Car rental question

[David Shaw]

Aloha StillHope: No one's mentioned Enterprise so far--last time I needed a Kona-Hilo rental they were best priced among the majors.

-dwajs

[Devany]

We rented a van when we flew in with the animals because we needed the room for the carriers. We rented it in Kona $39 a day from Dollar and returned it the next morning when Wes picked up his car at the Pasha place here. We were able to schedule one car to be here when we arrived and the other one came 2 weeks later. Dollar did not charge us more for the Hilo delivery but some companies are not even at the Hilo airport, so obviously you would need to check with them. Dollar guarantees that you will get the best price on their cars if you rent directly from them.

Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany

www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com

[wyatt]

Budget has no drop few for one way rental. I use them every time we go out of kona. Don't want my vehicle at the airport.

Go to buget.com and use discount BCD U030059 works for me.




"Yearn to understand first and to be understood second."
-- Beca Lewis Allen

[StillHope]

Thank you so much for all your responses!
And thanks Rob -for the forum.
I have almost no experience with car rentals and have no idea how to bid.Hopefully,I'll learn from the links you provide.
Thanks again!

Mdd7000 - I can not use a bus : I have 75+ stinky baggage with a wagging stub[]

[ric]

Since you mention a lack of experience with car rentals, here's something that might be useful. Many credit cards have coverage for damage to the vehicle, so you can deny the LDW fee, save about $10 a day. Call your card or check your disclosures for that. We never take the LDW.

[Carey]

You can also see if there are any Punaweb-ers that are making a Kona - Hilo trek on the day you arrive.... I know hubby would be more than willing if you are coming in on most any Friday .... there may be others!

Oh, and you can even save the rental if you don't need it the first couple of days, (and your car is coming into Hilo) as the Pahoa bus has a number of routes that pick up in Seaview, and then change to the Keakaha bus at either the PKP mall or the bus terminal (all free) & get off right near to the Port, where you can pick up Pasha on the Mauka side & others makai... (most of the drivers know where the car pickups are... just ask them, or post a further ???)

[asly]

I just rented through priceline for our October trip $15 per day, and of course tax and fees were around $50 for a week. I could have bid a little lower and still got it I suspect. Anyway we got a week rental for $160. When I checked prices through the car rental companies and through costco, they were all over $300+ for a week. We always do priceline for our cars.

[missydog1]

On second thought, I'm not sure if Priceline Name Your Own Price allows bidding on a one way rental. If it does, you have to be careful that the drop fee isn't tagged on at the end. You also need to know that Priceline has significant fees added on to its daily rate, so that you can compare the FULL cost to say, renting from Budget or Hawaii Discount Car Rental. Priceline is great, but you need to score a lower daily rate.

If you have never bid Priceline and don't expect to do it again, it may be more work than you want to learn how to do it.
Also, prices tend to be best closer to the trip, like right before, in my experience (that's if they aren't out of cars).
Best to do a refundable reservation where they don't charge you up front, that you can cancel if you get an accepted Priceline bid.
Use the site John Rabi linked to learn how to bid on Priceline, and be sure to read the relevant FAQ's as well as reading up on "winning" bids for Kona.

As I said, unless you're coming on the weekend you could spend almost a bit on two days as five because daily rates are the worst. If you need four days, try pricing five and see how it works, five being the weekly minimum. Any chance you're arriving on Thursday or Friday?

[David M]

quote:

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Originally posted by StillHope

..... I have 75+ stinky baggage with a wagging stub[]

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Now would he describe YOU with such sensitivity? []

Ninole Resident

[Devany]

But can you fit two suitcases in that car Asly? []

I think Kathy is right that you really have to check for drop off prices etc. when you are doing a one way rental. And you always get better rates when you rent for a full week.

Also when I was in Honolulu in August they ran out of cars and someone in front of me had a Priceline reservation and they refused them, saying they were over booked. I still got my car even though I was behind them in line. Budget, Avis, Dollar and Hertz were all sold out of cars that day and it was only a THURSDAY! The agent sent the customer to Enterprise to see if they had any cars.

quote:

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Originally posted by asly

I just rented through priceline for our October trip $15 per day, and of course tax and fees were around $50 for a week. I could have bid a little lower and still got it I suspect. Anyway we got a week rental for $160. When I checked prices through the car rental companies and through costco, they were all over $300+ for a week. We always do priceline for our cars.

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Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany

www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com