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Hawaii car rentals are going wild again

chellej

chellej

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
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Location
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I thought car rentals would be easier this year. Last year Maui ended up at $350/week which was ok. I am now looking for our Nov trip and booked weeks through costco in early December for 8 days in Maui @$484 and 8 days on Kauai @ $317. Looking at airfare, I was thinking of going a day earlier to Maui but now the rate is over $1000 for either island. I sure hope they come down as the year moves on.

What rate is everyone else seeing
 
We have a midsize SUV booked for two weeks on Maui in March, for $667 all in. That is with a corporate rate with Avis. I haven't seen anything under $1000 anywhere else.
 
We got here on 1/18/22. Months in advance I Booked a midsize SUV through COSTCO. It was about $1600 for 3 weeks. I would check once a week and the costs kept going up.

I think more people are coming to Hawaii. I looked at a Rent-a-wreck. It was not that much cheaper and he want me to buy Comprehensive and Liability Insurance.
 
geist1223 said:
We got here on 1/18/22. Months in advance I Booked a midsize SUV through COSTCO. It was about $1600 for 3 weeks. I would check once a week and the costs kept going up.

I think more people are coming to Hawaii. I looked at a Rent-a-wreck. It was not that much cheaper and he want me to buy Comprehensive and Liability Insurance.
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My brother in law rented through Rent a Wreck quite a few years ago. Because the car was large we would use it when all of us would go out together. He'd have to go out early to get it started up. At one point when he went to adjust the rear view mirror it fell off in his hand. You get what you pay for. ;)
 
We used rent a wreck 30 some yrs ago and had to get towed from across town. At least we broke down at a beach but never again lol
 
Several years ago for a trip to Mau'i we rented through COSTCO and got a top of the line Hyundai Sedan for less than a Compact. Friends traveling with us rented through a small local that had older former major rental cars that were all about 10 years old. He wanted to support the small Business Owner. He paid more than us and the car was well worn. When we traveled together we traveled in our car.
 
There is no good option. Locals are renting their cars in an AirBnB-like scheme called Truro, at premium prices.

I see people driving around town in UHaul trucks because right now it's the cheapest option. That's insane.

My advice? Find a place that is within walking distance of everything you want and stay there -- Uber to and from the Airport and that's it. "Going out exploring" simply isn't an option right now.
 
We have two cars reserved, one is a bargain for Maui, the other is not bad. We need the car for 5.5 weeks. Out of Wailea, the car is $1,690 starting 2/14. Out of OGG, the car is $2,200 through Costco.

First, we have to get to Wailea to get the car at Enterprise in Wailea, so we would need to shuttle or rent a car for one day, possibly. Trying to decide how to go about this rental to save some money. We have friends on the island at the time we are there, so they may be able to help us with some of it.

I emailed an airport shuttle/taxi company to see what they would charge to get us to the Marriott Wailea, where we have reserved a night before picking up the car. They are going to call us with a quote for RT to/from Wailea, 2/14-3/25.
 
Our recent trip to Waikiki I made a couple of reservations through Priceline for HNL. The first reservation was Buget @ about $45 a day. The second was Economy for only 3 of the days but they didn't answer their phone, pick us up and were not located in the airport rental garage. They were at $45 a day. I will never use Priceline again.

In contrast, the midsize car I have rented for 4 weeks now in Puerto Vallarta has a cost of $530 or $132 a week. I really like Hawaii but it is hard to beat the opulence of Mexican resorts and the low cost of everything.

Bill
 
We rented a full size SUV for the day on Oahu for $130. It used to be around $80/day for a full sized car.
 
We decided to rent a car for a day at the airport, stay that first night in Wailea at the AC Marriott (we have one day without a timeshare), pick our car up on 2/15 from Enterprise in Wailea, return the smaller car to the airport, then load up on stuff at Costco and head up to Honokowai for our first 3 weeks and four days. At the end of our trip, we pick up a car from OGG on 3/24, return the 5.5 week rental car to Wailea on 3/25, then head to the airport. Sounds nuts, but it's all pretty doable. It saves $500 on the car rental altogether.


.
 
easyrider said:
Our recent trip to Waikiki I made a couple of reservations through Priceline for HNL. The first reservation was Buget @ about $45 a day. The second was Economy for only 3 of the days but they didn't answer their phone, pick us up and were not located in the airport rental garage. They were at $45 a day. I will never use Priceline again.

In contrast, the midsize car I have rented for 4 weeks now in Puerto Vallarta has a cost of $530 or $132 a week. I really like Hawaii but it is hard to beat the opulence of Mexican resorts and the low cost of everything.

Bill
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The issue isn't Priceline, it's Economy at that location.
 
ScoopLV said:
There is no good option. Locals are renting their cars in an AirBnB-like scheme called Truro, at premium prices.

I see people driving around town in UHaul trucks because right now it's the cheapest option. That's insane.

My advice? Find a place that is within walking distance of everything you want and stay there -- Uber to and from the Airport and that's it. "Going out exploring" simply isn't an option right now.
Click to expand...
Keep trying. We got down to 50/day in Maui using autoslash for a minivan for June and July but started at over 100 per day quote. We just added a Kaui week at the end of our trip and quotes are crazy. If they don't change we will rent for a few days to do north shore and the canyon another day and take shuttle to/from airport.
 
Tucsonadventurer said:
Keep trying. We got down to 50/day in Maui using autoslash for a minivan for June and July but started at over 100 per day quote. We just added a Kaui week at the end of our trip and quotes are crazy. If they don't change we will rent for a few days to do north shore and the canyon another day and take shuttle to/from airport.
Click to expand...
Maui June Costco rental - We are also using AutoSlash and so far our $1K minivan rental has come down only by $60-ish total dollars
 
Luanne said:
The issue isn't Priceline, it's Economy at that location.
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Definitely regarding Economy car rental being off site but because Priceline prices were about 40% less when breaking up the two weeks I thought why not. Now I know.

Bill
 
easyrider said:
Definitely regarding Economy car rental being off site but because Priceline prices were about 40% less when breaking up the two weeks I thought why not. Now I know.

Bill
Click to expand...
We have rented through Priceline quite a few times with no problems. Their quote came back from an Autoslash search. Whenever I make a reservation I make sure to check with the rental car company to make sure they have a record.
 
Tucsonadventurer said:
Keep trying. We got down to 50/day in Maui using autoslash for a minivan for June and July but started at over 100 per day quote. We just added a Kaui week at the end of our trip and quotes are crazy. If they don't change we will rent for a few days to do north shore and the canyon another day and take shuttle to/from airport.
Click to expand...

I live here. I have my vehicle situation settled. But I see tourists driving around in Uhauls. So it's still bad.
 
Our rental was January 2022 on Big Island. We rented with Costco just over 9 months ago for about $1000 for 18 days - and reserved mid size car with Budget on "Big Island - Kona". I checked many times over last few months and prices almost doubled for same car.

They upgraded us for free to full size 4WD explorer even though they had several cars on lot that we had reserved.

Our Delta airplanes were about 66% full and my wife and myself had three seats each coming back
Bay Club seemed about 75% full. Kings Land not even that.
 
Just got back from 15 Days on Oahu. Midsize, hertz, $515 including tax. Since covid started, with 8 trips to various locals, hertz has been significantly lower than Costco. I always check both.

Just booked Memorial week - 7 days in Maui. Large sedan for $170 - $275 with tax. Lots of tax! $25/day just for the car seems ok.
 
Videoguy75 said:
Just got back from 15 Days on Oahu. Midsize, hertz, $515 including tax. Since covid started, with 8 trips to various locals, hertz has been significantly lower than Costco. I always check both.

Just booked Memorial week - 7 days in Maui. Large sedan for $170 - $275 with tax. Lots of tax! $25/day just for the car seems ok.
Click to expand...
I just checked Hertz for our two week trip to Maui in March. Rates for a midsize SUV (which is what we have through Avis) are $2125.90 or $1544.07, if we pay ahead. My reservation with Avis (and I am using a corporate discount) is $667.
 
Just ridiculous.

I have an existing reservation for Kona for end of August. Alamo full size car for a week - $397. Today's rate: $833.

Second reservation, the week after the above, but on Maui. Alamo full size car for a week - also $397. Today's rate: $912.

And then at Christmas time on Maui. Enterprise convertible for a week - $451. Today's rate: $1074.

More than just ridiculous. It's outrageously stinking ridiculous.

Dave
 
I was excited today I checked Priceline and the rate for 8 days @ thanksgiving on Maui was under $400....then I realized it was at an off airport location.
 
I check autorentals.com daily for our car rentals. But the best deals are generally off site and require full payment ahead of time. I don't like to pay ahead of time.
 
easyrider said:
I really like Hawaii but it is hard to beat the opulence of Mexican resorts and the low cost of everything.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. I've been to 91 country, pretty much all over the world, but never been to Hawaii, because Philippines and Mexico offer similar weather but much cheaper.
 
oldmimbler said:
Totally agree. I've been to 91 country, pretty much all over the world, but never been to Hawaii, because Philippines and Mexico offer similar weather but much cheaper.
Click to expand...

Agree with you about the weather. But one reason to visit is that Hawaii offers a cultural history the others don't.

Dave
 
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