Generally, there are very few things that will disqualify you from renting a car. However, because of the varied definitions of all the rental agencies out there, it is imperative to find out which ones will not rent to you. In many cases it will take offenses like habitual accidents, serious moving violations (excessive speeding, reckless driving, etc.), or felony charges involving a vehicle (manslaughter, DUI, etc.) to disqualify you from many companies. Nevertheless, if you have several accidents and/or moving violations in the last ten years, companies can make up their own definitions to disallow you the vehicle.
The only way to know for sure if you will be disqualified by the company is to call the locations that you would be able to rent from. It is important that you call each location because they are generally owned by individual franchisees and will often vary in their requirements. In a lot of cases, just by showing that you’re concerned about it and trying to work it out and not just sneak it past them, many companies will be more willing to work with you.
If, for some reason, you’re not able to rent a car from one of the big names because of your driving record, it may be time to look at some of the locally owned and operated car rental agencies. Many times these places are more lenient but do require more of a deposit. They often times won’t check your driving record, but all do require that you show proof of a valid driver’s license in order to take possession of the vehicle. One of the drawbacks about using a small company, as briefly stated earlier, is that you can expect to have to leave a sizable and sometimes cash-only deposit to rent their cars.
