Moving Honolulu to Hilo- Shipping car? (vehicle registration, transfer, to buy)

[wikiwikirunner]

This should be a pretty quick thread-

Moving to Hilo in two weeks, and trying to decide if it's cost-efficient to ship my car over, or just buy a new one over there. I own a 1990 BMW 325i, valued about $2000. I just renewed the registration on it, but the safety is up in September. I'm aware of the Young Brother's price for shipping a car, $250 for the weight of my BMW, from HNL to Hilo, found this information on a previous thread.


What does it cost to switch the title from C&C of Honolulu to HI county? I looked on the HI county DMV site, but am not sure what category this falls under. Is this the same fee as re-registering the car? Or just renewing the reg?

Any other input on shipping a car inter-island? (I know to not leave any valuables inside) If I buy something over there, it will likely be a jeep/4runner/small truck, but I know the selection is much smaller on the Big Island than on Oahu. I'll be honest, I don't have too much $ to play with, so I'm trying to get some input when weighing my options.

[Harpaint]

Not too many BMWs in Hilo, new or old. I wonder if you would have a hard time finding a good mechanic for it.

[mdand3boys]

I would simply call them. Here is the website with all 3 locations listed:

County of Hawaii - Finance - Vehicle Registration General Information

edit to add:

http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/finance-...other%20County

[wikiwikirunner]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

I would simply call them. Here is the website with all 3 locations listed:

County of Hawaii - Finance - Vehicle Registration General Information

edit to add:

County of Hawaii - Finance - Vehicle Registration General Information

"Registration personnel, if required, will determine the fee." small fee with long list of surcharges I presume I'll give them a call, thanks!

[mdand3boys]

I cannot imagine it is much money. It is just too bad you had to re-register yours on Oahu - the weight fees there are close to double what they are in Hawaii County.

[wikiwikirunner]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

I cannot imagine it is much money. It is just too bad you had to re-register yours on Oahu - the weight fees there are close to double what they are in Hawaii County.

It was up in July, rode it out till mid-august, since I was waiting to hear back on my potential Hilo move, but figured getting a ticket would only make it worse.. between the late fees and the weight, it cost me $368

[mdand3boys]

$368? Ouch! It would be more like $120 in Hawaii County for that little BMW.

[wikiwikirunner]

UPDATE: I've decided to buy a more suitable vehicle on O'ahu and ship it over, since there is a much larger selection of vehicles here, at lower prices.

Do I have to first transfer the title to my name in the C&C of HNL, prior to shipping the car to Hilo and then switch the title to a County of HI title? Or can I switch the title directly from the previous owner's name on the C&C of HNL title to my name on the County of HI title after shipping it over?