Hawaii car rentals are going wild again

[geist1223]

When we had our Rental on Kaua'i in February we got a call from the Rental Company that they had received a Safety Recall from the Manufacture. That asked us to come by that day to Trade. They told us not to worry about how much gas it had. When we got to the Car Rental Business they told us to go out to the SUV Line and take which ever one we wanted and not to worry about the gas when we returned it.

 

[DavidnRobin]

We're renting with Avis on Maui. The second day we had the car the "oil needs to be changed soon" light came on. After conferring with Avis on the phone we drove back to the airport to exchange it. We happened to get the manager who made the exchange. He upgraded the vehicle and also wrote a note on the contract that we do not have to return the car with a full tank.

We rented from Avis (first time) and gas tank was only 1/16th full. Upon return I told them this and they said it was not a problem.
Downside was we returned the car with more gas than when we left.

It was crazy at the rental center - the Budget line was hours long - and lines for the Express folks. We got our car quickly and on our way.
Luckily I notice the low fuel and got gas by the Aquarium - we would have not made it to West Maui.


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[Krteczech]

I just reserved car on Kona airport 4/21 for 20$ less per day than what they were quoting last week. Hopefully price will go down one more time.

 

[ScoopKona]

I just reserved car on Kona airport 4/21 for 20$ less per day than what they were quoting last week. Hopefully price will go down one more time.

As an interested local, what are they quoting these days? I don't hear neighbors gushing about Truro (AirBnB for cars). So I'm assuming that the amateur car rental gravy train is done or nearly done.

 

[Krteczech]

As an interested local, what are they quoting these days? I don't hear neighbors gushing about Truro (AirBnB for cars). So I'm assuming that the amateur car rental gravy train is done or nearly done.

$60/day compact. We are renting just for four days to explore the island. Are you open for visitors?

 

[rickandcindy23]

We rented from Avis (first time) and gas tank was only 1/16th full. Upon return I told them this and they said it was not a problem.
Downside was we returned the car with more gas than when we left.

It was crazy at the rental center - the Budget line was hours long - and lines for the Express folks. We got our car quickly and on our way.
Luckily I notice the low fuel and got gas by the Aquarium - we would have not made it to West Maui.


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That's crazy. Rick would not be happy paying for gas before our trip even starts.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

Budget car rental timeshare customers complaining all over - we had a 4 hour wait at Hilton Head Island...I will rethink using Costco or a third party car rental site again as the counter folks don't seem to care unless you are one of "their" customers.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Budget car rental timeshare customers complaining all over - we had a 4 hour wait at Hilton Head Island...I will rethink using Costco or a third party car rental site again as the counter folks don't seem to care unless you are one of "their" customers.

With Budget, we add our FastBreak number to our Costco confirmations, which makes it easier to get our car. They bill the credit card on file but we get the Costco discount.

RCI is far and away better for renting cars, for whatever reason. But that doesn't mean you won't wait to get the car.

 

[artringwald]

Budget car rental timeshare customers complaining all over - we had a 4 hour wait at Hilton Head Island...I will rethink using Costco or a third party car rental site again as the counter folks don't seem to care unless you are one of "their" customers.

It doesn't cost anything to join car rental loyalty companies. When I rent from third parties, I always log in with my loyalty number and match the confirmation number to my account. Of course, they don't always have a separate line for their loyalty members.

 

[Krteczech]

RCI is far and away better for renting cars, for whatever reason. But that doesn't mean you won't wait to get the car.

How do you get RCI discount? Do I qualify as a week owner?

 

[ScoopKona]

$60/day compact. We are renting just for four days to explore the island. Are you open for visitors?

Not really. This place is still a hot mess. But if you want to drop by and grab an armload of avocados/lemons and take some pictures of the bay, that's fine. Just drop me a line and I'll send the address and instructions how to get here. If you're going to the Painted Church, City of Refuge, Two-Step Beach or hiking the Captain Cook trail, you're going to pass by the farm anyway.

I'm clearing land to build a tasting room. But I don't expect to have new buildings until the end of the year (or early next year).

 

[rickandcindy23]

How do you get RCI discount? Do I qualify as a week owner?

You do. Go to: Book (at the top of the page)> Car Rental

Best prices for me that I have found. I used to book with SFX, but their prices went way up. Used to be the same price as RCI.

I forgot about RCI for the longest time. There is an amount you have to pay at the counter, which you will see on your rental. In Hawaii, taxes were up over the price quoted, so we paid about $8.00 more per day at the counter than we thought. You do have to pay in advance.

 

[uop1497]

To update:

We don't have a car rental on this trip. Grand Wailea resort does not have a shuttle service, but we are able to use the driver service ( request thru valet desk) to go to The Shop of Wailea , Island Gourmet markets and Monkeypod a few times during our trip.

GW resort is very beautiful, but noisy due to construction works. Our room is dated and clean. It has a nice view of Chapel Garden and ocean.

Taxi cost from Kahului Airport to Hotel is around $60+ tip and vice versa. Our flight with Southwest ( both ways) are O.K. And this time, we have all of our checked luggage after landing, without any problem.

 

[Luanne]

To update:

We don't have a car rental on this trip. Grand Wailea resort does not have a shuttle service, but we are able to use the driver service ( request thru valet desk) to go to The Shop of Wailea , Island Gourmet markets and Monkeypod a few times during our trip.

GW resort is very beautiful, but noisy due to construction works. Our room is dated and clean. It has a nice view of Chapel Garden and ocean.

Taxi cost from Kahului Airport to Hotel is around $60+ tip and vice versa. Our flight with Southwest ( both ways) are O.K. And this time, we have all of our checked luggage after landing, without any problem.

Were you able to get into Monkeypod? When we were there just a few weeks ago they had no reservations available for lunch or dinner. There were lots of people waiting outside every time we went by there.

 

[wilma]

Were you able to get into Monkeypod? When we were there just a few weeks ago they had no reservations available for lunch or dinner. There were lots of people waiting outside every time we went by there.

We were there mid March and went for happy hour. Got there about 4:30 and waited 20 minutes for a table. Our waiter told us as long as we sat down by 5 we could have happy hour prices.

 

[Luanne]

We were there mid March and went for happy hour. Got there about 4:30 and waited 20 minutes for a table. Our waiter told us as long as we sat down by 5 we could have happy hour prices.

We've been there many times so we were okay missing it this trip. When we've gone in the past we've never waited for a table and we were always able to get a table outside. This was at lunch time.

 

[uop1497]

Were you able to get into Monkeypod? When we were there just a few weeks ago they had no reservations available for lunch or dinner. There were lots of people waiting outside every time we went by there.

We wait for a table, around 20-30 minutes

 

[MOXJO7282]

If anyone has a pending car rental for Maui I would check it again. Via Autoslash who found Priceline who offered Dollar and we saved $430 on a premium car for 19 days in July. Originally was looking at the choice of $2400 via Costco or going with a older model rental via a local company for $1300. I was going to do the older model rental but someone mentioned Autoslash this morning so I checked that and found a better, bigger car for $1342. Even today Costco was still at $1775 so Autoslash came through.

 

[rickandcindy23]

If anyone has a pending car rental for Maui I would check it again. Via Autoslash who found Priceline who offered Dollar and we saved $430 on a premium car for 19 days in July. Originally was looking at the choice of $2400 via Costco or going with a older model rental via a local company for $1300. I was going to do the older model rental but someone mentioned Autoslash this morning so I checked that and found a better, bigger car for $1342. Even today Costco was still at $1775 so Autoslash came through.

That's great. Do you have an RCI account? It's a good comparison.

 

[easyrider]

Using Avis with my Avis account I see a Standard Jetta for $32 a day for Maui in mid Jan 2023. $448 for two weeks.

Bill

 

[rickandcindy23]

Using Avis with my Avis account I see a Standard Jetta for $32 a day for Maui in mid Jan 2023. $448 for two weeks.

Bill

Great deal. Our six weeks on Maui for Feb-March is $3,000 on Costco at Avis.

 

[gln60]

I would avoid Avis..Budget and Payless like the plague…read the nightmarish reviews on yelp,picking up a car in HNL and OGG…their prices are much cheaper for a reason.

 

[Luanne]

I would avoid Avis..Budget and Payless like the plague…read the nightmarish reviews on yelp,picking up a car in HNL and OGG…their prices are much cheaper for a reason.

Since my husband is the one who picks up the rental car, he's the one who has to deal with any kind of wait. We rented with Avis on our trip to Maui in March. Price was MUCH less than anywhere else. Unfortunately my Avis Preferred number didn't get attached to the rental since he was the one picking it up. If it had, there would have been no wait. He complained a bit about the wait, but in reality he was back to pick me, and the luggage up, pretty quickly.

P.S. I don't trust Yelp reviews.

 

[easyrider]

I would avoid Avis..Budget and Payless like the plague…read the nightmarish reviews on picking up a car in HNL and OGG…their prices are much cheaper for a reason.

My experience is with using my Avis Preferred account I don't even have to enter the office at some locations. There is sometimes an Avis Preferred booth that gives you the paperwork in the car area making the pick up very fast.

Bill

 

[mjm1]

Using Avis with my Avis account I see a Standard Jetta for $32 a day for Maui in mid Jan 2023. $448 for two weeks.

Bill

Thanks for the tip. I just went online and reserved an intermediate car on Maui for mid- December at $244 for a week! I had a reservation via Costco travel for $750. I don’t understand how it happened, but I’ll take it.

Best regards.

Mike