Warning on rental cars

[longboard55]

So we are doing a Oahu Maui trip July 4th week. I already had the car for Maui but my wife wanted to add Oahu (Waikiki not aulani) Basically it was $100 a day for any car, so for the fun of it I check Maui and they had NO cars available.

The moral is Hawaii does run out of cars, and this will be a very busy summer, so book early. And do not even think of a walk up if you want to spend less than $150 a day.

Hawaii is not Florida

 

[blondietink]

Yes, it is best to get your car rental in line literally months in advance.

 

[cleophus12]

I booked our car early and as the price went down, I just changed the reservation. We wound up paying much less than I had originally booked. Of course, we weren't there during a holiday either.

 

[Pooh2]

We kept watching the price and our price went down by over $100. Definitely can get a decent deal by being patient.

 

[Gatorvet]

Book early and then keep searching for a better rate. We are here now (June), and I booked through Costco months ago. I was never able to lower my rate even though I was checking every few days and bidding on cars on Priceline frequently. I kind of felt like Priceline was laughing at me because my bids were MUCH LOWER than the prevailing rates. It's just a busy time of year and we had very specific needs since we are a family of 6 and can't fit into anything other than a mini van or large suv.

Laurie

 

[twodogs]

We had to get a large SUV too, and Costco had the best rates. They did drop by about $200 initially, so I rebooked. But after that, all they did was go up! Then they sold out several weeks before our trip. Glad I did it early.

 

[AulaniNutz]

Had a car reserved since January for $277 for upcoming week long trip this Saturday (6/18/16). Checked this morning, same car is $198.
Costco travel using Budget. Looks like Avis and Alamo also have the same $200 car...

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Hawaii is not Florida

No, but MCO and other airports also run out of cars, especially for those that want a specific type of vehicle, vacation during major holidays, or only wish to use a specific company.

I thought, given the subject line, that this thread was going to be about extra fees.

 

[southerngirl528]

Book early and then keep searching for a better rate. We are here now (June), and I booked through Costco months ago. I was never able to lower my rate even though I was checking every few days and bidding on cars on Priceline frequently. I kind of felt like Priceline was laughing at me because my bids were MUCH LOWER than the prevailing rates. It's just a busy time of year and we had very specific needs since we are a family of 6 and can't fit into anything other than a mini van or large suv.

Yes, THIS. We travel to Hawaii as often as we can and I always, ALWAYS book our rental cars the minute I know our dates, sometimes a full year in advance. I almost always find my best car rates through either Costco Travel as mentioned or www.discounthawaiicarrental.com And both often include free extra driver. Just read the fine print to know for sure on this. Then keep on checking rates as others said. Often I will find a cheaper rate as my dates get closer but not always. Whale season on Maui, esp. Feb, I have had years that I never found a better price than the one I booked close to a year out.

No, but MCO and other airports also run out of cars, especially for those that want a specific type of vehicle, vacation during major holidays, or only wish to use a specific company.

This is true of course for any location but the GIANT difference for Hawaii is that they can't just "drive more cars up from Miami". Their fleets are incredibly finite. Thus their car rental prices can go insanely high as the supply dwindles.

 

[longboard55]

well the price dropped from $500 for 5 days to $250, but we decided we do not need it anyways.