poll: should under 21's be allowed to rent cars?

[zimu]

Isn't it so annoying how you can get your license at 16, get a car at that age, qualify for insurance, but not be allowed to rent a car till you're 21? I mean you can rent huge trucks for moving but you can't rent a car... Is that just wrong? Any of you go through this frustrating point in your lives when you needed a car, but can't rent one?

 

[RaoulDuke]

I thought you had to be 25 to rent cars?

 

[zimu]

<< I thought you had to be 25 to rent cars? >>



thats an interesting point- many car rental places demand 25, which is MORE annoying, but there are few (enterprise, for eg) that allow under 25, (21-25) for a &quot;small additional fee&quot; in some places.

 

[venk]

I belive that you can have a person over 21 rent a car and then have a anyone with a license drive it

 

[RaoulDuke]

I'm pretty sure it has to do with liability and insurance. First of all someone 16 has pretty much no record what so-ever, insurance or police. Second i think it'd be ok for 18 year olds to rent it but with a much higher deposit. All the places i've been to require you to be 25, but i don't doubt you're right about the 21 thing. I think it's fair to require you to be at least 21 if not 25 to rent a car.

 

[zimu]

<< I belive that you can have a person over 21 rent a car and then have a anyone with a license drive it >>



thats what i've done... but it IS illegal, i know that as a fact.
anyone know where you can rent cars at 18?

 

[kranky]

Not so, venk, you have to read the rental agreement. In fact I was just driving a rented car today for work, and they had to get special permission for any of us on the trip to be allowed to drive the car - even though all of us are over 25 and licensed.

And from thinking back to the threads posted in the past by youthful drivers and what they gleefully said they did when driving rented cars, I think anyone would be nuts to rent to a teenager.

 

[nateholtrop]

umm i rent cars all the time i am 19....

nate

 

[zimu]

<< And from thinking back to the threads posted in the past by youthful drivers and what they gleefully said they did when driving rented cars, I think anyone would be nuts to rent to a teenager. >>



i know some adults who do the same thing

 

[zimu]

<< umm i rent cars all the time i am 19....

nate >>



FROM WHERE?!?!?! what company?

 

[Raspewtin]

hey if they pay the insurance, why not?

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

<< should under 21's be allowed to rent cars? >>

Maybe or maybe not, but over 21 yes, without a doubt. The places around here require you to be 25 unless there's some sort of emergency.

 

[zimu]

now THAT must suck...
i thought 21 was bad enough

 

[Pretender]

under 18 I can see, contracts aren't legally binding. But under 21? That's just needless bull!#$%. Under 25? That's just more crap.

BTW, can anyone who actually knows law confirm that driving a rented car under 21 is illegal, or is it just against the contract (and probably subject to a fee)?

 

[kranky]

I don't know how it could be illegal. It may be a violation of the rental contract, and it would be a good idea to see what the contract says about the consequences.

zimu, you are right, no doubt there are adults who abuse rentals also. I just don't know of any who came here and posted about it.

 

[zimu]

its against the contract for sure, as you are supposed to register all &quot;Additional drivers&quot; so if you crash, you are not insured, which in turn makes it illegal as all cars have to have atleast 3rd party insurance or somethign like that... so it is illegal, you'd get in trouble by the cops, not by the rental agency (althoguh you'd have to pay for their car and they'd give you lots of crap about insurance.)

 

[AaronP]

if I was a business, and I wanted to make money and not pay through the arse insurance, I sure as hell wouldn't let anyone under 25 rent a car.

 

[Dually]

Its due to state laws actually not the car rentals. New York is the only people to allow people 18 and up to rent cars but its more expensive for the 18 to 25 range due to increased insurance cost.

 

[Anghang]

most places I've been you can rent if your under 25, but have to pay additional...
speaking from the money angle, i say 18 yr olds should be allowed to rent but with a larger fee for liabilities...from a safety perspective, i say 18 yr olds shouldn't be able to rent until they're 21...yes i know there are may responsible 18-21 yr old drivers out there, but there are even more reckless/careless drivers with the &quot;i'm the best driver i know all and am invincible&quot; attitude...

 

[jimmygates]

I'm in San Jose and most places here require you to be 25 to rent a vehicle. I'm 20 and own an 1999 Acura 3.2TL. What pisses me off is when I go do service I can't get a loan car. I'm forced to either a) stay and twidle my thumbs or b) have someone else pick me up. The Acura service rep says it's the Law or something. I don't know but it really pisses me off when I have to go service my car.



-jimbo

 

[Viperoni]

I just voted.

 

[kaiotes]

i thought there was a poll in this thread?
since they already charge extra for 21+ why not just tack on more for 18-21
since there is already insurance fees we paid etc.
nate, wanna share the name of company.

 

[zimu]

naaaaaaate!
we need you!!
he's probably from NY... where you claim you can rent a car at 18...

 

[pulpp]

if you already got your own car, have insurance and good driving record, i dont see why not rent to under 21

 

[Pretender]

I don't think you can rent a car before 21 in NYC. The one place my family rented from recently said under 21's cant even drive the car. I drove it anyway, but supposedly wasn't supposed to.