Car Rentals in California Could Get More Expensive
The new California law is meant to help rental car companies stay afloat amidst the pandemic by allowing them to charge additional driver fees.
Written by Serena Aburahma
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Car rentals
are a necessary part of life, as many people need to rent a car every so often. Unfortunately, rental car prices have soared
during the pandemic, and in California, rental car prices might keep climbing. Here's a look at the California law that might make it more expensive to rent a car in the future.
The background behind this new law
When the pandemic hit, travel ground to a halt almost instantly. With so few people traveling, rental car companies were in a bad spot. Since they make money from people renting their cars, rental car companies simply had no money coming in.
That's why many of these companies, in order to keep the lights on, decided to sell a lot of their rental fleets. This was a good idea at the time, but when people started traveling again, this meant that there weren't many rental cars around.
This scarcity of rental cars naturally led to an increase in their prices. A lot of rental car companies were still underwater, however, so lawmakers wanted to throw them a life raft. That's why, according to
The New York Times
, California passed this new law.Let Jerry find your price in only 45 seconds
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How does new this law affect California rental cars?
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This law, called A.B. 901, is quite simple. Up until 2021, California was the only state that made it illegal for rental car companies to charge for additional drivers. As a way to help rental car companies out during the pandemic, California repealed that provision.
Rental car companies are now free to charge more money if you drive their car with an additional driver. This law also makes a few changes that will ultimately allow rental car companies to charge more fees in certain situations.
For example, if a rental car company finds that you allowed an unauthorized person to drive the rental car, then they can double the fee. The damage waiver, which used to cost between $11 to $17 a day, can now be up to $25 a day. This cap will also rise with inflation.
As for how much the additional driver fee is, that depends. Other states already allow them, and they range from $13 to $15 a day per driver. Some rental car companies, however, still mention that California customers don't have to pay extra for having additional drivers.
Not all California rental cars are going to be more expensive
Before you start looking for a rental car alternative, there are a lot of exemptions to this law. Despite this change, the law prevents car rental companies from charging for additional drivers if the additional driver is your spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, co-worker, or employer.
Things are a bit messy when it comes to unmarried partners, however. Unmarried partners aren't mentioned in the law, but some car rental companies have made them an exemption anyway. Hertz and Avis, for example, say that they have exemptions for unmarried partners.
Keep your insurance premium low
Whether you're driving a rental car or your own car, you'll still need to be insured.
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