As the modern philosophers Blink-182 once so sagely put it, nobody likes you when you’re 23. Especially not rental car companies, who, if they’ll even rent a car to a person under 25, charge young driver fees that often double the normal rate. Particularly pleasant during a time when you’re making the least money of your career. It’s not completely baseless—statistically, drivers under 25 are far more likely to have accidents than more experienced drivers. But it’s still a pain.
So which car rental companies will rent to you if you’re under 25? And are there ways around the astronomical under-25 surcharges? Here’s a quick primer.
Who rents cars to drivers under 25?##
The good news is most rental car companies will rent cars to drivers under 25. This includes all the big ones you see at the airport, as well as lesser-known ones like U-Save, Silvercar, and the car-sharing service Turo. Most have a lower age limit of 21; Hertz just lowered its minimum age to 20. Fox has a lower limit of 19, while E-Z and Zipcar rent cars if you’re over 18.
The bad news, of course, is that they’ll charge you extra. The fees vary wildly, so if you want to comparison shop, read through each company’s terms and conditions to see how much each one charges. Most are around $25, though Sixt has some as little as $9.99. Really the only companies that don’t charge an under-25 fee are alternative rental companies like Silvercar, Zipcar and Getaround, which take some effort to find, since they’re typically not on the airport.
How can I avoid the under-25 fee?##
Though young driver fees are as much a part of your twenties as calling in sick with “food poisoning,” they’re are not completely unavoidable. If you work for a company (or know someone who works for a company) with a corporate rental code, use that, even if you’re not traveling for work. Typically, the company’s agreement with the rental car agency stipulates no young driver fee, so it’ll be waived.
If you’re a government employee traveling for work, or military on orders, most companies waive the young driver fee as well.
Finally, if you’re traveling with someone over 25, that person can rent the car and add you as an additional driver, which some companies do not charge extra for, though that’s not universally true, so be sure to check before you book.
Although it might cost you extra, you can certainly rent a car if you’re under 25. Just make sure you budget in around $25 per day more than the quoted rate, cue up some Blink-182, and crank it up with the windows down when you roll out of the parking lot.