February 23, 2025 - This week prices fell for the second week in a row for all car categories that we track. For the volatile Jeep and convertible categories this was the third week in a row of price decline. The price for the cheapest cars fell to its lowest level since early December. Also, the last minute price was below advance reservation prices for the second week in a row, signaling that over-supply is developing in Maui's rental car inventories. . Continue reading for all the details on Maui car rental this week.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RENT A CAR ON MARCH 3, 2025?

Every week, we list the lowest advertised prices for a one-week car rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), for a selection of vehicle categories, with the change from the previous week, and the company offering the best price. This is our overview of Maui car rental prices for the week of March 3, 2025.

Category Price Change Company
Economy $315 -36% Dollar
Midsize $380 -25% Dollar
Jeep $539 -20% Thrifty
Convertbl $853 -20% SiXT
SUV $392 -51% Thrifty
7 St SUV $568 -29% Thrifty
Minivan $624 -31% Budget

Fig. 1. Rental car prices in Maui are down this week for every car category in the survey.

For the week of Monday 3/3/25, the lowest price for renting a car from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) for one week is $315/week from Dollar, down 36% from last week. The lowest price for a midsize car is $380/week also from Dollar, down 25% from last week. A Jeep is $539/week from Thrifty, down 20% from the week before. Convertibles fell to $853/week from SiXT, down 20%. SUV prices fell to $392/week, down 51%, from Thrifty, and minivans are $624/week, from Budget, down 31% from last week.

Prices were down from the previous week for every vehicle type, with some falling to nearly half of the week before. For Jeeps and convertibles, this was the third week in a row that prices declined.

MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICE FORECAST FOR 3/2/25

Based on five years of price tracking and analysis, we expect prices to continue to decline from their current level. This is illustrated in the five-year average weekly price chart in Figure 2. Over the five-year period of our study, it was normal to see a mid-February high point in the prices coinciding with the Valentine's Day to Presidents' Birthday stretch at mid-month. This is the secondary price peak for the year, lower than the Christmas peak, but higher than prices for the rest of the year. A smaller upward bump can be expected in March, driven by Spring Break and Easter travel.

Fig. 2. Maui Car Rental Prices: A historical price trend based on five years of averaged prices highlights a price decline from mid-February levels.

For the coming five weeks that cover the month of March, online reservation systems are showing a week-to-week decline in price that matches up with the five-year average trend (see Figure 3).

As of today the lowest advertised prices for a one week rental made in advance, both from the airport rentals and off-airport, are as follows:

DATE OFF-OGG OGG
03/03/25 $305 $315
03/10/25 $441 $341
03/17/25 $441 $327
03/24/25 $325 $274
03/31/25 $276 $271
04/07/25 $273 $269

These advance reservation prices, marked as "Forecast," are illustrated in the area highlighted in red in Figure 3.

Fig. 3. Maui car rental prices from the last 13 months with forecast of the coming five weeks.

Both airport prices and off-airport prices are showing the possibility of a March bounce upward, before prices decline again into April.

DOES IT COST LESS TO BOOK IN ADVANCE?

The difference between last-minute prices and advance reservation prices is an indicator of the state of supply and availability from the car rental providers. When supply is limited, last minute prices ratchet up from their advance levels. When there is over-supply, prices drop at the last minute. These changes follow a seasonal pattern that we covered in a blog post titled "When Is The Best Time To Rent A Car in Maui?" On average, based on five years of histori cal price data, the last minute price is lower than advance reservation prices nearly 90% of the time. The cross-over points from higher last minute prices to lower last minute prices mark the seasonal transitions from high season pricing to low season pricing (see Figure 4).

Fig. 4. Average cost trends for renting a car in Maui over five years show varying prices based on booking time: renting last-minute typically leads to lower rates, except for peak periods around Christmas and Presidents' day holidays. Booking at the last minute typically offers the most savings.

From mid-December of 2024, we have tracked the movement of advance booking prices as the reservation date approaches. For several weeks, from early January, prices were consistently ratcheting up in the days or weeks before the reservation date. Notably, since early January, the last minute price was significantly higher than the price one week in advance. For the six weeks from January 12 to February 17, the last minute price was on average $152/week more than the price one week in advance (see Figure 5),

Figure 5. Price trends for a one-week car rental in Maui from December 2024 to February 2025 show variations based on booking timings: one day, one week, and five weeks in advance.

Last week we saw a cross-over with last-minute prices dropping below advance reservation prices for the first time in several weeks. The trend continues this week, with last minute pricing remaining lower than advance pricing. Compared to one week in advance, the last minute price was lower by $67/week. Compared to five weeks in advance, the last minute price was lower by $256/week, or just more than half.

This cross-over is right on time with the historical data covering five years of price analysis (refer back to Figure 4). Based on the historical data, barring unforeseen events, we expect the trend to continue, with last minute prices coming in lower than advance reservation prices for the coming weeks. In this situation, booking a car at the last minute leads to price savings over booking in advance.

DOES IT COST LESS TO RENT OFF-AIRPORT?

Most of the time, Maui's off-airport car rental prices are lower than airport prices due to a number of factors that we have covered in a previous blog post, titled "Is It Cheaper to Rent a Car at the Airport in Maui? Updated for 2024." 

In recent weeks, we have seen a disruption of this pattern due to unexpected strong demand and limited supply at off-airport locations, with the off-airport prices in many cases higher than airport prices.

This week, the pattern is mixed, with the prices from off-airport locations served by airport shuttle lower than the airport prices in some categories, but higher in others. (See Figure 6).

Fig. 6. Price of one-week car rental in Maui, comparing off-airport locations with airport locations for popular vehicle types.

Supply in the the categories of convertibles and 7-seat SUVS's remains limited; this week, these vehicles are not available from off-airport locations.

These prices are from our survey taken on 3/2/25, for a one-week rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), beginning on Monday, 3/3/25, for seven vehicle categories, Economy Car, Midsize Car, Convertible, Jeep, SUV, 7-passenger SUV, and Minivan. The rental companies covered in the survey are Ace, Alamo, Allsave, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Fox, Hertz, National, NU, Payless, SiXT, and Thrifty. For more info on the companies we cover, see our blog post on customer satisfaction ratings for these Maui car rental companies. 

As we've noted in previous blog posts, the price for an off-airport rental is usually lower than an airport rental, due to two factors:

1. Higher mandatory taxes and fees that are added to the cost of an airport rental, and
2. A discretionary "convenience premium" that rental companies charge at the airport. For details, see for example Is It Cheaper to Rent a Car at the Airport in Maui? Updated for 2024. 

Exceptions do occur from time to time and we do report them when they do.

IS MAUI THE MOST EXPENSIVE HAWAIIAN ISLAND FOR CAR RENTAL?

Here's a quick survey of the one-week rental cost for the five major Hawaii airports, for a rental beginning on Monday, March 3.

COST AIRPORT
$298 Honolulu (HNL)
$315 Maui Kahului Airport (OGG)
$280 Kauai Lihue Airport (LIH)
$341 Kona Airport (KOA)
$356 Hilo Airport (ITO)

After tracking at a higher level for several weeks, Maui car rental prices are now roughly in line with other islands. Prices for rental cars at all five major airports across Hawaii were in a tight $50/week range of one another .

HOW DO WE GET OUR MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICE DATA?

Prices for Maui car rentals vary from week to week, and the company offering the lowest price also changes from week to week. Furthermore, one company may be offering the lowest price in one vehicle category, for example mid-size cars, while a different company has a better price on another category, for example mini-vans.

Beginning in July 2024, we've tracked the prices on seven vehicle categories - compact, mid-size, Jeep, convertible, SUV, 7-seat SUV, and minivan - from 10 different companies at Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG): Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Payless, SiXT, and Thrifty. Each week, for every vehicle type, we noted which company offered the lowest price. Our weekly price-tracking for the lowest price economy car category goes back to July 2023 - more than one year. These are the data for the charts we post every week.

Previously we conducted a five-year price-tracking study for the lowest price economy car category beginning in February 2013 and continuing to February 2018. A sample of these results is in Figure 3, that shows the five-year average of the price over a one-year duration. For details of this massive price-tracking undertaking, and the most important findings on how and when to rent a car, see our blog post of July 14, 2024 titled "When is the best time to rent a car in Maui?" 

HOW TO CHECK RATES AND AVAILABILITY FOR MAUI CAR RENTAL

Either click through to to our Cars & Rates section, or check our booking site at rentals.mauicarrental.biz. This site gives you access to all vehicles from eight different companies - Ace, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Payless, and Thrifty - at all their Maui locations, that include the Airport rentacar center, Kahului town locations nearby the airport, and resort locations in Kihei/Wailea, and Ka'anapali. With so many options to choose from, you are assured to find the rental car that matches your preferences and your budget for your Maui trip - and there is never a cancellation penalty if you have to change plans.

Price Data Sources: rentalcars.com, rentals.mauicarrental.biz