Moving a car to Hawaii vs selling and buying something cheap.

[driftmehard]

Hi, I am moving to Hawaii next year to go to school. At the moment, I have a 2010 Toyota Yaris. I bought this car for its Low maintenance and driving costs. I paid 7900 for it, and I can probably get that amount if I sell it.
The Problem is it will cost around 1500 to ship it to Hawaii so, all together, I will have $9400 total invested into the car if I do ship it.
If I do ship it, it will have great reliability and I get 44mpg combined with how I drive it.( so it will be inexpensive and basically last forever)
My other option is to sell it and purchase a cheap and Hopefully somewhat reliable car(90's corolla probably) for around $2000.
Here are my questions:

1. I will be making relatively little while going to college. Is a $10k investment in a car an intelligent move as it will make up about 1/5th of my total assets. Not to mention I will have partial insurance coverage only.( it is unlikely I will cause damage to the car, but anything can happen)

2. To  piggyback on my last question, is a older a to b car unreasonably risky. I can do most maintenance by myself except for engine and transmission swaps and timing. While i'm living there, a car will not be required, but immensely appreciated.  I plan on biking a lot.

I am split 50/50 in my decision right now. I enjoy having that extra reliability and quality of the new car, but I am not sure it is worth the cost or liability. Any opinion will help. Thanks

[surfhb]

Maybe sell the car, bank the money and makes friends with really gorgeous Hawaiian girls who have a vehicle? :)

Lots could change with your social settings once you get settled.   I say go without a car see how things go.   If you get there and just HAVE to get a car you have the proceeds from the Yaris

[phred]

why are you needing a car at all in Hawaii?

[Mt Tahoe]

you need to consider cost of insurance too. Is not having car option? maybe you could easily hitch around. Not having a car is a huge freedom; One less thing to worry about.

Have you checked with the import rules/regs? Like California, the state may have restrictions on what you can bring, and may charge additional tax. If not, the car may be worth more there than it would on mainland. Island life is typically more expensive.

[driftmehard]

I plan on doing a lot of outdoor activities including kayaking and other outdoor sports that are really inconvenient without a car and roof rack. I will get a car when i get there if I decide to sell the Yaris. Bringing the Yaris to Hawaii will raise the value of the car.

[Villanelle]

Why not sell it and buy something comparable, rather than a beater, when you get to Hawaii?  You say that bringing the car to Hawaii will raise its value, but will it do so by the amount it costs you to ship it (plus any rental car expenses you might incur on one end or the other, since car shipping can take some time)?

If you can by a comparable for less than than the $9400k, that would seem to be a viable option. 

[unpolloloco]

What's the value of the car in Hawaii?  If it's >$9400, it might be worth shipping it even if you're planning to sell!

[partgypsy]

I ditto this. Some things are a lot more expensive/less available in Hawaii than mainland, you may not be able to have option of buying 2K reliable beater car there. Hopefully someone from Hawaii will chime in. any way to look at Hawaii Craigslist or autotrader, etc to see comps?

[driftmehard]

Buying another more reliable car is a good option, but still have reservations about investing that much money in a car. Shipping the Yaris wont raise the value the cost of shipping.

[Mt Tahoe]

So i am curious now... did you find out if any import duty or restrictions on cars in Hawaii?

If not, see what the difference is in vehicle pricing. You could compare new car/blue book pricing at both locations to give you rough estimate.

If it is same as shipping, then it is no brainer. ship it. It will be one less thing to worry about and you will know the history. Sell it when you leave... IF you leave.

[Indio]

The bus system around UH and PCU is pretty good, but it would be hard to get a kayak to the North Shore on a bus.

[dimension6]

I thought I'd chime in here, since I used to live on O'ahu. I'd bring the car. The Yaris is a great car for HI; compact, good MPG, and inexpensive to maintain. Although it's possible to get around town on the buses, you'll have a tough time visiting the out-of-the-way areas that make the island so great. Shopping would also be a major pain without a car.

There's no particular restriction on bringing a car into HI. New and used car prices there are also much higher and take into account the shipping cost (almost everything in Hawaii is shipped from CA). If you move away from HI in the future, definitely sell it there. As for buying the beater, used cars tend to be in REALLY poor shape for some reason (worn down by the potholed roads and salty trade winds, perhaps?), so I'd advise against that.

Keep in mind that there is some serious traffic there, so plan on spending lots of time getting anywhere. Also, parking can be really difficult and expensive, so make sure your living arrangements and budget include this.

[ChrisLansing]

Lived in HI for several years and shipped a car to the mainland so basically the reverse of your situation.

As others mentioned, most things are more expensive in HI.   (Have you checked out rents?   You're going to be paying a lot)  I doubt you could buy a comparable car for $9400 so I'd say ship it if you need a car.   Another thing to consider is that you know the car you have.   If you want something comparable then you may as well stick with what you have and pay the shipping. 

But you are questioning whether you need something comparable.   You are contemplating buying an older cheaper car, mentioning you can do most of the work yourself.    I wonder whether you would sell your Yaris and get an older/cheaper car if you were staying where you are?   I don't see that moving to HI has any bearing on this decision.    You either value the reliability and gas mileage of a late model car, and are willing to pay the price, or you value the savings that goes with an older car, and are willing to deal with the repair issues that will be part of owning an older car.   You should make that decision w/o respect to where you'll be living.   

However, going w/o a car, or not, is a decision that needs to take into account your move to HI.  TheBus as it is called (or was called, when I lived on Oahu) is a very good system.   You won't be able to take your kayak on the bus but you should be able to get around pretty well w/o a car.   It's not as if you'll be biking to class in a snow storm.     Will your study schedule really allow for frequent kayaking?   

Parking is a headache.  Make sure your apartment building includes a parking space for you  - and you may have to pay extra for that.   

If you decide to have a car, be aware that when entering a freeway in HI you'll have a tendency to think you should be doing 70 in order to merge.    You'll quickly find the traffic is so bad that there are cars backed up on the entrance ramp.     Be careful.   


I had a car because I was in the service and had to report for duty at various times, day or night, so I couldn't rely on public transport.    The price of shipping to Seattle was $600 (1985) which greatly exceeded the value of the car ('67 Rambler) but I knew I couldn't get anything better for $600.   I used the car for a few more years after shipping so I think it was worth it. 

[Nords]

I plan on doing a lot of outdoor activities including kayaking and other outdoor sports that are really inconvenient without a car and roof rack. I will get a car when i get there if I decide to sell the Yaris. Bringing the Yaris to Hawaii will raise the value of the car.

One way to check the value of your Yaris in Hawaii is to enter Oahu ZIP codes into Edmunds.com (and maybe KBB.com does this now):  96816, 96817, 96818, 96789, and 96797.  The first three are around Honolulu and the other two are in Central Oahu. 

Frankly, you're inviting a hassle.  You might be able to store a longboard or a kayak near your favorite beach without having to haul it around.  If you're living near UH, parking is horrible and students commute via scooter or bicycle.  If you're on the Windward or Leeward sides and commuting to Oahu then yeah, you're going to want a car.  However Oahu's large military population makes used low-price older vehicles widely available, and they're not always more valuable than the Mainland. 

If you do decide to ship, go with a container and remove all valuables from the vehicle.  You'll probably be fine if it's in a container.  You can also discuss the situation with your vehicle insurance company to see if they'll reduce your rates.