Kauai Rental Car

I currently have rented a car with Thrifty (Blue Chip). However, I heard that there have been problems with Thrifty in Kauai. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Gary

We used Thrifty (Blue Chip) in May with no problems and have booked them again for December there.

We rented from Thrifty in Kauai and we got keyed the full length of the car while parked at a local market. They didn't even charge us a cent for the damage. We would certainly rent from them again. What problems have you heard they are having?

Great to hear, as I have them booked in 4 weeks

We used Thrifty Blue Chip 3 weeks ago in Kauai and Hilo. We always booked the economy cars and ended up with convertibles both times! They were great!:)

We had no problems in Kauai with Thrifty either. We rented a minivan and the one they brought us was so new, they had to remove the new car sticker before we could drive off. We rented Thrifty on every island except Oahu and did not regret it.

We experienced a delay when picking up on Kauai. The blue-chip counter was unstaffed. I'm glad I ended up like 2nd in line. There were four or five groups behind me that were going to be there another 40 minutes minimum.

The Dodge minivan I got as an "upgrade" could only be described as rickety.

All that said, I rented with Thrifty on every island except Oahu and had an overall good experience with them other than the minor issues on Kauai and a horrendous overcharge on Maui that took 15 minutes or so to straighten out at return. They did straighten it out.

We rented from Thrifty last week in Kauai. We also had a bad experience there. We had a lengthy wait for the shuttle but when we got to the office we were second in line in the Blue Chip line. Then we waited another 20 minutes while they serviced the people ahead of us which they apparently did not even have in their system.

When it was our turn things were handled efficiently and we were given the car which we had requested. Things went rapidly downhill from there. We went out to our car and immediately noticed that it was quite dirty. This did not bother me all that much since I expected that we would be adding our own red dirt and sand throughout the day and we wanted to get on our way. We pulled out of the parking lot and started on our way when DH noticed that the gas tank was completely empty! Now we are starting to get a little annoyed. So we turn around and go back to the Thrifty office. DH goes back in, I stayed in the car. The solution is for us to meet the guy at the gas pump and fill the car up with gas. Sounded like a good idea to me. Thus began another 30 minute wait for the malfunctioning gas pump to fill up the car with only a quarter of a tank of gas! They said that they have been having trouble with filling up the Mustangs. As the clock ticked, DH was getting madder. He went back into the office and the clerk came out to see what the problem was. In the end, we were offered half price on the car rental and the gas fee was waived. It was a nice gesture on their part but still the morning was ruined by the stress of it all and we wasted a good 1 1/2 hours on the whole process. Since we only had the car for one day that was a significant delay in our plans.

I am glad that others have not have similar experiences.

MargaritaMom

I think that I should cancel my Thrift rental car in Kauai. I don't want to deal with those problems.

Gary

Okay, this is based on nothing more than a hunch. I think it's possible that things are sometimes slowed down with Thrifty because so many cruise passengers (many of them here) think or have been told that Thrifty is "best" for Hawaii because of Blue Chip or rates. The shuttles from the ships are likely to be mobbed, and then you've got a long line of people--almost all of them Blue Chip waiting at the same time. They can only staff up so much for any given day.

My opinion (just me) is that, with limited exceptions, it doesn't matter which company you use as long as they have the best rate and send shuttles to the pier. Not all of the companys send shuttles for all ports, so you do have to make sure of that.

Thrifty is the only one reported to consistently shuttle from the pier to both their downtown location and the airport in Honolulu; the others will only shuttle from the pier to their downtown locations. As well, Thrifty and Dollar are the two companies who have a rental desk, for cruise pax only, at the King Kamehameha Hotel across from the Kona tender pier. They're more expensive than the airport location there, but the airport is 20 to 30 minutes by shuttle (depends on traffic) and not all companies will shuttle from the pier to the airport in Kona.

Otherwise, Thrifty sometimes has the best rates, and sometimes they don't. I check more than one major company regularly and will sometimes cancel our online reservation and rebook with another company to score a better rate. Plus, Thrifty is not the only company with "Blue Chip" membership equivalent. Lately, a few members here have reported that they had to wait for quite a while because of how many pax had booked through Thrifty thinking that they are always "best" for the cruise.

As always, JMO.

beachchick

Beachchick - Thanks for your information. I am glad you replied because I wanted to email you.

Gary

Beachchick - Thanks for your information. I am glad you replied because I wanted to email you.

 

Gary

Aloha, Gary. Perhaps it would be helpful if I explain our Hawaii car rental "strategy" (land or cruise; doesn't matter).

First, go through and see what discount rates we have (AAA, AARP, Alumni, etc.) and check the Entertainment Book (we always get it for Hawaii trips and have saved many $100s even though we usually barely scratch the surface). Next, check which companies honor the EB coupons in Hawaii. Some of them only offer the EB discount code rates, others honor that plus coupons. (Look for "contiguous United States" on the fine print on the back as the tipoff that they don't honor them in Hawaii.) After that, it's off to the internet to check the rental company sites. I'll check four or five major companies (fewer if I'm sure I'm using a EB coupon). Then I do an online reservation for the best rate.

Then, I periodically check rates on the three or four that I've found to be best. I have booked, cancelled, and rebook as many as six times over a 6 month period for a single rental. Mostly those are for the 1 week or longer rentals, but even the 2 day rates have bounced around. For example, on one 2-week rental on Maui, we started at $320 inclusive, but ended up at $116 inclusive. I consider that well worth the little bit of extra time online, and it's so easy to book and cancel as many times as necessary.

It's also why I don't believe in always recommending Thrifty here or to family/friends. Just because they have Blue Chip and just because there are often good rates by going through the discount car rental site (sorry, can't remember the exact name) doesn't mean they are always "best" for Hawaii.

beachchick

Not sure when this got added to the gorabbitgo web site.

Roberts Hawaii now has car rentals through Hertz.

http://www.gorabbitgo.com/rac.php

I agree with Beachchick. While we used Thrifty at most of the ports, I got an email offer from National, where I am an Emerald Club member, at a very competitive rate for the one week we stayed on Kauai post cruise.(the Emerald Club doesn't cost anything- it just entitles you to just go to your car without going to the desk- you present your reservation information on leaving the lot). I kept checking, because I got the rate very far in advance, and it held up as the best rate. The one piece of advice that I picked up from these message boards that I wish I had remembered- when you leave the ship, always take the same credit card with you that you used when you booked. This was a minor problem for us at one stop, where I loaded up the "port" wallet with the wrong card and it wasted time.

I currently have rented a car with Thrifty (Blue Chip). However, I heard that there have been problems with Thrifty in Kauai. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

Gary

I experienced minor problems with Thrifty at each location but I would rent with them again in a heartbeat. I'm a blue chip member now too thanks to CC suggestions.

My first car was at Maui. Blue Chip had a separate line & only one person ahead of me but it took me quite awhile to drive off with my car. I was upgraded to a Lincoln here but the car was so huge and a gas guzzler so would have been fine with my mid-size I requested.

My second car was in Kauai. Blue Chip had a separate line too but it didn't move fast at all. But I was on my way in less than 30 minutes. It was a self-inspection of the vehicle so I had to put the initialed paper in the bin. I didn't understand where the "bin" was so I had to ask them again inside. Got a normal mid-size car as requested. Had to wait for a shuttle when we returned the car which was there in about 10 or 15 minutes.

My last car was in Honolulu airport. Had a separate blue chip line there too that was outside. We noticed after we drove off that the gas was at about 3/4 tank. We did very little driving and it cost a fortune to fill it up. I complained at the counter and they credited me for some of the gas. I explained that my beginning and ending mileage could not have possibly taken that much gas based on the 30mpg for that vehicle. I said even if it got 10 mpg, I still wouldn't have used that much gas so they gave me some $ back.

One of the places would have charged extra for second driver but not sure now which one so I did all the driving.

All in all, I'd use Thrifty again. No place will be perfect. Besides, you are on vacation, relax, have fun. Wish I were you....on my to Hawaii:) .

I've rented all my cars from Hertz for my upcoming cruise. Are there any horrors stories I've missed related to them? The confirmations I printed out all say to call when you arrive at the pier, although I'd imagine they will have shuttles there anyway. I have Gold service so hopefully lines will not be an issue.