Island Rental Cars

I went to Kauai for three weeks. My friends have been using this company for several years so I thought I would give it a try. I had a very good experience. My car was a Chevy Cavalier about eight to ten years old, very clean with air conditioning and working radio. The car was left at the airport with keys, you call them when you get in and they tell you where the car is located, very easy, small airport, you leave it at the airport the day you leave. They only take cash or check. I paid twenty dollars a day, its hard to beat that price. I had a little car trouble one time and someone was there in thirty minutes to fix the problem, and the car was fine the entire rest of my stay. Everyone I talked to was nice and helpful. Definitely, if you are vacationing on a budget, a young couple or family, or are not concerned that you are not driving a shiny red car (which many people end up with when using other companies) or a jeep, this is the way to go. It was a lot of fun driving on the island and I enjoyed the car. My car at home is a Honda Accord.

We have rented from Island Cars four or five times. If you are paying by cash or cashier’s check remember to bring your proof of insurance. They want the policy number. It also would not hurt to pack a tire pressure gauge. Although the vehicles are seven to ten years old, and generally well maintained, there will be a good chance that the tire pressure was not recently checked.
If you arrive after 5:00pm, call the Island Car office and verify that someone is there. In the evening there is usually only one person in the office, and he will lock the place when he returns a renter to the airport (an $ 8 fee). A round trip of about 15 minutes.
On highway 50 at night, just after renting our vehicle, it became obvious that the windshield needed serious cleaning. Even after trying the washer and wipers. Pulled into a gas station and managed to clean the windshield, but then discovered that the inside needed a cleaning just a bad — if not worse. Went back to Lihue, purchased widow cleaner and paper towels, and managed to get it clean. The window condition would likely not have been a problem during the day, although it was a serious hazardous for night driving.
(Note: I do not recommend driving Highway 50 at night as it is two lanes, heavily traveled, limited shoulders, limited lighting, and quite a few twists and turns.)
No doubt we will rent from Island Cars again. With the hope that they will seriously clean the windshield before we leave with the vehicle.

We rented from here because we wanted to save some money. We also did not care to have a newer car from one of the larger companies.
I called to make the reservation and felt like we were getting a good deal on a sedan. We took a cab from the airport, gave him the address to make sure we go to the right place. The cab driver was familiar with the company.
When we arrived there was no one around, no one at all. The front office was unlocked and my husband walked into the back shop to find someone. They had to call in someone to come which took about 5 minutes.
Now this is the style in Hawaii, laid back and not up tight. Yes the service doesn’t always meet our standards on the mainland. But the it’s usually friendly.
The man got us a Honda Accord, older model that was in decent shape. It wasn’t a junker, but it was not brand new either. We were fine with this, knowing we’d do some hiking and leave our car, we felt it was safer to have an «island car» than a shiny rental which is often the target of break ins.
What was weird is that they gave us a different price than over the phone. I’d brought a check, since they don’t take cards. It was less than $ 10 difference. Then they told us we could just leave our car at the airport with the keys in it so we didn’t need to drop it off and then take a cab.
Everything with our car was fine. A/​c worked, car drove fine. My husband did have to stop to put air in the tires, but that was the only issue. Inside the car was nice and clean.
Overall this was a good experience that saved us some money. I recommend this if you’re flexible with your car type and don’t need a newer car.

So my wife and I had rented a van (Honda Odyssey) from these guys a few years ago to transport the guests for our wedding. Like the previous reviews said, the car was «serviceable». Glitches with the sliding door, ripped seats with covers on them, cracked dashboard, etc… Certainly a VERY worn car. BUT The price was right and we didn’t have any regrets at the end of the day.
Flash forward to this last Sept. and we had a family trip (6 people) planned to the island and inquired about the same van. The owners confirmed it was available and we decided to book it.
My parents flew in first and were dismayed to see that the van was not delivered rather a very dingy GMC Envoy that sat 5. When we asked for the van that sat 8, they said that it was in the shop. Bate and switch. Strike 1.
The owners attempted to make it right by offering us up a second car (Volvo) at no extra charge but then had multiple excuses as to why they were unable to deliver as promised. Finally, after a few days they showed up with the second vehicle and a good thing they did because right as the second car was being delivered, the first car (Envoy) dies on us in the parking lot. She explains (after the fact) that if the ignition switch isn’t set back to a certain position, the battery will drain. She promises to return «right away» with jumper cables. 36 hours later she come back to jump the car, only she forgets the jumper cables. Come on lady what are you smoking??? Strike 2!
She’s obviously embarrassed and trying to scramble for a solution and then offers us the truck (Ford Explorer) she’s driving as an remedy. We are now in possession of 3 of their cars.
I’m as patient as I can possibly be and bite my tongue during the whole debacle. I got her to admit that this was a disaster and offered her some advice as to how she might offer better service to her customers in the future.
I would have probably not written a Unilocal review on this experience if I had not gotten home to not only being billed in full, but double billed! Strike 3!
We called and the charges are being removed but I offer you this in hindsight. Next time my family and I go to Kauai, we will pay a little more to rent through one of the corporate companies with reliable cars and customer service. I give these guys 2 stars instead of 1 because they did TRY to do right, just not very hard. You get what you pay for here… if your lucky.

I’m surprised there haven’t been more reviews on this place. They have the greatest prices for a rental car on the island!!!
For those of you who are looking for an affordable and reliable ride around the island with AWESOME customer service, this is the place for you. However, I do have to say, be ready to rent a quirky vehicle.
What i needed: a clean car that could get me around the island, a working radio, functioning wiper blades, and automatic windows. I had no qualms about what year it was the color etc. When making my reservation I had my doubts that we would get a functioning vehicle after reading really bad reviews about other budget rental car establishments on Kauai. Picking up the car from the Lihue airport was very easy and payment was just as convenient. The car I received what just what I wanted and I couldn’t be happier driving it, quirks and all. 2005 Nissan Sentra.
Since we were staying in Kapaa, we just stopped by their office and met Cheryl face to face. Such a nice person!
I will certainly be using their service again for future visits to the Island.

Island Rentals offers a great service for those of us who want to visit Kauai, but don’t want to pay a fortune to drive around a sparkling new rental car. The cars are functional, the rental arrangement very basic, and it works.
A very friendly agent will pick you up promptly from baggage claim in your rental car, drive around the block, park, and go over the rental agreement. You’ll pay her in cash, she’ll get out of the car and walk down the street to pick up the next guest’s car. Simple and easy.
You are given contact information of who to call in case something happens to the car. The owner is a mechanic and will respond if any service is needed. We did not have any trouble with the car so I can’t attest to how convenient this arrangement is. When you’re in Kauai you’re on island time so maybe it doesn’t really matter.
I would not recommend this rental car company to someone who is picky or who would be uncomfortable driving an older car with a few quirks.
And the best thing is, when you’re driving an Island Rental car, nobody will think you’re a tourist!