January 26, 2025 - Prices for every Maui rental car category are down from the previous week. The cheapest car to rent this week is a compact car for $676/week off-airport from SiXT at the airport. The priciest is a convertible, with the lowest price at $925/week from Dollar at the airport. Other vehicle types were in the range of about $700 to $900 per week. This winter's rental car shortage is easing, with availability improving at airport and off-airport locations, but this week mid-size cars and minivans show no availability from off-airport locations. Continue reading for all the details on Maui car rental this week.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RENT A CAR THIS WEEK?

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.

Fig. 1. Rental car prices in Maui are showing relatively small changes this week after dropping from their holiday highs previously.

Category Price Change Company
Economy $676 -18% SiXT
Midsize $691 -30% SiXT
Jeep $791 -18% Thrifty
Convertbl $925 -32% Dollar
SUV $713 -34% SiXT
7 St SUV $870 -24% SiXT
Minivan $768 -7% Budget

For the week of Monday 1/27/25, the lowest price for renting a car from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) for one week is $676/week from SixT, down 18% from last week. A lowest price for a midsize car is $691/week also from SiXT, down 30% from last week. A Jeep is $791/week from Thrifty, down 18% from the week before. Convertibles are $925/week from Payless, down 32%, and SUV's are $713/week from SiXT, down 24%. Minivans are 758/week from Budget, down 7%.

MAUI CAR RENTAL PRICE FORECAST FOR 1/26/25

Based on five years of price tracking and analysis, we expect prices to stay at high season levels for another week or two before rising again to holiday levels in mid-February. This is illustrated in the five-year average weekly price chart in Figure 2. Over the five-year period or our study, it was normal to expect a drop in the rental price in the weeks immediately after the Christmas holidays, with the prices rising again in February. The portion of the chart highlighted in red is the five-week period that comes right after the holidays.

For the coming five weeks, online reservation systems are showing advance reservation prices trending upward to a peak in mid-February before coming back down (see Figure 3). Note that last-minute prices may ratchet upward from these advance prices, as they usually do in periods of peak demand, with last minute prices higher than advance reservation prices.

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
01/27/25 $564 $676
02/03/25 $682 $528
02/10/25 $566 $756
02/17/25 $626 $756
02/24/25 $500 $688
03/03/25 $439 $571

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

These advance reservation prices, marked as "Forecast," are illustrated in Figure 3. The coming five-week period for the forecast and the corresponding five-week period from one year ago are both highlighted in red. Last year's prices were marked by a very weak Christmas holiday season where prices barely rose above the low season level. Last year's prices did not peak until February.

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 previous week, we have seen a price inversion with off-airport prices higher than airport prices. This was due to the smaller stocks of off-airport locations, that sell out sooner than their airport counterparts. But this week we are seeing a return to the normal price pattern with airport prices higher for all vehicle categories that show availability. (See Figure 4).

Fig. 4. Maui car rental prices compared - Airport vs. off-airport, for seven vehicle types.

For anyone willing to endure a short shuttle ride from the airport terminal to the rental location, there are savings available this week compared to the prices right at the airport.

These prices are from our survey taken on 1/26/25, for a one-week rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), beginning on Monday, 1/27/25, 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, 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.

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