With the evolution and advance development of cars, everybody wants to own one, including teenagers. A close observation of the products of car producing companies would make you crave the feeling of sitting in an automated vehicle with the freedom to move about with it.
Sadly, not everyone can afford that choice vehicle, most especially, teenagers seeking to own a car. As a teenager, you are probably confused about the policies guiding car ownership and rental as you just clocked 18 or few years above 18.
Owning a car isn’t considered a crime neither is renting however, it is highly advisable to follow due process when seeking to rent or purchase a car before doing so in order to be free from troubles.
This article contains everything you need to know about owning and renting a car as well as answers to several questions regarding the topic, so stay glued to your screen as you enjoy the article.
Contents
Can an 18 year old drive a rental car?
In most part of the US and Canada , 18 years old aren’t allowed to rent a car. While only just few states in the US allows 18 year old to rent cars if they wish provided they meet the requirements of the company and the laws guiding cars in their country.
Take for instance in Florida, California,Massachusetts, Colorado,Montana,North Carolina, Miami,Nevada, Mississippi,Alaska,Idaho, Tennessee,Illinois,Texas, Delaware,Georgia,Indiana,Iowa, Kansas,Kentucky,West Virginia,Tennessee Connecticut,Vermont,Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., South Carolina you must be 21 while in Alabama you have to be 19 ; few States like Arizona, Arkansas, Utah,South Dakota,Oregon, Hawaii you have to be 18
Most countries are known to permit teenagers to own or rent cars provided they are above 18 years. However, it is highly advisable to the laws guiding automobiles in your country as well as acquiring the necessary license for car possession or rental in your country so as to evade troubles.
What country can you rent a car at 18?
Just few countries allow 18 years to rent a car and some of the few countries are:
- Croatia
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Morocco
- South Africa
- Sweden
- Thailand
Although laws in most countries permit teenagers to own or rent cars once they clock 18 years of age. Personally,
Nevertheless, some countries are considering moving up the age limit to 21 so as to ensure total safety of their citizens and they are as follows:
- America
- Australia
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Canary Islands,
- Cyprus,
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Greece
- India
- Ireland
- Israel
- Jamaica
- Malta
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Poland
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Spain
- UAE
- UK
- Zimbabwe
How old must you be to rent a car?
You should be between the age of 18 to 21 years old depending on the country you reside. You must be 18 or over 18 to be able to acquire a driving license. Since you can’t acquire a legal driving license without clocking 18,you definitely can’t rent a car except you wish to rent one illegally, hence, it is advisable to acquire a license before seeking to rent a car.
Can you pay cash for a rental car?
Yes! Only if the company involved permits their customers to pay with cash during a car hire. Some companies might permit interested persons to use cash while making payments for a hired vehicle however most companies only accept online payments for their products.
Obviously, it might sound weird to walk up to a car rental company with the intent of making cash payment after being granted a online payment option.
However, if you wish to hire a car for a while and you probably have your money in cash, you could use companies such as Thrifty, Budget, Alamo and AVIS as they offer physical payment option to individuals who wish to hire cars from them.
Another alternative to this is by looking for someone else so as to utilize their credit cards for payments and refund them in cash.
Can I Afterpay car hire?
Yes you can, many folks don’t seem to believe the concept of paying for hired cars after usage without knowing that some companies act as third party payments for their customers.
Companies such as Afterpay offers such services to their customers. Afterpay is a third party company that permits it customers to hire car with the agreement of paying after using the car. Individuals interested in hiring cars without having to pay for them immediately can utilize Afterpay packages by registering with them alongside JUCY and proceed to hiring any car of their choice.
The company equally permits its customers to pay in instalments even after weeks the car has been hired , if you seek such services, you can actually utilize that of Afterpay.
What happens if you crash a rental car?
Now, this is a very sensitive question. Does it sound like you would walk freely after crashing a hired vehicle? No! When you hire a car and accidentally crash the car, you are expected to contact the rental company and inform them of the incident after which you will be contacting your insurance company to see to the damages which is why it is highly advisable to align with an insurance company.
If the company rental policies actually covers unexpected damages, then you are probably going to walk freely, however, should the case be otherwise and you didn’t align with any insurance company, you’ll definitely see to the damages.
How can you rent a car at 18 in the US?
By meeting up with the legal requirements of car rental, you are free to rent any car in most state in the us only if you are 21,only few states like Arizona, Arkansas, Utah,South Dakota,Oregon, Hawaii etc permits an 18 year old to rent a car . You could look up companies such as Hertz, Thrifty, SIXT and Enterprise which are located in the US. These companies also permit their customers to make bookings online and offline provided the customer meets their requirements.
Can an 18 year old rent a car in the UK?
No! An 18 year old is not privileged to patronize any car rental company in the UK. There are restrictions based on the type of car you wish yo rent. But provided the required license has been acquired and you are up to 21 years of age you can rent a car in UK.
Can I rent a car in Europe at 18?
Countries such as Finland, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland only allows 19 years old to rent a car while Croatia, France, Germany, Italy requires you to be 18 while countries like Belgium, Denmark, Poland, UK, Spain, Greece, Czech Republic set the minimum age limit at 21. However, you should look up your country laws before concluding.
Does Europcar have an upper age limit?
No there is no upper age limit,
Europocar permits teenagers above 18 to rent cars provided they provide their license upon request for verification. However, drivers under 25 are charged for young driving.
Can you have a car in France at 18?
Yes you can. France permits teenagers above 18 to own cars.
Can you rent a car in Spain at 18?
No you can’t . You can rent a car in Spain provided you are above 21. Individuals seeking to rent buses or bigger vehicles are expected to be above 21.
How can I rent a car?
The process seems so clear and concise, it can’t be considered difficult as most folks do think. Renting a car is viewed as a demanding task as most people are usually scared of renting faulty and overpriced cars, however, the Internet has made things easier for most people.
For teenagers or people who don’t own cars and wish to rent one, you could look up companies who offer car rental services within your vicinity and conduct a brief research about them. However, before seeking to rent a car, you should ensure you do acquire the required license as well as an insurance coverage (highly advisable).
After looking up your favorite car rental company, you can proceed to inspection by checking out the vehicle specifications, price and policies and compare them with your budget.
You should equally read their terms and policies as this would assist in making things easier for you. You can make reservations through the website or by contacting them via their company phone no.
After making a reservation, you should proceed to making payments before going to pick up your vehicle. If you wish to execute such process offline, you can visit the nearest car rental company close to you and do your thing. However, you should study their terms and policies before leaving the company.
Final Words
Renting a car wouldn’t be a bad idea since you obviously need it to move about. However, you should also seek the relevant documents when trying to rent and car so as to avoid troubles. The article is enriched with enough information to guide you so always look up to the guidelines pointed out above.
References
https://www.rentallsoftware.com/blog/minimum-age-to-rent-a-car-in-each-country/
https://www.wikihow.com/Rent-a-Car
https://www.rentalcars.com/en/guides/rental-problems/accident-in-rental-car/