Companies rent to most people over the age of 25 as long as they meet the other conditions of the rental company. These conditions usually include possession of a credit card, although some companies will rent with a cash deposit, and a picture ID such as a driver's license. Some companies may require two forms of ID. In some foreign countries, people over a certain age may not be able to rent a car so if you are traveling abroad and you are over 65 check to make sure you can rent a car at your destination.
Some companies rent to this group providing they meet the primary requirements and meet additional underage requirements. Many companies will not allow them to rent luxury or sports cars. Companies also impose a daily underage surcharge. This charge ranges from $5 to $30 per day or more.
Very few companies rent cars to the 18-20 age group. The ones that do impose even more conditions on these drivers. In addition to all other conditions, companies require these drivers to have their own full coverage insurance policy, which covers the rental car. In addition, the daily underage surcharge may be higher for these drivers.
If one is in the military many companies will make an exception to their underage rule. The person must use his military ID to satisfy the ID requirement. Another exception to the rule is corporate rentals. Some car rental companies have agreements to rent cars to a company. If the company employs workers under age 25, the rental company may make an exception to the underage rule providing the company rents the car for the worker and signs the car out under the corporate name. In some cases, the rental company will waive the underage fee but this is on a case-by-case basis and even varies from location to location within the same rental company.
Shop around for a rental car company if you are under the age of 25. BreezeNet.com (see Resources below) has compiled a list of cities that have rental companies that offer rental cars to underage drivers for less. Look for smaller local car rental companies since they do not have corporate rules to follow. Check different locations of the same company in the same city since the rules and fees may be different.
