Go to nearly any “big” city in the country and you’ll see some of the nicest cars in the world.  You’ll see everything from luxury to exotic vehicles; from Mercedes to Maybach, price BMW to Bentley, pharm Audi to Aston Martin, just to name a few.  Celebrities, and the everyday person alike, love their automobiles.

However, not all of these vehicles are driven by celebrities and the wealthy.  Mark McNeil, the owner of Premier Luxury Rentals in Philadelphia, says that many of his clients are regular everyday individuals, like the real estate agent who has a high-end home to show and may not want to take their client there in their everyday vehicle.  And not all of these vehicles are owned by the drivers.  Many times, these cars are rented.  Remember Justin Beiber’s incident with the yellow Lamborghini at the beginning of the year?  That car and the one he was racing, were both on loan from a luxury car rental company in Miami.[1]  Beiber however, was not an authorized driver on the rental agreement and should not have been operating the vehicle.  Most luxury car rental companies do not rent to drivers under the age of 25 years old.

So why not Richmond?  Well, that’s the exact question that Javan Matthews, owner of Exquisite Rentals asked himself.  Why shouldn’t Richmond have a place for individuals and businesses to rent high-end vehicles?  Surely the Greater Richmond Region, with its strong corporate representation, 1.25 million residents and over 6.0 million visitors annually, could support a company that offered true “luxury” rental vehicles with exceptional service.

Mr. Matthews had to believe it was not only possible, but desired.  So after spending over a decade with one of the area’s most sought after employers, he left the company to launch Exquisite Rentals and to bring the luxury automobile rental experience to his beloved hometown.

Exquisite Rentals is Richmond’s renter of luxury automobiles.  The company has a modest fleet as it introduces the concept into the Richmond area.  You won’t see any Lamborghinis or Ferraris in the Exquisite Rentals garage just yet, located at 3200 Moore St, in Scott’s Addition, although that is a broader vision of the company.  You can, however, rent their 5 Series BMW nicely set apart with the M Sport package or the Jaguar XF, certainly one of the gems of the fleet.  The other vehicle currently offered by the company is the Mercedes Benz E350.  Each vehicle is the 2013 model, purchased brand new by the company.  Mr. Matthews says that the company decided to purchase brand new vehicles, because it wants to know what Exquisite Rentals clients are getting into.  No surprises.

Wondering how it’s doing so far?  Mr. Matthews says, people have rented for a number of reasons.  “We’ve had people rent from us for everything from weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, business trips and weekend getaways, to photo shoots.”  Business began to pick up for the company towards the end of last summer and then tapered off a bit during the winter months.  The company is expecting a big jump in rentals for the coming spring and summer, since more people are becoming aware that they are now an option for renting.

One thing that the company does to set itself apart, not only in class of car, but also in service, is to offer its clients a plan that allows them to purchase 1000 miles, at a significant discount compared to just a single day’s rental, and use those miles over a 12 month period as needed. The Ex Plan can be paid up front or on a payment plan, based on the client’s needs.  The typical one day rental is $195, which includes 100 miles.  Any additional mileage is billed at $0.50 per mile.  Both mileage figures are within industry standards.  The companies EX PLAN is 1000 miles for $1  per mile.  Ultimately, says Mr. Matthews, we want Richmonders to be able to enjoy going the extra mile, whenever they need to do so.  We sure do!