Car dealers on the Big Island? (Hilo, Pahala: sale, rental, buying)

[4allisons]

Any suggestions or warnings about car dealers on the Big Island?

My daughter is moving to HI in two weeks (new job, very exciting) ... will sell her car here (Virginia) and buy a car there (probably used, or very-inexpensive-new), but she doesn't have experience buying cars, she's not a mechanic and I'm *really* nervous about her using Craigslist or the classifieds. (Even though our experience on Craigslist is usually good, the prospect of getting a lemon without so much as a 30-day warranty is worrisome.) I've at least been able to tell her to watch for rust ... but beyond that, it's gonna be what? Look for a place with a big parking lot? (Yeesh :-)

She'll be starting out in the Pahala/Naalehu area, so Hilo's a bit closer, but for a purchase like this Kona should be a possibility too.

Are one of the two towns better for buying cars? Any particular dealers that you love? hawaii-cars.com seems to have a friendly web site at least :-) and maybe that $550/month rental might be a good thing to get while she's settling in and shopping around. I've seen some negative stories about Orchid Isle. But other than that, I'm finding a big goose-egg on car-dealer info ...

And friendly web sites and a handful of negative reviews can't compare to the type of first-hand information that *this* forum is known for!

Any suggestions? (Thanks in advance!)

[cynmkolohe]

I bought a Jeep from Kamaaina Motors in Hilo when I moved to the Big Island. My salesperson was very friendly and flexible with my schedule. I've taken the Jeep in a few times for work--their service department is a little slow, but still efficient. Their shuttle got me to work on time and back to the dealership without incident. That has been my one purchase--and I chose them only because they had exactly what I was looking for. Wouldn't hesitate to buy there again, though--if the price was right!

Like anything else, the more educated she can be about the particular make, model, features, etc of the specific car she is looking at, the better...

[ssxa]

I've bought and sold at least 20 cars over the last 10 years or so. I can tell you this, if a salesperson sees that they have someone who doesn't know the game, they will take full advantage of it. Tell her to do her homework. Another thing is to look for the sale ads in the paper and hold the dealers to that price. I don't know what kind of car she wants, but can tell you that Big Island Honda just had a very big sale with fair prices. For instance a Civic LX 4 door was $17900 or so plus tax etc. The Accords are about $1000 more. She could also try Costco and use their service. With used cars there is so many intangibles that I actually can't put it into words here.

[HankDfrmSD]

You might also counsel her to find a reliable repair shop before she starts the search, and see if they will agree to do an inspection for a reasonable price. Then tell any auto dealer that she will only buy from them if they agree that she can take the car to that shop for inspection before the sale becomes final.

Picking the right repair shop is the next hurdle, but perhaps some here can offer suggestions.

Hank

[mauidude]

All (most) the car dealerships in Hawaii are owned by three different people. So its pretty crooked. The three are JN autogroup, Jim Falk, and Cutter. Together, I think they pretty much dominate the state.

She may be better buying a car and shipping it. If she was going to get a newer car anyway, its only $1000 dollars to ship a car. She could end up paying $2-3k more for a car here anyway.

[4allisons]

An excellent batch of suggestions ... thanks! I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the consolidation of auto-dealer-ownership ... it happens almost everywhere these days. But still, I saw so many dealers listed who looked off-brand-and-Hawaii-specific, I was hoping it wasn't quite like that.

And I think the advice about homework *really* hits home. There is no real substitute for being prepared and knowing what you're looking for.

Good suggestion about the local ads ...and the deal with Costco sounds kind of interesting ... I'll try to find out more about that as well. Thanks!

[d00fUzZ]

hello i need something till 750$. towable car for 3 weeks can somebody help me?