Last Updated on February 28, 2023 by Michael

Florida rental car gotcha
Photo credit: Shutterstock

Renters often ask if their rental cars come with unlimited mileage. In many cases, a better question is whether there are any geographic restrictions on the rental car. A rental car may come with unlimited miles, but that doesn’t mean you can drive it everywhere. A good example of where this can cause trouble is third-tier discounters like Fox Rent A Car. Here’s a Florida rental car gotcha everyone should know about.

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Why Fox’s Geographic Restriction Might Be a Gotcha

If you rent a vehicle in the US Southwest, Fox’s geographic restriction policy is not so bad. But if you rent a car in Florida, it’s abysmal.

Renters from Sixt locations in the Sunshine State are limited to Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Rent at a Fox location in Florida and you can’t leave Florida. A renter accepts these geographic restrictions when making a reservation.


And this Tampa rental is truly limited to Florida only.

What if You Break the Geographic Restrictions Rule?

With Sixt, the penalty for leaving the allowed geographic area is 50 cents per mile for all miles driven. But Fox doesn’t declare any penalty. Unless your rental car is equipped with GPS or a service like OnStar, Fox usually only learns about violations if something bad happens. For example, they may find out if you have a car accident, mechanical breakdown, or get a citation (parking ticket, speed camera, or red-light camera). In addition to any financial penalty, Fox will likely charge directly to a credit card and put you on the company’s permanent Do Not Rent list.

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Yet the easiest way to avoid these geographic restrictions is simply to rent from another company. The major companies tend to have lenient policies in the United States and often even Canada. Fox’s “Florida and Florida only” policy is just another reminder to always read the rules.

Having said this, you should have no qualms about renting a cheap Fox car in a Florida as long as you stay in Florida. If not, beware of this Florida rental car gotcha.

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