Surviving
the Rental Car Experience
Don't even think of going to
any of the Hawaiian islands without
renting a car. Many of the fun places you
will want to visit are not served by
public transportation, and those that are
often do not have convenient pick-up and
drop-off times and places.
Many people swear that they
will spend their time in Hawaii only on
the beach (with occasional trips to the
hotel bar) and that they will have no
need for a car. We disagree. Unless you
are a world class loungechair-pineapple
(the Hawaii equivalent of a couch
potato), you will want to go out and
explore the islands.
Renting a car is not without
some hassles, so we have accumulated
these top 10 tips over the years that you
might find useful:
1. Reserve early. Some
of the Hawaiian islands, especially the
smaller ones, have very limited rental
fleets, so you need to reserve early to
be sure you will have transportation. You
also usually get a better deal if you
reserve early. One easy way to do that is
to make your reservations online.
2. Check for damage. Look the car over carefully before you
take it off the rental lot and make sure
the staff marks down any damage on the
vehicle. If you don't do this, you may be
held responsible for damage done before
you had the car (especially if you do not
observe tip number 7 below).
3. Check for
off-limits roads. Ask the rental staff if there are any
roads on which you may not drive the car.
This is very important since some of the
rental companies have begun declaring
certain popular roads off limits. We were
shocked to find on our most recent trip
that one major rental car company will
not allow you to drive to the top of Mount
Haleakala which is one of
the most popular attractions in Maui.
This is not a particularly dangerous
road, which is why other rental companies
had no such restriction. Granted, rules
were made to be broken, but if you break
these rules, what ever auto insurance you
may think you have will be null
and void if you have an accident on one
of these roads.
4. Refuel the car
yourself. Do not return the
car with less fuel than it had at pick-up
time because the rental company will
charge you ridiculous rates per gallon
for the missing fuel (lately, as much as $8 per gallon!). Prices at Hawaii's
gas stations are bad enough but the
prices the rental people charge are even
worse.
5. Don't top off the
tank. This
is second nature to us, so we often put
every possible drop in the tank before we
return it. Why bother? So long as the
fuel gauge needle is somewhere near the
full mark, the rental agency is unlikely
to charge you for fuel (especially if you
follow tip number 7).
6. Decline the
insurance. The
insurance premiums the rental companies
will charge you are another rip-off. Many
credit card companies include this
insurance as part of your benefits if you
rent with their cards. You many also have
coverage from your insurance policies at
home. Check on this before you leave for
Hawaii -- be sure to find out if you are
ok for both the liability and collision
coverage.
7. Clean your trash
out of the car. Why should you do someone else's job?
Because it will take less than a minute
and it will endear you to the rental
staff. Who cares? These people have the
ability to hold you accountable for
damage done to the car and they also can
hit you with refueling charges. This can
be especially critical if you really have
damaged the car and/or did not fully
refuel it.
8. Bring your radar
detector if
you have one. This may be paradise, but
even paradise has traffic laws and the
Hawaiian police don't appreciate speeding
vehicles any more than the boys in blue
from other states.
9. Beware of drop
off charges. If
you rent your car at one airport, and
then fly out of a different airport on
the same island (which is not uncommon),
you may be hit with a charge close to
$100.
10. Find out if
there is a grace period. Some companies will hit you with hefty
late charges -- even an extra day -- if
you don't return the car promptly, so
make sure you know what their policies
are before you take that extra cruise
along the beach.
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