Originally Posted by
PDX-RDM-AVL-TPA
I picked up another car at LIH on Saturday morning at about 10:30. This was shortly before the first mainland flight comes in, so the lot was full. Again they told me to take anything in the first two rows (ES and EA rows). There were almost as many SUVs on the lot as sedans. I didn't pay much attention to the sedans, but I think they were mostly Impalas, Sonatas, and Altimas. My choices of SUVs were:
2 Jeep Patriots
3 Hyundai Santa Fes
1 Hyundai Tucson
1 Chevy Equinox
I really liked the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk that I had earlier in the week, but their were no Cherokees available. I first chose the Equinox as it had power seating and felt more comfortable overall. I got as far as the exit gate and even had my contract. But before driving out, I was trying to pair my phone. The phone list was full of course, and when I selected the other phones and deleted them, nothing seemed to happen. So I handed the contract back, and backed up and picked up the lowest mileage and nicest smelling Santa Fe on the lot. I put over 180 miles on it in two days driving my parents to various sights, roughly equivalent to twice the distance from the end of the road on the northwest side of the island to the end of the road on the southwest side of the island.
When I returned the car, I noticed that they had a whole line of Jeep Wranglers lined up near the return area (not in either the Enterprise or National lots for cars available to be rented). I haven't seen a Jeep Wrangler in the available rental lot any times I've visited over the past two weeks. I'm thinking that they keep the Jeeps in the special area off to the side, and only pull them out when someone has a Jeep reservation. The day I rented, I called the office to ask about the potential for getting a Jeep Wrangler, and the person I talked to said that I could potentially ask the manager for a Jeep. In the end I decided not to do that, as I realized that a Wrangler would be less comfortable than something like the Santa Fe, Equinox, or Cherokee.
I got a Wrangler from ES about 2 weeks ago and wasn't impressed. It had about 9,000 miles, but felt like it had 50,000. Beat up interior, squeaks, and rattles. Scratched up roof from people taking it on and off and just throwing it aside wherever they can find space on their hotel balcony or lanai. Wranglers get beat up by the tourists so bad on this island. I don't think you'll find any Wranglers on Friday and Saturday because they are all reserved. Your best shot at finding one in EA/ES is mid-week.