Most young drivers (under the age of
twenty one) and new drivers (who have recently passed their driving test) in
the United Kingdom find is super complicated and almost impossible to hire a
car. Most of the car hire companies in the United Kingdom have a standard age
limit of 22 years or 23 years depending on the company policies and the type of
vehicle the young or new driver wants to rent. Though it is indeed possible to
rent a car but most young and new drivers have to spend a lot of time finding
who will rent the car to them and they also eventually end up spending a lot
more than normal drivers.
This blog we endeavor to give you
information, helpful tips, and also guide you with anything and everything that
you should know as a young or new driver looking to rent a car or hire a car if
you are under the age of twenty one. We give you unbiased information as well
as recommendations and helpful tips along with DO’s and DONT’s of hiring as a
young or new driver.
Avoid the BIG
NAMES:
The first thing that most people do
while hiring or renting a vehicle is to go for the BIG BRANDS. While we
appreciate that the biggies are better known and trusted because of the money
they spend on advertising and marketing, they may not always be the best
companies to hire a vehicle as a young or new driver. Most of these biggies
would have set policies and standards and have no room for adjustments in their
policies. Especially because any of the branches you visit would have a STAFF
and not an OWNER who can understand your requirements and tailor-make a car
hire for you. You get this luxury only with Independent Rentals like Yes Car
Hire (www.yescarrentals.co.uk) for
example who can accommodate you to ensure that you don’t have to go running
around with unnecessary documentation for a simple car hire.
Why Independent
Rentals?
The chances and probabilities of a
successful car hire or vehicle renting for drivers under the age of 21 or
drivers who have recently acquired their driving license is much hire with
Small to Medium, Independent Car Rental Companies. You stand a higher chance of
renting a car or vehicle if you visit a small, independent care hire and car
renting service provider. Like I wrote above, the smaller the company, the more
flexible their policies and rules. This doesn’t mean that they go lenient with
the drivers, but only means that because in most cases you would always find
the business owner available, the chances of him deciding to allow a hire or
car renting is much higher than when visiting the big organisations.
Advanced
Booking or On-The-Spot Booking?
This is an interesting question and
we had to carry out a mock survey to see the results. What we found out was
Amazing!
Also, Instead of booking your car
hire online or in advance, it is better to personally visit the car hire
company you think may be able to rent you the vehicle. You may find that many a
times independent rental companies end up offering you old cars because by
allowing you to rent or hire an old car, they will eventually be a lot less
concerned about any damage to the vehicle. In fact there are a few car hire
companies in the United Kingdom that specialise only in Old Vehicle hire and
allow under 21s and newly passed drivers to hire these older vehicles. In some
countries, like Australia for example, there are quite a lot of companies doing
this business of renting older vehicles to new and young drivers.
You may also find that a lot of times these older cars may be linked with limited
mileage allowance and other terms and conditions in the car hire policy to be
able to successfully allow you to rent these cars.
Young Driver Surcharge
– WHAT and WHY?
A young driver surcharge is an
additional cost you may have to pay for being under the age of 21 while renting
the car or for having acquired a license quite recently.
The logic behind Young Driver
Surcharge is very simple. Young and inexperienced driving means more risk. More
risks mean more insurance costs. More insurance costs mean a higher renting
cost for you. For the simple reason that rental companies look at young and new
drivers as a higher risk than normal experienced drivers, they may add an additional
cost to your bill (called the young driver surcharge) on top of the basic
rental charges.
Mostly if you book your cars online,
there may not be any mention of the surcharge because of the simple reason that
most websites are not equipped to handle that. But thanks to the team at Yes
Car Rentals, which foresighted this as a problem and allow you to calculate the
prices online by calculating your age and also the time when you passed the
license.
What you pay in surcharge varies from
one Car Hire Company to another, but on an average, you should expect to pay anything
between £20 to £40 as Young Drivers Surcharge.
Younger Drivers
means a lot tighter rules and strict policies.
Almost all of the companies that
allow young driver renting have much tighter hiring rules and a lot stricter
policies as compared to a normal standard driver over their standard age limit
for car hire. Some of the things you should consider before hiring a car or
renting a vehicle are:
Do you have endorsements on your
Driving License?
If you have any endorsements,
penalties or stamps against your Driving License, you may, along with paying a
young drivers surcharge, end up paying an additional fee for these
endorsements.
Are you using your own credit or
debit card?
In most of the cases, young drivers
use someone else’s credit or debit card to secure the deposit and pay for the
car hire fees. I that is the case with you, you are better off taking that person
along with you when picking up the car, simply to avoid any denial. In most
cases, the car hire company will require the card holder or the person who is
paying for the rental to be present at the time of picking the vehicle from the
car hire location.
Insurance Excess
In most cases your insurance access
to cover you during the period of the hire will be higher than standard drivers
who are over the age limit and also experienced.
Who shall you
hire from?
There are a few companies out there.
Yes Car Rentals (www.yescarrentals.co.uk) for
example, is one of the most recommended car hire and vehicle renting providers
in the United Kingdom that rents cars and vans to young and new drivers aged
seventeen years and above
Yes Car Rentals Service for Young and
New Drivers has been around since 2009 and currently operate from their London
Office. Their full address is Location Yes Car Rentals, Vanguard Business
Centre, UB6 8AA, United Kingdom and they can be contacted during office hours
on 02085757777. They are a highly recommended company and are a popular name
amongst young drivers and newly passed drivers, especially university students,
graduates and other international drivers. With a good customer fan following
and an easy to use website, Yes Car Rentals offers car hire and van hire
services to new and young drivers for the best prices in London.
If you are a young or new driver under
21 you will have to pay a young driver surcharge which generally depends on the kind of vehicle you want
to hire. Even if it looks like the rental expense has increased because of the surcharge
(which generally makes the hiring look expensive), Yes car Rentals are still a
lot cheaper than many other Young Car Hire Companies. They are much very
upfront about their Charges and make sure that you do not end up being
surprised with hidden charges of other expenses not agreed upon when you go to
collect the vehicle. Their prices generally include the following but you
should check with them before booking as this depends on a lot of factors like
your age, date and time of booking, type of vehicle you want to book and so on.
- · Young driver surcharge.
- · Vehicle registration fee.
- · Local tax.
- · Damage cover (not including excess).
- · Unlimited mileage.
- · Theft protection.
Helpful Tips if
you are thinking of hiring a car or van as a young driver.
·
Remember, there are a lot more
chances of you being allowed to hire a car or a van if you rent a car as a
walk-in customer rather than an online customer. This is simply because if you
book your car or van hire online, you are not actually interacting with anyone,
whereas in a walk-in scenario you can explain your situation and if all goes
well, you may be allowed to hire the
car, which the online system of most websites would not allow you do when
booking online.
·
If you are thinking of hiring a car,
try hiring it from a tourist location or the main holiday location. The reason
is simple, there are far more companies located around and competing with each
other. This means you would have a lot of companies that may be more willing
for business than the others which are strict towards young and new drivers.
·
As mentioned above, the smaller a rental
company the more likely the chances of you being allowed to rent their
vehicles. Compared to the big ones. Independent car hire businesses are usually
a lot more flexible in their policies, prices and rules and regulations against
young drivers.
·
There are also some web portals that
compare the various car hire prices and availability. You can try these
websites to see approximately how much you would be paying so you have an idea
of your costs and then you can add up the surcharges to calculate your cost of
hiring as a young driver.
·
You may want to call it a compromise,
but Young Drivers and New Drivers are often only able to rent or hire old
vehicles, small vehicles and amongst the cheapest cars that are available.
Reason is simple, the more expensive a car, the more latest a model, the higher
the insurance costs and risk associated with it. Just ask yourself, would you
give your Newly Purchased Laptop to a toddler to mess around with? NO is the
answer.
·
Make it a habit to read the terms and
conditions carefully especially the small print before you agree to any
charges, surcharges, costs and expenses associated with your car hire. There
are several companies out there that would take advantage of your ignorance and
may want to charge you a higher rate.
·
There are times when you may end up
paying a 3rd Party Insurance cost. You should ideally check with the
car rental company what the insurance provided covers you for. If you are
already driving a car and are insured for 3rd party cover, and are
allowed to drive rented cars and vehicles, you may be able to reduce your cost
of renting by letting the rental company know that you are already covered for
3rd Party Covers.
·
Almost all car hire and van hire
companies will ask you to pay a deposit. This is normally taken on a debit or
credit card, but some rare cases, you may even be asked for cash. This is
highly unlikely, but to be on the safer side, it is wise to carry some case, or
have a cash machine on your mind close to the renal location.
·
Also remember to have the card in
your name and if not, have the person with you when you go to pick up the
vehicle. Simply because everyone wants to avoid frauds, companies may wish to
take authorisation from the card holder.
·
In a few cases, we have seen that some
car and van hire companies allow another person to be added as an additional
driver on the vehicle. This means that if they cannot directly give you the
car, they may allow a parent, friend or colleague to hire or rent the car and
then add your name as an additional driver who is an under-age driver. This may
at times involve an extra cost.
On Yes Car Rentals website, you can
instantly see all the vehicles (including cars and vans) available along with
the cost of renting that vehicle. When looking for a quote online, and searching
for a vehicle you will be asked to enter your age, date on which you passed the
driving test and also your date of birth. You would then be displayed with all
the available options online and you can choose from whichever vehicle you wish
to hire.
Being a new
driver vs being a young driver
New Drivers:
Good News: You just passed your
driving test!
Bad News: You still won’t be able to
easily hire a car in the United Kingdom..
Young Drivers:
Good News: There are companies like
Yes Car Rentals that will let you hire a car with ease!
Bad News: You still will have to pay
additional surcharges and extras for the hire for being an under 21 driver.
Unfortunately, you cannot blame the
car hire companies for being reluctant to rent cars to younger and less
experienced drivers. If you have a car of your own and have only just passed
your test, you surely know that the insurance costs are punitive, and car hire
companies are subject to these costs too. The reason for surcharges is usually
to cover the additional cost of insuring younger drivers.
UNDER 25?
Hiring a car if you are under 25
or and over 21. Spending hours ringing around different car hire companies can
be tedious, especially if they have strict age policies of 25 and over.
When you book a Car Rental/Hire
online these prices include your rate of insurance, your young/new driver
surcharge therefore when you collect the vehicle there are NO hidden insurance
charges NO hidden rental extras.
Depending on how old you are companies
like Yes Car Rentals can arrange car hire for you, if you would like to find
out more information on which Vehicle you would be eligible for please contact
Yes Car rentals reservation department and they would be able to go through the
different cars we have available. They have a huge array of cars for Vauxhall
Insignia, Ford Focus, Audi A1, BMW one Series 120D ,118i, Smart Car, Ford
Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa, Audi A4, BMW 320D and many more. Their mission is to
make the hire of Cars and Vans simple and accessible to everyone.
They also offer an impressive range of products to make your Car hire journey even more pleasurable.
These include:
·
In-car stereo systems
·
Portable Sat Nav systems
·
High visibility clothing
·
Children Car Seats
Some Commonly
Asked Questions About Hiring as a Young or New Driver
I am 23 as of today would I be able to hire a
car?
Yes, so long as you meet the driving standard requirements
and have a valid UK licence, you should be able to hire a car.
I have an international driving license, would
I be able to hire a car?
The answer to this is yes however you need to have a FULL
UK licence for a year prior to hiring
I am 21 as of today would I be able to hire a
car?
Yes, you can hire from companies like Yes Car Rentals as a
young driver.
Can I Hire A Car With No Young Driver Surcharge
and No Additional Fees?
Yes, The surcharges depend on your age and driving
experience. If you qualify as a normal hirer, you should be able to hire a car
or a van or any other vehicle for that matter without the young driver
surcharge or any additional fee.
As A Young Driver How Long Do You Need To Of
Held Your Licence Before Hiring?
It really varies on how flexible the car rental company
is, but you would mostly need to hold your Full UK Driving licence for at least
a year to be able to hire a car from most car rental companies in the United
Kingdom.
Just Passed My Test Can I Hire A Car?
With most companies you will need to wait until you have
been driving 12 months. However, thanks to Yes Car Rentals, you would be able
to hire a car or van as a new driver. There may be some additional charges, but
hiring is possible.
I Have Points on my license and I am A Young
Driver. Would I be able to Hire?
This varies case to case. A lot of it depends on your age,
number of points you have, any endorsements against driving, and what these
points or endorsements are for?
The sad news is in most cases, you would be rejected by
the popular car hire companies or be asked for hefty deposits and surcharges.
But you can try some independent car rental companies like Yes Car Rentals and
depending on your case and eligibility, you may just be able to hire a car with
them.
Does It Cost More To Rent A Car If You’re
Under 25?
Yes. Normally the cost of hiring a car or a van or any
other vehicle for that matter would be higher than those who are over the age
of 25. Most companies would have a young driver surcharge and hence the cost of
hiring as an under 25 will in most cases be higher.
Is There Any Discounts For Under 25 Young
Drivers?
Never heard of, but worth asking if you are going to pick
up your vehicle as a walk-in customer. You never know, you may end up with a
seasonal offer or a discount. There is no harm in asking! Go for it!
Any van hire companies that rent vans to 21
year olds in London
You may try Yes Car Rentals. From all we know, they are
the most flexible car and van hire companies in London for young and new
drivers.
Summary:
It’s not that difficult as it appears if you have done
your homework and go with a reliable (and most probably independent) car hire
company. It may cost you a bit more than normal drivers, but again, you pay for
the luxury of being able to hire at an age, that is normally considered high
risk driving age.
About Yes Car
Rentals:
Address: Unit 1, Station Approach, Old Field
Lane UB6 0AL, United Kingdom
Website: http://www.yescarrentals.co.uk
About the Author:
V1 Technologies is an independent website design, mobile
app development and online marketing company that publishes blogs and articles
for information purposes and for the benefit of internet readers.
Please visit our website for more details: http://www.v1technologies.co.uk
