Looking to book a cheap reliable car/wagon to hire in Maui, next year, that will hold w.s gear for 1 person and have seats for 3 (including driver). Any recommendations of company or vehicle? I will need it for about 11 days and would like to hire near the airport or nth shore. Thanks.
Select to expand quoteka43 said..
Word of Mouth in Kahului. If they are still there.
I think they've been swallowed up by a bigger company, they were probably creating too much competition. It's a shame as they were a cheap reliable operator.
The standard of rentals that the cheap renters have in maui seem very low compared to what we would consider a road worthy reliable car in au. I have booked through a broker the last few times and gone for the near new van both times but if you want to save money go for kimos or maui vans but beware they may not have brakes!!
Thanks all for your suggestions. Helps to have advice from people who have used them.
+3 for Kimos
Have used them on 3 separate trips over the years and been very happy with the service and the cars in question.
Just remember though, you get what you pay for.
Kimos offer 3 types of vehicles, super cheap, semi new and near new.
Like I said you get what you pay for
We used Discount Hawaii Car Rental to get prices for 2 month visiting period mid year, all main islands, mini vans, generally got best price from Inclusive Dollar Plus rentals with the following:
DOLLAR PLATINUM PLUS FREE GPS/NAV
Inclusive items:
1- Unlimited miles
2- Taxes and Fees included
3- LDW Loss Damage Waiver - Zero Excess
4- Supplemental Liability Insurance $1 Million
5- Uninsured Motorist Protection
6- Free GPS/Nav System
7- Two Free extra drivers over age 25
8- Free tank of fuel (pick up full bring car back empty and save up to $90 depending on car size)
Didnt require any extras and vehicles were in very good near new condition. The inclusive items seemed to be available only when booking from Aus?? - extra cost if booked in Hawaii although Discount Hawaii did rectify this for us.
I quick observation.
I have rented from dollar and hertz.
In australia when you collect a hire car you have pre booked, they chuck you the keys, say sign here and off you go.
On Maui, if you rent from one of the big guys like dollar or hertz you should allow about 1 and 1/2 hours. This will nearly kill you after the flights.
I heard the cheap ass rental van companies leave the keys in the car so you can just drive away. Is this true?
Kimos leaves the car in the airport car park. You just find the car, open the combination lock-box attached to the outside of the vehicle (like a surfsafe) and away you go.
Dropping off out-of-hours is the same in reverse.
I picked up and dropped off all out-of-hours and never had to deal with anyone. All automated. And a friendly txt message when I left to tell their vehicle was back where I found out with the key in the lockbox.
Too easy.
So what do people do for insurance when renting from Kimos?
Last month I rented from Dollar again, which is owned by Hertz (yep, Yuppie, at least an hour wait- the worst thing is listening to everyone else whinge about the wait, which I was ready for) and I decided to wear the risk myself. I wasn't going to be ripped-off by the bullshh insurance they offer which would have cost more than the car rental, but I couldn't find either local travel insurance or add-on to my local car insurance to cover third party or damage to the hire car. They drive so politely in Maui that I assessed the risk as pretty low.
But Kimos say you need to provide your licence and evidence of insurance. Hence my question, which hopefully will help Baywavebill.
Looks like Kimos is the go for next time.
