Useless car in Hilo? (Keaau, Hawaiian Acres: transfer, buying, subdivisions)

[ameliefrnch]

I have a 2005, stick shift VW convertible Bug. It is in perfect condition. My question is, will it be useless on the roads between, and around Pahoa and Hilo?
Thank you.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Why do you ask? Most of the roads are paved. Where do you plan on going?

[ameliefrnch]

On another page, a fellow recommended having a truck. I made me go, uh oh. Did I miss all the 'bad roads' last visit? We are planning our move there.
My car would be useless in So. Cal. (too much stop and go).

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Okay, I think we need a bigger picture here.

Are you planning to live outside of Hilo and work in Hilo and use your VW for commuting? Maybe your VW would be fine for that. Most of the larger subdivisions have paved streets; a few like Orchidland don't. However, if you don't like commuting in your VW, then you should not bring it as rush hour traffic to Hilo can be very sticky.

I would imagine that the truck recommendation would be because we end up hauling a lot of stuff here. Where I live we don't have trash pick-up, for example, so it's nice to have a truck to haul trash to the transfer station. Nice, but not absolutely necessary since we use our SUV for that.

So I guess our answers to you depends on your lifestyle and where you plan to live and work.

[ameliefrnch]

I am hoping to live and work in Pahoa/Kea'au making forays into Hilo a few times a week.
It was a dumb question. I love my little car, but I know it is not practical, and was struggling with the idea of giving it up. I have since discovered that I can get a truck there (a beater) pretty cheap.

[steiconi]

You'd probably be better off buying a truck on the mainland and shipping it over. Even a beater truck here is substantially more than in California.

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by ameliefrnch

I am hoping to live and work in Pahoa/Kea'au making forays into Hilo a few times a week.
It was a dumb question. I love my little car, but I know it is not practical, and was struggling with the idea of giving it up. I have since discovered that I can get a truck there (a beater) pretty cheap.

I think a convertible bug is a great car for that route. My all time favorite driving experience was when a friend insisted I try driving theirs from Puna to Hilo and back in the late afternoon/evening. It was so pleasant to feel the warm air, smell the earth, hear the coquis and see the stars in this ride.

If you envision needing a truck on a regular basis maybe you should have one, but I wouldn't recommend a beater as your only vehicle.

[terracore]

"Most of the larger subdivisions have paved streets; a few like Orchidland don't."

More accurately, all of the larger subdivisions (including Orchidland) have a mix of paved and unpaved roads. Usually the access roads that go makai - mauka are paved and the side roads are cinder.

"On another page, a fellow recommended having a truck."

In some areas (Fern Forest, Hawaiian Acres) the side roads are so bad a truck is a good idea, in others a truck is desirable because people in rural Hawaii generally don't use trash pickup services and nobody wants to haul one's rubbish to the free transfer stations in a sedan. Also, many of the people buying 3+ acre lots are doing some kind of agriculture and it's pretty difficult to do anything other than light gardening without a truck of some kind, even if it's only an old beater for weekend hauling.

[hotzcatz]

Up until not too long ago we had a 1964 VW convertible bug kitcar that made it resemble a 1952 MGTD. It was a fun car and light on gas and easy to get parts for and to fix. Probably the 2005 bug would require more expensive parts and repairs, though. It was really nice having a convertible, but I'm not sure if it would have been all that practical as our only car. Although the MGTD kit reduced it to a two seater, that would have made it more difficult as an only car.

But, as mentioned, an air cooled car in traffic isn't having much fun. If anything, you could bring it and if it wasn't working out you'd be able to sell it or trade it for a truck.

If you have a job in Pahoa/Keaau (there aren't all that many of them, but maybe you already have one or have a line on one?) then you won't be in the traffic all the time and can arrange to miss the major traffic times when going into Hilo.

Maybe the answer is to keep your little car and get a beater truck as well or to hire someone to haul your rubbish to the transfer station?