Avant Garde Limousines: 10 Questions with Denny Leinhos

Transportation - Denny Leinhos

Business: Avant Garde Limousines
Location: Carmel, Indiana IN
Experience: 10 Years
Profile: Avant Garde Limousines
Website: avantgardelimos.com

1. Introduction: What's your story?

My name is Denny Leinhos, I am the founder and president of Avant Garde Limousines based out of Carmel, Indiana. I started Avant Garde 10 years when I had a family member ask me if I knew anyone in the limo business to help transport their wedding. For most this would be a random question but anyone who has ever met me knows I have friends in all places, I replied by saying "I actually don't know anyone". Me being very entrepreneur like started looking online to see what limos actually cost and if I could even find one for sale. A few weeks later and about a week before my cousins wedding I purchased my first limo, it was a 1999 white Lincoln Town Car called "cloud". I went through it and made sure everything was in perfect order and cleaned it from top to bottom. The day of my cousins wedding everything went perfect, and at the time I was having the time of my life knowing I could be even more apart of their wedding than just sitting in the church watching them walk down the isle. From that day forward I had a passion to serve others through gratification and satisfaction by the service I provided.

Fast forward 10 years later and I am still doing what I love, only with new equipment and a great dedicated team! I have grown to become Indianapolis's premier limousine provider, offering late model sedans, SUVs, limos, executive mini coaches, limo buses and even full size motor coaches. We have set the standard in "all inclusive pricing", meaning the price you see is the price you'll pay. So many companies in this city will quote a really small base rate to try and get the customer on the hook, the customer then not realizing that doesn't include the fuel surcharge, admin fee and tip. We have also set the stage on our hourly minimums, we are at the same hourly minimum regardless if its a wedding, birthday or just a fun night out on the town. If you call around to other companies and mention "wedding" or "dress" they will make you book an extra hour just because they can. I wouldn't call myself the "biggest" operator and quite frankly I would never want that title as most of the big companies lose the personal touch the bigger they get. However I would call myself of having the best value for what you get. I am not the cheapest and my prices aren't the most expensive, they might even be towards the higher end but you get what you pay for at the end of the day. My company wont disappoint and we will do everything in our power to make sure your wedding day goes flawlessly.

2. What type of vehicles do you offer? (Describe the types, sizes, capacity and colors)

We offer a wide variety of late model vehicles such as,

Sedans:
Lincoln Continental, 2-3 passengers, black in color

SUVs:
Cadillac Escalade, 6 passengers, black in color

Stretch Limos:
Lincoln MKT Stretch Limo, 8 passengers, white in color

Sprinter Limos:
Ford Transit Limo, 10 passengers, black in color

Executive Mini Coaches:
Ford E450, 18 passengers, black in color

Limo Coaches:
Ford F550, 20 passengers, white in color

3. What amenities do your vehicles have (TV, bar, sunroof)? Will beverages/food be provided?

All of our vehicles have free complimentary WiFi, Bluetooth, bottled waters, clean cups and ice if applicable. All of our limo style vehicles have bars, TVs, LED RGB color changing lights, privacy partitions and power outlets.

4. How well in advance should couples book their wedding transportation?

The best time to book is when you have your venue picked out and you know how many people you need to transport. Most people book the transportation at the very end which doesn't always work out in the end due to availability.

Peak months in Indiana would be April-October. With COVID happening it seems like wedding season is being pushed into the winter months like November and December now too.

I would say the average wedding is about a month to month and a half before the pickup date.

Fridays, Saturdays and now even Sundays are the big wedding days.

5. How much does it cost to book your services? What is the hire price for each of your vehicles?

We have a lot of different pricing options, for example our least expensive option would be $125 out of a sedan. This is such a hard question to answer because there's a lot more that goes into a price than just "how long do you need it for?" You could have travel time, you could have tolls maybe you need two vehicles as appose to one. My suggestion would be to look at our website and it will give you real time pricing based your specific needs. AvantGardeLimos.com

Again we have so many different requests and each wedding is so different from the next we don't have a "package" per say. If that was the case we would need hundreds of them because they are so different from one another. When we give you a quote we base it on your needs and wants, each quote we give out is reviewed by real eyes. If we can find a way to save you some money then that's what we are going to do! We do recommend in booking a take away car at the end of the night, believe it or not the most forgotten thing is the transportation at the end of the night for the bride and groom. That take away sedan starts at $125 depending on location.

6. What do you recommend for timing? (How long does a service last?)

I would want to know the details of your wedding to help come up with a itinerary so you don't over or under book your wedding transportation needs. I would say the average wedding takes 4-5 hours, again depending on who we are transporting and where.

7. Are the chauffeurs professionally hired and then trained?

Yes, all of our chauffeurs are back ground checked and a full physical is required from them before hire and each year after. Our drivers are already hired in with commercial drivers license and will generally go on 4-6 jobs with another already trained driver before they are allowed to drive anyone.

8. What does the driver wear on the wedding day?

Our male drivers wear a full suit and our females where a white dress shirt with black dress pants. If it is out of a coach then they will wear black dress pants with a grey company polo.

9. What are the back-up options if a vehicle breaks down on the day of the wedding?

All vehicles break down at one point unfortunately, it just depends on how you handle the situation to know the out come. God forbid a vehicle breaks down the first step we would do is substitute it with something similar. If something similar isn't available then we will look to see what we do have open with the same passenger capacity, if not going to a bigger vehicle that what was originally booked. If neither of those are options then we will call a local affiliate limo company to substitute, even if that means us paying out of our own pocket to ensure you get to where you need to be.

10. What are your cancellation and refund policies?

we require a 20%, non refundable deposit up front at the time of booking. You can cancel at any time, however if you want to cancel with less than 14 days notice before the scheduled pickup then the remaining charter amount will be charged.