VIP Car Rentals

Been using VIP for YEARS. I will be honest. You WILL get a junk heap of a car. Yes, One car DID have cockroaches in it. But they have always run just fine. And it DOESN’T SREAM RENTAL CAR. That’s the beauty of renting from VIP. We go all over the island in what looks like a local car. Don’t have to worry about getting broken in to. Never, ever had a car break down on us. And when Alamo and National and Budget are all out of cars, VIP will still scrounge up a car for you. Can’t beat the price! It IS run by locals, so as long as you are chill and don’t have attitude, they are very nice. But to be honest, if you cop a touristy attitude, however, they might not be so nice. Check your car completely out before you sign, and ask all questions first. Also, if you are in a big rush, don’t come here. It doesn’t take long, but it won’t be super fast. If you are OK with a junker car, this place seriously rocks. And you can get a less junky car for a little more money. They have ALWAYS been really nice to me. I always go to the location inside Aloha Gas station on Kuhio. Can’t vouch for other locations. But Kuhio street VIP is awesome.

Absolutely the BEST deal you will find on O’ahu for a weekly or monthly rental. Easy to reserve, to pick up, etc… Very nice and helpful. I have read a few of these reviews and honestly don’t know what the whining is about — this company is far less expensive than the other rental agencies, by half. So what if the car is not top of the line, not as «new» — VERY easy to rent from and very accommodating «!» So happy to say that I was offered a ride to the airport for free. Thank you, thank you! I would rent from them again without hesitation.

This place is a complete disaster! I am surprised that the better business bureau has not shut them down. We rented a car from them for an entire month. When I initially called, the man (who barely spoke English) said yes, minivans were available for rent. I asked him the price and I was originally quoted 1,400 for the month. I asked, are your vans new and he said yes. I was given a «tracking «number and told a shuttle would pick me up upon arrival. When I arrived a minivan was sent to pick us up. We all squeezed in and headed to the rental car area. The price had suddenly increased to 1800. It could be discounted if we paid half in cash. We complied and paid. Then the car was brought in… It seriously looked like it belonged in a junk shop! But well, we figured in Hawaii, who needs a nice car right? We took the car and the horrors began. The van had a slight misalignment so we were pulled over by the cops for swerving… To my shock, the cop was going to let us go for that offense however he gave us a ticket because the safety inspection had expired!!! Is it even legal to rent out a car like that??? We complained and they exchanged the car to another minivan that was even worse! As we drove off the van kept jerking forward. So we complained and got the original van back, and the guy assured us he had the safety updated, which honestly I’m not sure he really did. Since we had already paid, we stuck it out. But the worst experience must have been the cockroaches living in the car. We went shopping and left our bags in the car. When we removed the bags, it was infested with cockroaches! I literally had my feet up every time I was in the van! In summary, I will never rent from them again! The car had almost 130k miles on it, everything was broken, carpets were ripped out, the check engine sign was always on, it was roach infested, the hub caps were held on by ziplock. It baffles me how this place is even allowed to operate!

I have been renting from this company for more than 15 consecutive years.
I you want a 2015 car, if you need modern accommodations, or you want to roll around da island in an obvious rental car DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY.
On the other hand if you’d looking for the cheapest car rental on the island then keep reading. I rent long term every year with VIP. I’ve put more than 18K miles on their cars. I’ve had one breakdown in all these business transactions. I save A LOT of money with this company to spend on better things to enjoy while we visit.
We definitely lower our standard of living in these cars but they have been safe and if there was a problem the company always worked with us.

Wow, I have read some of the comments below and seems like you are all writing about another place entirely. My experience with VIP has to date been 100%. We arrived by boat from Australia and were looking for a long term rental, after comparing all the prices these guys were hands down the cheapest on the island. The car we have is a late model Nissan with all the bells and whistles and drives perfectly. I have found the guy I am dealing with Nagy to be really helpful and only too happy to help. Just so that we are all clear, I am not a guy that gets screwed with and being from Australia I am usually pre disposed to complaining if things are not right but credit where credit is due and the folks at VIP have been fantastic.
If you are looking for a great deal on a rental then look no further these guys are the cheapest on the island by a country mile. I guess if folks treat them with the respect they deserve then they will reciprocate in return. I have nothing to complain about and would recommend this company.
Rds
Dr James E

Worst rental place ever! They should be out of business! Their customer service is terrible with nothing but sarcasm and rudeness! They treat people very disrespectful, even if they just pull in the parking lot!

Love this place the staff here are friendly, clean car, good price. I would come back again thanks

Completely agree that this is a NO FRILLS rental. Cars are ‘island beaters’, mileage is high and have dings and scratches. However I think this place got a bad rap from other reviews. My experience was pleasant. Sales guys were helpful, answered my questions. Car was old, but was clean and drove well. I started with half a tank of gas and brought it back with half a tank, standard with a rental car. What people may not realize about using this company that has a disadvantage to the big rental companies is that your car is not targeted as a tourist car. Car theft is pretty big and you should ALWAYS take your valuables with you but having an ‘island beater’ gives you better odds to not be targeted as a visiting tourist. Thieves know rentals! Didn’t give 5 stars because I still thought they were pretty pricey for getting a beater.

Worst service ever! they mark up prices like crazy and are extremely rude and disrespectful to their customers. My friend and I were told that we could just call in if we needed to extend our rental. We drove all the way up to Hanauma Bay in our beat up rental car and then were told over the phone (by Mohammad) that we had to return the car ASAP. When we told them that Magdy (the boss) had told us to just call in if we needed to extend our rental, they gave us tons of attitude. Then, after 10 minutes of arguing with them, they told us that we had to return the car within 1 hour because another party had reserved the car for 6 days starting that afternoon. We were told that we would be charged a $ 500 fee if we did not return the car on time.
We had to abandon our snorkeling plans for that day to rush back to VIP car rentals. Furthermore, we walked past the VIP car lot the next day and the car was still there! there was no other party that had reserved the vehicle. These people are untrustworthy and will do whatever they can to take your money.
Any place is better than this. Don’t waste your time here. Even taking public transportation would be a better alternative to dealing with these incompetent people.

If I could give this place –10 stars I really would. Their customer service was dreadful to say the least. Upon receiving the rental car we noticed that there was a bloody disgusting band-​Aid stuck to the back passenger door. It looked like this car had not been cleaned or maintained in probably 15 years.
We actually let this go because we figured ‘hey budget rental’ so we could compromise our standards a little. After all, we only needed the car for a few hours of island exploration and the price seemed reasonable.
A few hours into driving we noticed a cockroach zooming around the backseat. I thought the little sucker was by himself. Long story short that evening we went to a restaurant my passenger/​friend opened her purse and behold 15 to 20 cockroaches drifting around! We realized that the car was infested with God knows how many cockroaches! They had little colonies
under the dashboard and under the seats.
On top of that, the brakes weren’t working all that well. Frankly I am really, really surprised this guy is even able to operate this business in the U.S. I would like to think American business standards are higher than this, but perhaps the BBB isn’t very active in the islands?!
The next morning we confronted him on the issue and demanded a refund. Because they closed at 6 PM and we almost got into a car accident the evening before over the roaches, we literally had to leave the car on some corner of a random street and had to have them pick it up because we refused to drive it anymore.
I will just end this review with this quote from the manager: «this is totally normal there are
cockroaches everywhere in the island…»
If you are reading this review I don’t think you need anymore information than this. Do yourself a favor pay that extra 20 bucks and Rent-​A-​Car somewhere else!!!

This place is Terrible! The first car they gave me had 100k miles on it and it looked like it belong to a 19 year old college kid… It was dirty and falling apart. The window rubber seal was worn off so the window howls as you drive letting air in. They asked me where I was staying on my vacation, and then told me that side of the island is not safe and therefore will give me a car that’s like the locals!!! So it won’t get broken into!
We exchanged that car for a little newer one with only 50k miles, however the front bumper was only hanging on, and the tires were bald. Leaving us to pay for a new tire after we got a flat and it was not repairable due to the 3 inch separation of tread.
Lastly, on their website it states that they will pick you up from the airport or your hotel… Well one would assume if you needed to be picked up you also need to be dropped off… Well they don’t drop you off that’s not part of their service, so at the last min we had to call a shuttle service almost making us late for our flight home. All in all this company is not ethical, their cars are NOT SAFE, and they should be closed down!!!

I want through 3 cars with them as they would not let me out of the contract despite the fact that the brakes didn’t work in the first car I picked up. The second car overheated and caught on fire. The third car needed new windshield wipers and had bald tyres all of which was my responsibility to pay for if I wanted the car roadworthy (read the small print!). The day I returned the car I put my luggage in the trunk and the lock pushed through making the car unopenable, I’d noted previously that the lock was held in by putty so must have been broken in the past and poorly repaired. They tries to claim it was my fault and that someone must have tried to break into the car so I was responsible for the repairs.
Don’t even deserve one star!

Absolute liars, price tripled from the website, rude employees, thank God we were smart enough to walk away. Read all the reviews, and beware!
They go by a different name than the online ad which is Honolulu Car Rentals, that’s why I couldn’t find any complaints against them, I just recalled that the sign now is VIP Car Rentals and looked them up. Same address as ad.

This is the worst place ever. Rented a TERRIBLE car, which we thought was funny at first, but when driving, we were nervous to turn on the A/​C because of the scary noises coming out of it. NOT FUNNY ANYMORE. Then — we raced from the North Shore to be back by 6pm and called these guys to see if they could wait 5 frickin’ minutes to stay open, we were THAT close. They said, «sure!» and promised to be open until 6:15 p.m. Shortly after hanging up, the phone rang and it was them again confirm we would be there soon. Uh — yeah, we just talked to you.
We got to the place at 6:03 p.m., no joke, and they were closed. Chain blocking the parking lot, doors locked. DUDE, WE JUST TALKED TO YOU.
We were ticked. Then, the wood burning pizza oven guy that is stationed in the parking came over and threatened to call the police on us because we were trying to drive the car into the lot, under the chain (OK we were pissed and desperate). Hey guy, no need to threaten us. Go get me a pity pizza slice!
For the price we ended up paying + overnight parking at a local hotel ($ 15), we could’ve gone with a national car rental company.
In the morning, my pregnant ass walked up to the counter and read the guy the riot act. He claimed to not know what I was talking about and stressed «We close at 6pm, I’m sorry.» I demanded a refund of the $ 15 overnight parking. THESE GUYS TOLD US THEY WOULD BE OPEN UNTIL 6:15.
He said he would think about it and talk to his co-​worker that made the promise, so I guess it wasn’t him. I told him I needed a call that afternoon to tell me what was up.
No call.
We called them, and he said he would refund the $ 15 to our credit card.
To this day, no refund has been issued.
These guys suck.
Oh — how could I forget:
1) During my ranting, the guy said «I could change you $ 25 cleaning fee but I’m not going to» I said, «We went to the beach. It’s sand.»
2) They WRITE YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER on a 1980s looking contract. Repeat: it’s written down and ripe for getting ripped off.
Ugh, now I’m pissed again.

I wouldn’t even want to give them a star, not even one. They are just horrible to customers. They kept changing prices on cars and all the cars are pretty beat-​up. Very RUDE people and RACIST!!!
Don’t ever rent there just like what everyone is already saying! You get what you pay! BOOO… we walked out and left!

Fxxking rude people. We called we would be couple mins late while they r closing at 6pm. The guy is so rude.” We don’t want to wait til 8 pm because we did it before” we kept telling him we r at the corner just make sure he could wait for us. None of the guys there had smile. looked like someone died in their family. My bf said its called customer service? U guys r so rude. He responded what do u mean? We h ave been in business for 30yrs… yep that’s why u r the only one still have all your cars in ur lot while everyone is rented out and that’s why you have a shitty review here.
All the cars there r piece of junks. They are all scratched, dent, and inside tge cars r so dirty n disguisting. Spilled drink, u could even see it.
We wouldn’t come here if other places were not sold out.
The car is $ 50 for one day, plus $ 20 gas (we only had $ 7 cash, had one bar left) we asked him if he could charge cheaper he said no that’s the policy… I don’t think its even cheap!??
Don’t even go there. I had never been to the worst place like that

VIP = RIP!!! I rented a car from VIP the other week. After driving 20min, the car burst in flames! They refused to refund any money for the rental, or for my camera and coat that burned up in the car, it melted to the ground!!! Don’t rent from VIP if you want to live… they are crooks!!! NEGATIVE STARS!!! I only posted one because Unilocal requires at least one– rent from anybody else!

AVOID THIS COMPANY
The car was DANGEROUS. Got a new car for same price at Hertz
Clerk is VERY RUDE and changed the price so often he couldnt keep it straight

This is a truly no-​frills car rental place. Unlike most reputable car rental companies, they don’t charge you an «underage fee» if you’re below 25, though the cars are pretty old and banged up. For a last minute option (20min process between searching for rates and being handed car keys), it was… decent at best. If you’re looking for a great rate without the added fees (assuming you’re under 25), this is where you’ll most likely end up. A lot of their cars don’t have air conditioning. so it’s something you actually have to request. We ended up with an ’02 Hyundai or some such for $ 43.

We traveled to Hawaii for about a week in in october 2008. I always have rented cars in my life but I had the worst experience at VIP car rentals in Hawaii. We had a car that looked ok from outside but inside it was horrible, rusty, it was licking on the rainy days and for your safety forget it. The mirrors were moving on bumps up and down the car has no breaks, there is a big gap on the steering wheel. I’m just warning people who’s never been to hawaii, not to rent a car there. And The staff there didn’t care at all about how we felt, they know they still rent the cars no matter what.
For your safety and vacation deal breaker stay away from VIP car rental