Car rental for young drivers.

[brzeczyszczykiewicz]

Hello!
I'm looking for a car rental company which would be best for our situation. Me (20) and my girlfriend (21) are heading to Mallorca between 4th and 7th April. I know that some rental companies allows to drive from the age of 21 however my girlfriend is afraid of driving (she made driver's license and hasn't used it since 2010) so the only option I see is making her the "leader driver" and purchasing "additional driver" for me. Do you know any hire company which doesn't have minimum age of the additional driver (actually in every terms & conditions there is just the minimum age of the leader driver - without a word about the additional one - I'm confused)? I did the research, e-mailed 5 of them, however didn't get the response yet. Besides we don't own credit card - only cash or debit card.

Also I have a question. What would happen if the car would be rented on my girlfriend (without additional driver) and we'd be caught by police (with me driving)?
Best regards,
Robert

 

[Nick]

I see several issues here.

1. You MUST divulge all your details to the car rental company, declaring both your dates of birth. Do not even think of misleading them to enable you to drive.

2. I would imagine that if you're a named driver and you need to be aged 21 to drive, and you state you're 20, your insurance will be invalidated as it would in the UK if you had an accident. You are also making a false representation to drive and you could end up in serious trouble.

3. ALL car rental companies require a credit card. That's how they can recover any uninsured damage, speeding fines etc. Cash at a car rental company means nothing.

4. You're going for 4 days? Days 1 and 2 will be mainly taken up with getting to and from your holiday destination leaving you to have the car for 2 days usage in the main? Why bother? Get a taxi and worry about nothing. The price for a taxi will probably even be less.

I know this sounds harsh but in my opinion it's good advice.

Have a great holiday and do return again to PP!

 

[eleanor]

Public transport is also very good on the Island and very reasonable too! You will also be able to enjoy your travels without the strain of driving.
Just not worth the worry for such a short time in my opinion.

 

[Nick]

Of course public transport is very good but for four days I'd personally recommend using taxis. You are prepared to spend quite a bit on a hire car and a taxi will be much quicker giving you more free time.

I recently went over for 4 days and got a bus to PP and a taxi back. If I were to do that short a trip again I'd use a taxi both ways to save time.

 

[Sparky]

Very good advice from Nick and Eleanor and i would also add that the police over here frequently carry out spot checks on motorists, usually on the roundabouts so it really is not worth taking the risk.

 

[mike_dublin]

Hi Robert
I'd be all for the taxi suggestion myself, but if you do have the required driving licence (and I'd suggest some experience and confidence driving abroad) it might be an option to hire a scooter for a couple of days? Not necessarily for the airport transfer though ...

Had a look at 'Cooltra' for example and for the 50cc scooter they have a minimum age of 18 and they also accept cash (although you might want to verify that before you book to make sure). They have a number of pick up points in Mallorca, Alcudia being the closest to PP. There's probably similar offers on the web.


PS Don't blame me if you fall off ...

 

[fil6699]

Robert
I hope you have read and have taken on board all the sound advise. If you get the Resorthoppa up from the Airport you will save a fortune on the taxi. And the cost of a hire car.Which I have to be honest I don't think you will even use once you get up to PP. If you want to explore a little of the island it will be far more fun and way less expensive and stressful for you to use public transport. So best thing to do is spend the money you would have done on the Hire car on a really lovely meal and drinks at special restaurant with your girl friend and create a memory you can both share forever. Have a wonderful carefree worry free holiday and forget the car hire option trust me it will just be an expensive pain the rear end

 

[Great Dane]

Agree with all of the above but as an aside VANRELL Car Hire will accept debit cards for car hire for small cars up to category D