July 20, 2025 - This week, minivan prices continue to soar, driven by the safety recall that we reported previously. But other vehicle prices are in their usual summer range. The cheapest car from Kahului airport was just $310/week, which is about $45/day with all taxes and fees included. Convertibles are just $368/week which makes them an incredibly good deal. Minivans, with most units sidelined, are staying above $2,000/week. Mixed prices are expected to continue through the summer, until the minivan recall is resolved. Continue reading for all the details.

Fig. 1. Rental car prices in Maui are mixed in July 2025, with minivans up sharply.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RENT A CAR IN MAUI ON JULY 21, 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 July 21, 2025.

Category Price Change Company
Economy $310 +19% Payless
Midsize $342 -14% Thrifty
Jeep $610 0% Payless
Convertbl $368 -42% Payless
SUV $475 -47% Budget
7 St SUV $745 -41% Budget
Minivan $2,083 +3% Budget

For the week of Monday 7/21/2025, the cheapest rental car from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) is $310/week for one week from Payless - that's up 19% from last week. The lowest price for a midsize car is down 14% to $342/week, from Thrifty. Jeeps were unchanged at $610/week, from Budget. Convertibles are down for the second week in a row, this time by 42%, to $368/week from Payless. The price for the cheapest SUV was also down, by 47%, to $475/week, from Budget. 7-seat SUV's fell 41%, to $745/week, also from Budget. Minivan prices stayed at a lofty level, up 3% to $2,083/week, from Budget.

WHAT FACTORS ARE DRIVING MAUI RENTAL CAR PRICES THIS WEEK?

We can gain some insight into the current pricing conditions by comparing the current price in each vehicle category to its median price over the last 52 weeks - one year.

Vehicle Price Median Premium/Discount
Economy $310 $275 +13%
Midsize $342 $341 0%
Jeep $610 $566 +8%
Convertbl $368 $632 -42%
SUV $475 $395 +20%
7 st SUV $745 $563 +32%
Minivan $2,083 $664 214%

For most of the vehicles that we track, the current price is at a small premium above the median price from the elapsed year. This reflects the normal level for the summer high season pricing, that extends from early July into August. Economy cars are at a 13% premium above the median. Midsize cars are right at the median price. Jeeps are at a 8% premium. The premium is slightly higher for SUV's, 20% for regular SUV's and 32% for 7-seat SUV's - we will discuss the reason for this shortly. There are two significant exceptions to the current pricing level. The first exception if for convertibles, They are at a significant discount to the median. The current price of $368/week is 42% below the median for the year - nearly half-price. We did report previously that convertible prices were unusually low for a few weeks in mid-June. This week we see a continuation of that prior trend, that we attributed to the arrival of new inventory being put into service. The second very significant exception is for minivans. As we reported previously, there is currently a significant shortage of minivans, caused by the safety recall on the Chrysler and Dodge minivans that are the predominant model in the rental fleets. By law, these minivans have to be pulled from the rental pool until the recall service is performed As a result, this week's price for minivans is at a 214% premium over the median price from the last 52 weeks. In other words, the current price is more than three times the median price. Minivan prices are not the only ones affected by the recall. There is a spill-over effect into SUV's that offer comparable seating and luggage hauling capacity. They are the second choice for customers who may have had minivan reservations or who may have been considering a minivan rental. This we believe is increasing the demand for SUV's and it is the reason that SUV's are at a slightly higher premium over their median than other vehicle types.

Fig. 2. Maui car rental prices from the last 13 months, with advance reservation prices for the coming five weeks.

MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICE FORECAST FOR JULY/AUGUST 2025

As of today, July 20, 2025, the lowest advertised prices for a one week rental made in advance, both from the airport rentals and off-airport, are as follows for the dates shown:

DATE OFF-OGG OGG
07/21/25 $253 $310
07/28/25 $219 $271
08/05/25 $219 $246
08/12/25 $235 $264
08/19/25 $247 $270
08/26/25 $247 $270

These advance reservation prices, marked as "Forecast," are illustrated in the area highlighted in Figure 2.

For typical vehicles, prices appear to reached their summer high season level, and they are now expected to stay in the range over the coming weeks for what remains of July and into August. However the prices for minivans and SUV's may diverge significantly from this pattern, due to the minivan recall.

Figure 3. Average car rental costs in Maui from 2013 to 2018 show significant fluctuations, with a notable spikes in late December and mid-February, and a marked increase during the next five-week period highlighted in red.

This price movement is consistent with the historical trend of prices that we've documented in our five-year price tracking study, that followed prices week-to-week for five years between 2013 and 2018.

The five-year average prices showing the seasonal variation throughout a year are illustrated in the price chart in figure 3.

Historically, between 2013 and 2018, prices peak around July 4 then remain at summer season levels through July and into early August, before dropping back to shoulder season levels for September.

Figure 4. Price trends for a one-week car rental in Maui from December 2024 to May 2025 show variations based on booking timings: one day, one week, and five weeks in advance.

More recently, this same pattern was repeated again last year in summer of 2024, as illustrated in the price chart in Figure 2. In summer 2024, prices peaked for July 4, then dipped and leveled off for July and August

IS IT CHEAPER TO BOOK AT THE LAST MINUTE?

Beginning in mid-December of 2024, we have tracked the movement of advance booking prices as the reservation date approaches. Every week, we check the price one week out, two weeks out, three weeks out, up to five weeks out, and save the numbers for comparison.

We've seen longer range prices for reservations made five weeks in advance showing peaks coinciding with expected busy travel periods, the most recent being Memorial Day and Independence Day.

For both holidays, advance prices fizzled down to a much lower level for last minute bookings. This is shown in the price chart of Figure 4.

Figure 5. Advance booking prices vs. lead times for the cheapest cars available to rent for the week of July 21. Advance booking prices have gone up as the reservation date approaches.

For this coming week's rentals, the last minute price available today is higher than the price available five weeks ago. This holds true for both airport rentals and off-airport rentals.

The progression of advance reservation prices for this date is illustrated in the price chart in Figure 5.

Off-OGG OGG Days in Advance
$253.00 $310.00 1
$212.00 $273.00 8
$230.00 $251.00 15
$256.00 $264.00 22
$256.00 $269.00 29
$183.00 $269.00 36

The price for a rental from the airport starting tomorrow fell from $269/week five weeks ago, to $310/week today. The best price for tomorrow's rental was $251, two weeks ago. The price for an off-airport rental beginning tomorrow also rose, from $183/week if booked five weeks ago, to $253/week if booked today.

The increase in prices for airport rentals is relatively modest and we will not attempt to read too much significance into it. The more substantial increase in prices for off-airport rental may be reflecting more limited inventory at off-airport locations, which makes the price more sensitive to small fluctuations in demand.

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

DOES IT COST LESS TO RENT OFF-AIRPORT?

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

However, in recent months, we have seen a disruption of the historical pattern, with off-airport prices frequently higher than airport prices. This may be due to off-airport locations cutting back on inventory and operations in the difficult business environment that came after the Lahaina wildfires of August 2023. .

The airport vs. off-airport prices for this week are illustrated in Figure 6.

This week, we are seeing off-airport prices lower than airport prices in three categories: economy cars, SUV's, and minivans. In every other category, which includes midsize, Jeep, convertible and 7-seat SUV, either the airport price is lower, or there is no off-airport availability at all. .

These prices are from our survey taken on 7/20/25, for a one-week rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), beginning on Monday, 7/21/25, 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 previously, there are fundamental factors that contribute historically to higher prices from the airport.

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. 

However this model appears to be turned on its head in light of the current operational environment for the rental car business in Maui. Whether and when we see a return to the usual price pattern is unknown.

IS MAUI THE MOST EXPENSIVE HAWAIIAN ISLAND FOR CAR RENTAL?

Here's a quick survey of the cheapest one-week rental cost from each of the five major Hawaii airports, for a rental beginning on Monday, July 21.

COST CHANGE AIRPORT
$1,038 +37% Honolulu (HNL)
$309 +15% Maui Kahului Airport (OGG)
$364 +6% Kauai Lihue Airport (LIH)
$616 +18% Kona Airport (KOA)
$294 -3% Hilo Airport (ITO)

This week prices for car rentals at the five major airports in Hawaii were mixed, Honolulu was up for the second week in a row, this time by 37%, to a high-flying level of $1,038/week, making it the most expensive this week. Hawaii Island's Kona airport was second, up 18% to $616/week. Kauai's Lihue airport was third, up 6% to $364/week. Maui was fourth, up 15% from last week to $209/week. Hilo was the cheapest of the major airports, down 3% to $294/week. Maui had the lowest price for 13 out of the last 16 weeks and was the second lowest for the other three.

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.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

This blog is published by Frank's Friendly Cars Maui Car Rental LLC, an independent car rental company operating in Maui, Hawaii, since 2006. Frank's offers low prices on used local cars and discount prices on new cars, with a "Lowest Price Guarantee" that assures you of getting the best deal on your rental. Visit our website at www.mauicarrental.biz, or call us at 808-280-1196.

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