Is there a legal minimum car renting age in California, or is it just a preference of many rental businesses to only rent to those over 21 as I’ve observed? If it’s the latter, does anyone know of any renting agencies that will rent a car to an 18 year old?
The minimum age for renting a car is set by the rental car agencies I believe.
You really have to look hard to find one that will rent to anyone under the age of 25. The big problem is insurance. Car insurane for people under 25 is very high.
I had an accident when I was 24. My next premiums weren’t due until I turned 25 however.
My rates went DOWN.
I was under the impression that ages are set by the rental companies. Very few of them will let anybody under 25 rent, and I doubt that any go under 21. Sorry…
I used to work for a car rental company. Our office was a franchise and we owned our own fleet of cars. We insured our own fleet, and like any insurance coverage our rates would go way up if we filed many of claims. The insurance companies would have charged the rental company much higher rates if the cars were to be routinely rented to younger drivers.That’s why rental companies generally won’t rent to anyone under 25 or 21 depending on your region. The main company often sets a policy that all franchisees will follow and most of the different companies have the same policies. These restrictions exist to keep expenses down. It is unlikely any of them would rent to an 18 year old under any circumstances, but it can’t hurt to call and ask. I’m not familiar with California specifically and there may be a reason you would qualify for a rental. We occasionally rented to younger drivers if the rental was to replace a vehicle being serviced (with the repair facility assuming responsiblity for the rental) or if a parent rented the vehicle we would sometimes allow an 18 year old to be an additional driver. Usually management approval was needed for these types of exceptions.
Couldn’t you just pass the extra cost onto the consumer. Charge the under 25 crowd to the hilt.
My roommate went to California and being 19 years old, he was able to rent a car. I don’t know which company he used or what it cost, but I do know that was able to do it.
I think that Enterprise is one of the few companies that will rent to 18 year-olds. You might give them a try.