FAQs

What days are available? 

Bookings are available 7 days a week.  

Terms  

The booking system prompts 50% deposit payment at the time of booking as confirmation of the tour date and time. Balance payment is required 48 hours prior to the event and is prompted via an automatic confirmation email sent from the booking system.

How many can fit in the cars? 

The ’56 Chevrolet can fit four passengers plus driver with ease – there are four doors to make it happen without climbing.

But the ’57 is more tricky, with a folding front bench seat for access to the rear. In theory it can also accommodate four passengers, but it is not so nice for the ‘piggy in the middle’ or for those with mobility issues – so we say it’s best suited to a couple.

And there are seatbelts for all, in both cars.

Where are the pick-up locations? 

d’Luxe is depoted just north of Melbourne city, so we can arrange for hotel pick-up on the north side of the river or, better still, skip the traffic completely and start with coffees at Assembly in Carlton or Park Street Café, Brunswick East. 

Is there music? 

There definitely is music. The ’56 is fitted with Bluetooth® stereo while the ’57 has its original AM radio restored and fitted with auxiliary input. In either case, driver or passenger phones can be made to play throughout. And there are playlists available specifically for these tours, with special attention to the mid-fifties jazz playlist collected by John through the years of the ’57 being restored. (That’s restoration music, in more than one sense of the word.) 

Are the cars air conditioned? 

They call it ‘4/40 Air Conditioning’ – four windows down and forty miles per hour, or ‘California Air Conditioning’! But seriously, even though these old cars tend to warm up with their V8 motors, the nature of vertical side windows make for pleasant driving breeze as you are going along – there’s none of that whistling or beating that happens with current-day cars. Unless it’s an absolute stinker on the day, all should be fine.  

Are the cars heated? 

In a word, yes.   

Registrations? 

Drivers tasked with touring for d’Luxe are registered passenger Victorian transport drivers and our cars are appropriately registered with the Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria. (Sadly, self-drive options are not possible due to insurance restrictions.) 

Insurances? 

Both Chevrolets have comprehensive vehicle insurance commensurate with their registration type.

d’Luxe Classic Car Tours also carries public liability insurance in the event of losses or injury occurring separate to actual travel within vehicles. (Yep, lots of bases to cover in this game!)

Can both cars be hired together? 

Yes. Most definitely – what could be better than doubling up two green mid-fifties Chevrolets? In fact, a 10% fee reduction occurs when both cars are booked together. 

Bad weather? 

We drive … rain, hail or shine. Except for hail.

But really, if weather looks ominous to the point of unpleasantness we will consult with guests to hopefully re-schedule to the next available opportunity.

Travel insurance in the event of cancellations

It is recommended all guests, especially those travelling from interstate or overseas, adopt suitable travel insurance to cover any financial losses due to events categorised as ‘force majeur’. (Under normal circumstances refunds for cancelled bookings will not be provided. See Terms for further details.)

Overnight? 

There are one or two destinations we have in our sights, such as the Great Ocean Road and the winery regions in northern Victoria, that are probably too much to achieve in a single day unless departure is super early and return is late. So we will consider split day tours on application. 

Airport pick-ups? 

We can picture the scenario: You are flying in to Melbourne and would like to go straight to Daylesford (no CBD transfer), drop bags at a slick little B&B and then head for an afternoon drive through the windy roads and neighbouring forests and historic towns. Then maybe dinner at Du Fermier in Trentham? No problem there. 

What if the car breaks down? 

Both cars are in excellent mechanical condition, the ’57 having driven just 10,000 miles (not kilometres) since restoration, and the ’56 having logged over 2,000 miles in its drive from Seattle to Los Angeles with only a flat tyre when being delivered for shipping. But cars of this age are bound to experience unexpected breakdown on the odd occasion. Should this happen, we will endeavor to substitute cars or arrange for return to home via Uber with refund of the unfulfilled part of the tour. 

COVID-19

Directives and regulations regarding COVID-19 are regularly changing and we adapt our business to suit. In general, we follow guidances from federal and state government bodies as well as the various tourism organisations our business is associated with. Sanitation, distancing measures and contact tracing are adhered to as required with PPE (masks) provided by arrangement.

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