military move-buying 2nd car in Oahu

[Evelyn1998]

Originally Posted by Elena4198

Evelyn-Hi, we are also PCSing to HI. My husband is a Marine. We are stationed at Buckley AFB now. We leave in June and will probably be there by July. We are so excited and nervous at the same time. We also are deciding what to do about the second car. Also, whether to move into housing or out in the community. We have a 13 yr old daughter and an 18 year old son so we also have to worry about schools. Please let us know how your move goes and if you have any tips for us once you get there. Good luck!

So far everything on this end of the move is going smoothly. We decided to suck up the expense and ship our 2nd car afterall. Our household goods are already there and our van should be there when we fly in. (we shipped that first) We are undecided on housing as well, but we will make that decision once we are there and see what is available through the military. If we aren't happy w/ what they have, we'll look for a rental. I'm sure you know about taking pets to Hawaii & that whole process by now. If not, start preparing now if you have dogs or cats. Best of luck and I'll let you know if we have any good tips/info once we are there.

[Hawaii Beth]

The only thing less expensive here is used cars. A year ago I moved to SC thinking I could buy a car there like I have done in Hawaii. Wrong. $4000 was the minimum for anything near decent. Eleven months later I sold that car [on Craigslist in 4 hours], moved back to Hawaii and bought a used car. $2-3,000 will get you a good used car if you shop. I only use Craigslist and have always done well. Found a '97 Isuzu Rodeo with no problems for $1800. It takes time, watching the ads and moving quickly with cash. So many cars are left behind because they cost too much to move. Good luck & happy shopping.

Originally Posted by Evelyn1998

We are PCSing to Schofield Barracks Feb. 2009. We are thinking about selling or leaving behind our 2nd vehicle. Are reasonably cheap, reliable used cars or mtorcycles easy to come by? When we were in Germany, everyone (including us) bought used, old VWs as 2nd cars. And got rid of it before heading back Stateside. Any thoughts? Or are we better off spending $2000 to ship the 2nd vehicle?
Thanks

[wb3690]

aloha! navy wife who has had the fortune of living on oahu for the past 12 years.......

there are always nice cars at the lemon lots on the bases......we've sold and bought our fare share of vehicles that way. PM me if you are interested in any other information or have questions.

My husband and I will only be here until summer......unfortunately his career is causing us to move away from the islands and I will be dragging my feet the entire way. we love living here.....it's been a wonderful experience and will always be our home.

[uscgwifey]

Originally Posted by Evelyn1998

We are PCSing to Schofield Barracks Feb. 2009. We are thinking about selling or leaving behind our 2nd vehicle. Are reasonably cheap, reliable used cars or mtorcycles easy to come by? When we were in Germany, everyone (including us) bought used, old VWs as 2nd cars. And got rid of it before heading back Stateside. Any thoughts? Or are we better off spending $2000 to ship the 2nd vehicle?
Thanks

I am a military wife also and we really want to get HI next billet. Please let me know how your rental search goes and what areas you like and don't like. We are not quaranteed yet but we are high priority so I am just reasearching ahead.

Check Automated Housing Referral Network (AHRN.com) v6.0 for rentals... they have some good ones.

[Evelyn1998]

Ok, so hubby decided not to ship 2nd car at last minute. We left it Stateside and plans to buy something to get back & forth to work. We're going to check lemon lots, just haven't had a chance. We're on day 4 here. Our trip here went smoothly and we're loving it.
FYI for any military branch moving here, you can apply for housing at all the housing offices...Army, Navy/Marines, Air Force. It will give you more options & may get in something faster. They all have homes in various areas of the island. All have new, old, and old-renovated, so nobody can claim to have the "best". You just have to see what is available when you get here and keep your fingers crossed. We've been offered some Army houses and could be in them next week. The house we like best is a Navy house and we'll have to wait 4 weeks to get into and we are willing to do so, b/c it's the nicest we've seen. I'm going to Air Force housing tomorrow to see what they have, but we are expecting to take the Navy house.
If you have a pet, get the FAVN blood test at least 120 days before you land here to avoid quarantine. Your vet will know what it is. We got our dog the test about 100 days out and he's in quarantine for 2 weeks. It's no big deal, but you pay for that quarantine and there is no way around it. You can also visit your dog in quarantine.

[LucasS6]

I've never been to Hawaii (although I'll be moving there at the end of next month, also a military PCS), but I will say if you don't deal first and foremost with the lemon lot, you're gonna be mad. The people selling those cars are usually deploying or PCSing themselves and, especially in the second case, HAVE to sell those cars and are in a hurry to do so. You'll get by far the best deals.

[Evelyn1998]

There are great deals on the lemon lots. We almost bought something and thought the 2-3000 grand we spend, we could go ahead and ship our vehicle over (that we left behind). So it's on the way for just under $2000. Lemon lots are great place to find something though.