am1108

There are no stupid questions, especially when it comes to rental car.

You can expect to pay 20-25% more in taxes & fees for a rental car than the "base" price

You will be assesed a young drivers fee $15-$25 depending on the local policies since it can be different wherever you go. My suggestion is to compare rates. Most of the time im going to Hertz since they have the 144314 CDP (discount code) that waives fees for underage drivers 20-24. If you want to register an additional driver that is underage just ask the local rental car company. Also if you are a Hertz #1 Gold member your fees are waived for underage drivers and I think you can add an additional driver at no cost, but im not sure.

Ok, so with insurance be very careful. Your car insurance may cover rental car damage but you have to ask your insurer about this benefit as not all policies cover rental cars. Your credit card may give you LDW/CDW which is insurance that covers the car, but it might be Secondary which means that your regular car insurance would have to be "exhausted" (all used up) for the Secondary coverage to kick in. or if you dont have any insurance your the Secondary becomes the Primary insurance.

On a side note: Your credit card might not cover "loss of use". Loss of use- means that the rental car company is still charging you for the number of days it takes to fix the car; so basically you are still renting it. The way to avoid this is to buy LDW/CDW or if your card includes loss of use then you are safe from that.

Also even if your insurance or credit card has LDW coverage, it usually does not apply to anything thats higher than a Premium car or Mid Size SUV. Again you have to check with the companies to see what is the limit in car class.

LDW/CDW Loss Damage Waiver/Collision Damage Waiver- Covers the rental car against accidents
SLI Supplemental Liability Insurance - 3rd Party Damages i.e. If you hit another car or run into a building you would be covered under this insurance
ROADSIDE- Is basically roadside assistance and covers tires that LDW does not cover and towing, etc.
PAE - Personal Accident Insurance - Covers the driver and passengers of the car against Death or injuries
UMP - Uninsured Motorist Protection - If a Uninsured motorist hits you UMP would pay for the damages and medical bills etc. This one is usually bought with PAE

There might be other coverages, but these are the basic ones.

My suggestion is to at least have Loss Damage Waiver with every rental in some form (Credit Card, buy from Rental Company, etc.) , but its really up to your discretion on what coverages you should take.

Also some companies will try to sucker you in to buying everything, especially when the rental agents are making commission so be careful. Even though im in the 20-24 age range I was offered to upgrade to a Chevy Camaro for $25.00/day which I declined because I knew that
1. I would probably be pulled over in a heartbeat
2. My Credit Card insurance probably wont cover it since its in a higher "class" than the Midsize SUV
3. Even the local policy dont allow underage people to rent convertibles
4. Its just too expensive

Sorry for the long post, but thats the basics to rent a car

The Camaro would have been fun though