Maui Car Rental
 

I tried posting this earlier today and now can't find it anywhere...hmmm?

Does anyone have a favorite car rental place in Maui? We (four w/ 2 older teens) are gratefully returning to Maui for a much needed vacation in July and would like to rent a convertible just for fun. We're looking for something REASONABLE since we really don't plan on spending too much time in the car - just from point A to point B. Has anyone ever heard of rent a wreck?
Any help or advice is as always greatly appreciated!

My favorite is Hertz, but there are several car rental places near the airport. I'm not sure about Rent a Wreck. Most car rental companies have deals for Hawaii, California and Florida.

I used Discount Hawaii Car Rental and got a price of $54. per day. Their service is wonderful and they don't charge for an extra driver. Then I kept checking Priceline and got one through Hertz for $30. per day (yesterday). So, I canceled my previous reservation. I know they will charge for an extra driver - $6-$8 per day but that's still a decent deal. Sometimes you can pay $25. for a convertible on Priceline, but I was not able to get that deal this time...

My trip is less than two weeks away. Sometimes you have to wait until pretty close to your trip to get a good deal on Priceline.

We used Priceline for the first time. Maui car through National = $26.00/day, fullsize. BI car through Hertz = $20.00/day, fullsize. Travel in June. From everything I have read, Alamo has some issues with service and quality of vehicles, so if you can, I'd probably rent from companies than Alamo. JMHO.

Thanks tcapp.
Crazy - I like the way you shop. Of course I'm so excited to being going back it's hard to wait to do anything. I will check out Priceline (I heard that if you use them you cannot cancel - is that true?)
Sherrie - Sounds like you got a great deal too. I will chekc it out.

Thanks everyone!

You pay up front and you cannot cancel with Priceline. It's my first time to use them so I'll let you know...

I've heard horror stories about more than one national car rental company. My own involves Dollar. I think you just have to be firm about not allowing them to tack on added charges. I'm using Thrifty on the BI and Hertz on Maui this time. I like the fact that Hertz has some Mustangs - not all Sebrings.

I'm always puzzled why Alamo has gotten this bad reputation. I've rented them on about 4 different occasions on Hawaii and yes..once the car wasn't up to par with the cleaning, I went back inside and they gave us a set of keys to another one, no big deal considering the savings. To give you an idea of the deals we've gotten:
Oahu weekly rental: Jeep - $189 inc. all taxes and no additional driver fee. Also got a midsize on Maui & Oahu for $130 week (that is about $18 per day, all inclusive) Our latest find was a convertible for a total of $230 inc. all taxes and extra driver that we'll use for a HM trip on Oahu this summer.

Unfortunately, the thing with priceline is a $20 a day rate translates a bit higher after they tack on all their their booking fees & taxes, plus as the above poster mentioned, you can't cancel. Occassionally, they will have an amazing deal, like $13 per day, but that is not too often. Of course guess I should be glad that people are staying away from Alamo..the low demand must translate to the great deals :)

Good luck w/ your rental find, but personally, would advise against 'rent a wreck' if it's just a matter of saving a few $.

I found a good rate on Hawaii Rental Car but for one of my islands but overall, I did very well with www.rentalcodes.com and inserting available coupons and codes that are out there. It takes a bit more time and you have to look at each company that has a good coupon available but it was worth the effort. Budget had the best rates with the available codes and coupons at the time we booked.

crazy - I'm not sure I want to make the commitment with Priceline so I'll probably keep looking.
ggrtist - I'll check them all out and hopefully come up with a good deal. I'm sure I can find pricing that will keep me away from the rent a wreck thing!
dawnct - I really like your idea to shop for the coupons and codes that are available out there. Thanks for the tip!

http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/

Whichever one you choose, go to their website to sign up for their 'club' for
perks!

Old Southern Belle - Why thank you! I try to always sign up for the various airline clubs. I didn't think about that for renting a car!

Yes, and also for whatever hotel you use...they all have their own clubs with certain perks!

I have had the best luck with Avis, at least in terms of quick service, and the worst with Alamo (now Alamo/National).

Whatever car rental you pick, go online an join thier priority club (eg #1 for Hertz, Wizard for Avis, Fastbreak for Budget etc). Its free and a heck of a timesaver.

Have your reservation number attached to your priority number. That way when you get to the rental counter you go right to the priority line, get your car and go. You don't have to wait while a plane load of infrequent travelers haggle over every rental contract option available. (Plus, since your preferences are in your profile, the rental agent won't pressure you for insurance and all the other stuff they try to add on).

When we go to the Islands, I leave the family to wait for the baggage, and I go get the rental car. Usually, by the time I get back to the baggage claim they are waiting at the curb with the luggage. Beats the heck out of dragging a bunch of suitcases onto the shuttle. And by the time I have spent six hours on an airplane, I have no desire for long rental car waits.

I wouldn't mess with a second class rental car outfit, vacation time is too valuable to spend with a broken vehicle.

We searched on sidestep and kayak plus did orbitz ourselves got a minivan for four adults from dollar for $27. Worked great everybody had plenty of room and a good view plus the blonde haired fair skinned sister-in-law didn't get sunburned.

Southern Belle - We always stay at our favorite condo up in Napili - Honokeana Cove - for us there is no other.
Spokaneman - The hub does the same thing with going over on the shuttle to p/u the car while we retrieve the luggage. Save time and energy!
Hulajake - Hmmm...didn't think about the convertible in relation to sun exposure. I'm not blonde but this old girls skin is quite pale and doesn't need any additional sun damage!