Under 25 and wanting to rent a car

[MaeB]

Hi guys, wondering if you experts can help me out.

I'm going to Florida with 2 friends in May and we want to rent a car for a couple days to drive to the beach. I've looked at a few prices but I'm wondering if all the companies charge extra if we're not 25. Any suggestions??

 

[goofytime2000]

From what I've seen, everyone charges you extra. The reason I've gotten is because we're (I'm in the same boat) a "high risk" driver because you're less experienced If you find a company that doesn't charge under 25 y/o let me know!

I geuss we're both stuck doing this for the next couple of years

 

[Robindianne]

We are looking as well. Did you find any companies not adding high fees for under 25 drivers?

 

[bazzanoid]

I'm from the UK and I had exactly this problem on my honeymoon in '03 - i looked at every major rental company, they all charge between 10 and 25 dollars a day up to a maximum of about $150 (IIRC) for 'young' drivers.

In the end we decided the cost of public transport outweighed the cost of rental with the extra charges, so we stuck with buses and taxis for the whole time.

Try looking at some of the smaller, more localised companies - a bit of googlin' around should reveal a few - they tend to have less worries about younger drivers and more worries about taking business from the 'big boys' (dollar, alamo, hertz etc), so they may be prepared to cut you a deal.

 

[Lewisc]

If you work for a major company see if there is a corporate rate that you can use for leisure rentals. Check Enterprise, EZ-Rental and rent a wreck

http://www.rentawreck.com/LANSAIMG/RAP/FRANCHISE/DAVENPORTFL/DAVENPORTFL.htm

 

[Lewisc]

Some of the student organizations had a code that let young drivers rent without a surcharge.It was a horrible deal. You had to book with a special code which basically added the surcharge into the base rate.

 

[Robindianne]

Thanks for the help all of you! I'm working on it. I used to have an Enterprise corporate code but tossed the card or something and can't remember the number so I'll be calling them this morning.

I'd rather have a 21 year old drive my car than my (bless his heart wonderful man) elderly father-in-law. Too bad it goes by age so much but I suppose businesses need to do what they can to stay in business and earn profit. Oh well.

 

[onyx8]

I'd rather have a 21 year old drive my car than my (bless his heart wonderful man) elderly father-in-law. Too bad it goes by age so much but I suppose businesses need to do what they can to stay in business and earn profit. Oh well.

FYI, some companies do have upper-age limit restrictions as well.

 

[Robindianne]

FYI, some companies do have upper-age limit restrictions as well.

Thanks. Sorry if I sounded callous re: age. I didn't mean it badly; I'm just feeling frustrated. I'm sure they probably have data to back up who they charge extra to.

 

[mill4023]

Try Enterprise, specifically one of their non-airport locations.

I just did a quick check, using a 2 day rental in May as an example. Renting at their airport location, there was a $15/day surcharge for drivers age 21-24. At one of their non-airport locations, the surcharge was only $8/day.

That seems pretty good compared to some of the other companies.