September 14, 2025 - Mid-September, Maui car rental prices are mixed, Economy cars, Jeeps, convertibles, and minivans virtually unchanged from last week, but mid-size cars and SUV's saw sharp increases. The cheapest car from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) is just $206/week (with all taxes and fees), Jeeps are only $354/week, and minivans, that had soared in early summer due to a July recall , are at an unbelievably low $254/week off-airport. But from OGG airport, the cheapest mid-size car is now $327/week, up nearly 40% from last week, and the cheapest SUV is $406/week, a 70% increase! Mixed prices are expected to continue for the rest of September, in part due to fleet reshuffling ahead of the busy winter travel season. Keep reading for all the details.

Fig. 1. Rental car prices in Maui are at low season levels in September 2025,.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RENT A CAR IN MAUI ON SEPTEMBER 15, 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 September 15, 2025.

Category Price Change Company
Economy $206 -6% SiXT
Midsize $327 +36% SiXT
Jeep $354 +8% Payless
Convertbl $554 +7% Payless
SUV $404 +70% SiXT
7 St SUV $461 +28% Payless
Minivan $381 0% Avis

For the week of Monday 9/15/2025, the cheapest rental car from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) is $206/week for one week from SiXT - that's 6% less than last week. The lowest price for a midsize car is up sharply, 36% to $327/week, also from SiXT. Jeeps had a small increase, up 8% to $354/week, from Payless. Convertibles are up just 7% to $554/week from Payless. The price for the cheapest SUV jumped 70% up from last week, to $404/week, from SiXT. 7-seat SUV's were also up, 28%, to $461/week, from Thrifty. Minivans were unchanged at just $381/week, from Avis. All prices quoted here include all applicable taxes and fees.

WHAT FACTORS ARE DRIVING MAUI RENTAL CAR PRICES THIS WEEK?

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

Vehicle Price Median Premium/Discount
Economy $206 $263 -22%
Midsize $327 $327 0%
Jeep $354 $539 -34%
Convertbl $554 $616 -10%
SUV $404 $403 0%
7 st SUV $461 $575 -20%
Minivan $381 $678 -44%

Prices in nearly every vehicle category are at a discount to their median price from the last 52 weeks. Economy cars are at a 22% discount, Jeeps 34% off, 10% off for convertibles, 20% off for 7-seat SUV's, and 44% off for minivans. Midsize cars and SUV's are right at the median price. The prevalence of discounts reflects shoulder season pricing, which is the lower price level between the summer peak and the beginning of the fall travel season. Note that the out-size discount for minivans is skewed by the multi-week shortage of minivans due to a safety recall that lasted for several weeks mid-summer - this pushed the median price for the year up to an unusually high level. The current minivan price is consistent with the price from one year ago - more on this below.

The most striking "real" discount at this moment is on Jeeps, 34% off from their normal median price for the last year, and a relative bargain at just $50/day with all taxes and fees. This makes it a great opportunity for anyone considering renting one of these vehicles.

HOW DO PRICES COMPARE TO LAST YEAR?

We can gain even more insight by comparing today's prices in every vehicle category to the prices from exactly one year ago. The price movements over the last year are illustrated in Figure 1.

Vehicle Now Last Year Change
Economy $206 $225.00 -8%
Midsize $327 $264.00 +24%
Jeep $354 $563.00 -37%
Convertbl $554 $820.00 -32%
SUV $404 $397.00 +2%
7 st SUV $461 $428.00 +8%
Minivan $381 $364.00 +5%

The rates for economy cars, SUV's, and minivans are all very close to what they were one year ago. But mid-size cars are up 24%, while Jeeps are down 37%, and convertibles are down 32%. It is difficult to draw clear conclusions from these mixed price movements. Mid-size cars tend to show volatility in pricing due to limited stocks, and this may explain their price movements that change week-to-week (last week they were down year over-year). For convertibles, one year ago, prices were unusually high and diverged from other vehicle prices at the time - this year's pricing could be a return to normal, and, as we've reported elsewhere, large stocks of convertibles have been delivered to the island recently , which could be holding the price down. We've also reported that large stocks of Jeeps are sitting idle on company lots. The reason for this is not known but it is likely connected to the year-over-year price drop for these vehicles.

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 SEPTEMBER 2025

As of today, September 14, 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
09/15/25 $173 $206
09/22/25 $173 $218
09/29/25 $165 $231
10/06/25 $165 $223
10/13/25 $168 $223
10/20/25 $177 $235

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

For the economy/compact category, prices appear to have settled at their low season levels, in the lowest range of prices for the year.

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.

Advance reservation systems are showing prices staying flat for the forecast period. Last year, prices began to increase to fall season levels in mid-September (see Figure 2), but this year, if we go by what the reservation systems are showing, the fall price increase may be delayed. This reflects an expectation of weak travel numbers as the fall season takes off.

By contrast, last year's price data shows the fall price increase getting under way in mid-September (see Figure 2).

Historical price data also show an expected surge that is not showing in this year's advance pricing. We tracked rental car prices week-by-week for five years from 2013 through 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 fall from their summer high season levels in August, and stay at a depressed shoulder season level from then on through most of September, then increase to fall season levels in early October (see Figure 3).

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

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.

Since mid-February of this hear, the prices available one day in advance and one week in advance have been consistently lower than the price five weeks in advance (see figure 4).

Figure 5. Chart of rental costs for economy/compact cars in Maui, showing a decrease in prices for both airport and off-airport locations as the rental date approaches.

Continuing the same trend, for rentals beginning tomorrow, the last minute price available today is lower than the price available five weeks ago. This holds true for both airport rentals and off-airport rentals.

At the moment, advance prices seem to be dropping to an unusually low level over the coming five weeks. This is a surprising trend, as rates are usually expected to begin to trend upward at this time of year. It may be an indication of unusually depressed travel numbers for Maui, due to the slow recovery from the wildfire disaster of two years ago. Last-minute prices are at or near their yearly low and not likely to fall much further. It is more likely that they will begin to rise up and catch up to the level of advance prices. It appears that the advantage of waiting to the last minute to book may continue but will be getting narrower in coming weeks.

HOW HAVE PRICE CHANGED FOR TOMORROW'S RENTAL?

The progression of advance reservation prices for a one week rental starting tomorrow, September 15, is illustrated in the price chart in Figure 5.

Off-OGG OGG Days in Advance
$173.00 $206.00 1 (last-minute)
$178.00 $200.00 8 (one week)
$195.00 $226.00 15 (two weeks)
$178.00 $192.00 22 (three weeks)
$195.00 $216.00 29 (four weeks)
$249.00 $265.00 36 (five weeks)

The price for a rental from the airport starting tomorrow dropped from $265/week if booked five weeks ago, to just $206/week today - with the lowest price of $192/week available three weeks ago. The advance price was 29% more than the last minute price and 38% more than the best price. For an off-airport rental, the price of a rental beginning tomorrow also came down, from $249/week if booked five weeks ago, to just $173/week if booked today - the advance price was 44% more than the last-minute price. .

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, even with prices discounted in nearly every category, we are seeing off-airport prices lower than the airport in four categories, economy/compact cars, mid-size cars, SUV's, and minivans. For Jeeps, the price at the airport is lower. For convertibles and 7-seat SUV's, there is no off-airport availability at all.

These prices are from our survey taken on 9/14/25, for a one-week rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), beginning on Monday, 9/15/25, for seven vehicle categories, Economy/compact 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, September 15.

COST CHANGE AIRPORT
$194 +7% Honolulu (HNL)
$174 -7% Maui Kahului Airport (OGG)
$281 -17% Kauai Lihue Airport (LIH)
$263 +18% Kona Airport (KOA)
$251 -3% Hilo Airport (ITO)

This week prices for car rentals at the five major airports in Hawaii are mixed, with small changes at Honolulu, Maui, and Hilo, but relatively larger changes at Kauai and Kona. Maui has regained its spot f cheapest island to rent a car. This makes it the cheapest for 19 out of the last 24 weeks - and second cheapest for the other five. Low rental prices in Maui is another indication of the very slow recovery of travel to Maui following the Lahaina wildfire disaster of just over two years ago.

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