TRAVEL inevitably involves surprises — good and bad — but the ones that come up at the car rental counter usually fall into the second category. Clearer pricing on the Internet has helped address surcharge sticker shock (now you're more likely to learn about these fees in advance), but there are still some surprises you might encounter if you don't scrutinize the fine print.
Age Restrictions. You must be at least 23 years old to rent a Hertz vehicle. The minimum age requirement varies depending on the vehicle and pick-up location. A young driver surcharge will apply, as a general rule, for drivers who are 23-25 years old. See Age Restrictions for more information. Hertz Rental Car - Additional Drivers Policy. Whether you're embarking on a lengthy journey, or just want to take turns driving, Hertz gives you the option to add additional drivers to your rental. So grab a friend, relax and enjoy the ride. You can now add as many drivers as there are seats in your rental car.
AGE RESTRICTIONS
If you're between the ages of 25 and 70, you can skip ahead to the next section, since car rental companies have no problem letting you drive. But if you're outside that age range, your birth date may cause problems when you try to rent a car.
That probably doesn't come as a surprise to younger drivers, since many companies have long refused to rent to anyone under 25. But there's actually good news on that front: Avis, Budget and Hertz have all lowered their minimum driving age to 21 since last summer, while Dollar, Enterprise and Thrifty have had that policy for a while.
Now for the bad news: most companies still charge an extra daily fee for renters age 21 to 24 — typically about $25 a day, though, depending on the company and location, it can be much higher. For instance, New York and Michigan both have state laws requiring companies to rent to anyone 18 and older, but in New York, the under-25 surcharge can be more than $100 a day.
That said, these age-based fees can vary quite a bit, and some agencies waive them if you're renting through a corporate account, so it's worth shopping around. Also, don't assume the same rules apply overseas, since many United States companies have lower age limits in other countries.
Continue reading the main storyIf you're traveling abroad, that's when upper age limits might come as a surprise. Although generally not an issue if you're renting in the United States, many American and foreign car rental companies do have maximum-age rules abroad, generally, because of local insurance policies. There's no consistency about what age suddenly puts you in the passenger seat, but if you've celebrated your 70th birthday, it's an issue you should ask about — and don't count on the rental agency to bring it up.
'We wouldn't in a normal script or process ask the customer their age,' said Charles Pulley, a spokesman for Vanguard Car Rental, which operates Alamo and National. 'There are cues that might raise it, but the onus is on the driver to find out if they're qualified.'
Most agencies post information about age restrictions on their Web sites, but you often have to click around to find it. Countries where upper age limits can be an issue include Ireland, Italy, Israel, Britain, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Egypt and Morocco, but that's not an exhaustive list, and policies can vary by company. For instance, Alamo's maximum age for renters in Ireland is 74, and for Hertz it's 75, but Enterprise doesn't have maximum age limits in Ireland — or in any other country.
You may find more flexible age restrictions with an independent agency, which you can find listed in guidebooks (also a good source of advice about age cut-offs) or a Web site called CarRentalExpress.com.
BACKGROUND CHECKS
Another surprise you may discover at the rental counter is that many companies now check your driving record before giving you the keys to a car. You might not find out this is happening when you hand over your driver's license, but most agencies disclose it somewhere on their Web site. (When I rented a car from Thrifty in Michigan last summer, I had to sign a form acknowledging I had been told about this policy.)
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Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz and Thrifty all check their customers' driving records through Department of Motor Vehicles databases — at least some of the time.
'I'm not sure that it's done every single time, but enough that it warrants being included in our policies,' said Jason Logan, a spokesman for Dollar and Thrifty. Among the major car rental companies, Enterprise is an exception to this trend. 'We do not run a D.M.V. check on drivers,' said Christy Conrad, an Enterprise spokeswoman. 'We inspect the driver's license to check that it's 'facially valid.' '
Neil Abrams, president of the Abrams Consulting Group, which works with the car rental industry, said that some companies began doing these checks more than a decade ago, and that over time the technology linking Department of Motor Vehicles records has improved — and gotten more affordable. Even so, he questioned whether companies check every customer for every rental. 'There are 100 million rental transactions a year in the industry, domestically,' Mr. Abrams said. 'That's a lot of driver's licenses that have to be validated.'
Most companies list on their Web site reasons they might reject a customer based on his or her driving record, which include things like operating a vehicle without a license, driving under the influence of alcohol (D.U.I.), driving while intoxicated (D.W.I.), or being involved in two or more accidents in the past 36 months. (A friend found out his driver's license had been suspended — for unpaid parking tickets — when he tried to pick up a rental car, even before the D.M.V. notice arrived.)
If you've had any convictions for driving violations within the last three years, you can check whether your record might prevent you from renting a car by calling a company that provides this service to the car rental industry, TML (800-388-9099). TML charges $9.95 to run a driver background check, though some states do not allow this, including California and Pennsylvania.
ADDITIONAL DRIVERS
If you're planning to have more than one person drive a rental car, it may come as a surprise to find out that most companies charge $8 to $12 extra per day for each additional driver. Usually, anyone driving a rental car has to show a valid driver's license (and sometimes a credit card), and may also be subject to a background check.
But here's a tip about how you can avoid that extra fee the next time you plan to share the driving when renting a car. Some companies, including Avis, Budget and Enterprise, waive this fee if the additional driver is your spouse or domestic partner; Alamo, Hertz and National do as well, if you join their frequent-renter program.
But Avis and Budget have the most flexible policies, waiving the fee if the additional driver (regardless of sex) is the renter's 'spouse, mate, life companion, significant other' or domestic life partner. If you're renting a car for a week, that savings can help you defray another source of sticker shock that is tougher to avoid these days: high gas prices when you fill up.