Best car/s for living in Hawaii? (storage, mileage)

[Brav989]

Well word of caution before buying. The ones in the US right now were imported and had to be fixed up to meet US EPA and safety regulations...so their cost is around 24k I think. When they are sold next year via various dealers direct from the company, they will retail for $11,600 base

[kani-lehua]

Originally Posted by Brav989

Well word of caution before buying. The ones in the US right now were imported and had to be fixed up to meet US EPA and safety regulations...so their cost is around 24k I think. When they are sold next year via various dealers direct from the company, they will retail for $11,600 base

you're right about that!

[Frangi914]

I think we will probably go with the four door Jeep and the Mini has to be a convertible so hopefully that will give the "feel" of more room. We have to test drive them both to be certain (well the mini anyway). We just want the second car to be the practical one with good gas mileage.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by Frangi914

I think we will probably go with the four door Jeep and the Mini has to be a convertible so hopefully that will give the "feel" of more room. We have to test drive them both to be certain (well the mini anyway). We just want the second car to be the practical one with good gas mileage.

According to HADA (the Hawai'i Auto Dealers' Association), the most popular makes in Hawai'i are Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. One can't go wrong with a Toyota 4WD truck or SUV and a Honda sedan as a "practical" vehicle. I'm tempted to mention something about "tourist/malihini" vehicles (like new Jeeps and convertibles)....

Anyway, here's a link to HADA's "Auto Outlook"...
http://www.hawaiiautodealer.com/magazine/index.html

[Kalidog]

[quote=Jungjohann;1896541]Perhaps you could buy in Oregon, no state tax I believe, then ship to Hawaii.

If they buy in Oregon due to no state tax, I think once the vehicle is shipped to Hawaii they will have to pay the difference in tax???

[Sweetbeet]

I love my Prius so much I'm taking it when we move to Kauai! Selling the Ford Escape Hybrid (yeah, we're hybrid nuts, I guess), just don't need the size, weight, low mileage (yeah, I know 30 is good for an SUV, but 50 is better! and there's no snow on Kauai, which is why we got the Ford). If you haven't driven a Prius, I really urge you to try it. It's the greatest car - I get 50 mpg here in Ithaca (a bit lower in cold weather, but won't have that problem in Hawai'i!), it's comfy, plenty of room for the three of us and lots of stuff (the trunk fits a full load of groceries - and we eat a lot - together with a full set of fire gear, without putting either of the split seats down), it handles really well, is safe, and has enough bells & whistles (it's really fun to watch the energy distribution screen...) to make it fun to drive. I don't know what they sell for in Hawai'i, but you might want to check it out.

Minis are pretty neat too, but a little small for us. They're good for just getting around if you don't have too much stuff.

My husband will probably get a (used) Jeep Wrangler after we get there, he's always wanted one. But we'll see if we need another car, depending on where we live and what our commuting patterns are.

[Frangi914]

Originally Posted by Jonah K

According to HADA (the Hawai'i Auto Dealers' Association), the most popular makes in Hawai'i are Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. One can't go wrong with a Toyota 4WD truck or SUV and a Honda sedan as a "practical" vehicle. I'm tempted to mention something about "tourist/malihini" vehicles (like new Jeeps and convertibles)....

Anyway, here's a link to HADA's "Auto Outlook"...
HADA - Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association

Well thanks for the mention anyway and the link. It's all good.

Thanks

[Brav989]

Originally Posted by Jonah K

According to HADA (the Hawai'i Auto Dealers' Association), the most popular makes in Hawai'i are Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. One can't go wrong with a Toyota 4WD truck or SUV and a Honda sedan as a "practical" vehicle. I'm tempted to mention something about "tourist/malihini" vehicles (like new Jeeps and convertibles)....

Anyway, here's a link to HADA's "Auto Outlook"...
HADA - Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association

Don't forget the many Pontiac G6s littered all over the roads

[kjk437]

I'll be taking my Scion xB withe when/if I start going to school at Manoa. It's a practical car (shaped like a box I know, but the shape lends itself well to space, especially my 6'4" 300 lb body) and gets great mileage. Plus it's extremely reliable.

[Juan Hau-Lee]

Buy anything that gets good milage, is too beat up to bother stealing, (remember, you can't really "lock" a soft top Jeep!) and has an automatic trans for the traffic. Oh... and ice cold A/C.