[dturano547]

Hi,

Im looking into some car rental options and found some great rates. The problem is some companies have a hevty charge for each day you rent the car if you are under 25. Im 23 and will be going down to Disney for my 24 b-day, still not making me 25.

Does anybody know which companies charge extra and which ones dont.

I cant really get a answer off most car rental sites. There are only a few that let you know up front. I would hate to think im locked into a rate and then get down there and find last minute I get hit with a $25/day charge becasue of my age. I figured I would kick it around here before calling them direct.

Thank you.

[Cosmicwaves]

I'm not positive, but I think Enterprise is pretty reasonable with their "under 25 fee."

[mickaholic4077]

Call all the car rental companies and ask them up front if they have an additional fee for a driver under the age of 25. If they won't tell you,hang up and try another firm.

[Dana]

Once you are locked in to a rate, how exactly can they justify charging you more? I honestly don't think they can especially if these charges aren't clearly stated on their website. I found some great deals on Hotwire.com last Fall. Try going there and booking through them. If when you get there they try to add charges because of age (and it wasn't advertised) scream for a manager.

[Cosmicwaves]

One more thing...When you book online, they normally ask if you are over 25 or not. So, I would assume they work it into the rate up front, not when you pick up the car.

[Dana]

Originally Posted by Cosmicwaves

One more thing...When you book online, they normally ask if you are over 25 or not. So, I would assume they work it into the rate up front, not when you pick up the car.

That's what I would think. I didn't understand how they would charge you after the fact...doesn't make sense to me at all.

[E&B's Mom]

We used to have au pairs when the kids were younger, and we had one that rented a car a couple of times during the year (she was only 23). Now, it was 7 years ago, but as I remember we did a huge search and did not find one rental car company that did not have a surcharge. It is a standard practice with rental car companies.

[dznygrl]

Originally Posted by Cosmicwaves

I'm not positive, but I think Enterprise is pretty reasonable with their "under 25 fee."

Yes, I was going to suggest Enterprise. They only charge $10 per day for under-25 drivers. It is the most reasonable surcharge I have been able to find. Almost every other company charges $20+ per day.

Note though that Enterprise airport locations are FAR cheaper than their random city locations, so if you can rent from an airport it will probably save you a lot of money!

Be sure to contact a company directly if you are booking online. I tried to secure a car rental through a company in Orlando (I believe it was called Eagle?), but even after my reservation was made I felt very concerned...it had never mentioned an under-25 surcharge, and that made me nervous! I was afraid I was going to show up to pick up my car and my bill was going to be sky-high! So I e-mailed the company president directly and explained the situation. He thanked me for noticing that his website did NOT factor in under-25 surcharges, and gave me a very large discount on my reservation for bringing it up. We didn't end up going on the trip but...I was still glad I did it.

[dturano547]

Thank you for all your responces. I will definatly look into enterprise. My main concern is I would feel much safer getting the insurance plans they offer, godforbid anything did happen. But factoring in both insurance and 25 and under fee I might have to cancel out the insurance to make it cost effective.

Maybe if I call them direct and eplain my issue and that I would look to add the insurance whcih they always like I can work a deal to suit my needs.

Once again thank you.

[dznygrl]

Originally Posted by dturano547

Thank you for all your responces. I will definatly look into enterprise. My main concern is I would feel much safer getting the insurance plans they offer, godforbid anything did happen. But factoring in both insurance and 25 and under fee I might have to cancel out the insurance to make it cost effective.

Maybe if I call them direct and eplain my issue and that I would look to add the insurance whcih they always like I can work a deal to suit my needs.

Once again thank you.

I thought about this too, how tough it is to have to pay the insurance AND the under 25 fee. It really makes renting a car expensive.

But even though it may cost more, I definitely recommend getting the insurance. My father did it when we came to Disneyland a long time ago, and heaven forbid....we had an accident that wasn't even our fault! (We were sitting at a traffic stop in Beverly Hills and a motorcyclist decided to swing between cars...he swiped off our mirror! ) Without the insurance, the company...I won't mention which...was going to charge us absolutely ASTRONOMICAL amounts of money. You'd think the transmission had gone out, not just a mirror getting swiped. The insurance really saved our butts!

[E&B's Mom]

Originally Posted by dturano547

Thank you for all your responces. I will definatly look into enterprise. My main concern is I would feel much safer getting the insurance plans they offer, godforbid anything did happen. But factoring in both insurance and 25 and under fee I might have to cancel out the insurance to make it cost effective.

Maybe if I call them direct and eplain my issue and that I would look to add the insurance whcih they always like I can work a deal to suit my needs.

Once again thank you.

Call your credit card company and see how you are covered under them. Every credit card I have ever had covers the insurance free of charge if the rental is paid using that credit card.

[rlcarmichael]

Couple of ideas...

National/Alamo have location on site. You can rent at airport then drop in onsite (the auto place by MK) and pick up another for the days you really need it instead of paying extra $$$$ to have a car sitting in the parking lot. (You really don't need car much.)

Another alternative...arrive in style...get a limo for the round trip. QuickSilver (link on home page here) can actually be cheaper in the long run.

[dturano547]

im going to call my credit card company and see what they say about the insurance, i neverer thought about that, sweet.

Also im considering getting the car becasue i would lke to be able to get back and fourth to the different resorts for dinner. I have heard some mixed review about getting to and from each resort with the transfering.

Other than being hot the last week of august what are the crowds like? I hear they slow down a bit that time.

[rlcarmichael]

Crowds will start to settle down some but you can still expect ALOT of people.

The WDW transportation system is great, and free. Getting to and from resorts is generally about the same as going park to park - pretty easy. Between monorail, buses, boats, etc it is easy, and actually parking is somewhat limited at the different resorts. If you don't have ADR at a resort and you aren't staying there you can't park there generally.

If you are staying at one of the WDW resorts, you can also catch the Magical Express to and from the airport for FREE (through the end of 2006 I believe).

[E&B's Mom]

We were there once at the end of August and I don't remember waiting more that 15 minutes in any lines. But the again, we don't do any of the thrill rides.