Coast, with a drink involved.
• It's a formal, a milestone birthday or an event arrival where the car is part of the entrance.
• The driver is under 25. Self-drive isn't available under 25. Chauffeur is.

What's included: the car detailed the morning of service, a professional chauffeur in appropriate dress, cabin comfort basics, fuel, tolls and standard parking, and direct liaison with your schedule, photographer or planner.

Most-booked for self-drive: Lamborghini Huracán ($2,200), Ferrari 488 GTB ($2,500), McLaren 720S ($2,700), Lamborghini Tecnica ($2,500) and STO ($3,000), Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ($1,400).

Most-booked for chauffeur: Rolls-Royce Ghost ($2,500), Rolls-Royce Cullinan ($4,000), Mercedes G63 ($1,500), Mercedes Brabus ($2,000), McLaren GT ($2,300).

The Rolls-Royce Ghost is the default answer for wedding and corporate chauffeur work. The Cullinan is the same job with a bigger party or heavier luggage. The G63 is what clients pick when they want visible presence at a hotel or venue door.

Chauffeur work books out faster than self-drive, because it involves rostering a driver as well as holding a car. Weekend wedding, casino and event chauffeur bookings are safer booked four to eight weeks ahead in peak season. Some dates (AFL Grand Final week, Grand Prix weekend, Melbourne Cup Carnival, Schoolies) book months in advance.

Self-drive on an ordinary weekend has more flexibility. A specific car on a specific date does not. We run 19 vehicles across three cities, so the pool for any one model in any one city is small.

A good number of our bookings split the format. Chauffeured Rolls-Royce for the ceremony and the photos, self-drive Huracán for the weekend that follows. A chauffeured arrival on the Saturday night, the same car self-drive on the Sunday. Tell us the shape of the weekend and we'll structure it around that.

Self-drive rates run from $1,100 per 24 hours (Mercedes E63s) to $4,000 (Rolls-Royce Cullinan), with the full rate card on our exotic car hire prices page.

Up to 30% off selected vehicles is running now. Call 0423 300 901 or email bookings@prestigeluxuryrentals.com.au to check your dates in Melbourne, Sydney or the Gold Coast. Deposits are non-refundable.