The first few days of the rental went well. The Nissan Xterra was in decent condition (although…read morethere were a few things that caused some inconvenience, but that's not really the point here), and the owner was pretty polite.
However, toward the end of our stay on Maui, I'm not exactly sure where it happened - whether it was at a campsite, on one of the hiking trails, or at one of the beaches we visited - but someone cut the rubber fuel filler hose that connects the fuel filler neck to the gas tank.
We discovered this issue on the last day of our trip, shortly before returning the vehicle, when we stopped at a gas station to refuel. Fuel was leaking and spilling outside instead of going into the tank. To find out what was causing it, I looked underneath the vehicle and found that the hose had been cut. The cut was clean and straight, clearly made with a sharp object.
Replacing this hose is neither difficult nor expensive and I can easily to repair it, but since we had to leave for the airport, I didn't have time to repair it myself.
When I returned the vehicle to the owner's parking lot, I informed her that fuel had been leaking while I was trying to fill up the tank. I didn't mention that the hose had been cut, but simply told her that fuel was leaking instead of entering the tank. She told me not to worry and said they would inspect the vehicle and determine the cause.
A few hours later, she texted me and claimed that they had inspected the vehicle and found that the fuel tank itself (!) had been punctured. I then sent her the photo I had taken, which clearly showed that the hose had been cut. At that point, she suddenly changed her story and admitted that the issue was actually the hose. That immediately seemed suspicious and misleading.
Then she told me she would ask a friend who works as a mechanic for a repair estimate and would let me know the cost. She assured me that the repair should not be expensive.
Shortly after that, she sent me a repair quote that was about 3 times higher than the real market price for this type of repair work.
Because of that, I requested supporting documentation in the form of an invoice from the repair shop. After I requested the invoice, the owner disappeared for two days, despite previously responding almost immediately to every message. Two days later, she sent me a fabricated "invoice" created in a PDF editor. The document included additional charges for repairs and diagnostics that had never been mentioned before. It also lacked any signatures, stamps, or other indications that it was an authentic repair shop invoice. But the most interesting part is that the total amount on the "invoice" didn't match the price she had quoted me in our messages two days earlier - it was even higher.
After consulting with an attorney acquaintance, I requested receipts or bank records showing that she had actually paid the amount listed on the invoice. After that request, she suddenly stopped responding for more than one week. When she eventually reappeared, she completely ignored my request for proof of payment and instead continued demanding payment based on the same fake invoice.
I never refused to pay for the damage, however, when I realized that I was being misled and pressured into paying an unjustified amount of money, the matter became a question of principle for me, so from now on, the repair bill issue is going to be handled strictly through court.
I've already filed a complaint with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and I'm also thinking about contacting the Maui Police Department to file a report for suspected fraud.
I wouldn't recommend this company, especially since there are better rental options on Maui for the same price or just a bit more.
