schoolmarm

Has anyone tried Dial 7 Limo Service to get from LaGuardia to mid-town Manhattan? I would appreciate some feedback.

ggreen

LOTS of recommendations for it on this board; it's something we locals use and recommend.

Bill_H

We used Dial 7 from Newark airport to/from a hotel near Central Park. Excellent service (the guy showed up right away at the airport and was waiting early at the hotel on the ride back). Much nicer vehicle than the average taxi.

The hotel quoted us a $10 higher price for a taxi than Dial 7 charged for the ride back to the airport. I would definitely use them again.

I gather there are a couple of other limo services with similar reputations.

Elkaz

Have to add--excellent reputation. BTW don't pay extra for the service where they stand with a sign and your name. If you call them, per their instructions--they will come quickly. ( and it is a lot less expensive)

mclaurie

I would add, don't pay in advance. That's the only time I've heard of any problems with them. Just book online or by phone and phone them when you're ready to leave the airport.

ita

we used Dial 7 last month from LGA to midtown and the service was excellent. We followed McLaurie's advise and did not pay in advance. We paid cash so that we did not have to have our credit card pre authorized. We followed their instructions, were met promptly. I think we paid $31+ tip and toll. We also used them for the return trip. A car booked by the hotel would have been $144.00

nytraveler

Dila 7 is fine - but it is NOT a limo service. It is a basic car service (full-size sedan) not limos unless you specifically order one. (A limo is a stretch Caddy or Mercedes with a driver in uniform and will cost much more than a basic car - which is a dark sedan that can hold 3 people plus luggage easily - 4 with a little squisihing,)

They are a huge service, have lots of cars and are reliable except in conditions over which people have no control. (A friend had to wait 40 minutes at the airport recently since the weather was very bad and the LIRR was running very limited service. Ordinarily the wait at the airport is less than 15 minutes.)

We take a car service from the city TO the airport, but a cab from the airport home in order to avoid the wait and searching for the right car and driver.

ggreen

A car booked by the hotel would have been $144.00

I'm speechless at that one - that's more than triple what I have ever paid to get to or from the airport, whether it was yellow cab or car service!! Astounding.

hawksbill

I've used Dial-7 with good results too. No complaints, other than the occasional driver who plays the radio too loud or something.

In response to nytraveler's comment, I would add that that many people (in New York at least) use the term "limo" colloquially to refer to any car service, even when the car is just the basic large sedan, like the ones that Dial-7 generally provide, and not a fancy stretch limousine.

nytraveler

Yes - a lot of people do seem to use "limo" that way - althouhg IMHO locals say "car". The problem with asking for a limo is that youm ight get one - and a much higher price.

hawksbill

Agreed. One might say to one's friend "I'm going to call the limo company now," but when you actually call the place, you had better tell them "please send a car," not "please send a limo."

ggreen

We always call it "the car service" (as in, "Call the car service, we're running late"), regardless of whether "limo" is in the company name or their fleet. But maybe that's a Brooklyn thing.

All this talk of "limo service" just brought to mind a memory I'd forgotten all about. When I was a teenager and before I ever moved to NYC, I stayed with relatives ahead of an early morning flight. They called "a limo" for me (lifelong UWS-ers), and I was so surprised when a slightly battered sedan was waiting for me and not some shiny stretch like we had at the prom! Wow, that sure was a lifetime ago.

nytraveler

Agree. I was going to an O'Hare airport hotel and they told me to wait out front for the limo. I'm waiting and waiting and nothing appears. I go back inside and call again - and it turns out the "limo" is just an SUV - with 5 people already packed in it. This is NOT a "limo".

schoolmarm

Thanks to all you knowledgeable folks with the first hand advice-just what I was looking for. I am aware of the different classes of cars and "limos" available. No stretch limo for me though, but a nice clean Town Car or equivalent sounds good! As usual I enjoyed the humorous anecdotes from some of you.

cathies

I'm going to NYC next May and didn't know two things (well lots really), but I didn't know about this particular car service, which I expect we will use. But more importantly I would almost certainly have asked for a limo not a car. Thank so much everyone for what will I'm sure be invaluable knowledge when we are there.

ita

when I questioned the concierge at our hotel about the price, he said the difference is that the car services were not licenced or insured. I doubt this is the case but wonder if the difference is between "limo" and "car". I will certainly be sure to always ask for a "car."

ggreen

Wow, ita, that concierge gave really bad information!! Car services fall under the TLC just like yellow cabs, and in recent years the city has been both adding regulations and being much stricter in enforcing them. I'm sure there are still "gypsy cabs" out there, but certainly they are the slim minority AND not something you'd easily find below 96th Street. IMO the concierge just didn't want to deal with getting you one.

sf7307

That concierge should be reported to his employer and fired. He didn't just give you bad information -- he lied to you.

volcanogirl

We had a bad experience with Dial 7 limo service.

My husband booked it and was quoted a certain price, but the driver presented him with a bill that was about 20% more than what we were quoted. My husband asked about it, and the driver insisted that that was the price. There was also no place to write a tip, so he asked if it was included, and the driver said it wasn't and that we should pay the tip in cash.

We were sort of dropped off in the middle of the street because the driver couldn't get close to the curb, and we were standing there with all our luggage, so my husband just signed it and gave him a cash tip. When we got inside the hotel and called Dial 7, they said that the tip was included. So the driver just basically ripped us off and had us pay the tip twice.

If you use them, I would take an e-mail printout of the quoted price and refuse to sign anything that didn't have that price on it. Dial 7 wasn't really helpful when we called about it either. I thought they would just refund the money, but they said that since dh tipped in cash that there wasn't much they could do about it, but that we could file a complaint. We ended up disputing it with our credit card company, and the cc company ended up refunding the overage. We used Dial 7 for the return trip to the airport since it was already booked, and that ride was great. We came prepared with the printout/price quote, but didn't need it. That driver was great and charged us what we were quoted. I think their drivers operate individually so hard to know what you're going to get. I'd use them again, but not be so trusting next time and come prepared with printouts.