How To Rent A Car As An 18 Year Old

This post is all about the Enterprise CarShare Program that allows university students to rent cars even if they are below 21. I will be describing the process of renting the car through this program because there are several steps that can get confusing.

Hey guys! In my last post, Five Ways To Take a Beach Trip On a College Budget I mentioned that there is a rental car program for students.

This program is a great concept because it is very hard for people under 21 to rent a car. Yet, several students on campus did not bring a car so they will want to rent one for weekend excursions.

This program provides you with a car, fuel, roadside service, and damage protection. All you need to be a member is an .edu email address, drivers license and major credit card.

The way the program works is they mail you a card that has the ability to unlock a car that is parked on a neutral location. The card unlocks the box in the windshield, which then unlocks the car. They keep the keys in the glove box, so that you can use them. When you are done with the car you put the keys back and use your card to lock it up again.

So how do you apply?

1. Access the website through your school

I found out about this CarShare through University of South Carolina’s website under the transportation section.

Only certain schools are compatable so I will list them here for you:

Arizona

• Arizona State University

California

• Biola University
• California Baptist University

Delaware

• University of Delaware

Florida

• University of South Florida

Georgia

• Emory University
• Oxford College
• Savannah College of Art and Design

Hawaii

• Brigham Young University – Hawaii
• Hawaii Pacific University
• University of Hawaii – Manoa

Idaho

• Brigham Young University-Idaho

Illinois

• Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Iowa

• Drake University

Kansas

• University of Kansas

Kentucky

• Berea College
• Centre College
• Western Kentucky University

Minnesota

• Carleton College
• College of St. Benedict
• Minnesota State University – Mankato
• St. John’s University
• St. Olaf College
• Winona State University

Mississippi

• Mississippi State University

Missouri

• Danforth Center
• Maryville University
• Saint Louis University
• University of Missouri
• University of Missouri-Kansas City
• Washington University
• Webster University

New Jersey

• Princeton University
• Rutgers University – Camden

New York

• Adelphi University
• Barnard College
• New York Institute of Technology
• New York University
• Vaughn College of Aeronautics & Tech

North Carolina

• Duke University

Ohio

• Bowling Green State University
• Case Western University
• Cleveland Institute of Art
• Cleveland Institute of Music
• College of Wooster
• Denison University
• Oberlin College

Oregon

• George Fox University

Pennsylvania

• Community College of Philadelphia
• Drexel University
• Franklin and Marshall College
• Lehigh University
• Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
• Peirce College
• Penn State Mont Alto
• Penn State University
• Saint Francis University
• Temple University
• Thomas Jefferson University
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of the Arts
• University of the Sciences

South Carolina

• College of Charleston
• University of South Carolina

Tennessee

• Belmont University
• Vanderbilt University

Utah

• Brigham Young University-Provo

West Virginia

• Marshall University

Wisconsin

• Beloit College
• Lawrence University

2. Apply as a student

There is a $32 membership fee but I believe it’s worth it.

The application will ask for your address, credit card, date of birth, picture of your drivers license and other important information.

The process is pretty simple, I would say it takes about 10 minutes.

3. Wait to receive the membership card

You will receive an email with your membership ID, and then when your card comes in the mail you will be able to start booking reservations.

The app is the best route to go when it comes to booking the reservations.

4. Book the reservation

This is really important!!!!!!!

Make sure that you are booking the car through Enterprise CarShare NOT Enterprise in general.

When I did this for the first time, I did not realize that those were 2 different programs. Just because you have a CarShare membership, does not make you elligable for regular Enterprise Cars.

I made the mistake of booking the reservation over the phone because the website was having several errors. This lead to the miscomunication of me booking a regular Enterprise car rather than the CarShare.

When I showed up to the regular Enterprise office, they would not fufill my reservation because I was 18.

It was extremely frustrating and I ended up having to Uber to the beach.

The Enterprise CarShare program only has 2 cars available, so you need to book ahead. Especially for breaks, the cars will fill up quickly.

This is what the app looks like.

5. Pick up and drive!

As you can see above, the app has several helpful features. It allows you to take a picture of your gas receipts and get reimbursed for the payment. It also gives you access to help if you get in a car crash or need help.

I rented one for a few hours to drive to the Charlotte airport, and the car was very easy to unlock and get started.

The car was clean, and easy to drive. It was also pretty new and gave me the ability to set up my phone on Bluetooth for music which was really nice.

I had the car reserved until the next morning, but once I returned from the airport I was able to return the car before I planned and save some money.

Overall, actually booking the car is the hardest part and once you have it, it is pretty much smooth sailing. It was a pain to plan out but nothing good comes easily. If you are one of the schools that CarShare partners with, I recommend you give it a try. If not, try to research if your school partners with another program and let me know!

Sincerely, Meghan Ann