Rental Car Advice

You’re twenty-one years old. You’re allowed to buy a pack of cigarettes at the liquor store, and even a nice cold beer at your local bar (if these are your vices). You’re old enough to enlist in the army or volunteer for the Peace Corps—hey, you can even get married legally. But there’s one thing that will be very difficult for you to accomplish if you’re only twenty-one.

You’ll have a hard time renting a car.

Yes, it seems unfair, but there are reasons to this madness. Younger drivers are statistically more likely to drink and engage in other risky driving behavior, and they’re involved in accidents more often. Car rental companies refuse to rent to younger drivers for two basic reasons—younger drivers increase the company’s liability and insurance costs, and they pose a risk to the company’s fleet.

So it’s understandable that most car rental companies don’t want to do business with younger drivers—but if you’re one of the above-mentioned paragons of responsibility, it’s hardly fair. It doesn’t matter that you’ve played by the rules and have an immaculate driving record; an irresponsible 30-year-old will be able to rent a car easily, while you’re left standing at the rental counter.

Because rental car companies are leery about doing business with drivers under the age of 25, they typically charge a hefty ‘youth’ fee—which often doubles the rental rate. And drivers who are between the ages of 18 and 21 will have a difficult time renting any vehicle.

The states of New York and Michigan are exceptions to the rule; legislation in each state mandates that car rental companies rent to drivers between the ages of 21 and 25. Renting a car in either of these states won’t be an issue for you—unless you’re under the age of 21. Drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 will have a difficult time renting a car from any company, in any state.

The very few companies who will rent to drivers under 21 also charge substantial fees—usually at least $50 a day.

Independent car rental companies will occasionally rent to the chronologically challenged, but these ‘Mom & Pop Shops’ are few and far between. They’re hard to locate, too. Young drivers have to call company after company, trying to find the one out of a hundred that will accept their business. Location can make a difference; it’s easier to find an independent dealership that rents to younger drivers in larger cities.

If you do find a company that will rent to you, they will probably require you to make your reservation with the branch with which you’ll be doing business. Drivers who are under the age of 21 often can’t reserve a vehicle online or through a central reservation center.

When you make your reservation, make sure that you let the company representative know that you are under the age of 21. Even if you’ve read the company’s policy online, you want to deal with potential problems before you’ve arrived at your destination and need to travel! And it helps to know ahead of time that you won’t be able to rent a luxury vehicle. The few independent companies that will rent to under-21’s reserve their oldest vehicles for their youngest customers. To avoid problems later, you should notice and record any dents or bumps on your rental car before you leave the rental company premises.

The ban on drivers under the age of 21 may be changing. Fox Rent-a-Car now charges an additional fee of only $14 a day for younger drivers—making the process of renting a car economically feasible.
Still, this is an exception, and the concession is only granted to people who are at least 20 years old. It remains tremendously difficult for drivers who are under 21 years old to rent a vehicle. And again, it’s expensive: the additional fees can be so high that other forms of transportation begin to look good. No one enjoys taking the bus, but when under-age fees are added to the daily rental fee—and then other expenses are added in—the price becomes so prohibitive for the under-21 crowd that it makes sense to consider other options.

There’s another important exception to the ban on renting to drivers under the age of 21. All government personnel and members of the military can rent a car from most rental agencies if they’re traveling on government business. The renter must be at least 18, and is able to rent at a reduced military rate.

Until recently, drivers from the ages of 21 to 25 faced the same kind of restrictions as drivers under 21. Lately the situation has eased up a little for this age group, and drivers between the ages of 21 and 24 are now able to rent from quite a few national car rental companies. Most Advantage, Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Enterprise, Hertz and National locations will rent to drivers under age 25. The driver in this age group will still be required to pay a daily fee, but this is usually cheaper, averaging about $25 a day.

Hertz is currently offering a fee-free rental experience for drivers between the ages of 20 and 24 who include the promo code 144314 when they make their reservations. Be aware that Hertz is one of the more expensive car rental companies, so even without the youth fee, your Hertz rental may be more expensive than with other companies. But if you do want to take advantage of the offer, hurry—it ends on Sept. 30.

And if you’re a member of USAA, an organization for military personnel and their kids, then you’re in luck. USAA has an agreement with Avis that allows members over age 21 to rent a car without paying an additional ‘youth’ surcharge.

Membership in other organizations may not score a youth fee waiver, but they can help save money in other ways. You should take advantage of benefits of AAA membership, and if you’re a Costco member, you’ll automatically save money at Budget Rent-a-Car. Although these memberships may not be able to waive youth fees, the discounts they offer can help offset the additional expense.

If you have a job, you might be able to take advantage of special corporate rates that waive additional fees for younger drivers. And if you’re renting a car for company business, you should be able to take advantage of special deals that your company has with a rental company.

Basic common sense will also help you save money on a car rental. Reserve your car early, and don’t add features that you don’t need. Downsize when at all possible. And again, be sure to inspect your rental car for damage before you leave the lot.

It also pays to spend extra time comparing the rates of a different rental car companies. They’ll vary, and you may be able to save big bucks if you know who you’re dealing with. Breezenet.com offers a great comparison chart, so you can easily compare rates and company policies.

If you’re traveling with someone over 25 years old, you can sometimes be written into the contract as an additional driver without the underage fee. You will have to show a driver’s license, which will enable the car rental company to check your driving record. You will also be required to show a credit card in your name, assuring the rental company that you have established credit and are assuming some of the risk that goes along with your rental. It’s a good idea to have a copy of your car insurance policy, too, as proof that you are a responsible driver.

If all else fails, and you’re faced with paying youth fees that raise your daily rental to astronomical rates, consider asking a parent or older friend to co-sign your rental. This will usually provide the car rental company with enough assurance to waive the youth fee.

When you’ve finally cleared all the obstacles and you’re driving away in your car rental, remember to drive carefully and have a wonderful time. And hang on—in no time at all you’ll be older, remembering how great it was to be young.

Whether you’re headed out of town for business or for pleasure, you probably scour the ‘net for deals on your airfare and your hotel – but what about your rental car? Lots of people don’t do a whole lot to compare rental cars. Instead, they just go with a big-name company and call it a day – and usually wind up paying more than they need to.

However, getting a cheap rental car is easy to do if you follow these 5 tips:

1. Don’t rent your car at the airport. Yes, it’s convenient to step off the plane, walk over to the counter, and pick up your keys. However, you’re paying a pretty penny for that convenience – and you probably don’t even know it! In most cases, you wind up paying an extra “airport charge” that shows up in the form of extra taxes and concession fees.

By picking a rental company that’s a few miles from the airport, you can get a cheap rental car. Even if you have to pay a cab driver to take you to a rental car company that’s off-site, you’ll still wind up saving money.

2. Rent a compact car. Sure, common sense tells you that the smaller it is, the cheaper your rental car will be. However, that’s not the only way you can save money.

Most rental car companies only have a small number of compact cars in their fleet. After all, most people don’t want to drive around in something that resembles a roller skate! Since there are only a few compact cars to choose from, the odds are high that your rental car company will be out of them by the time you get to the counter. If that’s the case, the company will have to give you a mid or full-size car at the compact price.

It’s a plan that may not always work, but it’s definitely worth a shot. Remember, you can always upgrade at the counter if you absolutely don’t want to drive around in a compact car.

3. Join the loyalty program. Most rental car companies have programs that are free to join, and they can save you lots of money – even if you’re not a frequent traveler. By signing up, you’ll get certain perks that can put less of a strain on your wallet.

4. Look at your arrival time. If you are getting into town during the late afternoon or early evening – and all you have planned is picking up your rental car, driving to the hotel, and calling it a day – hold off on picking up the car. You can save an entire day of rental car fees and taxes by taking the airport shuttle to your hotel and picking up your car in the morning.

Even if you have to take a cab both ways, the cab fare will still be cheaper than a day of rental car fees!

5. Pick one driver. Even if the daily price wasn’t what you had in mind when you thought “cheap rental car”, you can still save yourself some money at the counter by only putting one driver on the rental agreement. That’s because rental car companies charge extra for all sorts of things – like letting more than one person drive the car. In fact, adding another driver to your rental agreement can cost you as much as $25 per day! Instead, pick one driver and stick with him for the entire trip. Your wallet will thank you!

Unfortunately, there is no single “cheapest” or “best” rental car company out there. When it comes time to rent a car, there is no “magic” company to call. Different companies can give you different deals that change by the day – or even the hour! Even if you’re used to booking through the same rental car company, don’t automatically assume that they will have the best deal the next time you need to make a reservation.

So, how do you make the most out of the deals and perks that are lurking out there?

Compare rental cars before you reserve one!

Thanks to the power of the world wide web, you can compare rental cars with the click of a mouse. In just a few minutes, you can see which companies are offering specials, which companies will be the easiest to find in a new city, and which companies are will to throw in some extra perks.

What do you need to look at?

Scroll through the available coupons and specific discount codes. You should also be looking for deals that exist for people in the membership programs that you belong to or professional organizations that you’re a part of.

It is especially important to compare rental cars if you need to rent something over a weekend. In fact, some companies actually specialize in weekend rental deals. Lots of rental car companies give weekend rates to any car that’s out between Friday and Monday. However, if you look carefully, you might even be able to do better than that. In some cases, you can even get a weekend rate by picking your car up on Thursday afternoon!

You will also need to look carefully at how different rental car companies define a “day”. Some will charge you based on an entire calendar day, while others use a 24-hour pricing structure – so if you picked up the car at 10 AM, you have to return it by 10 AM. If you return it at noon, you will wind up paying for an entire extra day. That could be a very costly mistake if you don’t know all of the rules in advance!

Who needs to spend some extra time comparing rental cars?

While looking for a cheap rental car or a great deal is important for everyone, if you are under the age of 25, it is especially important to compare rental cars. That’s because lots of rental companies charge higher rates for those drivers – or will even refuse to rent to them altogether. Most of the younger drivers out there think that they are simply out of luck and have to pay a ton of money if they need to rent a car. However, that’s not always the case. Instead of simply pulling out your wallet a biting the bullet, spending some time beforehand comparing rental car companies can save you a bunch of money.

How soon is “too soon” to compare rental cars?

You really can’t start doing your research too early.

In fact, you can think of renting a car like buying an airplane ticket. The longer you wait to do it, the more it is going to cost you. You’re much better off doing your research as early as you can – even if you have a few weeks or a few months before you actually need the car.

However, if you do need to rent a car at the last minute, all isn’t lost. If you compare rental cars the right way, you can wind up with a great deal on a single-day rental. In fact, some of the bigger companies offer some great last-minute deals!

If you do your homework, you can save a lot of money when you rent a car.  One of the best ways to save some cash is to find rental car coupons.

Where exactly can you find them?

Most of the time, you can find all of the coupons you need with just a couple of mouse clicks.  Some of the big rental companies will put printable coupons right on their websites.  And, there are tons of independent websites that will collect and provide printable rental car coupons for a variety of different companies, including this one.

But you can also find plenty of coupons away from the world wide web, too.  The phone book will usually have a variety of rental car coupons inside.  And, if you belong to certain membership groups – like AAA, AARP and others – you might get coupons sent to you or have access to rental car coupons that the general public can’t get.  Or, if you are a member of a particular rental car company’s customer loyalty program, you might get their coupons mailed right to your mailbox or your inbox!

In many cases, you don’t even need to print out or cut out a coupon to take advantage of great deals.  Depending on the terms of the coupon, simply entering the code when you book your rental car is good enough.

So, what exactly do you need to know before you cash in on a rental car coupon?

1. Unless they explicitly state otherwise, rental car coupons give you a discount off the total price – after you have already calculated all of the taxes and fees.
2. Make sure your rental car coupons don’t exclude any “peak times” – like during holiday weekends or over the summer.  As with anything else, it’s important to read the fine print before you try to use a rental car coupon.
3. In most cases, rental car coupons are just for cars.  If you need to rent an SUV, a minivan, or a cargo van, you will likely be out of luck.  However, be sure to check your coupons first.  Every coupon will list all of the vehicle sizes that it can be used towards.
4. Make sure you know exactly how the rental car company defines its car sizes.  One company’s “mid-size” might be another company’s “economy”.  If your coupon is only good for a specific size, you will have to pay special attention when you make the reservation.
5. Your idea of a “long-term rental” may be different that the rental car company’s.  Typically, coupons for “long-term rentals” are only good if you rent the car for at least 30 days.  Again, though, be sure to check the terms and conditions of your specific coupon.
6. There are plenty of rental car coupons out there for drivers who are under 25 years-old.  This is great news – especially considering that drivers who are under 25 typically have to pay the most expensive rental car rates!
7. Some coupons can only be used to book rental cars online.  If you see a coupon that talks about a “web-only special”, you will have to make the reservation all by yourself, through the rental car company’s website.  Luckily, though, those web-only specials come with some unbeatable deals!

Maybe you’re the savvy business traveler who’s used to zipping in and out of rental cars. Or, maybe you don’t travel much and you’re planning a road trip with the family.  No matter what your situation, there are things that you need to be aware of before you book your next rental car.

Be on the lookout for:

1. Drop-off charges

If you are planning to rent one way, you will have to pay extra to drop your car off in a different location from where you picked it up. Unfortunately, though, these “drop-off charges” can be awfully high. Before you sign anything or drive out of the rental car parking lot, read the fine print to make sure that you won’t be charged an arm and a leg just to drop-off your rental car at the other end.

2. Geographical limits

Rental car companies sometimes impose a limitation on how far you can drive the vehicle – usually determined by state lines.  The best way to find is to ask the rep who is helping you at the counter.  Or, if you’re booking online, you should be able to find that information somewhere during the checkout process.

3. Mileage

The mileage limitation really depends on what type of deal you’re getting. Some deals include unlimited mileage, while special rental rates may limit you to 100 miles per day and then charge you extra for any mileage over the limit.  If you’re planning on traveling way over your mileage limit, you are better off finding a deal that includes unlimited mileage.

4. Hidden costs

Typically, the basic daily rate for a rental car is quite reasonable, but when you start tacking on additional fees, the deal can get ugly fast. Certain charges are imposed by the government and unavoidable, while others are simply there to increase the profits for the rental car companies. Furthermore, fees may vary from company to company, so the check the invoice line by line and ask questions about the fees you’re not familiar with.

5. Damage to the car

Most rental cars have some body damage on them – even if it’s just a small scratch or ding. After all, these cars get driven all over the place by all sorts of people! But, if you’re not careful, you could wind up paying for damage that you didn’t cause.

Before you drive away in your rental car, go over every inch of it. Any scratches, dents, or nicks need to be reported – even if they seem minor. Otherwise, the rental car company may hold you responsible for them when you return the car.

6. Insurance coverage

The rep at the counter will try to convince you that you shouldn’t even think about driving off without the rental company’s insurance coverage, but the truth is, you probably don’t need it.

In many cases, your personal auto insurance will cover you while you’re in the rental car. And if your insurance doesn’t cover it, your credit card may come with member benefits that provide rental car insurance coverage.

For a rental car company, selling their own insurance is a great way to make extra money. After all, the coverage is expensive! Getting it can easily double your daily rate. Before you spend that kind of money, check your personal auto insurance policy and your credit cards – and see if you really need the extra coverage.

7. Fuel charge

Most companies allow you to return the rental car without refueling, but be warned, they will charge you for gas at a higher rate than can be found at the local gas station.  If you want to save some money, fuel up at the cheapest gas station that you can find along the way.