RENTAL CAR HELP!!!! ;)
 

I was wondering if any of you great fodorites could help me......looking to rent a car for 8 days in both Maui and Kauai....any advice on which companies have the best rates.....or where I could get any discounts??? any help would be great:)

Try Expedia, Priceline, or the rental car site(s) direct

4 days each island, or 8 days on each???

I've found Alamo and Budget are consistently well-priced, and if you subscribe to their newsletters you can see the new deals. I don't think you can back out of a Priceline car reservation, can you? Maybe with a fee?

I always forget what it is, but someone here will know the website that has all the codes for car rental companies. Anyone?

love
roxy

There's www.rentalcodes.com but they seem a bit behind usually.
Last year Alamo had a great code 6T for convertibles/SUV etc but not seen 2004 version yet :(
You don't mention WHEN you're going. Rates vary all the time and if you make a reservation keep checking so if it decreases you can make a new reservation then cancel the old one :)
I checked yesterday for an October trip and much to my surprise Hertz was cheaper than Alamo (don't see that very often).
I've read that some will give a collective rate across more than one island but have no experience with that. Give them a call & see.
Good hunting, let us know how it turned out.

Check out orbitz.com, which has charts for the various rental agencies giving prices WITH extra charges, like taxes and surcharges for airport pick-up. It's very handy for comparing actual costs rather than just base rental charges, which are often only half of the final figure.

I was able to get a good rate for Honululu a few weeks back on thrifty.com A midsize car for $180 a week.

I don't do the Priceline thing but have always had good expereinces using some of the major companies (usually Alamo, Budget or Avis) and using my Costco or BJ's discount (if you're a member with either). They not only give a good discount (anywhere between 5-20%) but they often have coupons you can use on top of that for a free upgrade, free day etc...hope that helps!

Thanks very much everyone....and a response to a few of you....we are going in June for 8 days on each island......and can't wait!:)

i have rented from 'national' on prior trips to oahu and kauai, they offered a great AAA discount and were the cheapest. however i am goiing to oahu and maui come this june and and found that 'alamo' will offer me the best deal, sometimes as much as $20-$50 less than any other. also make sure you check what rental agency hours are on either island. some close early open later. and remember to account for extra fees (extra drivers, etc.) we always decline insurance as it comes wioth our visa card we rent with. take an hour or less and do online searches just to get an idea. good luck!

When Priceline rejected my offer, I noticed an ad on the screen that said to try lowestfare.com. I did, and ended up saving $30 on a 7-day rental with Budget, below the price quoted on Budget's website.

Your best bet is probably goalamo.com using rate code YQ.

Tracy --
What type of discount is the YQ code?

I also recommend orbitz and while they do slap the surcharge on there, I don't think that it's anything to write home about and from what I've heard they've offered more competative prices than the car rental companies themselves. You might want to give it a look. (http://www.orbitz.com/App/PrepareCar...=akts&r=ca)
Good Luck!!

Your best bet is to look around, at both the travel sites and at the rental sites themselves. When booking our trip to Oahu in October, I found that Orbitz and Travelocity quoted different prices for many of the companies. And when I went to the rental sites themselves, again, different prices. I ended up finding my best rate at Budget's website. I actually did just go to the Alamo site and got a quote for the same period w/the rate code that Tracy mentioned and it was $30 more expensive, but it might depend on car type/when the reservation is/etc.

Just an additional thought. Check out http://www.rentacarinmaui.com. We are using Island Rental Cars for our October trip and have found them to be pleasant and helpful. Only drawback--the rental is prepaid. But I checked with the BBB of Maui and they have a good record. We're renting a BMW instead of a midsize from the natioanl brands. Worth a try, we thought. :-)

I have found the best rates are obtained by literally haunting all of the rental car sites. I check rates every two to three days starting up to six months before I go. When I find a rate I like, I lock it in, it doesn't cost anything to hold a reservation, even if you have to give them your credit card number. If you find a better rate, cancel reserve #1 and go for number 2. Most years I have found Alamo to be the best for our trips to Maui. This year with Entertianment book at my side I started in January comparing rates. One day a couple weeks ago, the Enterprise site gave me an incredable rate of $574.60 for a 16 day rental of an SUV with an entertainment coupon. This worked out to 35 USD per day AFTER all taxes and extra fees. Jumped on that one, made my reservation and even called Enterprise afterward to confirm they had it. SUV's are ussually in the "50 dollars is a good price" range, BEFORE taxes etc. This rental was for Oahu, not Maui as we are going for a different Island this year. Second trip to Oahu, have gone 4 times to maui.