How to Avoid the Young Driver Fee on Car Rentals (and get a cool car too)

A lot of people wonder how they can rent a car if they are under 25 years old. Many car rental agencies charge as much as $25 per day if you are under 25, and you might ask yourself “how can I avoid this fee”?  You already hold your own insurance, or your travel credit card might have rental car insurance, so why do you need to pay this extra young driver rental fee?

Luckily, not all car rental agencies are the same. Rather than paying $25 a day if you are under 25, you can rent a car through Turo, where the ‘young driver fee’ is almost completely avoided and you only pay a few dollars per day (relative to the price of the car).  Usually, this fee is about 10% of the daily rental cost – meaning that on a $50 car rental, you would only be paying a reasonable $5 per day ‘young driver fee’ compared to the $25 fee, per day, charged by traditional agencies.  Even with Turo’s fee, you still get a great value on the total cost of your rental (I’ve seen reasonable cars as low as $25/day). And better yet – if you haven’t booked with Turo before, you can use this link to get $25 off of your first booking.

And, that isn’t even the best part about getting a low cost rental. The true best part is that you can browse and shop for the exact car that you want to rent. Going to Hawaii and want an open-roof Jeep? They’ve got that. Going to California and want a convertible? They’ve got that too. Finally, driving in the winter out west? You can be sure to find something that not only has 4-wheel drive, but also snow tires and chains, too.  You may even be considering renting a luxury car for a special event such as a birthday or wedding – for usually just a few hundred dollars per day, you could rent the car of your dreams.

I really like Turo not just for that reason, but the overall value in general. These are some of the great deals that I have gotten on Turo rentals:

• VW Jetta GLI (sports car) in Tampa, Florida, for $29/day
• Alfa Romeo Giulia in Los Angeles for $64/day
• Hyundai Veloster Turbo (sports coupe) in Tampa Florida for $24/day
• Full size minivan for car camping in Arizona for $49/day (where we car camped)
• Porsche Cayman in Orlando, Florida for $130 a day (this was one of those ‘treat yo’self’ weekends)

Unlike typical car rental agencies, these daily prices are actually what you will end up paying – not nearly double once you go to checkout.  And finally, you get to choose the car you will actually get when you get there.

And finally, for those of you who want to know how to rent a car with a manual transmission – look no further. Turo is the only remaining main-stream car rental company that lets you row your own, and they even have a filter to look for cars you can rent that only have a manual transmission.  Manual transmissions are becoming more of a rarity these days, and Turo offers a great way to experience driving in its purest form (without having to deal with that pesky sports car maintenance down the line).

Turo is not without its faults though, since prices and services are determined and delivered by ordinary people, and not a business. Here’s some things to watch out for after the experience of a few Turo rentals:

• Hosts (the car owner) can cancel at any point before the rental. Be sure to establish communication prior to renting
• You can be liable for any damage to the vehicle – be sure to take pictures of the car when you receive the keys to avoid paying for any prior damage
• Your credit card might not provide the same coverage that it would for a rental from a traditional rental agency (Enterprise, National, Budget, Etc.)

There is no better way to rent a car if you are under age 25 and are a safe driver.  Click here to visit Turo.com and get $25 off of your first rental.

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