Car Insurance

Based on the commonly held belief that people in their early 20s are more prone to risky behavior while driving, many car rental companies have restricted renting cars to people under the age of 25 for years.

But with increased competition in the car rental market forcing companies to re-evaluate many long-held assumptions, some car rental companies are relaxing their rules to allow drivers under 25 years old to rent vehicles.

Unfortunately, to many young renters, this comes at a cost.

During a four-day vacation with three friends to Miami, Eugene Minkin, 23, rented a vehicle from Alamo Rent A Car. Minkin was informed of a $30-per-person, per-day fee that he had to pay due to the fact that he and his passengers were all under 25. In addition, he had to purchase insurance and pay the usual four-day rental rate. The total for the rental came to over $650.

Despite the high cost, Minkin felt fortunate to be able to rent a car, where in recent years such transactions would not have been possible.

However, for some companies, renting vehicles to drivers under 25 is not a new development. For instance, at most of its rental branches, Rent-A-Wreck has welcomed young drivers for years.

“By the early ’90s most of our locations were renting to drivers under 25 years of age,” said Jason Manelli, director of public relations for Rent-A-Wreck. “We now consider ourselves to be the experts on rentals to younger drivers, with many of our locations even renting to drivers 18 to 21 years old.”

When most of us think of car rentals we imagine a transaction that extends across days or even weeks. Recently, a new model of car renting, popular in Europe for many years, has come onto the North American scene. It’s called car sharing. Car sharing allows for use of a car for generally short periods, sometimes as little as a half hour.

Advocates of car sharing point to many benefits including:
• Reduced car traffic as car sharers would generally walk or bike to get about reserving car use for occasions that are not conducive to walking or biking.
• Environmental benefits that come with having fewer cars on the road.
• Increased support of public transportation systems.
• Less dependence on gasoline.
• Convenience- the system runs as efficiently as most car rental services.
• Variety – drive a blue Volvo today and a green bug next week.
• Health benefits resulting from higher levels of physical activity.
• Annual Savings

Car sharing fees include costs associated with maintenance, fuel and insurance. If you drive only occasionally, this presents significant savings over costs that would be incurred with car ownership. Families with two cars may consider selling one to save money and or hassle, and using a car sharing plan when the need arises. The idea seems particularly intriguing with the run away gas prices we have faced at the pumps recently.

It has been long said that Americans have an intense love affair with their cars. Consequently, it has been somewhat challenging for clean air campaigns to win over long time converts willing to abandon their cars in mass numbers. Even with rising gas prices it has been difficult to predict the tipping point that will produce a significant change in car driving patterns. Car sharing just might provide the happy medium that pleases both camps. Sharing offers many of the benefits of ownership and none of the hassles.

The travel experts all tell you to reserve your rental car before you set out on your trip but, whilst that’s not so vital as it used to be, it’s probably well worth considering.

Your agent’s primary motivation in offering this advice was likely related to commission. It is a good idea to book ahead, but you are likely to get best rates going it alone. A significant proportion of car rental bookings are made via the Internet. There are a number of services such as Expedia, Orbitz or Priceline that offer substantial discounts on car rental rates. That does the travel agent no favors - he gets no commission and generally, either the airline company or the booking portal you’ve chosen realizes any monetary benefit.

When you book ahead you almost always get a better deal. Done on line, a car rental booking is a hands free operation. Company costs are relatively small and the savings are passed along to you, the consumer. Even the credit or debit card transaction is done electronically so there’s no cost involved there either. It costs the company next to nothing to process an online rental and in fact, they may be working from a pool of set aside arrangements made with car rental companies, which makes the transaction even easier. Often there’ll be an upgrade automatically applied but you may well get that anyway when the class of vehicle you booked turns out to be unavailable when you land.

The best way to make sure you don’t share the savings with an air carrier or a booking network is to go direct to a general site such as one listed above or the web sites of car rental operators. All the major brands have on-line booking facilities on their sites and most of them offer reduced rates for pre-bookings.

It’s worth doing some surfing - unless of course, you belong to a loyalty program – to find the best rates and deals. If you leave arranging your rental car until you disembark, you’ll walk down the row of rental company booths and, within a few bucks, all the prices will be the same. That’s not the case when you book on line - they’re all different and, more to the point, they all have different ways of working out the extras. It’s worth making sure you know exactly what you’re going to be charged for - does the fee include CDW, mileage, a tank full gas etc.? CDW? If you’re not used to renting cars, you need to be a little careful. Quite often there’ll be bits of jargon you don’t understand and if for example there is a mileage charge, you need to take that into account. At even 5c a mile, a big charge can suddenly show up on your card statement if you don’t watch out for it.

A free upgrade is a nice thing to be had. You get a more comfortable car but there is a downside. Gas isn’t as cheap as it used to be and a premium 4 door vehicle uses a lot more of it than does a subcompact – those extra dollars will come from your travel budget.

Are you bored with the humdrum? Rusty with routine? What you need is an adventure.

If you’ve been dreaming of a getaway or want to join the other 98 million adults in the U.S. who have taken adventure vacations in the last five years, it
doesn’t have to cost you the price of a motorcycle.

Now you can rent a Harley-Davidson motorcycle alone or as part of a custom adventure vacation package. EagleRider, for example, has helped more than 120,000 adventure-seekers enjoy their dream vacations.

The company offers rentals, self-drive Hotel and Harley Tours, and professionally guided tours through the U.S., Mexico, Spain and France.

Founded in 1992, EagleRider is a leader in the field with franchises worldwide, including rental offices and as part of in-store dealerships. In fact, EagleRider expects to expand with 100 more rental and tour outlets within the next three years in major cities and at tourist sites such as national parks and historic trails.

The company recently opened a 22,000-square-foot facility in Denver, where motorcyclists can get help with hotel accommodations, complimentary airport limo service, tickets to sporting events and area attractions, maps, itinerary planning and more.

Historically, Harley-Davidson and other motorcycle manufacturers have focused exclusively on sales, but these firms are expanding their thinking to embrace motorcycle rentals as well.

The Internet is a great way to locate potential car rental deals because it offers unmatched research capabilities. The Internet also stimulates friendly competition among rental companies and you, the consumer, often come out the winner.

One way that you can search for a good deal on the Internet is to look at the various rental car company websites. Often, the rental car companies will have web-only specials where you can find current specials listed on their website. Keep in mind that you may have to reserve your rental car online in order to take advantage of the rental car company’s special offer. Other restrictions may apply as well. However, this is a great avenue to pursue when trying to find a discounted car rental.

Another way to utilize the Internet and find a good deal is to search for package deals where rental car prices are deeply discounted. There a number of trustworthy travel websites that offer special packages which include airline tickets, lodging and a rental car for one price. The cost of this package will likely offer a significant price reduction when compared to the cost of purchasing each of these items separately. A note of caution with regard to these types of packages is that you need to read the fine print carefully as blackout dates and other restrictions may apply. You should also understand any policies related to cancellations, refunds or changes.