Tips For Young Drivers Hiring A Car

Young people with a passion for travel often dream about fun road trips with friends, but these dreams may not always become a reality. Unfortunately, for new drivers, hiring cars can be extremely expensive.

But fear not! If driving off into the horizon with your best pals for the trip of a lifetime is on your agenda, don’t give up your dream. Do your research and you’ll be sure to find a company that won’t penalise you too much because of your age. You should also consider splitting the cost between everyone in your group. After all, it won’t just be the driver making use of the car.

Here are a few key facts to give you a better understanding of how to save if you are considering hiring a vehicle for the first time as a young driver. Take heed of the last point, in particular. Investing in car hire excess insurance is vitally important.

The Basics

Companies vary massively when it comes to rules about age limits. Many won’t let you rent a vehicle if you are under 25, but others are happy to have drivers of just 18 years old rent their cars. This might seem unfair to you; after all, you have your license and have worked hard to pass your test, so why don’t you have the same rights as anyone else with a licence? Simply put, you are considered more of a risk as you have had less experience on the road, and unfortunately the statistics are not on your side. It is well-known that more road accidents involve drivers younger than 25.

Despite this, if you search hard enough you’re sure to find a company willing to offer you a rental agreement. Make sure you check with the company what documents they require from you before you turn up to collect your car.

Additional Costs

Hiring a car for the first time can be vey exciting and sometimes a little daunting. Drivers under a specific age might incur an add-on cost that could range from around £30-£40 a day. Make sure you know about these fees before you book to avoid a nasty shock at the end of your trip.

If there is a group of you travelling and you are planning to share the driving, you need to be aware that there may be an added fee for including other drivers on the policy. If you are trying to make your car hire as inexpensive as possible, choose just one driver.

More and more companies are insisting that a credit card be used to pay the security deposit. The credit card must in the name of the policyholder. This is worth knowing as lots of young people don’t use a credit card and organising one can take time. If you need to apply for one, do it well in advance of your trip.

Saving Where Possible

There is no denying that renting a vehicle is expensive and unfortunately more so for the younger driver. By being aware of all the potential hidden costs, however, you are off to a great start when it comes to keeping costs to a minimum.

The best way to protect yourself from unexpected costs is to take out car hire excess insurance from an independent company. Rental companies offer a basic policy that covers very little, and often charge premium amounts for extra, more comprehensive insurance. Choosing to insure with a company not linked to the rental firm gives you peace of mind that should an incident occur, you won’t be subjected to hefty bills. These companies aim to cover all the little things that rentals seem to overlook.

Get yourself covered with car hire excess insurance and take on board the other information in this article and your road trip will be as stress free as possible. Happy Hiring!

Author Plate

Sam Walker is a specialist insurance expert at LowerHire, a company that offers low-cost single trip and annual multi-trip car hire excess insurance policies. Travellers can rest easy knowing they will be fully protected against any hidden hire car costs and look forward to a stress-free rental experience.