Car rental at LAX with a child

Hi there,

I’m looking to rent a car when I arrive in Los Angeles for 18 days.

1) I was planning to bring the booster seat for my 5-year-old son and not rent one on-site. Am I still complying with the law?

2) Since there are only two of us in the car, my main goal is price. Which rental agency or website have you tried and recommend?

3) Is it true that for the same rental company, it’s cheaper to pick up the car a bit farther from LAX? For example, Hertz has several locations nearby. Apparently, there’s less selection, but I don’t care about that—I just want the cheapest option.

Thanks for your tips! !

Hello,

I'm looking to rent a car when I arrive in Los Angeles for 18 days.

1) I was planning to bring the booster seat for my 5-year-old son and not rent one on-site. Will I still comply with the law?

2) Since there are only two of us in the car, my main goal is price. Which rental agency or website have you tried and approved?

3) Is it true that for the same rental company, it's cheaper to pick up the car a bit farther from LAX airport? For example, Hertz has several locations nearby. Apparently, there’s less choice, but I don’t care about that—I just want the cheapest option.

Thanks for your advice!

Hi, no info on bringing a booster seat to the States, except that it’s bulky.

For pricing for two people, I’m not aware of any special rates. There are two of us as well, and the car is rented for 5 seats. You could check projections on BSP Auto, for example, to compare prices here and there. I always use BSP.

Prices will depend entirely on your travel dates. For example, if you look at projections from October 1st to 18th, you can find rentals for 460 € for a Ford Focus at Dollar. Not too expensive, actually, but that’s for October 2025. In July 2026, the price goes up to 780 €.

So it all depends on your dates.

Best regards.

Some rental companies offer a "mystery car"—it's cheap, but you don’t know what you’ll get.

Well, when I tried this for a rental in LA, I ended up with a 9-seater minivan… for two people, it’s a bit big and not always easy to park… but it was cheap! 😊