PJ

Hi! We have leased autos in Europe and found it to be a great value for a longer stay. Does anyone know if this is possible in the US for a reasonable cost? My parents will be in Florida for 2 months this winter. We do not want them to drive, and so we would like to rent or lease a vehicle for them to use throughout their stay. Does anyone have suggestions? Is there an age limit for rental or lease? They are 72 and 78 years of age. Thanks for any advice. PJ

gail

I am really confused - you do not want them to drive, but you want to rent or lease a vehicle for them to use. I thought I had it figured out that you wanted car with driver, but then you threw in the part about upper age limits - please clarify.

Sam

I think that PJ meant that (s)he didn't want the old folks to drive TO Florida from wherever they might be now.

AFAIK, leases per se in the US are normally for a much longer term, so you should contact a car-rental agency and discuss long-term rental. Rather than calling a car dealer and discussing a relatively short-term lease.

geezer

There is no age limit to rent or lease a vehicle in the US. To deny a rental or lease based on age is against the law. As long as they have valid drivers licenses and the ability to pay, they're eligible.

bryan

PJ, please ignore Geezers post, he/she is absolutely wrong. There is no law against a rental company denying someone use of their cars, and they can do it based on age.

As far as I know, no rental companies have policies against drivers being too old, but many companies in many states, including Florida, won't allow drivers, even those with valid licenses, under the age of 25. Obviously this is not an issue with your parents.

I don't know about short term leases, maybe some companies do that, but generally, leasing in the US means for years, not 2 months. You should call the usual suspects and get more info on what they can offer for 2 months. (alamo, budget, dollar, hertz)

geezer

I didn't think I needed to spell out that age discrimination refers to old age, not young, since you mentioned elderly parents. Bryan is either dense or misinformed: Federal law prohibits businesses from denying service based on age, sex, race, national origin or religion. The under-25 rule is about insurance restrictions.

Again, Bryan is clueless on this one. In the US, it is illegal to deny service based on the (old) age of a person.

butting in

Geezer: excuse me for butting in, but what federal law are you referring to?

butting in

Geezer?

geezer

The Civil Rights Act.

Apart from the law, if you think about this in a practical sense, you'll see there's no way a car rental co. would deny a rental to a person based on old age.

Imagine if a 70-year-old with a valid credit card and driver's license walked up to a Hertz counter, and the clerk said, "Sorry, we can't rent to you because you're too old." Hertz would be in business for about 10 minutes more before the roof caved in.

Or, ask any banker whether they can deny a 30-year mortgage to a 70-year-old. No way. (I know, because my 70-year-old father-in-law just got a 30-year mortgage.) As long as the person is otherwise qualified, age cannot be used to deny the mortgage.

C'mon. This should be a no-brainer.

butting in

Geezer - by your reasoning, wouldn't laws that forbid persons under the age of 25 from renting cars also be violative of the Civil Rights Act?

Even if it is in response to insurance rules, a 24 year old professional with a credit card and a valid driver's license cannot rent a car simply because he/she isn't 25. If the Civil Rights Act forbids the denial of services based on age, then these rules would be impermissible.

I suppose that Hertz's (by way of example) reasoning is that the insurance companies make it too expensive to rent to <25 because of a higher rate of accidents. But what's stopping these companies from making the same argument for >65, 70, 75?

Melissa

Actually, you can rent a car if you're under 25, there is just an additional service charge/day. I know, because, although I am now 25, I have rented cars for the last 4 years (mostly thrhough Enterprise).

butting in

Melissa - It is possible that the rules have changed. I know that I was not permitted to rent a car when I vacationed in Florida because I was underage (I was 22 at the time). That was quite a few years ago.