Hawaii Rental Car Shortage Alternatives

[DeniseM]

The ultimate guide to not needing a rental car in Hawaii

No, you don’t need to rent a U-Haul.

www.sfgate.com

Transportation List from Hawaii Tourism:

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www.hawaiitourismauthority.org

 

[rickandcindy23]

We are not going to get a car in February for Maui. We can walk to stores and we have friends who are on the island at the same time, so we can pay them to take us where we need to go. I will make use of that shuttle at the Westin. The three weeks we are at Hono Koa, no car necessary. That means only the very local restaurants will get our business. We don't mind walking a mile or less each way.

 

[csodjd]

I decided it is so challenging and then costly to rent a car on Oahu, as much as we're going, that we would just lease a new car. That seemed simple enough. Turns out there is a crazy shortage of inventory. We were looking for a small SUV, something in the $25k - $30k range. The dealers have a few, and that's it, and they expect that inventory to be gone soon. We had to bump up a bit from the base model and found a Mazda CX-30 for about $31k (a bit over sticker!), leased for about $400/mo. I'll bet I could rent it out for $1500/month.

 

[TravelTime]

I just rented a SUV for 10 nights in Oahu for a little over $80 per day including tax. This is for next Spring during Easter break. This seems pretty reasonable for Hawaii and a busy holiday week. I prepaid so we will get a car.

 

[TravelTime]

I decided it is so challenging and then costly to rent a car on Oahu, as much as we're going, that we would just lease a new car. That seemed simple enough. Turns out there is a crazy shortage of inventory. We were looking for a small SUV, something in the $25k - $30k range. The dealers have a few, and that's it, and they expect that inventory to be gone soon. We had to bump up a bit from the base model and found a Mazda CX-30 for about $31k (a bit over sticker!), leased for about $400/mo. I'll bet I could rent it out for $1500/month.

How long are you leasing a car for? Is it just for a short visit? I thought you could only lease cars for the long term?

 

[CalGalTraveler]

It seems there is a bit of press hysteria about this. We just rented cars on two islands. Full Size on BI for $439/week with Avis/Autoslash and a Full Size Tahoe SUV on Maui for $450/week with National corporate rate.

Key is to 1) rent early - we reserved and set up in autoslash right after the plane tickets were booked; 2) use corporate rates -National automatically upgraded us from a std SUV to full size on their Emerald Aisle on Maui; 3) use Autoslash. (Autoslash didn't swap out our rates this time but got us to decent rate to start with AVIS. 4) No prepayment/fully cancellable rates.

Although we had cancellable backup reservations, the first choice reservation worked smoothly in both cases.

 

[csodjd]

How long are you leasing a car for? Is it just for a short visit? I thought you could only lease cars for the long term?

We bought a condo, so we're going quite regularly now. I did the quick math on my current reservations for the remainder of 2021 and it's about $4500 in rental car expenses.

What's crazy is if you look at used car prices, they are almost the same as new. A car $30k new with 10-20k miles is selling for about $26k.

 

[csodjd]

It seems there is a bit of hysteria about this. We just rented cars on two islands. Full Size on BI for $439/week with Avis/Autoslash and a Full Size Tahoe SUV on Maui for $450/week with National corporate rate.

Key is to 1) rent early - we reserved and set up in autoslash right after the plane tickets were booked; 2) use corporate rates -National automatically upgraded us from a std SUV to full size on their Emerald Aisle on Maui; 3) use Autoslash. (Autoslash didn't swap out our rates this time but got us to decent rate to start with AVIS. 4) No prepayment/fully cancellable rates.

Although we had cancellable backup reservations, the first choice reservation worked smoothly in both cases.

On Oahu, I was looking to move my July 22 rental start date up to July 21, and nothing available. I looked for new weeks, nothing available. Avis. National. Enterprise. Hertz. Budget. Dollar. No cars available.

 

[csodjd]

On a slightly related note... last Friday we needed a ride from Waikiki to the airport. Uber was $97. Charlie's Taxi was $29 fixed rate.

 

[dioxide45]

2) use corporate rates -National automatically

WHen you say corporate rates, you mean rates your employer has contracted with the rental agencies for business travel? If so, very few people actually have access to such rates. I work for a large company, but our corporate rates aren't available to us for personal travel. We have a "discount site" where we can book travel, but it is a joke. I can book cheaper through Costco.

 

[slip]

We bought a condo, so we're going quite regularly now. I did the quick math on my current reservations for the remainder of 2021 and it's about $4500 in rental car expenses.

What's crazy is if you look at used car prices, they are almost the same as new. A car $30k new with 10-20k miles is selling for about $26k.

I hope this holds. I’ll be selling my 2016 Jeep Compass with 45,000 in January or February.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Corporate rate - yes. My DH works for a small public company and they negotiated so that employees are given the same corporate rate for personal use. Just have to make sure we put in our personal credit card to pay. I formerly worked for a large public company and we were able to take advantage of such rates, however the trend is for companies be more stingy about offering employee perks or offer via a third party employee portal which is not as valuable.

I also noticed that there were no cars available on BI as the date approached. When we asked AVIS if we could have the car for two hours extra because our flight was delayed, they said "no problem" because we already paid the daily rate for that day. National was less flexible so adding 3 hours would have resulted in market rate of additional $1500 so we went with AVIS on BI. The corporate booking for Maui fit our schedule so we stuck with National there. We stuck to our initial plans and if we had to return the car a few hours early to save $1500 we would have done so.

 

[csodjd]

Corporate rate - yes. My DH works for a small public company and they negotiated so that employees are given the same corporate rate for personal use. Just have to make sure we put in our personal credit card to pay.

I also noticed that there were no cars available on BI as the date approached. When we asked AVIS if we could have the car for two hours extra because our flight was delayed, they said "no problem" because we already paid the daily rate for that day. National was less flexible so adding 3 hours would have resulted in market rate of additional $1500 so we went with AVIS on BI. The corporate booking for Maui fit our schedule so we stuck with National.

I booked a car for the BI in October already. Costco was the best rate. $733 all in for a week for a full size SUV through Enterprise.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Our car on the Big Island for exactly two weeks (came back Saturday night), $674 all in through Wise Cars and Hertz was the car company. Booked it months ago.

 

[Blues]

On a slightly related note... last Friday we needed a ride from Waikiki to the airport. Uber was $97. Charlie's Taxi was $29 fixed rate.

Love Charleys. Been using them for years. We used them to get from HNL to HHV last week, and have booked them to go back to the airport later this week. I am so impressed that they haven't taken advantage of the car crisis to raise their rates. Obviously, I've been loyal to them for years; but this cinches it.

 

[lynne]

Love Charleys. Been using them for years. We used them to get from HNL to HHV last week, and have booked them to go back to the airport later this week. I am so impressed that they haven't taken advantage of the car crisis to raise their rates. Obviously, I've been loyal to them for years; but this cinches it.

Agree completely. Whenever I need to fly to Oahu from Hawai'i, Charley's is prompt and you can't beat the flat rate pricing. The cars are clean and the drivers are polite. On my trip back to the airport a few weeks ago, there were no cars available from town, but I called and they got a car to pick me up in minutes so I would not miss my flight home. The driver did say that many employees simply did not come back to work from the pandemic which can cause a problem with getting a vehicle during peak times.

 

[zentraveler]

Agree completely. Whenever I need to fly to Oahu from Hawai'i, Charley's is prompt and you can't beat the flat rate pricing. The cars are clean and the drivers are polite. On my trip back to the airport a few weeks ago, there were no cars available from town, but I called and they got a car to pick me up in minutes so I would not miss my flight home. The driver did say that many employees simply did not come back to work from the pandemic which can cause a problem with getting a vehicle during peak times.

+++ I took Charley's to and from HNL last week also and they were prompt, with great cars and drivers. A real bargain for the price. I was worried that there would be delays for 4th of July weekend, but driver was there right on time at HNL.

And here is a link I posted for TheBus; another fabulous deal and solution to the rental car problem:

TheBus - Oahu | Timeshare Users Group Online Discussion Forums (tugbbs.com)

 

[daventrina]

When we go to Maui in May we are thinking of shipping our Jeep from the BI because it cost less than renting

 

[Luanne]

When we go to Maui in May we are thinking of shipping our Jeep from the BI because it cost less than renting

By next May rates should be lower, and availability higher. Look into what it will cost you to ship your Jeep over, and back. I have an SUV on reserve for two weeks in March for just a little over $1000 all in.

"HOW MUCH does it cost to ship a car to Hawaii? The cost to ship a car to Hawaii from U.S. Mainland starts at $1,497. The cost to ship a car to U.S. Mainland from Hawaii starts at $870." This is from the Matson website.

 

[Henry M.]

He's shipping from the Big Island to another island ...

 

[Luanne]

He's shipping from the Big Island to another island ...

Missed that part. Thanks.

 

[PeterS]

Be careful with Corporate Rates (CDP codes "Corporate Discount Plans") even if it is extended to leisure time for employees.
These rates are usually not "guaranteed" but are subject to negotiation of the rates with the corp.
I had a CDP rate (which I have used many times) reserved at about $950 but when I checked back in on the res, it went up to $2800...
When I spoke to both the rental company and the corp, it was because of the car shortages, they were greatly reducing or eliminating the CDP plans at least temporarily... but subject to change.
I was told by the corp to hold the old reservation as it may go back down if the discount was renegotiated but grab something else from another agency as a backup. Which I did at just a little higher than the original quote.
I bring this up as the rental agency said they had no obligation to alert me to the change since it was not guaranteed.
I would have been in for a big surprise at the counter... so if you have reserved with a CDP rate... keep an eye on your reservation as it is subject to change.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Here's a major car rental hack. I love Discount Hawaii Car Rentals and did a search for our dates for anything on Maui. Found a car for our six weeks for $1,600 all in.

 

[controller1]

Here's a major car rental hack. I love Discount Hawaii Car Rentals and did a search for our dates for anything on Maui. Found a car for our six weeks for $1,600 all in.

That's a great rate! I just checked for our two weeks in May and their lowest priced rate was over $300 more than what I booked last week with National. They wanted $1,283 for two weeks which really makes your $1,600 even look better!

 

[rickandcindy23]

We pick our car up in Wailea at the Grand Wailea.