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Car rental - spouse free 2nd driver

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by Freddy C, Feb 13, 2017.

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  1. Freddy C

    Freddy C Newbie

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    Read all the blogs about Nevada being one of those six states in which a spouse is an authorized additional driver without the rental company being allowed to charge a fee for same. Dollar rental on Swenson will not acknowledge this and emails to Dollar customer service are not being answered. Can anyone provide definitive answer to this? I've referenced NRS 482.3158 but cannot find this revised Statute which apparently became state law in 2016. Please help so I don't have to go through this hassle in the future. Thanks.
     
  2. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    It's been my understanding that in Nevada there is no charge. But I use Costco and they offer an additional driver for no extra charge regardless of where you rent or if the additional driver is a spouse or not so I'm not positive about Nevada.

    The law you reference above states:

    NRS 482.3158(1) (f) also requires that the maximum amount charged for an additional driver not exceed $10 per driver. This amount is also adjusted annually.

    that's from the state website https://tax.nv.gov/FAQs/Short_Term_Lessor_Fee_s___FAQ_s/

    But I don't know if there's been a subsequent law. Since it says the amount is adjusted annually maybe it's been scrapped all together.
     
  3. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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  4. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    They tell me (the ubiquitous "they") that it's codified in NRS that a legal spouse is an authorized driver of a rental car in Nevada. That's what "they" tell me anyway. :)
     
  5. Hogman

    Hogman VIP Whale

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    I couldn't get it for free about a month ago at Advantage, so my wife drove.
     
  6. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    Interesting. If it's important that you both drive and depending on what the charge is you might want to consider Costco. You do have to be a member but you can join online, it's $55. Although I do shop at Costco sometimes even if I didn't the $55 is covered many times over by what I save by renting a car fromthrough them 3-4 times a year
     
  7. NandJfrmNJ

    NandJfrmNJ VIP Whale

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    Although a spouse is automatically an authorized driver in NV, some companies can and do charge for a second driver. For Dollar, I think it's about $13/day which is why we no longer rent from Dollar. We always check Costco but Dollar is not one of the listed rental companies. I often wonder if that's because Dollar won't relinquish that extra driver charge and Costco doesn't want to deal with them because of that. We have been renting almost exclusively from Budget lately which does not charge for an extra driver (always use Costco codes).
     
  8. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I will ask one of the TAs at work tomorrow, as they seem to know the ins and outs of this kind of thing.
     
  9. Freddy C

    Freddy C Newbie

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    Thanks for all the replays, but apparently this is still a confusing rule. I'll probably contact someone in the county offices to get a once and for all definitive answer.

    Yes, I'm aware of Costco and usually rent from them. However, for this trip, Dollar was significantly less expensive. If you're not familiar with Auto Slash, you might want to check out their website. They basically do all the rental research for you and automatically adjust the car rental price down if a lower rate is found prior to departure. They do all the work for you.

    Auto Slash also has some great articles on their site about this and they are in agreement that spouse is free in Nevada. I'll provide an update if I can be absolutely sure of the answer. Thanks.
     
  10. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I just spoke to our resident TA over in Travel. Here's a summary. She emphasized that she is an accredited TA but not a lawyer. It was definitely a "we get that all the time" type of thing.

    Some states do regard the legal spouse of a renter to be an authorized driver regardless of what the agency says. "If push comes to shove, you would probably win in court."

    She did say that some agencies, most of which are franchise holders and not rental car company owned, can be nasty about it and outright lie, and refuse to cooperate if there is an incident.

    "A spouse can legally drive the rental car, but it's a grey area as to if the rental insurance covers the extra driver." She started to say to use the independent insurance, but then stopped and said "Better yet, avoid the rental agencies that try to pull that {s-bomb}."

    That's about as close to an authoritative opinion as I can get.
     
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  11. Nevyn

    Nevyn VIP Whale

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    The US membership options may be different, but with a Canadian membership only 2 of the 4 car companies costco could book gave a free additional driver. Got burned by that and stuck as the only driver last year with Budget. But was travelling with a friend, not spouse (I think Budget allowed 1 family).

    For Canadians only Dollar and Enterprise give an additional driver through costco
     
  12. ScottE

    ScottE Roller!

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    If we want a car for the day, we generally rent from Avis at the hotel. May not be the cheapest option but most convenient for us.

    Spouse has always been free with Avis, as long as her address on her drivers licence is same as mine.
     
  13. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    Costco uses Alamo, Avis, Budget and Enterprise in Vegas. We've used the later 3, not Alamo and each of those 3 did not charge for extra driver.
     
  14. NandJfrmNJ

    NandJfrmNJ VIP Whale

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    Alamo doesn't charge the extra driver fee either.
     
  15. Camp Rusty

    Camp Rusty VIP Whale

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    FYI we rent from Hertz and spouse is automatically covered.

    Hertz can be spendy though.
     
  16. rhino29

    rhino29 Tourist

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    This is direct from the Alamo website, but it took some finding. Click on customer support, then there is a list of the top questions. Additional driver fee & CDW are in the list

    Exception states that allow the spouse to be an "Automatic" Authorized Driver under all circumstances are; California, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon, and Wisconsin. There is no additional fee for the spouse to drive the vehicle in these states.


    THE FOLLOWING SHALL INVALIDATE CDW:

    A. IF VEHICLE IS DAMAGED WHEN USED OR DRIVEN: (1) BY ANY PERSON OTHER THAN RENTER OR AAD(S) WITHOUT OWNERS PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT
     
  17. phantomfj

    phantomfj High-Roller

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    Another thing to consider is what Nevada considers a spouse.........A few years back my brother (who had a house in Reno, but was back living in Canada and renting the Reno house out) passed away, and they did did not consider his common law spouse here in Canada to be valid and had no rights to that house. Since the house was worth less than the mortgage outstanding because of the housing crash, we did not pursue the issue and it just went back to the bank.
     
  18. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    All of this assumes you get sucked in and buy their insurance in the first place. Double check your personal insurance policy. You may already be covered.
     
  19. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    Many/most insurance policies will cover a rental insurance. As will most credit cards. Most of the time the agents are fine with a "no thanks" when you decline. An Avis agent was a real ahole last year. After not taking no for an answering when I kept declining an upgrade he wouldn't let up about the insurance, telling me how dumb I was. I was tempted to take the insurance and then beat the hell out of the car ala Seinfeld.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2017
  20. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I've talked to our resident TAs, my credit card provider, and my insurance agent and NONE of them could or would give me a 100% affirmative to the question about being covered for that pesky "loss of use" fee in Nevada..
     
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