Under 25 Car Rental Tips

Renting a car can be difficult and expensive if you are under 25. For those age 21 to 25, renting a car involves paying a daily surchage that can add as much as $100 per day to your rental fees, but at least you can usually find a rental company. If you're age 18-20, it's very difficult to find a rental car company - you usually are forced to pay a large daily fee and rent from a small local company (the exception is car rentals in Michigan and New York. Laws in those states require agencies to rent to drivers age 18 and up.) If you are under 18 and trying to find a rental car, forget about it. We couldn't find a single company offering rental cars to those under 18.

Budget Car Rental

Age 21-24: Allowed at most Budget corporate locations with a $27/day surcharge (at a minimum). Those under 25 can't rent luxury cars, mini vans, 12-passenger vans, specialty vehicles, full-size SUVs or premium SUVs.
Age 18-20: Allowed in New York with a $52/day surcharge, or in Michigan with a $41/day surcharge. Not valid in other locations.

At some Budget locations you must be 25 to rent a car, it's best to check the underage requirements for the city where are you picking up a rental.

Alamo Car Rental

The primary renter at Alamo must be 25 years of age. Renters under age 25 may be charged higher rates.

Age 21-24: Allowed at most Alamo rental locations with a $10/day surcharge (at a minimum).
Age 18-20: Allowed in New York with a $70/day surcharge, or in Michigan with a $28/day surcharge. Not allowed in other locations.

Alamo's booking engine allows you to enter your age so you can see upfront what the fees are in your particular city.

Enterprise Car Rental

Age 21-24: Allowed at all Enterprise rental locations with a minimum $20/day Young Driver fee.
Age 18-20: Allowed in New York and Michigan with an expensive Young Driver fee ($50 and up). Not allowed in other locations.

The Enterprise booking engine allows you to enter your age so you can see upfront what the fees are in your particular city.

Hertz Car Rental

Age 20-24: Allowed at all Hertz locations with a minimum $15/day Age Differential Charge. The minimum age for the Prestige Collection and a few Fun Collection vehicles is 25.
Age 18-20: Allowed in New York and Michigan with an expensive Age Differential Charge ($40 and up). Not allowed in other locations.

To see the specific details for your pickup location, visit the Hertz site, enter your location, then click on "Age Restrictions and Exceptions".

National Car Rental

Age 21-24: Allowed at all National locations with a minimum $10/day underage daily fee.
Age 18-20: Allowed in New York and Michigan with an expensive underage daily fee ($28 and up). Not allowed in other locations.

National's booking engine allows you to enter your age so you can see upfront what the fees are in your particular city.

Avis Car Rental

Age 21-24: Allowed at most Avis locations with a minimum $27/day underage fee. Renters between the ages of 21-24 can not rent cars in the following categories: Luxury, Specialty, Minivans, Passenger Vans, Full-size SUVs and Premium SUVs.
Age 18-20: Allowed in New York and Michigan with an expensive underage fee ($41 and up). Not allowed in other locations.

You can't specify an underage renter in the Avis booking engine, so you should either call to find out the specific charge, or get ready for a surprise when you go to pick up the vehicle!

Thrifty Car Rental

Age 21-24: Allowed at most Thrifty locations with a minimum $25/day underage fee. Renters must be over 25 to rent Premium, Luxury, Convertible, Passenger Vans, or SUVs.
Age 18-20: Allowed in New York and Michigan with an expensive underage fee ($40 and up). Not allowed in other locations.

The Terms & Conditions for your rental specify the underage driver fees you will be required to pay.

Dollar Car Rental

Age 21-24: Allowed at most Dollar locations with a minimum $28/day surcharge.
Age 18-20: Allowed in New York and Michigan with a minimum $48/day surcharge. Not allowed in other locations.

The Local Policy Information is displayed online for your booking, and that specifies the underage driver fees you will be required to pay.

The bottom line is that if you're between the ages of 21 and 24, you can rent a car almost anywhere, but it can be quite expensive. $25/day in an underage driver surcharge gets expensive quickly. Plus, since the car rental companies show you their fees differently (if they show you at all), it's difficult to compare fees. You really need to compare fees and surcharges to find your best rates.

What if you're under age 21? That's a lot more difficult. If you are renting in Michigan or New York state, you're in luck because the law requires agencies to rent to drivers age 18 and up. But surcharges can be as high as $100/day. That puts a one-week rental at close to $1000! What about if you're under age 21 and you want to rent somewhere else? There are some options. Rent-A-Wreck has over 400 locations in the U.S. and internationally, and they claim that they require renters to be over 18 years of age. All Rent-A-Wreck locations are franchises, however, so be sure to call to verify your rental if you are underage. Other local companies might have more lenient rental policies than the national companies, so be sure to call around (and check the Better Business Bureau and Yelp before you make your decision!)