These were a few of my favourite things in 2012

The year the Mayans chose for the world ending turned out to be perhaps our best ever here at Great Escape towers.  Sure, it had its downs as well as its ups (we'll cover those in a separate post) but for now, as we celebrate the last working day of the year (and possibly the end of the world, no coincidence we hope), here are my 10 top moments from our year of classic car hire.

1. Our Classic Car Driving Days

Cold blooded marketing man that I may be, this is not a plug.  If you can't do what you love, don't do it and it is our customer Driving Days that prove to me that I'm doing the right thing.  I really enjoy them, and I don't even get to drive the cars.  We ran several Driving Days during 2012, plus many more corporate events, but the Dales Dash in August and the Break for the Border trip in July stand out. I get a kick out of customers really enjoying the cars and even in a Jeep with a trailer the scenery and roads we went on were spectacular.  Oh, and by the way you can come along on one in 2012 for £199...

2. Driving a DeLorean

A DeLorean was one of the five dream hire cars I had on my list when I set up Great Escape in 2006.  Back then the plan was to concentrate on off-beat and unusual classic cars for hire - we still aim to do that but today we also offer more mainstream classics.  It took me until 2012 to find and add a DeLorean to the fleet,  still the only one in the world that you can hire and drive yourself.  Adding the DeLorean was a personal as well as business goal because I'm a child of the 80s and I love them.  Sure, it looks better than it drives but when it looks like that, who cares?  Driving it was a box ticked.

3. Meeting the Marquis of Blandford
Posh people and hob-nobbing don't do it for me.  But it was a genuine pleasure to have a chance meeting with the Duke of Marlborough's wayward son at Blenheim Palace when we ran a customer event there.  Attracted by the array of classic cars parked on the grass outside the palace he stopped in his car for a chat and proved to be a disarmingly down to earth and knowledgeable classic car fan.  With a BMW CSL 'Batmobile' and a Ferrari Daytona in the garage.  Respect.

4. Getting rid of a heap of junk

I won't lie, I hate this car. Finally getting rid of it after 2 years was one of the greatest days of my life.  Sure, this car and its owner cost me £7,500 that I'll never see again, plus untold stress, time and hassle, but sometimes life is about bigger things.  Which is never a bad lesson to learn.  You can read the full, honest sorry story elsewhere on this blog.  Meanwhile, always keep your eye on the big prize.

5. Happy customers
In the rush and stress of running a small business it is sometimes easy to forget quite why you're doing it.  Obviously money is one motivation, but there are far, far easier ways to earn it. I wouldn't do this if it wasn't for the customers. You can't please all the people all the time but most of the people most of the time will do for me. My team puts a huge amount of effort into making each hire run smoothly, which is no easy task when you're managing 80 old cars and 11 locations. But we are privileged to be making dreams for people who have often spent decades wanting a drive in a particular car.

6. My Alfasud

The irony of running a classic car hire company is that you very rarely actually drive classic cars for relaxation and pleasure.  We don't even drive them that much in the course of business, except for regular short test and assessment drives. I love the other cars, particular the Jensen, but my Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti is my one true driving pleasure because it's mine all mine.  It isn't a hire car, it's mine.  Except I hardly ever drive it.  In 2012 I managed two decent trips in it, through the Cotswolds and over to the Welsh Borders.  But I don't need to go far to fall in love with it again - it's illogical, irrational and hard to defend, but for me it's my favourite classic car of all time.

7. Twitter
2012 is the year I discovered Twitter and turned from a tweeting Philistine to a tweeting Evangelist.  Like running Great Escape, Twitter is something I do because I like doing it and I've hooked up with some great and interesting people that I would never otherwise have known.

8. Blackpool in the Morning

Blackpool is not, and never will be I have to confess, one of my favourite places on earth.  But there is something about arriving by the sea early in the morning before the rest of the world is awake and having it all to yourself.  That's how it was when I dropped this Morris Minor van in Blackpool as part of a TV film shoot back in October.  The air was crisp, the sea was calm and there was a street cleaner eating leftover food out of one of his bins.  All, or at least most of it, was right with the world.  

9. My wife, my holiday (and my trusty old Saab)

Running Great Escape is pretty much a 7 days a week job between March and November.  I couldn't do that without these three things - well, two of them at least, my wife and a holiday.  Thank you to the former, thank goodness for the latter.  And I had to squeeze in the old barge here too - my 2001 Saab 9-5 Griffin.  Bought for £500, this 200 bhp super estate has covered 15,000 faultless miles in 2012, including a 3,000 mile trip down to Amalfi in Italy.  Here it is in its favourite place (a petrol station) with Vesuvius in the background.  Thank you all three, but especially my wife Janine.

10. The Great Escape team

In time honoured fashion, this roll call of all that was great about 2012 has to end with the people that make it happen - Shelle, Jamie and Alison (and Russ too of course). We've had some ups and downs along the way but we've finished 2012 with a flourish. Keeping a small business on the right track can be tough and stressful work at times but the Great Escape team have supported me all the way and I really appreciate their commitment, dedication and loyalty.  If you've hired from us in 2012 and loved it, it's all about them.  Cheers.

You can find out more about what we do at http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk or call 01527 893733. Our round up of what was less spectacular will be posted shortly.....

5 reasons to sack the chauffeur on your wedding day



We're not in favour of anyone losing their job, least of all wedding car chauffeurs.  But we are in favour of wedding couples saving some money on their big day.  Here at Great Escape Classic Car Hire we've seen a massive increase in demand for our self drive wedding car hire services, so much so that we've decided to stop offering chauffeur wedding car hire and only provide our cars on a self drive basis.  Frankly, it seems to be what people want.

If you're not sure why the traditional chauffeur is losing out on wedding days, here are five reasons we've spotted.

1. Government Legislation
The Government is planning to update the laws covering private taxi hire to remove the exemption for wedding cars.  This longstanding exclusion has meant that cars used for weddings don't have to undergo the same checks as private hire taxi cars - `nd the same goes for the CRB checks on their drivers.  The Government wants to close this loophole, which has created a grey area also surrounding cars used for proms (they're not exempt, although many are not properly licenced).  This change, which is due to come into effect in November 2013, is expected to result in a significant reduction to the number of chauffeur wedding hire cars available in the UK because owners will not want the hassle or cost of conforming to the new legislation.





2. Value for Money
Most couples budget at least £300 per car for chauffeur driven hire, which typically buys 4-5 hours waiting time and a short drive of up to 1 hour in total.  For around half that you can hire a classic car on a self drive basis for 36 hours with a generous mileage allowance and insurance cover too.  In today's economically straightened times that's good news for wedding couples - reduced cost and more for your money.

3. More Flexible
Chauffeurs do their best to help but generally you pay for what you get - a set amount of time, specific start and finish times and a pre-defined route.  With self drive wedding car hire you don't have any of those constraints.  You're not hanging around waiting for the car to arrive on the day, you're not tied to any agenda other than your own and you choose your route, and however long or short you want it there's really no change to the cost.



4. More fun
Chauffeurs love their job, and there's a reason why - driving a classic car is great fun.  Why let the chauffeur have all the fun when you could be behind the wheel.  There is never a shortage of people queuing up to drive a self drive wedding car on your big day, make sure you're at the front of it somewhere on the big day. 

5. Dedicated Self Drive Wedding Hire Packages
The growing demand for self drive wedding cars means that companies like Great Escape Classic Car Hire have developed dedicated services for wedding couples.  Previously they had to work around relatively inflexible self drive hire periods set by classic car hire companies.  Now Great Escape offers much more flexible packages specifically designed to ensure the hire of the car can be easily worked into the rest of your plans for the big day.  This includes a unique 1.5 day hire period, so that couples can collect the car on the day before and return it the day after without paying the full 2 day price.  Great Escape also lets you add a second driver for just £25 (who can collect or return the car for you) and the company has also developed its local site network so that you are never more than 90 minutes from one of its locations - making collecting the car much easier.  Most Great Escape sites also offer a delivery and collection service. 

Great Escape Classic Car Hire has a fleet of 80 classic cars available to hire on a self drive basis for weddings from 11 UK locations.  The range includes everything from Morris Minors to Aston Martins and prices start at just £170 for wedding car hire.  For more details visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk or call 01527 893733.

The camera never lies (except with classic cars)

Here is a shiny Jaguar Mk2.  When we posted this picture on the Great Escape Classic Car Hire Twitter feed in late November, with a caption highlighting what a bad car it was (or words to that effect), we received quite a lot of comments to the effect that it actually looked ok.
Which set us thinking.
The internet has made the world a very visual medium.  Whether you're buying a car or looking to hire one, it's really the photos that grab you.  And as this photo proves, a picture tells a thousand lies.
Lets start with the car and the photo.  This car was offered to us for hire about 2 years ago by a now ex-colleague whose friend owned it.  "It's a great car, ideal for hire," we were told.  He sent me some photos.  I took his word for it and agreed to put the car onto our Yorkshire classic car hire hire fleet.  Meanwhile my thankfully ex-colleague offered to fettle the car ready for hire.
I dread to think what this car was like before it was fettled.  Post-fettle it was every imaginable shade of silver, where the bodywork wasn't rust it was full of wavy filler, the engine had more leaks than Severn Trent, the chrome was entirely pitted and the interior could have been described as 'dog eared' if any self-respecting dog would have been prepared to go anywhere near it.
But it looks ok.  Sure, you can't see the interior, you can't see the engine.  But from this snap it looks to be all there.  Which is exactly how the car came to be anywhere near me.  Firstly, the owner of the car bought it sight unseen from a classic car dealer advertising on EBay.  Secondly I took the photos I was sent as evidence of a good car.
This tale is a salutary lesson in not taking photos of any classic car at face value.  Unlike other similarly murky substances, you can polish a car to a gleaming shine.  And if you haven't done your research and you don't know what you're looking at, then you'll likely be suckered in.
The same goes for classic car hire.  We've finally managed to offload the above clunker.  We've fortunately never dared put it on hire, it's just too bad for that, but it does look like someone else plans to.  We may display pretty pictures of classic cars to hire on our website.  The difference is, I like to think, that at Great Escape Classic Car Hire we really care about how good they are.
Hopefully this photo and tale will prove helpful next time you're looking at classic cars online - all that glitters is not gold.  In fact it's probably not even metal.
For more details on Great Escape visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk.  Elsewhere on this blog you'll find details of our Top Tips on buying a classic car.

E Type coupe is star of wedding day



Great Escape Classic Car Hire's 1969 Jaguar E Type coupe took centre stage for a wedding in September in the Cotswolds, so much so that the bride named it one of the highlights of her day.

We hired our red E Type coupe to Jo and Tim in early September for their wedding at Crumps Barn in the Cotswolds.  Click here to find out more about the day and Jo's highlights of the day, including stepping into the Jaguar after the wedding ceremony.

Self drive classic wedding car hire is a simple, flexible and inexpensive alternative to chauffeur wedding car hire.  It adds another unusual and memorable element to any wedding day.  Great Escape Classic Car Hire has the largest choice of classic cars to hire for weddings in the UK available to rent from 8 convenient classic car hire locations, including Yorkshire, Cotswolds and Devon. Prices start at just £95 for self drive wedding car hire.  To find out more visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk or call 01527 893733.

New Jaguar E Type coupe to hire in Yorkshire

Great Escape Classic Car Hire has added a second Jaguar E Type to its growing classic car hire fleet in Yorkshire.  The new car, which complements the existing Harrogate-based E Type convertible for hire, is a 1965 Series 1 4.2 litre coupe with the highly desirable 'cowl headlamp' design and slim rear lights.

The new Jaguar E Type for hire in Yorkshire from Great Escape is finished in Sage Green metallic paintwork with a tan leather interior.  The car is fitted with a manual fully synchromesh gearbox rather than the earlier and more awkward 'Moss box.'  It is available to hire by the day, weekend or week and is ideal for a day or weekend away or a self drive wedding car.

Great Escape has the largest fleet of classic cars to hire in Yorkshire from its base just outside Harrogate.  The fleet includes classic cars by Jaguar, Jensen, MG, Morris, Porsche and Triumph.  The site is located on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales and also within easy reach of the Yorkshire Moors and coastline.

The latest addition gives Great Escape customers the largest choice of E Type Jaguars to hire in the UK.  The choice includes Series 1, 2 or 3 cars, straight six or V12 power and coupe or convertible body styles.  So whatever your preference, Great Escape has a car for you.

"The E Type is one of our most popular classic cars to hire," explains Graham Eason of Great Escape.  "We wanted to add a Series 1 coupe to give more choice to customers, and also satisfy demand for hire of these cars from our Yorkshire site.

You can hire the new Great Escape Jaguar E Type from less than £240 for 24 hours with our 15% online discount.  Or call  01527 893733 and book by phone and save 10%.  To find out more call http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk or call  01527 893733 

Grooms, put the vroom vroom in your wedding

If you can't drive the car of your dreams on your wedding day, when can you?  While she's off choosing dresses most self respecting grooms are settling down to the main task at hand - selecting the wedding cars.  An entirely unscientific straw pole of Great Escape Classic Car Hire wedding hire customers shows that bride and groom both agree that the man's top task for the big day has four wheels.

Unlike most wedding car hire companies, Great Escape Cars puts the groom behind the wheel of their dream drive.  Self drive wedding car hire, particularly for grooms cars, is an increasingly popular trend as couples swap the boring old white Roller for something a little more distinctive, characterful and above all Them.  For grooms it is a chance to justify driving classic exotica like a DeLorean, Jaguar E Type, Jensen Interceptor or even an Aston Martin DB6.  And all with a great excuse - it's for the big day!

Self drive wedding car hire is simple and easy.  Great Escape Classic Car Hire offers a choice of 2 and four seaters that are suitable as groom cars or bridal cars.  With 80 cars to choose from and 10 handy starting locations, it couldn't be more convenient.  We also offer a special 36 hour hire package, which enables you to collect the car on the day before and return it on the day after, giving maximum flexibility and minimum inconvenience and hassle on the wedding day. Prices start at just £170 for wedding car hire, which includes insurance, breakdown cover and in most cases unlimited mileage.  

Hiring a wedding car on a self drive basis also means you don't risk falling foul of proposed new EU regulations covering the hire of chauffeur driven wedding cars.  These regulations, planned to come into force in November 2013, will remove the current exemption for wedding cars from the private hire licencing requirements.  This change is expected to remove many wedding cars from hire because owners will be unable to justify the hefty cost of licencing and compliance.  Self drive wedding cars are not affected by this change.

You can find out more about Great Escape Classic Car Hire's range of groom cars for hire by visiting http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk or call 01527 893733.  Booking during October 2012 and save 15% off the total price.  

Get a vintage wedding feel with a vintage car

For a wedding day that needs to be a little different but with a fashionable vintage feel, a Morris Minor convertible is ideal.  With Great Escape Classic Car Hire's fleet of classic Morris Minors wedding cars you also get the chance to drive them too - our cars are all available on a self drive hire basis, so you or your family and friends can enjoy them rather than the chauffeur. 

Self drive classic wedding car hire is cheaper, more flexible and, we think, more enjoyable than traditional chauffeur hire.  

With Great Escape Classic Car Hire's current special offer you get a 15% discount on the normal hire price for these cars.  And there is a choice of four Morris Minors to hire from locations in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Midlands.  We have a choice of three white Morris Minors with red interiors and red roofs (based in Yorkshire and Cotswolds) and one red car with a tan interior (based in Lincolnshire).  

The special Morris Minor self drive wedding car package on sale here includes:

• 36 hours use of the car
• Unlimited mileage
• Insurance for 1 driver (extra drivers just £25)
• Wedding ribbons
• Full UK breakdown cover

Compare that price and package to traditional chauffeur driven wedding car hire and we think it offers great value.

The 36 hour package enables you to collect the car the day before the wedding and return it the morning after, giving you maximum flexibility without paying the full cost of 2 full days hire of the car.  The price is based on collecting the car from one of the three locations listed above - we can also deliver or collect the car if necessary, at extra cost.  

All of Great Escape Classic Car Hire's Morris Minors wedding cars are standard cars in excellent condition.  They are simple to drive and provide excellent interior space.  We hire the cars regularly for weddings and brides find them easy to get in and out of, even with a big dress.  The convertible roof is also simple and easy to operate.  Most of our cars have featured in advertisements as well as BBC and ITV TV programmes.

Great Escape Classic Car Hire is the UK's largest classic car hire company with a fleet of over 80 cars to hire from 10 UK locations.  You can find out more by Googling Great Escape Classic Car Hire or call 01527 893733 or email info@greatescapecars.co.uk. 

We have historically offered chauffeur driven as well self drive wedding car hire but the popularity of self drive hire means we have decided to specialise in this.  Self drive hire means:

• You get much more time to enjoy the car
• You can be more flexible on your timings
• You have the fun of a family member or friend driving you to the wedding
• You can enjoy the car before and after the wedding
• The car is available all day and evening for photographs - not just a short while
• You can use the car for multiple trips to and from the church without increasing the cost

Frequently asked questions

Who can drive the cars?

Anyone aged between 25 to 75 who has held a full UK licence for at least 2 years and has no more than 6 points on their licence.

Where can I collect the cars?

We have Morris Minors based near Harrogate, Stratford Upon Avon and Grantham.

Are there any hidden costs?

There are no hidden costs - the price you see here is the full price you pay.  The only extra costs are if you want extra drivers (£25 each) or you damage the car - there is an insurance excess of £750 on the car.  you will also need to pay for fuel, but each car does at least 40 mpg.

Can I see the car before I choose?

We are open 7 days a week.  You can arrange a no obligation viewing of the car by calling 01527 893733.

Are the cars easy to drive?

The Morris Minor is one of the easiest classic cars to drive - it has light steering, a simple gearbox and a good driving position.

Do the cars run on Unleaded Fuel?

All of our cars run on unleaded petrol.

For more details visit http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk or call 01527 893733.

Make your Getaway in France

No sooner than our Triumph Stag returns from its Beaulieu to Monaco grand tour (see yesterday's Blog entry) than we hear of another long distance classic car trip across France, this time from our new French classic car hire site just south of Paris.
Our French Escapes classic car site specialises in longer classic car tours for holidaymakers, offering a choice of standard tour packages with guided routes of different duration or the chance to hire a classic car in France and make your own plans.
Recently a customer from London flew to Paris and collected our French registered Alfa Romeo Spider for a long trip down to Nice.  We worked with the customer ahead of the trip to devise a suitable itinerary and schedule because he only wanted to drive the car one way.  Our French team, who are ex-pat Brits with fluent French and considerable local knowledge, were able to devise a set of logistics that kept the customers costs down and fitted in with his plans.  So as part of the experience we arranged to fly down to Nice and collect the car at the end of the hire, then drive it back.
The Alfa Romeo Spider, a red Series 4 example, is perfect for this sort of trip because it offers relatively modern mechanicals wit h retro classic looks.  Plus it has an easy to operate hood, good size boot, power steering and a five speed gearbox for long-legged cruising.
After the trip the customer had this to say about his experience:

“Having visited France on a quite a few occasions my wife and I decided we wanted to see a different side to the country. After some quick Google searches I came across quite a few websites that I could hire classic cars from. I decided to book with Classic French Escapes because they were really friendly and I could tell they were a legitimate company from our telephone call. We travelled almost the length of France from the Loire Valley to Monaco without an itinerary and I can honestly say it was one of the best trips of my life. The Alpha Romeo Spider was gorgeous and was the cherry on our cake. I would like to personally thank Andrew for his open and helpful service” Matthew Phelan

We are now taking bookings for classic car tours in France.  To find out more call 01527 893733 or visit the Great Escape Classic Car Hire website at http://www.greatescapecars.co.uk and click on the Locations link.