Car Hire for a 22 Year old

[scooch]

Hi all,

I've booked a fly drive for later april with MyTravel (i know they have a bad rep but it was only £244 per person).
They do their car rentals through dollar and me being 22, if i book my car insurance with them i've been told id have to pay $20 insurance + $25 young persons surcharge (for people 21-25). A total of ~£355.

I was wondering if anyone had any tips on getting things a little cheaper. I've already thought about reducing the insurance using insurance4carhire's £99 charge then i just add the $25 per day (15days)
I get a total of eeek ~£300. Is this too much or are there other options?
Also do you think its worth doing the insurance4carhire instead to save the £50 or will be hassled and perhaps have to pay for insurance again at sanford?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, ive been driving for 3-4 years now without eveb a bump (touch wood) and its horrible how car insurance hits us young ens

Cheers,
David

I'm even considering spending that 300 on public transport/hotel upgrades. Only thing is we're planning on having a 3day dis cruise on the 5th may and i imagine that might be a chore to get to and back to a hotel.

 

[JANNYANS]

Most if not all carhire charge extra for under 25's so not sure you can do anything about it .It is always better to do everything from this end fully inclusive

 

[alisonbestford]

I took independent car ins through Insurance4carhire.com with absolutely no problems at all last month. £103 for annual ins.
Now, I'm 42 so have no idea about under 25 premiums etc but I wasn't hassled at all at the airport by Dollar to change or anything. They barely glanced at the policy. Only thing they do require is a credit card imprint for £1500.
There were some horror stories on the board about whether you'd have to pay any damage following an accident in the US there and claim it back when you returned home. Horror stories are sometimes just people's assumptions so I called ins4carhire and they told me that this wouldn't happen. Thankfully I never had anything untoward happen so I don't know......
Good luck.
Alison

 

[ely3857]

Hello,

I booked through MyTavel when I went to orlando in Sept '02 and was given Dollar car hire.

I was 22 at the time and like you had to additional under 25 surcharge. Even though this did seem expensive it is really across the board for any car firm hiring to under 25. Some dont allow under 25 drivers at all.

I did end up with a free upgrade from a compact to a convertable though! When he offered me a cheap upgrade I told the rep due to my extra charges already I couldnt afford it and he gave it to me anyway as I was paying so much in insurance!



Ely3857

 

[scooch]

Yeah seems to be the case now ive looked into it. I think its $20 per day extra, do you know if there are any charges other than that, i was thinking airport tax and stuff but have no idea...

Also did you get the whole insurance package with dollar or did you go for one of these pay in the uk for insurance and then just pay the extra when you got there?

The upgrade sounded really good, i bet that made your day when you just got off the plane Luck you!
Still not sure the whole price run down of getting a car if youve got some rough numbers thatd be great.

Thanks to all!

David

 

[angel659]

Hi

When we went we paid for the all inclusive package over here including the under 25 fee. Paying all insurances out there cost a bomb. We added it all up and found we saved over 150.00 getting the insurance here. Have you tried Oppodo they can give you some reasonable quotes. Just because you booked a flydrive through My Travel, doesnt mean you have to stick with dollar via them. Oh and makesure you have a Visa card. I know that prob sounds a done thing, but I have heard so many people trying to hire a car without it. They wont unless you leave a hefty deposit.

 

[ely3857]

Hello,

As it was a couple of years ago I can't remember the exact price but if you are looking at $20.00 a day then it doesnt look as though prices have gone up as it does sound familiar.

I paid all my normal insurances along with my holiday so the only thing outstanding was my under 25 surcharge which you cant pre pay in the uk.

The upgrade made my year never mind day! I had been arguing with myself for 13 months wether to get a convertable so when I got one for free I thought all my xmas's had come at once. In addition I asked for a specific colour (a girl thing) and got a red one with leather seats! (didnt see any more with leather seats the whole time I was there)



Ely3857

 

[kristieuk]

I take it that since you have booked a flydrive, the actual cost of hiring the vehicle is included in the price you paid? That's a really good price, even taking into account the extra insurance costs.


But FYI, I previously booked a flydrive when I was under 25, and it was actually cheaper for me not to take their hire vehicle! I think it was Avis that I booked through in the end, becuase they did not charge (at that time at least) any extra insurance costs. I think I was about 23, so that would be 6 - 7 years ago now. But it is worth having a look - I'm almost certain it was Avis.

 

[pauldents]

I realise it's a bit late now, as you are travelling with TCD, but for any other 25's in a similiar situation, Virgin Platinum upgrade package covers for UNDER 25's, all additional drivers, baby seats and a full tank of fuel, as well as the fully inclusive insurances (LDW SLI Taxes etc).

Taken form the Virgin Holidays website:

Platinum Insurance:

Price per day Price per week
E Sub Compact £20.00 £140.00
Cars C and I Grades £21.00 £147.00
All Other Grades £23.00 £161.00


http://www.virginholidays.co.uk/florida/flydrive/insurance.asp