PushingTin

Would it matter what time your flight gets in? I have a direct from DEN flight around spring break and we land mid afternoon before a lot of the SFO/LAX flights. Or is it not as good because the people heading out haven't gotten there for their departing flights? Arriving on a Saturday if that makes any difference. Four people and a lot of bags.

ginmqi

Indeed. I arrived around mid afternoon on a holiday day (not saturday) and the aisles were picked clean with very low level cars (Fusions and Altimas).

If its a saturday during a busy week (spring break) I would probably expect limited selection in that case. Usually very early flights and late flights are going to be better.

Sounds like you'll at least need a SUV level of reservation.

Though I've also seen a family who sweet talked a manager at the OGG lot to pull up something nicer/bigger from the back (they were able to get a Maxima Platinum instead of the Altimas and Fusions).

Thing is they may not be able to get a larger SUV since the attendant I spoke with at OGG said that complimentary upgrades really depend on how booked they are. With busy days/weeks, it's going to be very limited. He said that on those days it's essentially they have no choice and have to charge upgrades on anything if you only booked for the aisle and wants something better. (ie, he told a convertible for holidays and weekends are almost always going to be a full price upgrade unless they are unusually slow...)

Of course all depends on the manager and their mood that day. Unless business common sense prevents them from getting you a bigger vehicle

rbears

Just came back from Hawaii! We had a P car reservation here (i'm exec elite) and they had a Chryslyer 300 set aside for us. The P car reservation was somehow cheaper than a midsize by a few bucks. I asked about getting into a 4 series convertible but convertible reservations were completely booked. We actually ended up in a Fusion hybrid, my partner loved the easy bluetooth connectivity and I liked the 50mpg we got driving around Maui since most of the time you're going 5-50 mph it's the perfect car for Maui.

bretthexum

It seems that every other car in Maui is a Fusion Hybrid. I actually have one as a personal car... love it.

thatdaveguy

Bah. Mad at myself - arrived very tired at nearly midnight and the greeter met me for the Emerald lot. I am EE and I asked which lot I could choose from and she instructed me only from the first row of cars.

Well, I see now that was wrong. The far side (half of it anyway) was the Executive spots!

Anyway, I thought I would share so others could avoid my silly mistake. I got a nearly base model Santa Fe which isn’t terrible I guess.

ginmqi

Saturday at 545am. First one to arrive at the lot, it seems.

Chevy Silverado crew cab x2, Dodge Ram crew cab x1, Nissan Altima SV x2, Nissan Maxima x1, Ford Fusion x2, 2018 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250.

Took the Benz. Nav is disabled (no memory card) but everything else is well-appointed. Leather, power everything, very good sound system, and actually quite peppy for a 4-pot turbo, and the backup camera is one of the better quality I've seen, the Maxima had a horrible backup cam quality. Seems a biiit thirsty on gas (even on Eco mode) as after 55 miles its almost 1/4 way down on fuel gauge. Only had about 400mi on the clock.

ginmqi

Hmm. You walked in from the counter/shuttle drop off area, right? AFAIK, the "first two rows" that you enter when you walk in from the shuttle drop off/counter area, SHOULD be the exec aisles. The "far side" rows, from my POV are the regular EA cars....

But in any event, rule of thumb is to always check out the entire lot to see if a hidden gem can be picked up, hehe.

But as has said of the other islands....hopefully you'll still enjoy your visit with all the other things that Maui has to offer!

thatdaveguy

ginmqi

Sunday at 7pm. Chrysler Pacifica. Dodge Grand Caravan. Altima x2, Fusion x1. Hyundai Santa Fe Sport(?) x1. More limited selection at this time/day.

controller1

Does the National lot stay open late for late-arriving flights? My reservation info states the lot closes at 11:00 p.m.

PushingTin

If I'm Executive level and I book a mid or full size, what size car am I guaranteed, if any? Going to burn 4-5 free days on a 9 day stay if that matters. I'm way more used to Hertz and points and exact cars. I don't like ambiguity.

ginmqi

Guaranteed? A midsize.

Each day/hour can be very different depending on how many people are there and what kind of cars are taken.

I was just there last saturday at 7am: Nissan Altima x2, Nissan Maxima x1, Hyundai Sonata x1, Nissan Frontier SV 4x2 crew cab, Ford F-150 XLT crew cab x1, Ford Fusion x2. I was offered either a CRV or a Rogue when I asked about a SUV.

This is peak whale season for Maui, so cars will be limited. As I posted before, agents have told me during busy days they will usually not give out Jeep Wranglers/Convertibles/larger SUVs as they are mostly reserved ahead of time.

The weekend before I arrived at 545am and snagged a Mercedes CLA250.

Jenn0625

Newbie here with a question about car rental. We are a family of 2 adults, and 2 kids (16,12) who will be spending a week in Maui early June with a Sunday arrival. We do not have loyalty to any rental car companies in particular. We do plan to spend a fair amount of driving around the island exploring and love the idea of doing so in a nicer car that allows for scenic viewing, but also realize with a family of 4 plus luggage for a week that those types of cars may not have the trunk space or room we would need to transport everything to and from the airport. So my question is which car rental place should we book through, or stay away from (there seem to be so many at OGG to choose from!) and what type of vehicle would any of you recommend for us? Is there anything I can do now that might save us a bit of money? Thanks in advance.

Auto Enthusiast

It sounds like you will only need a lot of luggage space to and from the airport. Thoughts on Uber SUV to and from the hotel, leave the big luggage there, and rent a smaller car off airport for sightseeing?

Jenn0625

Thought about that but we are actually also doing a split stay on the island staying the first two nights on Ka'anapali Beach and the remainder of the week on Wailea Beach. Is Uber expensive on the island?