25 years old to Rent a Car ?

[JACKNAG]

Has any one run into this? We want to leave our daughter and son with a reliable car when on vacation. Enterprise won't rent her a car , she is 23. Isn't this discrimination with a woman with a perfect driving record. She is able to enter a legal contract at the age of 21 and could be married at this age but can't rent a car? They said they could put it under my wife's and my name but charge an extra 15.00 a day to rent it. I didn't know companies can discriminate who they sell to. What if my child was married and wanted to rent a car on her honeymoon

 

[goofy4tink]

I believe that almost every single car rental company has the exact same policy. You are going to be hard pressed to find a rental company that will rent to anyone under 25. Not discrimination..just their business model.

 

[DonnaDuck333]

I believe that almost every single car rental company has the exact same policy. You are going to be hard pressed to find a rental company that will rent to anyone under 25. Not discrimination..just their business model.

With all due respect in the 1950's and before it was alot of restaurants business model to not serve different ethnic groups, people back then accepted this as being ok, untill the obvious was noticed and it got changed... Companies shouldn't hide behind a business model to be able to discriminate... My daughter who is 23 works and pays taxes like the rest of us... She should have the same right as any women over the age of 21.... Clean driving record, college student, no criminal record seems like discrimination to me, does the 80 year old grandma get discriminated too... Just seems not right to me.

 

[ancestry]

To the insurance and car rental companies it isn't discrimination it is statistics. Younger people have a higher rate of accidents, etc. That is why most people's car insurance goes down when they hit the age of 25. Drivers under the age of 25 are high risk according to insurance and rental car companies based on statistical analysis.

OP I think there are a few companies that will rent to someone over 21 but you will pay a much higher rental fee.

 

[ancestry]

This website explains who will rent to those under 25. http://www.autorentalguide.com/car-rentals-under-25.shtml

 

[Alesia]

I didn't know companies can discriminate who they sell to.

But they aren't selling, they're renting. That's a huge difference.

If I'm selling my car, I don't really care who I sell it to; as long as they have the money, they can buy the car. At that point whatever happens in their problem. On the other hand, I'm going to be a lot more careful about who I lend my car to, because if something happens I'll be the one who gets screwed.

 

[lylone]

As a previous employee of ERAC, I can tell you that in some states it is illegal to rent to a person under 25 years old. Just like it is also illegal to rent to someone who doesn't have a regular license. Paper tickets are not acceptable proof of someone having a license.
I was told that if I rented to a paper ticket or someone under 25 years old that I would not only loose my job, but could also suffer criminal prosecution. Same rules apply for someone who may be impaired because of alcohol or drugs.
Also, most rental companies are "self insured" and they don't know what type of driver you are when they put in you in a vehicle. If you wreck that vehicle and kill someone it is out of the company's pocket. 20-25 years olds have the highest accident rates and would you want to lend your car to someone you don't know? and also be responsible for damages to your car and also anyone they may hurt with it?
Hotels and cruise ships won't allow an under 25 year old to rent a room/cabin for the same reasons. Not all 20-25 year olds are considerate of other people's property unfortunately. It's the bad-eggs that make us all look bad.

 

[Lewisc]

Rental agencies will generally rent to a customer between 21-25. There is generally an additional fee for an underage driver.

The OP said Enterprise would be OK if the parents rented the car and listed the daughter as an additional driver, paying the underage fee. I'll speculate Enterprise wouldn't rent to his daughter because his daughter doesn't have a credit card in her name.

 

[ssawka]

Yes, most companies have this policy and I believe it has more to do with insurance than solely the company's policy. I agree that there can be excellent drivers under the age of 25, but if the insurance rates where a lot hire for the company because they were renting to individuals under 25, the company would not be able to compete since rental cars are such an elastic commodity.

 

[SmilingGrump]

You MAY also be able to rent a car if you're under 25 and it's part of a package, ie hotel + car package. When I was 23 and in Hawaii, I purchased a flight-condo-car package from Roberts without a problem. 6 months later I was back and the only place I could rent a car was a non-brand name company that charged x3 the rate for a car without brakes. It was explained to me that Hawaii State laws allowed the package rental because I wasn't really renting a car directly, but a vacation package ... legalise. Laws are different state to state.

 

[keishashadow]

To the insurance and car rental companies it isn't discrimination it is statistics. Younger people have a higher rate of accidents, etc. That is why most people's car insurance goes down when they hit the age of 25. Drivers under the age of 25 are high risk according to insurance and rental car companies based on statistical analysis.

OP I think there are a few companies that will rent to someone over 21 but you will pay a much higher rental fee.

it was $25/day more on Alamo when i checked for DS, who was just shy of 24 and a municipal police officer but they stick fast to their policy.

OP i'm not sure if you're talking about leaving daughter @ home when you're on vacation (if so, why don't you rent a car & leave family vehicle @ home?) or whether you feel she needs a car on vacation. In MCO, lots of transportation options including ME, towncar, bus or taxi service to choose if she needs to get around. jmho but a $30 - $40 taxi cab fare each day would probably be cheaper than renting a car with the surcharges.

 

[disneymarie]

I rented Alamo, when I was flying out we stopped at Alamo. I turned in the car and then had daughter rent the car. I do not remember if they kept me as the renter as it was on my credit card. I know I did pay more, the same way she paid more on her personal vehicle until she was 25.

Make sure these kids have updated their driver licenses too. We had a friend that recently ende up with a rental in FL for 2 weeks work. His license did not expire at the end of the month as he thought, but the day after his birthday. It was a scare for the rental and flight out.
His mother at home renewed online and faxed the renewal receipt to him. Had he just looked at the DL before traveling it would have reminded him not to procrastinate.

 

[DonnaDuck333]

it was $25/day more on Alamo when i checked for DS, who was just shy of 24 and a municipal police officer but they stick fast to their policy.

OP i'm not sure if you're talking about leaving daughter @ home when you're on vacation (if so, why don't you rent a car & leave family vehicle @ home?) or whether you feel she needs a car on vacation. In MCO, lots of transportation options including ME, towncar, bus or taxi service to choose if she needs to get around. jmho but a $30 - $40 taxi cab fare each day would probably be cheaper than renting a car with the surcharges.

I am actually the op's wife, I cannot fly due to positional benign vertigo.We have to drive down with the suv, I would take my daughters car but she has 120,000 miles on it and I don't think that would be wise...Do not want to leave her for a few weeks with out reliable transportaton, leaving in the winter months and she would need an suv, found the rental place dont allow under 25 to do that, not even under us. I am not sure you can rent a car in the east and take it all the way to florida. if they do I wonder if it woud be really outrageously expensive. Wish I could fly would solve alot.

 

[Mary976]

I am not sure you can rent a car in the east and take it all the way to florida. if they do I wonder if it woud be really outrageously expensive. Wish I could fly would solve alot.

My SIL drives an older minivan. She prefers to drive on vacation because she has several kids and flying would be expensive. She rented a van here in Illinois and drove it to Florida without a problem. I know she had to secure the reservation with a credit card (no debit) and not all the companies would allow it, but she found a couple major companies that did.

Mary

 

[Alesia]

I am not sure you can rent a car in the east and take it all the way to florida.

Of course you can; people do that all the time.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

OP, I don't know what state you live in, and each state has its own laws regarding rental companies and renting under the age of 25. In NY anyone over 18 can rent a car, however, rental companies can charge a fee to do so. Usually the fees are grouped into 18 - 20 and 21 - 24 with the younger ages paying much more than the older group.

Legally, they are required to follow the law, if your state permits rental companies to set age 25 as the youngest age, rental companies will do so. There is no discrimination that is legally protected, so there isn't much you can do except contact your state representatives and insist they work to change the law (note: your success will vary).

 

[gmeh1]

No, that is not true, Enterprise does rent to drivers under 25. https://enterprise.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3065

 

[corster]

Every major rental agency rents to people under 25. I've done it with multiple companies (National, Enterprise, Hertz)

There is usually an additional fee in the range of $10-35 a day, depending on the company. Also need a credit card in the renters name.

Hertz commonly has a publicly-available coupon on their website which waives this fee, you can also register through the Gold Family program to have under-21 fees waived at all Hertz Corporate Locations
http://www.hertz.com/goldfamily

I use a variety of CDP numbers for National and Hertz, depending where i'm going.

 

[Junebugwv]

My son-in-law was flying multi-million dollar fighter jets before he was 25 and just shrugged when he had to pay more to rent a car.

 

[aubriee]

Off topic, but some insurance policies won't cover drivers under 25 y/o. I know my insurance covers any licensed driver, but my mom's does not cover anyone under 25 y/o. I know my sons were both irritated that they could not drive her anywhere in her car until they turned 25 y/o. I believe she has her insurance through Farm Bureau.