Car Rental Tips - Age Restrictions

You will encounter an age limit at every car rental company. The age restriction can vary between eighteen and twenty-five, but is usually twenty-five. Some companies will provide some early twentysomethings an opportunity to rent, but will charge an extra fee to those who are younger. If you are government or military personnel, you may be exempt from the age limit. However, the rental vehicle must be used for business purposes. A similar exemption may apply if you are a corporate employee who has an agreement with the rental company, and are using the rental car for business purposes. Conversely, it is also possible for some car rental companies to have an upper age limit.
Do you think your only rental options are with big companies? You do have choices! You can decide to use one of the larger car rental companies (such as Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz and National) or you can choose to rent from a locally-owned and operated Independent Car Rental Company.
Independent Car Rental companies are much more flexible than large corporate international chains (such as Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz and National). The rules are made in-house by independent business people who have a vested interest in making your rental happen. There are so many rules in the car rental industry. With the big companies, the rules are set by a committee. These rules are then enforced by counter agents who have no real input in the operational policies. If you have a request that is outside the “rules”, an independent agency can make the decision to “break” the rules to accomodate your needs. With the major players, their counter agents are given no flexibility.