Clocktower Cars runs executive cars with a professional driver across Surrey and south London — client collections, airport runs, corporate accounts, weddings and funerals, and any journey where turning up in the right car matters. Booked in advance from eleven local offices, at a fixed price agreed before you travel.
“Hire” means two different things in British English, and a great many people reach this page looking for the other one. So, plainly: every car we provide comes with a professional driver. We are a licensed private hire operator, not a self-drive rental company. If you want to collect a car, drive it yourself for a week and bring it back, we are not the firm you need, and we would rather tell you now than waste your afternoon.
If what you actually want is executive car hire with a driver — a luxury car with a driver for a day, an airport run, a wedding, a client meeting, an evening out — that is precisely what this is. “Chauffeur”, “executive car”, “luxury car with driver” and “executive car hire with driver” all describe the same booking with us.
Private hire is a licensing term, not a marketing one. A private hire vehicle must be pre-booked through a licensed operator and cannot be hailed in the street or taken from a rank — that is what separates it from a hackney carriage or black cab. The practical upside is the one that matters to you: because the journey is arranged in advance, we quote a fixed price rather than running a meter. There is more on the distinction on our minicab versus black cab page.
The difference between a standard car and an executive one is partly the vehicle and mostly the driver. Here is what changes.
An executive car is a journey you do not have to think about. That is what you are paying for, and it is mostly about the driver.
Collecting a client from an airport or a station is the job where everything is visible. The car, the driver, whether the name board is spelled correctly, whether anyone is actually waiting when the client walks out. We would rather you booked this a week ahead than an hour ahead, and we will ask for the flight number so the car moves with the flight rather than with a guess.
For companies doing this regularly, an account is simpler: one monthly invoice, named cost centres, bookings placed by a PA or EA without a card each time. See our corporate chauffeur service and executive travel in Surrey pages, or start an account application.
The most common executive booking we take. Give us the flight number and we track it, so a delay does not mean a missed car. Add meet and greet and the driver parks, walks into arrivals and waits with your name on a board rather than texting you from a car park.
Measured drive times from our offices, which matter when a flight will not wait: Weybridge to Heathrow is 12.2 miles and about 19 minutes. Reigate to Gatwick is 9.0 miles and about 22 minutes. Epsom to London City is 48.9 miles and about 1 hour 11 minutes. Luton and Stansted are longer runs and want booking further ahead.
A smart car and a driver who understands the day. For a wedding that means knowing the schedule, arriving early, and being where you said you would be when the photographs overrun. For a funeral it means arriving quietly, saying little, and getting the family home afterwards without anybody having to arrange anything.
We are a private hire firm rather than a wedding car specialist, so we provide modern executive cars with drivers rather than vintage or ribboned vehicles. If a classic car is what you want, we will say so rather than talk you into something else.
Theatre, a restaurant in town, Epsom Downs on Derby day, a birthday. Booking a car both ways removes the two worst parts of an evening out — parking, and whether anyone can drink. For a whole day or evening we can hold the car and driver for you rather than quoting two separate journeys; ask when you ring, because it is often better value.
Surrey to Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, the south coast. On a long job the fixed quote matters more, not less, and so does a driver who has done the route. Give us the full itinerary and we will price the whole thing rather than the first leg.
“Chauffeur service” is the phrase most people use when they want this, so let us answer it in those words. A chauffeur service from Clocktower Cars means a suited professional driver, a car presented to a higher standard, and a driver who waits rather than hurrying you. We run a chauffeur service from eleven offices, with Epsom as the head office.
What a private chauffeur service is not, with us, is a different company from the one that does your airport runs. Same operator, same licensing, same drivers trained to the same standard — the executive booking is a higher grade of the same service. That matters because it means a chauffeur car and a standard minicab can be booked through the same office in the same phone call.
The usual way people search for it, and the honest answer depends on where you are. Chauffeur cars are a smaller part of any fleet than standard saloons, so the nearest available one is not always round the corner. Eleven offices across Surrey and the south London boroughs makes it far more likely that one is close, and far more likely we can cover short notice. Ring the office nearest you and ask what is free.
We are not going to tell you we are the best chauffeur service in Surrey, because every firm says that and it means nothing. What we will tell you is what to judge us on: whether the car arrives early, whether the driver waits when your meeting overruns, whether the price you were quoted is the price you pay, and whether the same office answers the phone next time. If any of those slip, ring the office and say so.
A luxury car with a driver, a luxury taxi, a luxury cab service, a luxury car hire with driver — all the same booking. If you want a comfortable, well-presented car and somebody else doing the driving, that is what an executive booking is.
The one thing to repeat, because the word “hire” causes it: luxury car hire from us always includes the driver. We do not rent cars for you to drive. If you searched for luxury car hire in Epsom or luxury car hire near you and what you want is the keys, we are not the right firm. If what you want is the car and someone to drive it, ring us.
Worth it: collecting a client, a wedding, an occasion, a long motorway journey where comfort tells, anything where you will be seen arriving. Not worth it: a short local run, a supermarket trip, a school pickup. We will say so if you ask for an executive car on a job where a standard one would serve you just as well — it is a quicker way to earn a second booking than upselling you once.
Eleven offices, so the car comes from nearby rather than being sent across the county. Ring the office that covers you.
| Area | Office and number |
|---|---|
| Epsom, Ewell, Ashtead, Leatherhead | Epsom, 01372 747 747 |
| Kingston, Surbiton | Kingston, 0203 388 9999 |
| Weybridge, Esher, Walton | Weybridge, 01932 598 598 |
| Reigate, Redhill, Banstead, Coulsdon | Reigate, 01737 333 700 |
| Guildford | Guildford, 01483 301 000 |
| Godalming | Godalming, 01483 422 222 |
| Sutton, Cheam | Sutton, 0208 643 2255 |
| Carshalton, Wallington, Morden | Carshalton, 0208 773 0700 |
| Chessington, Tolworth | Chessington, 0208 397 4747 |
| Bookham, Fetcham | Bookham, 01372 727 727 |
| Ewell West | Ewell West, 0208 330 5555 |
Not listed? The branch locator will point you at the right office, and find us has every address.
Executive work is done in saloons and larger vehicles presented to a higher standard than a standard booking. Rather than promise a specific marque we cannot guarantee on the day, we will tell you what is available when you book, and you can say yes or no before anything is confirmed.
| Vehicle | Passengers | Luggage | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive saloon | Up to 3 | 2 large cases | Client collections, airport runs, business travel |
| Executive estate | Up to 4 | 3 to 4 large cases | Airport work with real luggage |
| Executive MPV | Up to 6 | 4 to 5 large cases | Small groups, families, golf and ski trips |
| Eight-seater | Up to 8 | 8 cases | Group travel, a team to an event |
| Wheelchair accessible | Varies | Varies | See accessible travel |
If there are more than four of you, ask about the MPV and the eight-seater before booking two cars. One larger vehicle is normally cheaper and considerably easier to keep together.
Quoted per journey, from your actual address, before you book. What moves the figure: the distance and driver time, which office the car comes from, the hour you travel, the vehicle, how long the driver waits, and whether you want the car held for a whole day rather than for two separate journeys.
Airport entry and drop-off charges are included rather than added at the barrier. We publish no fare table — one price covering a whole town is wrong for most of the people in it. For a longer explanation of how we price journeys, see what an airport taxi costs and what sets the price.
For a day of meetings, a wedding, or an evening with several stops, holding the car and driver is usually better value than booking each leg. Tell us the shape of the day and we will quote it properly.
No. Every car comes with a professional driver. We are a licensed private hire operator rather than a rental company, so you cannot collect a car and drive it yourself. If that is what you need, we are not the right firm and we would rather say so.
Yes, and that is one of the things we do most. We can hold the car and driver for a set period rather than quoting individual journeys, which for a day of meetings or a wedding is usually both simpler and better value.
With us, nothing meaningful — they are the same booking. “Chauffeur” usually implies a suited driver, a higher standard of car and a driver who waits for you, and that is exactly what an executive booking here provides.
Yes, from eleven offices across Surrey and south London. Epsom is our head office on 01372 747 747; the table above lists the rest.
Yes, and it is the thing executive customers value most. Tell us roughly how long you expect to be and we will build it into the booking rather than leaving the driver guessing.
Yes. Add meet and greet and the driver parks, comes into arrivals and waits with a name board. Give us the flight number so we track the flight rather than an estimated landing time, and check the spelling of the name.
Yes. One monthly invoice, named cost centres, and bookings placed without a card each time. Start with the account application.
We provide modern executive cars with drivers, which suits most wedding transport — guests, the couple between venues, and getting everyone home. We are not a vintage or ribboned wedding car specialist, and we will tell you that rather than take the booking regardless.
For a client collection or anything with a fixed time, as far ahead as you can — a week is comfortable. Executive cars are a smaller part of the fleet than standard saloons, so short notice is sometimes possible but not something to plan around.
Ask, and we will try. On an account with regular journeys it is often straightforward. We cannot promise it for a one-off at short notice, but we would rather attempt it than pretend it is impossible.
Tell us where you are going, when, and how many of you. You will get a fixed price before you commit, from a licensed operator with eleven offices across Surrey and south London.
Book online — or ring your nearest office: Epsom 01372 747 747, Kingston 0203 388 9999, Weybridge 01932 598 598, Reigate 01737 333 700, Guildford 01483 301 000, Godalming 01483 422 222, Sutton 0208 643 2255, Carshalton 0208 773 0700, Chessington 0208 397 4747, Bookham 01372 727 727, Ewell West 0208 330 5555.
Enter your mobile number and get a download link sent to you for free.
Enter your mobile number and get a download link sent to you for free.
