Rental car question, Underage driver?

[SunnyB1066]

Hi, My daugther and I are going to Disney for her 25th birthday in December and we will be renting a car. I really would prefer she do all of the driving, but she will be 24 for the first 3 1/2 hours of the rental. I think the extra charge is about $29 for an underage driver. Any suggestions on how to do this for the least amouny of money without me having to do all of the driving?

 

[goofy4tink]

Your dd does't drive for the first 4 hrs. of the car rental period? I don't know...that would seem to be the best choice. Are you going by her time of birth?? Or are you arriving at 9pm-ish and her birthday isn't until the next day?

 

[Alesia]

Unless I'm missing something, you really only have 2 choices: You drive for the first 3-1/2 hours of the trip or pay the $29. The only person who can figure out which choice works best for you is you.

 

[vicki_c]

I don't think the 3.5 hours is the OP's issue. It's that if she adds her DD as a driver when they pick up the car, they will be charged whatever surcharge they have for underage drivers for the entire length of the reservation. (edited: Is it really $29 for the whole thing or $29/day? If it's for the whole thing, I would just add her when you pick up the car.)

But if she doesn't add her, then the OP has to drive for the whole trip.

I don't know the answer - you might want to call the rental agency and see what they say. Maybe there's a way to call the next day and add her after the fact? and after the birthday.

 

[seashoreCM]

I would not ask first. Wait until her birthday and then telephone the rental agency about "changing your mind" and adding an additional driver.

You don't want to tip them off about an underage driver and then they jump to conclusions that they can charge the fee anyway and any time.

Whereas the question of an underage driver won't get dug into unless there is an accident and by then she's not underage.

 

[Lewisc]

Many agencies charge for an extra driver. Make sure you use a rental agency program or code that gives you an extra driver for free.

My guess is you're going to have to call, or go to a location, to add the driver the next day.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I would not ask first. Wait until her birthday and then telephone the rental agency about "changing your mind" and adding an additional driver.

Usually the rental agency checks the licenses of all drivers, so phoning to add a driver wouldn't work.

 

[LSchrow]

another option from mousesavers:
Readers of Car & Driver magazine (i.e., anyone) can get discounts at National as well as LDW insurance, underage fee and free extra driver with Contract ID 3715761. Thanks to Hot AirBus for info.

an underage friend used this code recently, without any problems

 

[pr surfer]

I rented a car for the weekend of my 25th birthday. Dollar charged me the underage fee for the entire time, even though I was only 24 for 1 day of the rental.

 

[SunnyB1066]

I don't think the 3.5 hours is the OP's issue. It's that if she adds her DD as a driver when they pick up the car, they will be charged whatever surcharge they have for underage drivers for the entire length of the reservation. (edited: Is it really $29 for the whole thing or $29/day? If it's for the whole thing, I would just add her when you pick up the car.)

But if she doesn't add her, then the OP has to drive for the whole trip.

I don't know the answer - you might want to call the rental agency and see what they say. Maybe there's a way to call the next day and add her after the fact? and after the birthday.

Thanks. That's exactly what I was asking. Sorry that it wasn't clear. It's $29 per day. If it was the whole thing I would just pay it.

I called Thrifty and the person I spoke to put me on hold for quite a while and seemed unsure of his answer when he did come back. He did say they would only charge for one day, but I don't want to be suprised when we get there.

 

[bumbershoot]

Seems you're getting in at around 8:30pm...I guess if you have it in writing with employee's name and everything that they'll just charge the fee for the first day (3.5 hours), it's cheaper than anything else I can think of...

but the other things are...snag a cheapie hotel room to hang out in until midnight and then go get the car. ...do a one-day rental, return it, get the longer rental the next day.

 

[thewesterberg]

Are you flying into MCO and are you staying on site? If so, maybe take ME to your resort and then the next day pick up a car at the Car Care Center? Just another idea, not knowing your whole situation.

 

[vicki_c]

Are you flying into MCO and are you staying on site? If so, maybe take ME to your resort and then the next day pick up a car at the Car Care Center? Just another idea, not knowing your whole situation.

That's a good idea.

 

[SunnyB1066]

Are you flying into MCO and are you staying on site? If so, maybe take ME to your resort and then the next day pick up a car at the Car Care Center? Just another idea, not knowing your whole situation.

We are flying into Sanford or we'd just skip the rental. I'm going to try the code for a free extra driver mentioned above and see if that will work.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Sunny