Terms & Conditions, Return Condition of Vehicle, Etc.

1.  DEFINITIONS. "Agreement" means all terms and conditions fund on both sides of the contract form you will sign and receive copies of. "You" or "you" means the person identified as the customer elsewhere in the Agreement, any person signing the Agreement, any Authorized Driver and any person or organization to whom charges are billed by us (Elite Kauai Car Rental, Inc., also known as E.K.CAR, Stripe, Elite Kauai Car Rental, Inc., affiliates, or the customer's direction. All persons referred to as "you" or "your" are jointly and severally bound by all Agreements. "We", "our" or "us" means the business named on all Agreements. "Authorized Driver" means the renter and any additional driver listed by us on the Agreement, provided that person has a valid driver's license and is at least age 21.  Only Authorized Drivers may operate the Vehicle. "Vehicle" means the automobile or truck identified in this Agreement and any vehicle we substitute for it, and all its tires, tools, accessories, equipment, keys, and vehicle documents. "Physical Damage" means damage to, or loss of, the Vehicle caused by collision or upset, it does not include comprehensive damage or loss, such as: loss of the Vehicle due to theft, vandalism; act of nature; riot or civil disturbance; hail, flood; or fire.  Physical Damage excludes interior burn holes, window stars or cracks not caused by collision or upset. "Loss of Use" means the loss of our ability to use the Vehicle for any purpose caused by damage or loss during this rental.  Loss of use is calculated by multiplying the number of days from the date the Vehicle is damaged or lost until it is repaired or replaced, times the daily rental rate.

2.   RENTAL, INDEMNITY and WARRANTIES. This is a contract for the rental of the Vehicle. We may repossess the Vehicle at your expense without notice to you, if the Vehicle is abandoned or used in violation of law or this Agreement.  You agree to indemnify us, defend us and hold us harmless from all claims, liability, costs, and attorney fees we incur resulting from or arising out of this rental and your use of the Vehicle.  We make no warranties, express, implied or apparent, regarding the vehicle, no warranty or merchantability and no warranty that the vehicle is fit for a particular purpose.  

3.   CONDITION, RETURN OF VEHICLE.  You must return the vehicle on the date and time specified on your Agreement, and in condition that you received it, except for ordinary wear.  If the Vehicle is returned after closing hours or time agreed upon, you remain responsible for the safety of, and any damage to or loss of, the Vehicle until we inspect it upon our next opening business day.  Service to the Vehicle or replacement of parts or accessories during the rental must have the prior approval of Elite Kaua'i Car Rental Authority. You must check and maintain all fluid and gas levels once the Vehicle is in your possession.  

*If the vehicle is returned with excessively dirty (caked with mud outside, or heavy amounts of dirt or sand throughout the vehicle), any mud, soil or stains requiring extensive cleaning beyond standard cleaning procedures upon inspection, you will be charged a cleaning fee of $250.00, plus a 3.5% processing fee. The credit card on file will be charged and a receipt will be emailed directly to you.  Please take photos of how you are returning your vehicle prior to doing so.  Please be aware of how you return the rental vehicle.  Elite Kauai Car Rental, Inc will make no exceptions. *

4.   RESPONSIBILITY FOR DAMAGE OR LOSS; REPORTING TO POLICE.  You are responsible for all loss or theft of, or damage to, the Vehicle, which includes the cost of repair, or the actual cash retail value of the Vehicle on the date of the loss if the Vehicle is not repairable or if we elect not to repair the Vehicle, plus loss of use, diminished value of the Vehicle caused by damage to it or repair of it, and our administrative expenses incurred processing your claim.  You must report all accidents or incidents of theft and vandalism to us and the police as soon as you discover them.

5.  INSURANCE.  You are responsible for all damage or loss you cause to others.  You agree to provide auto liability, collision and comprehensive insurance covering you, us and the Vehicle. Where state law requires us to provide auto liability insurance, or if you have no auto liability insurance, we provide auto liability insurance (the "Policy") that is secondary to any other valid and collectible insurance whether primary, secondary, excess or contingent.  The Policy provides bodily injury and property damage liability coverage with limits no higher than minimum levels prescribed by the vehicular financial responsibility laws of the state whose laws apply to the loss.  You and we reject PIP, medical payments, no-fault and uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage, where permitted by law.  The Policy is void if you violate the terms of this Agreement, or if you fail to cooperate in any loss investigation conducted by us or our insurer. 

6.  CHARGES.  You will pay us, or the appropriate government authorities, on demand all charges due us under this Agreement, including, but not limited to: (a) time and mileage for the period you keep the Vehicle, or a mileage charged based on our experience if the odometer is tampered with or disconnected; (b) charges for additional drivers; (c), optional products and services you purchased, (d) fuel, if you return the Vehicle with less fuel than when rented;  (e) applicable taxes;  (f) all parking, traffic and toll violations, fines, penalties, forfeitures, court costs, towing, impound and storage charges and other expenses involving the Vehicle assessed against us or the vehicle, unless these expenses are our fault;  (g) $50, plus $5/mile for every mile between the renting location and place where the Vehicle is returned, repossessed or abandoned, plus all other expenses we incur in locating and recovering the Vehicle if you fail to return it or if we elect to repossess the Vehicle under the terms of this Agreement;  (h) all costs, including pre-and post-judgment attorney fees, we incur collecting payment from you or otherwise enforcing our rights under this Agreement;  (i) a 2% per month late payment fee, or the maximum amount allowed by law (if less than 2%), on all amounts past due;  (j) $50 or the maximum amount permitted by law, whichever is greater, if you pay us with a check returned unpaid for any reason; and  (k) a reasonable fee not to exceed $350 to clean the Vehicle if returned substantially less clean than when rented.

7.  YOUR PROPERTY.  You release us, our agents and employees from all claims for loss of, or damage to, your personal property (including a vehicle), or that of any other person, that we received, handled or stored, or that was left or carried in or on the Vehicle or in any service vehicle or in our offices, whether or not the loss or damage was caused by our negligence or was otherwise our responsibility.

8.  MODIFICATIONS.  No term of this Agreement can be waived or modified except by a writing that we have signed.  If you wish to extend the rental period, you must return the Vehicle to our rental office for inspection or location agreed upon and written amendment by us of the due-in date.  The Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and Elite Kauai Car Rental, Inc. (also known as E.K.CAR).  All prior representations and agreements between you and us regarding this rental are void.

9.  MISCELLANEOUS.  A waiver by us of any breach of this Agreement is not a waiver of any additional breach or waiver of the performance of your obligations under this Agreement.  Our acceptance of payment from you or our failure, refusal or neglect to exercise any of our rights under this Agreement does not constitute a waiver of any other provision of this Agreement. Unless prohibited by law, you release us from any liability for consequetial, special or punitive damages in connection with this rental or the reservation of a vehicle.  If any provision of the Agreement is deemed void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions are valid and enforceable.  

10.  SALES TAXES and OTHER GOVERNMENTALLY MANDATED CHARGES; MANDATORY AIRPORT RELATED CHARGES.  Sales, counties, cities and other governmental authorities may impose sales tax, gross receipts, taxes, fees and other mandatory charges, on car rental charges. At certain airport locations where E.K.CAR is a concessionaire, E.K.CAR is required to collect other mandatory charges from its customers and to remit them to the airport; these are referred to as Customer Facility Charges, or Transportation Facility Charges.

11.  NON-GOVERERNMENT MANDATED CHARGES; NON-MANDATORY AIRPORT OR RELATED CHARGES.  E.K.CAR has elected to impose "Recovery Fees" to recover or recoup all or a portion of its expenses related to overhead expenses.  Further, many airports impose a fee on revenue from off-airport rental car transactions where E.K.CAR is an off-airport concessionaire.  Other recovery fees include, without limitation: a vehicle licensing fee, often called Vehicle License Recoupment, which is the average annual cost to license and register its fleet in the applicable jurisdiction calculated over the estimated annual utilization rate for that location; certain tax recoveries not mandated to be charged to the customer by any governmental agency; a hotel concession fee E.K.CAR is obligated to pay commissions; hotel and timeshare resort concierge; tire and battery recovery fees, which is the recovery of certain fees related to tires and batteries which E.K.CAR must remit to certain jurisdictions. 

12.  DROP CHARGE.  This is a fee that is assessed for renting a vehicle in one location and returning the rental vehicle to another location. The drop charge will vary by rental location and drop location to be determined at your time of rental. The drop charge fee will be disclosed to you at the time of rental and is payable at time of reservation. 

13.  CAR RENTAL PAYMENT OPTIONS.  E.K.CAR offers flexible payment options for clients including credit and debit card at the time of reservation. 

• Renting a Car with a Credit Card: A credit card must be presented in the renter's name. The signature must match the name imprinted on the card and the signature on the car rental Agreement. For Online reservations, the number and name printed on the card must match the name and number stored for the online reservation.
• Credit Cards accepted:  American Express, Mastercard, VISA, Discover
• Debit/Credit Cards are considered to be any non-credit cards bearing the VISA, Mastercard or Discover logo.  A debit card without one of these logos will not be accepted. A major credit card must provided for security deposit on day of rental. Know your rental agreement and coverages when choosing a form of payment.
• Cash is never accepted as a form of payment.

 14.   PAYMENT BY RENTER. Renter shall pay Owner on demand as set forth in the charges & total section and for any additional products or charges for those items accepted by Renter for Vehicle Rental period. 

15.   AGREEMENT & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS REGARDING CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS.   If a credit card or debit card is presented as a means of payment, deposit or security, Renter authorizes E.K.CAR to submit all amounts owed under the Agreement, to include any third party to whom a billing was directed but payment was refused, to make payment.  

(1) If Owner initiates any charge that is dishonored, Renter authorizes E.K.CAR to re-initiate said charge without further authorization from Renter.
(2) The authorization or deposit amount on the Summary will be taken by E.K.CAR as an authorization or sale. Such funds will not be available for use by Renter until after Vehicle is returned.  One or more incremental authorizations and/or deposits may be taken during the Rental Period if Renter incurs additional charges. 

(3) Renter acknowledges final amounts charged to Renter's card may exceed amounts shown on the Summary, if Renter incurs charges not included in such amounts.
(4) E.K.CAR reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to set off or deduct from any amounts owed from Owner to Renter under the contract any amounts owed from Renter to E.K.CAR under the contract.  

16.  STANDARD CANCELLATION FEE.  If booked reservation is cancelled more than 24-hours before the rental pick-up time, a $0.00 USD cancellation fee will be assessed.  Unless otherwise noted, cancellations made within 24-hours of pick-up time or not picked up at all, will incur a $150.00 fee.  Terms of cancellation fee can change without notice. We reserve the right to refuse services. We reserve the right to make changes at any time. 

Updated October 30, 2024