|
Age - The minimum age required to rent and/or drive a rental vehicle, is 25 years of age. There are provisions for those under 25, but at least 21 years of age, to rent and/or drive a rental vehicle. However, there is a surcharge for such underage customers/drivers and not all rental vehicles allow for underage drivers.
Credit Card - A major credit, in the name of the customer, is required. Debit and/or check cards, even with a Master Card/VISA logo, are not equivalent to credit cards and are not accepted. Below are the credit cards accepted:
- American Express
- Carte Blanche
- Discover
- Diners Club
- Master Card
- Visa
At the time of rental, an authorization on your credit card for a minimum of $275 or the estimated rental charges plus 15%, will be required. (Some vehicles require a higher minimum authorization.) If this authorization is not received, we will not be able to rent a vehicle. Upon return, you can place the charges on the credit card, or pay by cash, check, or traveler checks.
 Reservations - When you make a reservation with us, we take steps to make sure that the vehicle you wanted is waiting for you. We will hold your reservation up to one (1) hour after the time you reserved the vehicle for pick-up. After this time the reservation will be canceled and marked as a No Show. If you arrive more than one (1) hour after the time you had reserved the vehicle, the vehicle will be subject to availability and the reserved rate might no longer be available. To prevent any potential problem, please keep us informed if you will be late in picking-up your vehicle.
Drivers License - The customer, and any additional driver(s), is required to have a valid drivers license. The following are the valid licenses acceptable:
- A license issued by any United States state, territory, or possession.
- A license issued by any Canadian province.
- A country that participated in the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic or the 1943 Convention on the Regulation of Inter-American Automobile Traffic or has a reciprocal agreement with the United States.
The customer's driver's license must be valid for the entire rental period, with the following exception:
- An expired US. state driver's license of U.S. military personnel on active duty is acceptable. The customer must present proof that he/she is on active duty; or,
- An expired license of U.S. military personnel returning from overseas duty are accepted for up to 60 days after discharge, provided discharge papers are presented at the time of rental.
Drivers licenses cannot be faxed to our offices. The customer and/or additional driver(s) must be able to present their actual drivers license. This is a Texas state law.
If your drivers license has been lost or stolen, contact the Department of Motor Vehicles in your home state about the possibility of obtaining a temporary license. Perhaps you can have the license sent to you via an overnight delivery service.
International Driving Permits (IDP) serve only as a translation of a valid driver's license. It is helpful if you have a driver's license printed in a language other than English, as such, it is mandatory in order to rent a vehicle. An IDP must always be presented in conjunction with the official drivers license of the issuing country.
In almost all cases we'll only rent to licensed drivers. Non-licensed drivers are not permitted to rent a vehicle and have a licensed driver operate the vehicle. The only exception to this policy is when a person with a disability wishes to rent a vehicle. This exception is covered below.
Drivers who possess a learner's permit, or have restrictions on a drivers license, such as daytime driving only or to business driving only, are not acceptable.
Automobile Liability Insurance - customers are required to provide proof of automobile
liability insurance at the time of rental. For more information on this requirement and optional insurance products and waivers, please click here.
Additional Drivers - customers, for an additional daily charge, may list additional drivers on
the Rental Agreement, as long as at the time of rental they:
- are at least 25 years of age;
- present a valid drivers license;
- customer completes an Additional Driver Authorization Form; and,
- pays the Additional Driver fee. (Please check with the Reservation Center for current Additional Driver rates.)
The following persons are automatically exempt from any Additional Driver charges (but must still meet requirements shown above).
- customer's spouse, mate, life companion, significant other, or live-in, who permanently resides in customer's residence. The home address on this person's drivers license must be the same as that shown on the customer's. (This person need not be present at the time of rental.)
- If the customer is renting the vehicle for a nonprofit organization (ie: Scout unit, church, school, etc.) one additional driver may be added at no additional charge. Any other additional drivers the customer wishes to list would be subject to the daily Additional Driver Charge.
- An authorized driver for a disabled customer is exempt from any Additional Driver charge.
Currency, Taxes and Surcharges
Country Currency - Rates are in U.S. dollars (USD). Payment is to be made in U.S. dollars.
Taxes - Taxes are not included in rental rates. Inquire at the time of reservation for any applicable taxes. Most rentals will be subject to the Texas Motor Vehicle Rental Tax, which is currently 10%. Rentals which last longer than thirty (30) days, but no longer than thirty-one (31) days, are subject to a Motor Vehicle Rental Tax of 6.25%.
Property Tax Surcharge - The Texas Legislature permits an additional charge of $1.65 per day to be added as a separately stated item on your rental agreement. This surcharge is for reimbursement of the Texas Personal Property Tax and the Motor Vehicle License Registration.
Stadium Tax - Increasingly, local governments are taxing car rental customers so they can pay for sports stadiums in their cities, without having to ask local residents for the money. Their rationale? Car rental customers are from out-of-town and do not vote on elected officials. Voters of the City of Houston and Harris County approved the taxation of car and truck rental customers for the construction of a baseball stadium, a football stadium and a basketball arena. The tax rate is 5%.
While state law mandates the abolition if this tax once the construction bonds are paid, government officials have stated that they wished to use these tax funds for other projects. If you or your organization rent vehicles in Harris County, contact your Commissioner, City Councilman, and/or State Representative/Senator and let them know that you rent and you vote!
Rental Rates
Lowest Rental Rate? - Just like when buying anything else, when you shop around for the best bargain, also remember to consider the value you're receiving for the lowest price too.
PV Rentals strives to offer the widest selection of cars, trucks, and vans in Houston. We pride ourselves in keeping our fleet new and well-maintained. While we're conscious of other's rental rates and try to keep competitive, there are times where we might not be the lowest in town. In these cases we're confidant that you'll see that any additional amount you may spend at PV Rentals will be returned to you in both the quality of service you receive and in the quality of vehicles you drive!
Keep in mind, just like airlines, availability of special and/or promotional rates are usually limited, so the sooner you call, the better your chances of receiving one of these rates.
Other Charges? - Additional charges to your daily rental rate may include surcharges and state imposed taxes that are in addition to the motor vehicle rental tax. The number and age of people you anticipate driving the car can impact your cost. If you want special services (ie: removing seats from passenger vans, installing towing equipment, removing stake sides, etc.) these may cost you extra. When making your reservation, inform us of all your anticipated needs and we'll do our best to calculate an estimate of your rental bill.
What about Unlimited Mileage? - Occasionally PV Rentals does have some rental rates that offer unlimited mileage. As a general rule we do not regularly offer any rates that include unlimited mileage, however, we do offer a generous mileage allowance on our cars, passenger vans, and light trucks. When obtaining rate information, it is best to compare an unlimited mileage rate with a capped rate. In many cases the daily rate on a rental vehicle with a mileage cap will be cheaper. If you're going to be driving fewer miles than the mileage cap allows (a typical cap is 150-200 miles per day), you may save from $3 to $7 per day on a rental vehicle, if you choose a rental rate with a mileage cap. Besides, almost all rental companies which offer unlimited mileage rates have specific geographic restrictions (ie: only in Texas), which is actually a limitation of miles.
Inter-Country Driving/One-Way
Driving into other countries:
- Republic of Mexico - Driving rental vehicles into Mexico is not permitted.
- Non-Canadians entering Canada -Rental vehicles can be driven into Canada. A Canadian Non-Resident Insurance Card may be needed to cross the border.
- Canadian Residents - Due to Canadian law, a Canadian resident is restricted from driving a U.S. owned car into Canada.
- Canadian Military - Canadian military personnel posted to the U.S. for at least one year are considered non-residents for the duration of the posting and can drive a U.S. owned vehicle into Canada.
One Way Rentals are not available.
Persons with Disabilities/Wheelchair-equipped Vans - PV Rentals is committed to meeting the
needs of persons with disabilities. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), we've developed policies to assist such customers. The following are the two most common circumstances:
- Persons with a Visually Impairment - According to state law, we're only able to rent vehicles to persons licensed to drive. However, as most persons with a visually impairment are not licensed, this may cause a problem. To assist such customers, we can rent a vehicle to them, if they meet our credit card and automobile liability insurance requirements, provide a valid photo identification, and their driver has a valid drivers license.
- Persons with a Physically Impairment - Some customers who have a valid drivers license, require the use of hand controls to drive. In light of this situation, we've developed a policy under the ADA which, generally, within a notice of 72 hours, we can make hand controls available to such customers. The only restriction to this is that a trained company mechanic must be available to install the hand controls. However, an hour's notice may be adequate, if we take a reservation during normal business hours when a trained mechanic is on duty and the location has hand controls that are not already reserved for use during the rental period, for which they're requested them. In addition, the use of hand controls is only for passenger-type vehicles.
PV Rentals also has wheelchair lift equipped vans available for rental. For information on these vans, please contact our office at 713.667.0665 or 800.275.7878.
Moving & Special Equipment - Moving equipment -- dollies and furniture blankets -- are only
available for rental with the rental of our trucks. Child Safety Seats are available with a 48 hour advance booking. Child safety seats and the moving equipment are available on a first come-first served basis. Please contact our office for rates and availability.
Towing - While we do allow customers to tow with our vehicles, we prohibit towing
anything from a private passenger car, or any vehicle not otherwise equipped to tow. However, any such towing does incur a daily charge. For a customer to tow with a rental vehicle, the vehicle must be equipped to tow with the appropriate hitch and light hook up. Please contact our office if you are interested in renting one of our vehicles to tow a trailer. We also have trucks equipped to tow gooseneck-type trailers.
|