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Adding second driver to car rental

R

riverside

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
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Location
Indian River Michigan
I'm curious about paying to add a second driver to a rental car agreement. As long as you are not taking their insurance, why do they care or would they know? If you were stopped by the police would this be considered the same as a stolen car since your name is not on the paperwork? A friend and I were discussing rental cars and we were wondering the answer. Thanks to anyone who knows!
 
riverside said:
I'm curious about paying to add a second driver to a rental car agreement. As long as you are not taking their insurance, why do they care or would they know? If you were stopped by the police would this be considered the same as a stolen car since your name is not on the paperwork? A friend and I were discussing rental cars and we were wondering the answer. Thanks to anyone who knows!
Click to expand...

1) They care because they want more money from you! :D

2) "would they know?" --- No (in most cases)... but I have no idea of the hassles if the "other" person damages the car and a police report is written.

3) "same as stolen car"? Geeez, I hope not! Seems consent from the responsible party (renter) is what would be important. If I loan my car to a friend, the friend is not on any "paperwork".

Just my thoughts....
 
Just a tip I found out this year.

If you book with Costco.com the rental includes a 2nd driver at no charge. I booked a rental last summer for this February 20 to March 6 and the rental is through Alamo. They usually charge 9.95 a day for extra driver, but my comfirmation reads extra driver included.
 
Yes the rental companies do that to make extra money but if you put a second driver in the car and there is an accident, the police report will name the driver and your insurance company will be involved. If your second driver is not properly covered under your policy, and even if they are, your insurance company could refuse to pay the claim because that second person wasn't listed on the rental policy as an allowed driver even if the accident wasn't your drivers fault . If your insurance company refuses the claim the car rental company could come back on you as the renter for the liability because you did not disclose to the car company that you were allowing someone else to drive the car.
That's a dangerous game to play with a rental company for the sake of saving a few bucks and it could come back to bite you seriously in the end. Is it really worth the risk?
 
I see the trend at some rental companies is to list a second driver for free, with all the other charges as well they should. US companies check your driving record and if it's questionable (tickets, accidents) they can deny you a car. All that is required to add a second driver is a click of the computer key to check that persons record so its a good selling point for them, they should all do it. I was charged an extra 7 cents on a rental once because I accrued frequent flier miles for it. go figure!!!!!
 
amanven said:
Yes the rental companies do that to make extra money but if you put a second driver in the car and there is an accident, the police report will name the driver and your insurance company will be involved. If your second driver is not properly covered under your policy, and even if they are, your insurance company could refuse to pay the claim because that second person wasn't listed on the rental policy as an allowed driver even if the accident wasn't your drivers fault . If your insurance company refuses the claim the car rental company could come back on you as the renter for the liability because you did not disclose to the car company that you were allowing someone else to drive the car.
That's a dangerous game to play with a rental company for the sake of saving a few bucks and it could come back to bite you seriously in the end. Is it really worth the risk?
Click to expand...
My insurance policy covers me while driving another person's car provided I'm using the car with their consent.

Rental car agreements are usually specific about who is allowed to operrate the vehicle. Accordingly, I've always considered that if a person not listed in the agreement operates the vehicle that person is operating the car without the rental company's consent. That means that my insurance is not going to cover me if I am that unauthorized driver, nor will it cover that unauthorized driver using the rental car with my permission.

Even if I know the unauthorized driver has insurance, that drivers insurance policy probably has similar or identical language to mine. So again I suspect there is no coverage.

Seems like a lot of risk to take.

******

It does pay to check the rental agreement. In some states, use by immediately family members is often permitted for a car rental. If you are booking on line, check the rental terms and conditions carefully. There is often language somewhere that will indicate the areas in which use by immediate family members is approved.
 
If the rental company has rules regarding the minimum age for drivers, that will apply irrespective of whether you take their insurance or not. Likewise they may have rules about drivers with a poor accident history.
Bottom line - Their game, their ball and they make the rules. If you break the rules and get found out you will be the only ones to suffer. Far better to look for a company that doesn't charge for additional drivers. Many companies don't charge extra for spouse or others living at the same address.
 
Along with the booking through Costco plan, which I have used and which does give you a free second driver, you can also usually have a second driver added for no charge if you belong to the car rental companies loyalty plan. Avis Preferred renter, National Emerald Isle Club, etc.

Some of those plans charge for membership, but you can often join for free. I joined National's Emerald Isle Club through mousesavers.com. You might associate that with rentals only in the Disney area, but it is good everywhere. I have rented cars using it in Florida, Texas, and Las Vegas, all with a free second driver included.
 
Keitht said:
Many companies don't charge extra for spouse or others living at the same address.
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In my experience (mostly US rentals) that isn't true. The rental company only covers spouses and immediate family at that same address only if required to do so by local laws or if it is included in some other arrangement (such as a loyalty program or when booking through a site that provides that coverage).

Otherwise, the companies look at covering an extra driver as a source of additional revenue. I think they figure that they will get more business if they lower the base rate and charge for add-ons as compared with bundling extra drivers into the base rate.
 
UK rental

If anyone can tell me of a company in the UK that does not charge for an extra driver, please advise. We have paid about $15 (plus VAT) a day for an extra driver, and for a two-week rental, that's a lot of money added on. I would love to hear from anyone.
 
BM243923 said:
Just a tip I found out this year.

If you book with Costco.com the rental includes a 2nd driver at no charge. I booked a rental last summer for this February 20 to March 6 and the rental is through Alamo. They usually charge 9.95 a day for extra driver, but my comfirmation reads extra driver included.
Click to expand...

This is true for Alamo but not Hertz. Also, AAA lets the second driver drive free (but not certain if the 2nd driver needs to be an AAA member. But Costco has been offering better rates than AAA lately.
 
T_R_Oglodyte said:
In my experience (mostly US rentals) that isn't true.
Click to expand...

All my US rentals with National and Avis (about 30 a year) cover a spouse living at the same address. Automatically, I don't even have to ask. Don't know if it covers a non-spouse living at the same address.
 
Coincidentally, I was trying to check car rates on Costco but it was taking so long to load, I decided to "chat" with TUG while waiting. I have a Mac, and the car site didn't seem to load well. Do you have to click on each brand to get a rate? I was on Safari, but now am trying Firefox, and it is also taking forever to just load the basic travel page. Is this normal?
 
rentals in Spain

I am renting from Carjet in Spain (they are also in the UK) and with the particular car I am renting, the second driver is free.
 
jehb2 said:
This is true for Alamo but not Hertz. Also, AAA lets the second driver drive free (but not certain if the 2nd driver needs to be an AAA member. But Costco has been offering better rates than AAA lately.
Click to expand...

If you book using the AAA code at Hertz, it covers any other driver who is also an AAA member, which may be a good deal if you need multiple unrelated drivers.

National Emerald Club only allows certain other drivers, not any 2nd driver. For example, a relative who does not live with you would not be covered just because you are an Emerald Club member. A spouse is covered.

If you are an AARP member and an Emerald Club member, the rate for National may be similar to the Costco code and both your spouse and another person can be additional drivers at no extra cost. The AARP rate also includes some minimal primary insurance ($5000?) before your CC or personal insurance would kick in.

Best of luck -- Suzanne
 
Dollar doesn't charge for an additional driver and they don't specify that it needs to be spouse.
 
Thanks Chrisky, I have already received a good quote from them thanks to your post. Arnold Clark is a longtime car hire company with a good reputation and the price seems very reasonable. (Also thanks for the PM).
 
BM243923 said:
Just a tip I found out this year.

If you book with Costco.com the rental includes a 2nd driver at no charge. I booked a rental last summer for this February 20 to March 6 and the rental is through Alamo. They usually charge 9.95 a day for extra driver, but my comfirmation reads extra driver included.
Click to expand...

WOW!! I didn't know this, but you are absolutely right. Starting from Costcotravel.com, I clicked to reserve at Alamo and it linked me over to the Alamo website and put in the appropriate codes. I got a one car category upgrade at no charge AND my confirmation says "1 Additional Driver included" AND the rate is better than I was seeing when I searched for a car rental in other ways.

We are taking a 3 week trip this June. We are flying into Salt Lake City and first staying at Marriott Moutainside in Park City, Utah. Then it's on to Island Park Village near Yellowstone for another week. And then we plan to drive over to South Dakota (Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills - we'll stay in motels) before finally looping back to Salt Lake.

So that's a savings of $10 per day that it might have cost for the second driver multiplied by a 22 day trip. This tip alone just paid my TUG annual fees for many years to come. Thank you.
 
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