Where can an 18 year old rent a car? (rentals, insurance, vehicle)

[timeofseasons]

Where can an 18 year old rent a car?

I will be going to college this fall ( 2010) and the closest school I've applied to is an hour away, others varying as much as 12 hours. During school breaks I will need to have transportation to commute, looked at flying ( very expensive), grayhound ( expensive but also a commute two times more than it should be), amtrack ( expensive, and wouldn't be a option for all of the schools I've applied to).

With the price of some of these transportations I did notice renting a car would be quicker, and as much if not cheaper. Though the major problem I find with this is where are 18 year olds allowed to rent a car?

(Looked into Rent A Wreck but was notified that not all locations have the same age requirement)

Thanks

[rosecitywanderer]

Most places require you to be at least 21 although some Enterprise places do under 21 drivers for an extra fee. It's not universal, though...call ahead to make sure.

Just asking but don't you have a car of your own?

[las vegas drunk]

You have to be at least 21 to rent a car, and even then the surcharges are excessive. The best option would to buy a cheap car that you can pay for in cash.

[GTOlover]

yeah pretty much anywhere you need to be 21 and have a credit card maybe find a beater and throw the min amount of insurance on it that would be your best bet.

[Nativechief]

Every college has a place for people to post a need for rides. You could find another student going that way and share gas cost.

[Pirateclosingon40]

As others have said, it's going to be pretty tough to find a company that will rent to anyone under 21; all the major companies I'm aware of have a minimum age of 21, with a surcharge for anyone under 25.

That being said, depending on where you are located, there may be some smaller rental agencies that are local mom-and-pop type places that may be more leinient. I'm in south Florida, and I know of at least one used car lot in my town that rents out their cars as a side business.

Two other hurdles to consider:

1. In some cases, rentals are restricted to the same state, or contiguous states, which could be an issue with a school 12 hours away.

2. Almost all rental companies require a credit card in the name of the person renting the car, and many will not accept a debit card. Be aware that the rental company is going to put a hold on your card for an amount greater than the cost of the rental, usually between $300 and $500. I'm speculating here, but I wouldn't be surprised if they imposed a much higher hold on younger drivers.

Are you looking at schools in major cities ( NYC, LA, Chicago, etc.) or less populated areas?

- Paul

[M3 Mitch]

Since you mention Amtrak I guess you are in the Northeast somewhere? If you are not a True Car Guy to the bone, you won't be able to find and fix an older cheap car that's worth fixing, particularly in rust country. Without such Jedi knowledge, tools, and a place to work, any car will take up too much of your time/attention/money while you are in school - a decent car will cost too much outright, the cheap ones will always be in the shop. Been there, done that. I'm assuming too that you are not a Car Guy, or you would have already solved your own problem.

Honestly how much is Greyhound? The old grey dog usually is a decent transportation deal for the buck.

Flying a one-hour drive makes no sense, with the cost, the TSA, the long wait to get on the plane, plus people have to meet you at the airport - while flying is the way to go coast-to-coast, anything less than 200 miles it makes no sense.

As posted before, look into sharing a ride with someone who has a car. Offer to pay for more than half the gas - maybe even pay for all the gas - they are covering the other expenses...

If they have ZipCar where you will go to school, that might be an option to have an occasional car.

[MSPLove]

Originally Posted by timeofseasons

Where can an 18 year old rent a car?

I will be going to college this fall ( 2010) and the closest school I've applied to is an hour away, others varying as much as 12 hours. During school breaks I will need to have transportation to commute, looked at flying ( very expensive), grayhound ( expensive but also a commute two times more than it should be), amtrack ( expensive, and wouldn't be a option for all of the schools I've applied to).

With the price of some of these transportations I did notice renting a car would be quicker, and as much if not cheaper. Though the major problem I find with this is where are 18 year olds allowed to rent a car?

(Looked into Rent A Wreck but was notified that not all locations have the same age requirement)

Thanks

I worked at Alamo-National for a year.
From what I can remember.... You have to be 21. And anyone under the age of 25 is charged a daily "Young Renter's Fee." That was $25.00. Daily. So if you have a car for a week, that really adds up, in addition to the standard rental cost. And we couldn't rent anything above a full-size car to anyone under 25. That means no SUVs, no trucks.

And I have to be honest and admit, I think it's a good policy. I saw enough stupidity from those young drivers to know they often don't have the maturity. I don't remember any specific incidents, but I remember a few general problems. Fender-benders and such.

That is just Alamo-National though. You could check other places to see if they rent to people under 21. It's easy to feel slighted, but I look back at myself at age 18, and I wouldn't have rented a $30,000 vehicle to me at that age either.

[Redraven]

Doesn't Greyhound still have the Ameripass, or something like it? That is, where you buy an open-ended ticket that is good for a certain number od weeks or miles or some such? If you could buy one ticket every six months, or whatever the limitations are, that might be an economical option.
Call them and see what is available

[guy1]

You say that taking the bus or train is a "waste of time." I beg to differ. You can read, sleep, relax, eat a meal, study, prep for your interviews, while taking the bus or train. All of which are illegal or impractical while driving. Think of the benefits of commuting with someone else at the helm.

Sometimes people make a solution into an obstacle. I don't know why. Let your car-centrism go.