Car rentals: 41% in additional fees and taxes???

[KauaiMark]

The state of Hawaii sure knows when they have you over a barrel, don't they!

(estimated car rental charges for Kauai in April)


Total Estimated Mandatory Charges
Your base rate total is guaranteed; Taxes are estimated and may be subject to change.
Rental Time Charge $438.00
GENERAL EXCISE TAX (4.17%) $20.51
APT CONCESSION FEE (11.11%) $48.66
RNTL VEHICLE SCHG ($7.50 per day) $105.00
VEHICLE LICENSE FEE ($0.41 per day) $5.74
Total Estimated Mandatory Charges (USD) $617.91

(forgot to add that this was for a 2 week, full size car rental in April/2012)

 

[DeniseM]

I think that's a great deal! Las Vegas is about +80%!

 

[dougp26364]

If you rent cars on a regular basis and, if you pick them up at the airport, you'll soon come to realize that taxing non-voting tourists is great sport for many local and state politicians. 41% isn't bad compared to places like Denver and Phoenix. As mentioned Las Vegas has really gotten out of hand over the years. Generally speaking, it occurs to me that typical taxes and fee's for airport rentals runs in the 40% to 60% range.

As far as the rate you're paying, if that's for a week well then SHAZAM! I have a compact car for a week here in Honolulu for $112 but, I reserved the car nearly 9 months in advance and, I watched the rates frequently to see if/when they dropped. Another possiblity is to watch Hotwire or bid on Priceline to get that rate down. When were in Kauai in 2010 I believe I had a mid-size car through National for around $175/week plus fee's.

 

[artringwald]

I used Hotwire for our trip to Kauai at the end of February:

Car daily rate - Hotwire Hot Rate: $12.95
Rental days: 7
Taxes and fees: $78.12
Subtotal: $168.77

 

[shellboy]

I used Hotwire for our trip to Kauai at the end of February:

Car daily rate - Hotwire Hot Rate: $12.95
Rental days: 7
Taxes and fees: $78.12
Subtotal: $168.77

Is this for Feb 2012? If so when did you book with Hotwire?

 

[riverdees05]

Don't you just love the airport centralized rent car locations. Must be a cash cow for the airport authority.

 

[winger]

Tax-wise, what are the non-airport options in Kauai, where I am assuming taxes are lower?

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Tax-wise, what are the non-airport options in Kauai, where I am assuming taxes are lower?

try googling something such as "discount car rentals in Kauai". You'll probably get quite a few hits. I did that on the Big Island for our rental last summer, and was able to take about 40% off the prices best prices I could find for normal rentals. We still wind up with Budget, but when I clicked on the link from the referral site it autofilled in a code that gave a huge discount.

YMMV.