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Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Enterprise built its business on neighbourhood branches rather than airport counters, and that history still shapes how it operates in Canada today. The car itself is rarely the issue — it is the deposit hold, the fuel choice at pickup and the under-25 surcharge that decide whether the rental costs what the headline rate implied.
Last reviewed 24 August 2026 · scored 4.1/5 by our editors
- Founded
- 1957, St. Louis
- Parent company
- Enterprise Holdings
- Canada minimum age
- 21
- Sister brands
- National, Alamo
About Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Jack Taylor founded the company in 1957 in St. Louis as a small car-leasing operation with seven vehicles, renaming it Enterprise in 1969 in honour of the aircraft carrier he served on in the Second World War. Rather than chase airport traffic, Taylor built the business around local, off-airport branches that would pick renters up — a model still visible in how Enterprise positions itself against its own sister brands today.
Enterprise is one of three brands owned by Enterprise Holdings, a privately held company controlled by the Taylor family, alongside National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car. The three run on shared reservation and fleet infrastructure but keep separate identities: Enterprise leans local and neighbourhood, Alamo leans airport and leisure. In Canada, enterprise.ca is the storefront for the brand’s local, corporate-account and insurance-replacement business as well as ordinary leisure rentals.
The commercial mechanics that actually matter are the deposit and the fuel choice. Enterprise does not publish a fixed Canadian deposit figure — its own FAQ tells renters to start a reservation or call the branch to find out, which is a real gap if you are trying to budget before you commit. Fuel is more transparent: full-to-full is the default, with a prepaid option and a refuel-for-you option sitting either side of it as the counter’s two upsells.
What renting actually costs beyond the daily rate
Standard rental, self-fill fuel
Daily rate + refundable deposit hold
Full-to-full: collect with a full tank, return it full yourself at a station of your choosing, and no fuel charge applies.
Prepaid fuel
One tank charged at pickup, at a discounted per-litre rate
Pay upfront for a full tank and return the car on empty — convenient, but you get no credit back for fuel you did not use.
Enterprise refuels for you
Refuel charge above the local pump price
Return the car with less than a full tank and Enterprise fills it, billing you at a rate higher than the pump — the option to avoid if you can.
Under-25 rental
Daily rate + young-renter surcharge (around $25/day on average)
Minimum age in Canada is 21; drivers under 25 pay an additional daily fee that Enterprise says varies by location.
This is a rental company, not a subscription, so treat the items below as the cost layers a renter meets rather than plan tiers. Enterprise does not publish fixed figures for the deposit or the young-renter fee — both vary by province and branch.
What works
A genuinely large local network
Enterprise Holdings runs thousands of branches worldwide, and Enterprise’s neighbourhood-first model means a pickup near home or office is often realistic, not just at the airport.
Fuel options that do not force a bad deal
Return-full self-fill costs nothing extra. The prepaid and refuel-for-you options exist, but a renter who plans ahead can avoid both fuel upsells entirely and still return the car on time.
Backed by shared group infrastructure
The same reservation system and roadside support sit behind Enterprise, National and Alamo, so the booking experience is consistent even when the branch is a small local one.
Insurance-replacement and corporate accounts are a real strength
Enterprise’s neighbourhood branch network was built partly around insurance-replacement rentals, which shows in how smoothly that specific use case tends to run compared with a pure airport-desk operation.
What doesn’t
No published deposit figure
Enterprise Canada will not commit to a number in its own FAQ — it varies by branch, region and vehicle class, and you find out only once you start booking or call ahead.
Under-25 surcharge is real money on a short rental
At an average of roughly $25 a day, a week-long rental for a 22-year-old adds well over $100 before anything else about the booking changes at all.
Public reputation sits in “poor” territory
Enterprise’s Trustpilot profile is dominated by complaints about reserved cars not being available and disputed repair or fuel charges after return — read the small print at pickup.
How it scores elsewhere
Aggregate public scores, with the source named. We do not publish individual testimonials — we have no way to verify them.
Trustpilot
over a thousand reviews, rated “Poor”
1.8ReviewKong editorial score
strong on network size and fuel transparency, marked down for the undisclosed deposit and weak public reputation
4.1
Buy it if
- Renters who want a pickup near home rather than only at the airport
- Anyone confident about returning the tank full, avoiding both fuel upsells
- Insurance-replacement rentals, where Enterprise’s branch network has depth
- Renters over 25 who avoid the young-renter surcharge entirely
Skip it if
- Renters under 25 who are fee-sensitive on a short trip
- Anyone who wants to know the exact deposit before booking
- Travellers prioritising a strong public trust score over price
Enterprise Rent-A-Car: common questions
How old do I need to be to rent from Enterprise in Canada?
The minimum age is 21 across Canada. Drivers between 21 and 24 pay an additional young-renter fee on top of the daily rate, which Enterprise says averages around $25 a day but varies by location, so confirm the figure before you book.
How much deposit will Enterprise take?
Enterprise does not publish a fixed figure for Canada — its own FAQ says the amount depends on region, vehicle class and other factors, and recommends starting a reservation or contacting the branch directly to find out before you commit.
What is the smartest fuel option?
Return the car with a full tank yourself. It costs nothing extra. The prepaid option only makes sense if you are certain you will use most of the tank, and letting Enterprise refuel the car for you is priced above the local pump rate.
Is Enterprise the same company as Alamo?
Same parent, different brand. Both sit under the privately held Enterprise Holdings alongside National Car Rental. Enterprise leans toward neighbourhood and corporate rentals; Alamo is positioned specifically for airport leisure travel and family holidays instead of ordinary local, everyday use.
Can I use a debit card?
Some locations accept debit cards to secure a rental, but conditions apply — at airport counters this typically requires a ticketed return travel itinerary, and the name and address on your licence must match your current one on file. Confirm with the specific branch before you rely on it for pickup.
Ready to try Enterprise Rent-A-Car?
Shared roadside and reservation infrastructure across Enterprise Holdings brands · Multiple fuel-payment options disclosed before pickup · Long operating history since 1957 under a private, family-controlled parent