Car rentals in the U.S.
 

I need to rent a car so that I can get around in Maine. However, I got into some accidents in the first half of last year, and unfortunately, every single company counts those accidents against you, regardless of whether they were your fault or not. Are there any companies that have less stringent requirements on eligibility to rent?

Really? All I have ever had to do was show a valid drivers license and give a credit card for payment.

I've never had to report accidents either. That sounds strange.

Here in the US, Budget, Alamo, and Dollar usually have some of the cheapest rates.

I was looking on these companies' websites, and they were saying that you could be denied eligibility if you have a certain number of accidents/tickets on your driving record. And they look at your 2 year driving history.

I seriously doubt they actually pay to check the driving record of every person who rents a car. Just book your rental...I bet you'll be fine.

Do you think they may check it since I am 22 years old, and therefore in a "higher risk" category?

You will have to pay more since you are only 22. That should be your only penalty.

Thank you for all of your information.

Our local newsradio station just had a segment about rental car agencies checking your driving record in advance, and denying you a rental based on your record.

http://www.wtop.com/?sid=802823&nid=97

Unfortunately, they didn't give a list of the companies that were less stringent about past accidents.

How in the world can they check your record when the only information transmitted in most car bookings made through a web based or traditional agency is your name?
There is other information passed back and forth but not traveler information.
I can see how they could check on you if they had some concrete indentity information... but just a name?

Being only 22, you may find not that you have to pay more to rent, but that you simply can't rent. I believe one or two of the larger companies will rent to you, but many won't until you are 25 years old.

Are you coming from outside the US? I think there may be more stringent requirements of driving record for non-US citizens, or at least I think I've read that somewhere.

TxTravelPro:
I think the problem occurs when you show up at the rental office. You're correct - too little information is given when booking online for them to run a driving record check (they certainly couldn't run one on me, I have a pretty common name). But, once you show up to actually pick up the car and provide your drivers license, they search your record, and then you're denied. Which would be awful, because then you'd be at the rental agency high and dry.

22 and with a checkered driving record? This is going to be tough.

The good news is that most rental companies will rent to people if they are at least 21-- however, there is usually an extra $20-$25 a day fee. I am a resident of the U.S., by the way.
Of course by the time I would go there, it will have been over a year since any kind of accident/ticket occurred. I wish companies only went back one year and not two.

You're right - they check at the time you give them your lic. And they usually won;t deny just for one or 2 fender benders - esp if they're not your fault. But more than one serious accident - esp if involving DUI - will prevent you from renting at most places - and being under 25 makes it even worse.

Have you considered taking a safe driver course from AAA to try to better your insurance rates/lic standing?

Fortunately I have no DUI's on my record! But I can't change the fact that there are a few tickets on my record that I got last year.

My driving record has been 100% clean for this year, so I wonder if they would even take that into account.

"I think there may be more stringent requirements of driving record for non-US citizens"

- How on earth would they get access to a non-US citizen's record if he or she didn't volunteer the information? No doubt a government agency such as Immigration could request a criminal record check under a bilateral agreement, but a rental company?

I don't know how, but it's certainly not a criminal record check. I read it somewhere, either here or on another site, where someone had difficulty renting from another country after a check of their driving record. Maybe it was a straight-up lie, I don't know. Just passing on what I read as something to consider if the situation fit (which it doesn't).