Maui Roadsters

As any frequent traveller knows, or as any car guy will tell you, rental cars suck.  Usually they’re some boring, vanilla car, or worst, a totally piece of junk.  Sometimes you luck out and get a gem.  Or perhaps you went and rented a luxury car or some “performance car” from a big rental agency.  Those are better, but they aren’t different, and in the case of performance cars, rarely can you get them with a manual transmission.  But if you’re heading over to the Valley Isle, there is another option for you:  Maui Roadsters.

Located in Kihei, Maui, Maui Roadsters is a speciality rental car company.  The four cars you see in the above picture are the only four cars they have, all of which are reproductions of 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster Convertibles.  And while the all look the same, they kind of aren’t.  Two of the cars, the blue and the red, have 1600cc dual carb motor.  The other two cars have larger, 1915cc dual carb motor.  All cars come with 4-speed manual transmissions.  No automatic options are available.  And, according to the company, these transmissions are not for beginners.  That’s different!

The 1915cc motors pump out around 100 hp, while the 1600cc motors pump out less.  But power isn’t that important, you are in paradise after all, right?  You should want to just cruise around with the top down.

Just cruising and enjoying is even more apparent when you take a look inside of the cars.  The interiors, while nice, are very spartan.  Understandably, the cars don’t have back seats, nor do they have a/c.  3 of them do have a Pioneer CD player/radio with USB port, though!  But again, the point of renting these cars are for the enjoyment of them.  And to that end, Maui Roadsters say you can drive the cars wherever you like, except for the following places:

1. Unpaved or unimproved roads;
2. The “back road to Hana” between the Seven Sacred Pools/Oheo Gulch and Ulupalakua;
3. Between the Nakalele Blow Hole and the Turnbull Gallery (Highways 340/30) in West Maui (Kahakuloa area);
4. Past the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm on Waipoli Road in Upcountry Maui.
5. To the summit of Haleakala.

That last one is a little odd, since some of their pictures show the car atop Haleakala.

If you do decide to rent one of these lovely cars from Maui Roadsters, be prepared to pay.  Minimum rentals cost $199 for 1-4 hours, $249 for 6 hours, and $329 for 12 hours.  Rental fees include all applicable taxes and fees, except for Hawaii’s 4.167% general excise tax.  Oh, and the fee also include Rental Collision Protection, but the coverage is NOT optional and is secondary to your insurance.  If you do opt for the 12 hour rental, be aware that Maui Roadsters is open only between 8am and 8pm with no night drop.  You will need to return the cars before 8pm.  There’s also a $20 surcharge if you fail to bring the car back with a full tank of gas.  Non-US renters will have to make special arrangements with the company, too.

Despite the pitfalls, this is a fantastic opportunity to rent a unique car.  Better yet, Maui has some fantastic drives, making renting these cars even more worthwhile.   And can you imagine how you’d look pulling up to a Wailea or Kapalua hotel in one of these?

That looks way better, and way more classy than pulling up in this thing.

Of course, I think all the scratches, dents, and the non-functioning light on our car gave it “character.” ?

All jokes a side, I probably would rent a Speedster from Maui Roadsters for at least a half day if I were more comfortable driving manual, and if I wasn’t, you know, broke…