From curbside to Santa Monica hotel, Supershuttle took 100 minutes to delivery me to my destination including curbside waiting time.
It was suggested to me by a co-worker that if there was a work emergency, the cash saved ($17 shuttle ride including $2 tip) by the company would not have been worth the 100 minutes of not being available.
Even though my company can well afford and approves of higher priced transportation including weeklong rentals, I have never been one to take advantage when a deeply discounted option exists.
Is there an option in between the expensive Uber ($55) and Execucar ($79) options?
A cursory search didn't find anything in the $30-40 range for LAX to SM transport.
The uber cheap option is to take the bus. That's about $1.85 with a transfer to the Metro or another Big Blue. It takes me about 55 minutes to go from curbside to home in Santa Monica.
The more expensive option for me is to cab it. My average cab fare has been around $35 after tip. Depending on where in Santa Monica you're going, it may be best NOT to let them take you on the 405. One time, I let the cabbie decide, and he took me over the 405 and my fare came out to be about $60 pre-tip.