25 years old to Rent a Car ?

[bumbershoot]

Has any one run into this?

...What if my child was married and wanted to rent a car on her honeymoon

Of course people have run into it. I was once under 25, and got to pay extra money to rent a car. Statistically people below that age cause far more insurance claims than other people, and the rental agencies want to protect themselves. My car insurance was also higher when I was younger, too.


She would need a major credit card in her name (heck, my 28 year old brother couldn't get a car rented in his name b/c he doesn't have a major CC in his name) and she would get to pay more, and then she would have her rental car for her honeymoon.

Of course, if she were under 21 at the time, she wouldn't be able to have a champagne toast at the wedding! And if she were marrying that young, she might not be able to rent a hotel room.

People run into these things all the time.

 

[keishashadow]

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.

sure you can, you just need to let the rental agency you are leaving your state (and make sure you have unlimited mileage). We had to rent thru enterprise for an auto claim and were surprised to find that our rental was set up that we couldn't cross the nearby state line w/o paying premium.

Easiest way to price out the trip is to go to a 3rd party - priceline, rentalcarmomma, AAA - and get a rough estimate of the trip. The various vendors will appear & it'll give you a starting point. Then just dig around here, mousesavers for codes that are working for your dates. Don't be discouraged by the intial cost, codes/coupons drop the final price substantially.

fyi, unless you really need the car during your entire vacation it might be cheaper to just drop it once you're in WDW and pick back up near the end of your stay (car care center/dolphin and many other resorts DTD area) Be aware drop charges may be pricey.

Lastly, Alamo & National often have a snowbird special for one way rentals to/from the NE, but not sure if ur dates would fall in the parameters.

good luck

 

[Hannathy]

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.

I would just have her car serviced before you leave. If it is good enough for now why wouldn't it be ok for a couple weeks while you are gone? And 120,000 isn't that much mileage on cars anymore, I'm driving one with a lot more than that and feel it is reliable, I also live a lot further north than CT and have never had a SUV so don't think that is a good reason.

The not renting under 25 has been in place for over 25 yrs that I know of for sure.

 

[dishguy1977]

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.

It has nothing to do with rights, whether she pays taxes or is a college student. The rental company can decide whatever policies they want in place when letting a complete stranger drive away with one of their vehicles costing upwards of 20k. Renting a car is not a right. It's not racism or sexism. I suppose a case could be made for ageism and perhaps that is why some companies now allow it with extra fees, that may make it cost prohibitive, in order to prevent any claims of this nature.

For our honeymoon, my wife and I were 24 years old, owned a house and 2 vehicles of our own, had careers and still were not able to rent a car. We weren't even given the option to pay extra fees to be able to rent at the time. We were probably much more established and responsible than many 25, 30 or even 50 year olds but "thems the breaks" as they say. I remember be quite perturbed a the time too!

 

[Arielle22]

I was 19 when I married and DH was 22. We paid extra for our rental car. I had no issue with that. I knew how many of our friends drove so I could see the reasoning.

I also didn't get upset that I couldn't drink at my wedding but could get married.

Charging more for under 25 drivers is not illegal discrimination. Why are people so quick to throw those comparisons around? There is a valid reason for not charging more for under 25 drivers while there is no valid reason for racial discrimination.