Summer is dwindling, my friends, but I managed to sneak a summer vacation in under the wire. Ohio and Indiana, where I visited friends and family, were my destinations earlier this month..
The little vacation was full of fun new experiences at sprawling museums 
, quaint caverns , and in my first vacation car rental! Admittedly, I was probably most excited about the car.
Remember how the cost of my insurance dropped when I turned 25? Once I crossed that mark, insurance companies deemed me a less risky driver.
The same age barrier generally applies to car rentals. If you're under 25, you usually incur a surcharge in addition to the daily rental fee. There are even some companies that won't allow renters under 25 years old.
If you're thinking about renting a car and may be dealing with a surcharge, it's important to look for ways to save in other areas of your rental. Let's face it: Even if you're not dealing with a surcharge, everyone is looking for a bargain these days, right?
Here are some money lessons learned from my first official car rental:
- Research, plan and book in advance. With multiple companies offering car rental service, you should always comparison shop. Search online to price your vehicle options. If you are able to book in advance, do so to make your life a bit easier when you get to your destination.
- Decide what's really important. Several days before my flight I altered my car rental reservation. Initially, a GPS sounded really appealing. But after careful consideration and multiple search and prints from MapQuest, I chose to go without. Saving on that cost made the upgrade to a vehicle with cruise control less painful – could you imagine six hours on the Interstate 70 without cruise control? No, thank you.
- Find any possible discounts. Dig around for online coupon codes and possible discounts before you rent. By checking some discounts available through work, I managed to get a 15% discount on my rental. And you know I love a good discount.
- Skip the coverage if you can. Before renting, double check your insurance policy and find out if you're covered in a rented vehicle. If you are, consider forgoing the coverage offered by the rental company. Be sure you understand how your coverage differs from the coverage offered by the rental company before you opt out of additional coverage.
- Fill it up. Make sure you have time to replenish your rental's gasoline before you return the vehicle. Otherwise, you'll pay a premium price for the rental company to refill the emptied tank. And I say make sure you have time because sometimes you miss the exit to the airport, are forced to take a long detour to get back, and then can't find a gas station anywhere near the airport. It could happen. I'm just sayin'.
Does anyone have a car rental experience or advice to share?
My parents refuse to co-sign my loan, and I don't have anyone else to do it. Is there anything I can do to still get a loan?
Hey Anonymous –Have you exhausted all your scholarships, grants and federal student loan options? If you’ve done that and still need a private loan with a co-signer to cover your costs, you may find a post I wrote a bit ago helpful. Check it out here: http://blog.wellsfargo.com/StudentLoanDown/2009/08/the_cosigner_conundrum.html.