Mar. 16, 2026. Prices for Maui rental cars were expected to peak this week, with an influx of Spring Break visitors driving up demand, as they do every year at this time. But Mother Nature had other plans. An unusually powerful Pacific storm brought flooding rains and destructive winds. Visitors fled the island ahead of the storm. New arrivals evaporated as flights at Kahului Airport (OGG) were cancelled or re-routed, and vacationers cancelled their planned visits in anticipation of the bad weather. As a result, this week, prices for Maui rental cars fell to their lowest level of 2026. The cheapest car available from OGG is just $424 for a one week rental, with all taxes and fees included. That's less than half what it was one week ago. And for the first time this year, prices for last-minute car rental bookings were lower than prices booked in advance, signaling a reversal in the pricing dynamic from under-supply to over-supply. Even so, prices for many vehicle remain higher than they were at the same time last year. The cheapest cars cost about 30% more to rent than they did last year. As for the forecast, it is not yet clear how long visitor numbers will continue to be affected by the storm damage. The next seasonal travel peak is for the Easter holiday, three weeks from now, In the coming days, we should be able to make a better assessment of the storm damage, its extent, and how long it might take for repairs, and any lasting effects on travel and car rental prices. Until then, we are faced with some uncertainty. Continue reading for the details.

Fig. 1. Prices for Maui car rental at Kahului Airport (OGG) from December 2024 to now.

HOW MUCH IS THE CHEAPEST MAUI RENTAL CAR ON MARCH 16, 2026?

Every week, we list the lowest available prices for a one-week car rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), for a selection of vehicle categories, with the company offering the best price. This is our overview of Maui car rental prices for the week of March 16, 2026.

Category Price Company

Economy $424 SiXT

Midsize $516 SiXT

Jeep $929 SiXT

Convertbl $636 Hertz

SUV $468 Thrifty

7 St SUV $1,005 Thrifty

Minivan $1,343 Thrifty

The prices quoted here include all applicable taxes and fees. Prices for these vehicle types charted week-to-week for the last 14 months are illustrated in Figure 1.

These are the lowest prices in every car category: The lowest price for a compact car from Kahului Airport (OGG) was $424/week, from SiXT. Mid-size cars started at $516/week, also from SiXT. Jeeps were starting at $929/week, from Dollar. The lowest price for a convertible was $636/week, from Hertz. The cheapest standard SUV's were $468/week, from Thrifty, and 7-seat SUV's started at $1,005/week, from Thrifty. The cheapest minivans were $1,343/week, from Thrifty.

Fig. 2. Maui car rental prices at Kahului Airport (OGG) this week and last week, with the percentage change..

HOW MUCH DID MAUI RENTAL CAR PRICES CHANGE FROM LAST WEEK?

This is how the lowest price for a one week rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) starting on March 16, 2026 has changed from the week before, for every vehicle category:

Category This week Last Change
Economy $424 $905 -53%

Midsize $516 $1,016 -49%

Jeep $929 $1,268 -27%

Convertbll $636 $1,405 -55%

SUV $468 $1,254 -63%

7 st SUV $1,005 $1,951 -48%

Minivan $1,343 $1,458 -8%

This week, the weekly rental rates for many vehicles fell in the range of 50% to 60% from last week. The price for the cheapest car from Kahului Airport (OGG) was down 53% from last week. The cheapest midsize car also fell, by 49%. Convertibles were down 55%, standard SUV's fell 63%%, 7-seat SUV's were down 48%, But Jeeps and minivans were outliers, falling only 27% and 8% from last week, respectively. Possibly lingering effects of the safety recalls on these vehicles, that took many of them out of service, are still being felt and are preventing their prices from following the general downward trend.

Prices for this week and last week, with the percentage change week-to-week, are illustrated in Figure 2.

As we noted earlier, we expected strong Spring Break demand to drive prices for this week up from last week. This would have been consistent with the same seasonal trend usually seen every year. But the powerful storm that hit the entire state beginning in the middle of the week through Saturday, with its flood-inducing atmospheric river and destructive strong winds, put a damper on the expected Spring Break rush - and prices moved downward, against expectation. At their current levels, prices in all vehicle categories are the lowest they have been in all of 2026. But even with the downward move, prices are not all cheap by historical standards. Continue reading for the details.

Figure 3. Price comparison for Maui Car Rental as of March 2026 shows mixed changes by vehicle type compared to the year before

HOW DO MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICES COMPARE TO ONE YEAR AGO?

We previously, reported that average prices over the first week of February this year were about double what they were one year ago in many categories, and significantly higher overall. This was after prices had been in the range of 30% to 45% higher year-over-year for the month of January. They were anywhere from double to triple of the previous year in February. They continued at the same level in the first two weeks of March.

This is how Maui car rental prices look in the third week of March 2026, beginning Monday March 16, compared to the corresponding week of last year, that began Monday March 17, 2025:

Vehicle Now Last Year Change

Economy $424 $309 37%

Midsize $516 $398 30%

Jeep $929 $714 30%

Convertbl $636 $716 -11%

SUV $468 $840 -44%

7 st SUV $1,005 $1,705 -41%

Minivan $1,343 $2,478 -46%

These numbers are charted in Figure 3.

In a surprising outcome, the year-over-year change by vehicle type was split down the middle. But there seems to be a clear explanation of why some vehicles are up compared to last years, and others are down. Vehicles that showed little or no demand-driven peak at last year's spring break - compact cars, mid-size cars, and Jeeps - were all up this year compared to last. Compacts were up 37%, mid-size cars were up 30%, and Jeeps were also up 30%. None of these categories showed a significant peak last year. But vehicles with prices that peaked strongly last year at Spring break - convertibles, SUV's, and minivans - were all down this year compared to last year. This split could be an indication of the special preferences of spring break travelers.

IS IT ALWAYS CHEAPER TO BOOK IN ADVANCE?

In mid-December of 2024, we began to track 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.

From mid-February of this year until early October, the prices available one day in advance and one week in advance were consistently lower than the price five weeks in advance (see figure 4). This indicates excess inventory that companies compete to thin out with lower prices.

However, beginning in early October, and until just recently bookings with short lead times - 1 week or 1 day in advance - have been consistently and sometimes significantly more expensive than advance bookings. This indicates strong demand pressure and/or supply limitations causing prices to ratchet up as the reservation date draws closer.

In the last few weeks, the gap between advance prices and last minute prices began to close, reducing the advantage of booking in advance.

This week, for the first time in 2026, the last-minute price is significantly lower. For tomorrow's rental, booking today would have saved 39% or $248/week for an off-airport rental, and the savings for a rental from OGG would have been 41%, or $298/week.

Of course the disruption caused by the storm had something to do with this week's collapse of last minute prices. Had it not been for that, prices were ratcheting upward until two weeks ago, when the storm forecast began to emerge. That's when prices for this week's rentals began to soften. .

Where do we go from here? Even without the passage of the storm, this time of year is a transitional period from the winter high season to a spring shoulder season. Normally, from here, the general trend in prices is downward, and last-minute savings become more frequent and more significant - as they were at this time last year. But there is nothing normal about this year so far. We hedge our bets for the near term, predicting that the difference in price between advance bookings and last minute bookings will be small for the next few weeks, with no clear advantage for one over the other.

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.

Figure 6. Week-by-week variation of Maui car rental prices averaged over five years, from 2013 to 2018.

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 6, 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

Frank Saab is a thought leader in the rental car industry, quoted by influential publications like SFgate.com. He is the editor of this blog 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.

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