Mietauto AG

A family rental company with classic cars for weddings

Mietauto AG is a family-run vehicle rental company with branches in Winterthur and Feuerthalen. It has rented vans, minibuses and cars since 1962, and its classic car page is headed "Oldtimer mieten für Hochzeit, Fest usw.," meaning rent a classic car for a wedding, a party and so on. Unlike a one-car wedding specialist, it is a general rental business with a classic car line, a limousine and chauffeur service and a large fleet of minibuses, which makes it useful for a wedding that needs more than one vehicle.

Who the company is

The history page says Rudolf Hochreutener founded the business in 1962 with exactly one rental car, and soon recognized the demand for commercial vehicles, which became a focus of the company. Today, it says, the fleet numbers over 140 vehicles, and the company counts itself among the most significant commercial vehicle rental firms in Switzerland. It names passenger buses as a particular specialty, used by companies, clubs, schools, sports clubs, care homes and other organizations well beyond the region.

The company has 18 employees, the history page says, including the current owner, Daniel Hochreutener. The team page lists Daniel Hochreutener as chairman of the board and owner, Markus Hochreutener as brand ambassador, and Lucas Hochreutener and Ben Häberle as co-CEOs, with Christoph Lang and Nik Gugger on the board. The founder, Rudolf Hochreutener, is listed as founder and honorary president, 1931 to 2016. Below them the page names a dispatch team led by Kevin Mendez, who are the people a reservation passes through, plus staff for vehicle preparation, purchasing and cleaning. For a couple, the practical point is that this is a company with a dispatch desk, not a single owner with a single car. The company motto, repeated in the footer of every page, is "Mir findet immer ä Lösig," Swiss German for we always find a solution.

The classic car offer

The classic car page is short. It offers two ways to rent. If you need a chauffeur in addition to the vehicle, the company says it will gladly provide a chauffeur and a vehicle, adding that most of its vehicles have a digital or analog tachograph. And "Selbstverständlich können Sie auch als Selbstfahrer unsere Fahrzeuge mieten," of course you can also rent the vehicles to drive yourself.

What the page does not show is the cars. It carries headings for more classic cars to rent in Winterthur and in Feuerthalen, but no makes, models, years, colors or photos in its text. A couple cannot choose a specific classic car from this page, so the first question to the company is what classic cars it has and which one is free on the date.

How booking works

The booking form on the classic car page asks for the pickup branch (Winterthur or Feuerthalen), the pickup date and the rental period. The fixed periods are:

• 07:30 to 13:30 (morning)
• 13:30 to 17:30 (afternoon)
• 17:30 to 07:30 (overnight)
• 07:30 to 17:30 (full day)
• 24 hours, starting at 07:30, 13:30 or 17:30
• or an individual period

For a wedding, the afternoon slot or the full day would cover the usual ceremony and photo schedule, and the overnight slot runs into the evening, if the car is needed for the reception. The page shows no prices.

The Winterthur branch is at Auwiesenstrasse 55, open Monday to Friday 07:00 to 12:15 and 13:15 to 18:00, and Saturday 07:00 to 18:00. The Feuerthalen branch, at Zürcherstrasse 89, keeps short windows: Monday to Friday 07:45 to 08:45, 13:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 17:00, and Saturday 07:00 to 08:00. Each branch lists its own phone number, and the email addresses are info@mietauto.ch and feuerthalen@mietauto.ch.

The contact page adds a general form for questions about a vehicle reservation, and the site has German and English versions. The main menu also lists passenger cars under a PW / Fun heading, buses, used cars for sale and the limousine service, so the classic cars sit within a much wider catalog.

Beyond the wedding car

The rest of the fleet is where Mietauto AG differs from a classic car specialist. The footer lists vans up to 3.5 tonnes, "Minibusse 9 bis 17 Plätze" (minibuses with 9 to 17 seats), vehicles with a wheelchair ramp, and passenger cars from compact to upper class, vans and SUVs. For a wedding, a 17-seat minibus could move guests from a hotel to the ceremony and on to the reception.

The limousine service page, headed as a limousine, event shuttle and chauffeur service in Winterthur, offers categories for up to 8 and up to 12 passengers. It lets you choose a transfer, a package or an individual trip, with airport transfers to or from the airport as the listed packages. Like the classic car page, it shows a booking form but no prices.

What the site leaves open

• The classic cars themselves. No models, years or seat counts appear on the page.
• Prices. Neither the classic car nor the limousine page shows a rate.
• Chauffeur terms. The page offers a chauffeur but does not say whether the driver waits during the ceremony, handles decoration or stays for photos.
• Self-drive conditions. Age, license and deposit rules for driving a classic car yourself are not on the page. The footer links to terms and conditions (AGB) and a downloads section, which may carry them.
• Decoration. Nothing is said about flowers or ribbons.

A couple from abroad should ask whether a foreign license is accepted for self-drive, and should put the date, the rental period and the route in the first message.

Who it suits

Mietauto AG suits a couple near Winterthur or Feuerthalen who wants to handle several transport needs with one company: a classic car for the two of them, a minibus for guests, perhaps a limousine for an airport run. The fixed rental slots, the chauffeur-or-self-drive choice and the long-running family business give a practical base.

It suits less well a couple set on a particular classic car, since the page lists none, or a couple who wants a dedicated wedding service with decoration and a host. For that, the company's broad fleet is a strength only if you ask the right questions first.