traveler24

plan to rent car in Burbank. I am "much" older than 25 (but under 75) . I hate LA traffic. I would like my Granddaughter, who lives in area, is 22yrs. old and perfect driving record, to do some of the driving. She will be flying with me into Burbank..
i did check several web sites-- Avis--requires 25 yrs., :Enterprise--same..National-no info..
Today being Sat. --Customer service dept. are closed..
I could just wait until Monday but would like to get reservations done...
You know how that is....

PaulRabe

What the car rental companies are trying to prevent is exactly what you are trying to do -- have an older adult "rent" the car but with the intent of a person under 25 doing the driving, and thus avoid the huge surcharge involved for car rentals by people that age. Her driving record is irrelevant to the company -- they have examined the potential for loss against the potential for profit, and concluded that age must be the main factor. They may conclude to forbid it altogether, or to simply charge a huge additional fee for this. It is not illegal for these companies to reach that conclusion, as age is not a protected class in car rentals.

You might want to focus on companies that specialize in rentals to people her age (good luck in finding one in Southern California that doesn't charge at least an arm!) or just do all the driving yourself. Neither choice is palatable, I know, but you may not have any other choices.

illnative

Does she happen to have a "corporate" type job? Lots of large corporations get waivers for their young, just out of college, associates who are renting cars - see if she can rent the car if that is the case. If not, you may have a problem...

happytrailstoyou

Budget, Dollar, and Enterprise rent to drivers over 21 in most locations. Perhaps Burbank is an exception. Drivers under 25 are also often restricted from luxury models.

Ace, which has an outlet in Burbank, also sometimes rents to drivers under 25: http://www.acerentacar.com/faq.aspx?id=7

HTTY

gail

An analogy - in most places if you are buying regular car insurance for your own car, the rate is set by the age and driving record of the most expensive regular driver of that vehicle. This is the same thing rental car companies are doing - so that is why, in my opinion, they require the primary driver to be listed as the under age driver.

soccerose

Funny you mention insurance - I ran into a catch-22 with my insurance policy. My daughter's car was totaled and I had a provision for rental car on the policy (she was primary driver on the car) - but she wasn't allowed to drive the rental because she was under 21.

nytraveler

Well, her car being totaled is probably part of the reason for that.

The incidence of accidents involving new drivers is truly astoundong - so you can hardly blame the insurance or car rental agencies.