More Rental Car Rant
Friday, October 12th, 2007I had my first experience renting a car last week when I was on vacation. I always assumed that since I was under 25, I could not rent a car in my name, so I never tried and I never really needed one on a vacation. I needed one for my last vacation and since my traveling companion, who is 26, did not have a major credit card, I stupidly assumed we would be okay. I would use my credit card to book the car and they could drive - seemed like a simple solution. And, to be honest, I am not too keen on driving in unfamiliar areas anyway, so I was just as happy not to drive.
We realized as soon as we approached the first counter that this process was not going to be so simple (I know - we should have booked the car before we left, but blame it on naivete). We literally walked up and down the rental car counters, stopping at each one, looking for the best deal - one that was around the $100-$150 that the internet had calculated for us prior to our departure. But, alas, we found nothing near that number range - why? Because, as the one with the credit card, the car had to be in my name and since I was under 25, we were getting charged with a daily underage fee. We decided to go with L&M because they offered the most affordable weekly rate and the most reasonable daily fee - $20.00 underage fee. Some of the companies - I won’t name names - charged as high as $35.00 daily. As you can see, the fees were continuing to mount. Not to mention, the airport taxes in Florida - 26%!!
We drove out of the airport in our gray Nissan Versa - so new it still had temporary tags. The car drove well and the gas mileage was great. But, to echo Fran Gallagher’s sentiments, remember to fill up that tank! Car rental companies are charging about $5.99 per gallon, doubling the price of a gallon of gas here in Pennsylvania.
I did learn some lessons from my first rental car experience - plan ahead and I will probably wait till I’m 25 before I rent again. I could think of better ways to spend that $160.00 underage fee!
-Kimberly Krol, circulation and public relations executive
