Von Carrara Oldtimerfahrten

Von Carrara Oldtimerfahrten is a small classic car business run by Eric von Carrara from Büelbergstrasse 25 in 8522 Häuslenen. It rents out five classic cars, some with a chauffeur and some to drive yourself, for weddings, birthdays, leisure drives ("Plauschfahrt"), festive occasions, anniversaries, company events and photo shoots, as the banner on its home page lists them. For a wedding, three cars are on offer: a 1965 Bentley, a 1933 Bentley Derby and a 1955 Buick Century, and the owner or his fellow driver will chauffeur the couple from the registry office or church to the celebration. It is a personal, owner-run service, and the website says so openly.

The people

The "Über uns" section introduces two people. Eric von Carrara, owner and chauffeur, writes that he is 60 years old and works independently as a landscape gardener and property manager; classic cars are his biggest hobby, and he offers drives with them on the side. Rolf Löffel, chauffeur, writes that he has been driving guests in the various cars for Eric for some years and enjoys seeing "die glücklichen Gesichter auf der Rückbank" (the happy faces on the back seat).

That honesty matters for a couple choosing a supplier. This is not a large fleet operator with standby cars and a dispatch office; it is a hobbyist business with two named drivers, which brings personal care but also limits availability on busy dates.

The cars

The home page lists the fleet with doors and seats:

• Bentley, built 1965: 4 doors, 5 seats, chauffeured
• Bentley Derby, built 1933: 4 doors, 4 seats, chauffeured
• Buick Century, built 1955: 2 doors, 6 seats, chauffeured or self-drive
• Jaguar E-Type: 2 doors, 2 seats, self-drive
• Porsche 356 Speedster: listed as 4 doors, 5 seats, self-drive

The menu splits them into "Mit Chauffeure" (with chauffeur: the two Bentleys and the Buick) and "Zum selber fahren" (to drive yourself: the Buick, the Jaguar and the Porsche). The door and seat figures for the Porsche are worth confirming if that car interests you.

The wedding offer

The wedding section, headed "Hochzeitsauto mieten" (rent a wedding car), is short and clear. Couples choose between the three cars: the 1965 Bentley, the 1933 Bentley Derby and the 1955 Buick Century. In the page's words, "Mit allen unseren Oldtimer-Fahrzeugen chauffieren wir Sie gerne zum Beispiel vom Standesamt oder der Kirche zum Ort Ihres Hochzeitsfestes" (we are happy to chauffeur you in any of our classic cars, for example from the registry office or church to the place of your wedding celebration). It adds: "Den Buick dürfen Sie auch selber fahren" (you may also drive the Buick yourself).

For photographs, the company drives the chosen car to a place you pick and leaves it at your disposal for the shoot, so you can take pictures in peace. If you have no photographer, it recommends its house photographer at www.artspoon.ch, who quotes directly. A gallery under "Impressionen" shows pictures from past wedding drives and photo shoots.

For a wedding party, the seat counts help. The Buick's 6 seats can take the couple with parents or witnesses, the 1965 Bentley has 5 seats, and the 1933 Bentley Derby with 4 seats is the most intimate and the oldest of the three.

Booking and prices

The site invites couples to get in touch or to book a car directly, and states that availability and prices can be seen under "Oldtimer mieten", the booking section reached through the "Jetzt Oldtimer buchen" button. The home page itself shows no figures, so the rates have to be read in that booking section or requested. Contact is by phone on 052 720 12 13, by mobile on 079 672 00 49, or through the contact form, which promises a reply as quickly as possible. The footer links to the general terms (AGB).

What the site does not settle

On the home page, there are no prices, no cancellation or deposit terms and no booking lead time; the booking section and the AGB are where to look for those. The site is only in German and does not mention English, so a couple from abroad should ask whether Eric von Carrara or Rolf Löffel can communicate in English on the day. It does not say how far the cars will travel from Häuslenen, whether travel time is charged, or how a wedding far away would be handled. Decorations such as ribbons and flowers are not mentioned. With two chauffeurs and three wedding cars, the site also does not say what happens if a car cannot run on the day, which is worth asking with vehicles of this age.

For the self-drive Buick, the site gives no license, age or insurance conditions on the home page; ask for them, or check the booking section and the AGB.

Because the site is brief, a first message from abroad works best when it carries everything at once. Useful points to include, in German if you can:

• the date, the start and end times, and whether you want the car only for the transfer or also for a photo stop
• the addresses of the registry office or church and of the celebration, so travel from Häuslenen can be assessed
• which of the three wedding cars you prefer, and how many people should ride along
• whether you want to drive the Buick yourself, and if so the license and insurance conditions
• whether the car can carry ribbons or flowers, and who supplies them
• the price, what it includes, and the cancellation terms

A written answer to those points gives a couple planning from another country a clear basis for deciding.

Who it suits

Von Carrara Oldtimerfahrten suits a couple marrying within reach of Häuslenen who want a genuinely old car, driven by its owner or his long-standing fellow chauffeur, for the drive from the ceremony to the reception and a photo stop. The choice between a pre-war Bentley, a 1960s Bentley and a roomy 1950s Buick covers most tastes, and the option to drive the Buick yourself adds flexibility.

It suits less well a couple who need English-language service guaranteed, a wedding far from Häuslenen, or anyone who wants a backup car arranged in advance.