Your editors are heading out to the Big Island this week, and you’ll be hearing more about that soon enough. But right now, these exorbitant prices on Hawaii car rentals are killing us. We devised some strategies to save money now and want to share what we did with you. Also, see our savings guide to 2023 Hawaii car rentals.
Here’s how the savings happened.
We began looking at car rentals for this trip months ago. The best deal we could ultimately find was over $370 (including taxes) for a 4-day compact car rental from a major company. We tried them all, starting with the companies themselves, then, Kayak, Priceline, Discount Hawaii Car Rental, Costco Travel, and Autoslash. We booked through Autoslash and ended up selecting a premium category Hertz rental for $422 for four days. Ouch. The only reason that we went with the premium car rather than a mid-size was that they were virtually the same price.
So Jeff, our Arthur Frommer of Hawaii, if you will, went back to all the sources to see what was out there yesterday. He makes this a big game, for those who don’t know him. Something akin to looking to see which cup contains the prize. He’s absolutely tenacious about the pursuit of value in Hawaii travel.
He didn’t find anything much better, and actually, most prices were even worse. But he didn’t give up. Jeff went back to Discount Hawaii Car Rental, Costco Travel and to Autoslash and Kayak. There was nothing really workable. Not giving up, however, he decided to pull yet another quote from Autoslash. And here’s what happened:
Reserved!
The confirmed reservation price above is for the same Hertz premium car that Jeff had previously gotten via Autoslash for $424. And notice that this is not a prepaid reservation either. Just pay on arrival. That’s a great deal at $59 a day plus taxes. Honestly, not even much more than that same car would have cost years ago.
What about Costco Travel?
The the price of a comparable car on Costco Travel never can’t down. It still fits at $432 today. No deal!
Autoslash failed to notify Jeff of the possible price reduction.
Autoslash says on their website, and the owner has commented on Beat of Hawaii posts, that they track rental car prices and will let you know when they go down. Apparently not, or at least not automatically. We received no email about a 25% reduction in cost.
Not only that, but Jeff requested two Autoslash price quotes within ten minutes of each other, and the first one didn’t list the discounted price. We’re not sure what that is about.
Takeaways for savings on Hawaii car rentals.
Don’t trust anyone. Even if they tell you they’ll let you know if the price drops. Balderdash. Don’t believe what Kayak said which is that cars are running out for your dates. Nonsense. Or that any one source always has the best deal on your Hawaii car rental.
Start the car rental process at the same time as booking air and accommodations. Book a refundable car to start.
Keep checking offers, and that’s especially true in the last week leading up to the rental. We never prepay far in advance for obvious reasons. If we are going to prepay, which we loathe, we will wait until within the last week to do so.
Check all possible sources. Not just one or two. You just never know where the best deals are lurking. And even that can change from day to day and week to week. Consider it a moving target.
Beat of Hawaii 2023 Savings Guide To Hawaii Car Rentals.
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Mercy says
Aloha,
I’m Mercy Lavata’i and I’m need of an affordable 7 passenger car rental from the 16th to the 23rd of this month(January). We will be flying in from Alaska to Hilo for my dad’s funeral..
Beat of Hawaii says
Hi Mercy.
We’ve shared with you in the article the best tricks that we know of.
Aloha.
AutoSlash says
@Mercy Condolences on the passing of your dad. For a 7-passenger vehicle, you’d be looking to rent either a minivan or full-size SUV as those are the typical vehicle classes that can accommodate that many people. It looks like a Fullsize SUV is a better deal right now for your dates, but availability is tight of late, so we recommend booking ASAP. You can request a discounted rate quote from AutoSlash if you like. Safe travels!
TammyB says
Please check with Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. They are the best for offering the lowest rates Plus their offers usually includes an additional driver or two. I’d also get your additional insurance through DHCR as well.
M condolences on behalf of your family. ❤️
Wendy M. says
Since I first learned about Autoslash from Beat of Hawaii, I’ve always found them to find the best deals for me – and I always have them track my rentals. I never thought the tracking was automatic. There is a “Track A Rental” tab at the top of the page, which I always use, and it’s easy. About 90% of the time, Autoslash comes back with a lower fare once I request the tracking. I love it!