National Car Rental

National, but this time was the best. Robert Manuel took the wrinkles out of a challenge on combining rentals for us, and was so pleasant to deal with. I appreciate the follow through, and massive professionalism.

AT KOA, National, and now Emerald club are my go to.

National Car Rental Waikoloa has ruined my honeymoon. My new husband and I are currently stranded and unable to get into the car or start it because the battery in the key fob has died. There is no actual key in the fob, and the ignition is a push button to start and stop. We called National earlier this week and their response was they will waste a whole day driving a different car out to us when we have spent thousands on tours and activities because it is our honeymoon. We tried our best to make do with a faulty key fob and it finally died and we are unable to get in and thus even start it. We just called right now and they said “oh we can’t do anything call tomorrow”. We have activities planned for tomorrow. The office location is 45 minutes away. They also won’t refund or even discuss compensation. Do not rent from National Car Rental. We had switched to them after renting from Enterprise in Maui (easily the best customer experience we’ve had in renting cars) based on a family review and we regret that decision.

Everyone was terrific, from the shuttle bus driver to the counter agent to the return agent. Got a great car and had no problems with anything. I'm an Emerald Club member and would use National again at Kona, for sure.

Because I booked through AutoSlash.com (which I highly recommend for rental car booking) I was able to get the exact vehicle that I wanted for an outstanding price! When I arrived, it turned out that there had been a mix-up in the booking and the particular "class" of vehicle that I had booked did not include the exact vehicle that I wanted (I booked an SUV, but I should've booked an off-road SUV because I wanted a Jeep Wrangler). But there was nothing to worry about because the customer service was excellent and they put me into a Jeep Wrangler for the same price as a regular SUV very quickly! Thank you National, you helped make my trip very memorable!

They have shuttles that run often to transport customers between the airport and the car rental place. Upon checking in, I was greeted by kind and knowledgeable staff. I was off in my rental car to enjoy my vacation within minutes.

Google+ is impossible to use. But the folks at National insisted (via two emails) that I write a review of my car rental experience in Kona, so here it is. In a nutshell, my advice to anyone renting from National is to find a way to contact a REAL person. Whenever I did, my experience was wonderful. They went out of their way for me and were amazing. The ONLINE and automated TELEPHONE experience at National is comparable to that at other large companies. In other words, it's offshore, pitiful and off-putting. As to the car, we got a free upgrade (possibly because of our executive status, but I think it would have happened anyway). And we got to enjoy a Mazda Miata (with the top down) for ten days in Hawaii!!! Any need to say more? The FOLKS at National are amazing. So are the cars. The company's electronic presence is the pits. Avoid it if you possibly can.

The National folks at Kona airport were outstanding. They made leaving after a great vacation a little easier.

Big smiles and Alohas for all.

Mahalo, Rob