Price Increases Kick Off Fall Season For Maui Car Rental
September 13, 2026. You can tell that Fall is in the air somewhere when Maui car rental prices begin to rise from their depressed shoulder season levels towards the higher levels of the fall travel season. That's what happened this week, as prices rose moderately across the board for all vehicles. Yet prices remain very affordable, with excellent deals on minivans. Comparing to last year's price chart, we are just at the point of the year where prices started their upward move last year. Keep reading for all the details.
HOW MUCH IS THE CHEAPEST MAUI RENTAL CAR ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2026?
Every week, we list the lowest available prices for a one-week car rental from Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), for a range of different vehicle categories, with the company offering the best price. This is our overview of Maui car rental prices for the week beginning Monday, September 14, 2026.
Category Price Company
Economy $292 Thrifty
Midsize $335 Thrifty
Jeep $413 Budget
Convertible $630 Budget
SUV $309 SiXT
7 St SUV $361 SiXT
Minivan $353 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 at Kahului Airport (OGG) this week is with Thrifty, at $292/week. Mid-size cars are starting at $335/week, also at Thrifty. Jeeps are starting at $413/week, from Budget. Convertibles start at $630/week, also from Budget. The cheapest standard SUV's are a relatively affordable $309/week, at SiXT. Large 7-seat SUV's are nit much more: $361/week, also at SiXT. Minivans, are at a very affordable $353/week, at Thrifty.
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 September 14, 2026 has changed from the week before, for every vehicle category:
Category This week Last Change Economy $292 $238 +23%
Midsize $335 $294 +14%
Jeep $413 $277 +49%
Convertible $630 $542 +16%
SUV $309 $266 +16%
7 st SUV $361 $319 +13%
Minivan $353 $353 No change
Prices in nearly every category are up from last week, with the biggest increase for Jeeps. Let's look at the details.
The lowest price for a compact cars is up 23% from last week. Midsize cars are up 14%. Jeeps are down a whopping 49% from last week's deep discount price, bringing them back to a more seasonal level. Standard SUVs are up 16%, Large SUV's are up 16%. Minivans are unchanged again this week, staying at their rock-bottom price of about $50/day.
Convertibles are continuing their upward advance, that they began a few weeks ago, adding 16% this week. We were able to get confirmation that a few weeks ago a large tranche of convertibles were staged in the airport baseyards then loaded for shipping back to the mainland, for a fleet rotation.
Prices for this week and last week, with the percentage change week-to-week, are illustrated in Figure 2.
All in all this was an uneventful week, with no large scale disruptions, no natural disasters, no new recalls, no unforeseen events, no external shocks, boring boring boring - a completely unusual week for the Maui car rental market.
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.
We have recently completed three full years of weekly monitoring of the lowest available price for a one-week rental at Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG), compiling prices for vehicles available at the Consolidated Rent A Car facility (ConRAC) as well as rentals from off-airport locations served by free shuttle. This survey covers 10 different companies, Ace (closed as of March 2026), Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Fox, Hertz, National, Nu, Payless, Sixt, and Thrifty.
This price survey covering three years from July 2023 to this July is illustrated in Figure 3. This chart marks an important milestone in our multi-year price-tracking effort. We will return to it in future editions of this blog to discuss salient features like the significant rise in the price floor in 2026 compared to 2025 (clearly visible on the chart), and the repeating seasonal variation of prices (also clearly visible).
Beginning in July 2024, we expanded our data collection from just the lowest price available to the lowest prices in 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. Later this month we will have completed two full years of this data set - which will again give us plenty of salient findings to dive into, deeply.
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 4, 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 Maui rental cars rate and availability 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 affordable older cars and discount prices on new cars, with a "Lowest Price Guarantee" that assures you of getting the best deal on your rental. The company is a member of the Hawaii Visitors and Conventions Bureau (HVCB) and the American Car Rental Association (ACRA). Visit our website at www.mauicarrental.biz, or call us at 808-280-1196.
KUDOS TO OUR TEAM
Last week's blog, written and published on Sunday, highlighted higher corporate borrowing costs and their effect on rental car costs. The next day, Monday, brought national and international coverage, with headline stories - in such distinguished publications as the New York Times - of higher long term borrowing costs, and their effect on business everywhere. We're plugged in, and ahead of the curve. Believe it.
Price Data Sources: rentalcars.com, rentals.mauicarrental.biz
