Shipping LA to Oahu? (Honolulu: flat fee, sales, leasing)

[qwerty007]

My wife and I are moving to Hawaii in January, and will bringing just one car and possibly a few items like computers. We're going to store our household items in LA. Can anyone recommend a reputable shipper and storage company? I have seen ads that ship cars on deck for about half the price of a container ($1000). Any info much appreciated.

Looking at craigslist it seems there are plenty of properties to rent and at reasonable prices, some offering short term. Anything to watch out for when doing this? I assume short term rental contracts exist to protect both parties?

[VegasGrace]

I moved from MD to AS, that's American Samoa. Hawaii is the stop for plane or shipping prior to going out into the south pacific.

DGX is who I used. They are out of Long Beach and you just drive your van there and it will arrive in Hawaii. You can fill up your car w/ stuff. I think they will tell you not to, but I surely did and customs didn't say a thing!

But I think they have open containers that are cheaper...but your car could get damaged.

Good luck!

[HankDfrmSD]

Originally Posted by qwerty007

Looking at craigslist it seems there are plenty of properties to rent and at reasonable prices, some offering short term. Anything to watch out for when doing this? I assume short term rental contracts exist to protect both parties?

I use Craigslist, but so do some scammers. Don't sign or send money unless you know someone on the island who can look at the property for you and ensure it exists and is as described. A realtor might do that for a flat fee. Doesn't hurt to ask.

If you don't know anyone "on island", I think a vacation rental for a week or so while you look, is a safer bet, from a place like VRBO.com. They have a pretty good system of reviews by past guests, and a place that has been on VRBO for a number of years (look at the bottom of the page) is sure to exist.

Hank

[qwerty007]

Thanks guys

[kani-lehua]

i agree with hank about checking with a realtor. don't forget that some realty companies offer property management themselves. should our loan go through, we will be using century21homefinders. they advertise on craigslist and other places.

as a landlord myself, we don't offer short term rentals or month to month leases. it's always a year lease. as far as "protecting" both parties, we abide by the "residential landlord tenant code found here: http://www.hawaiis.com/rent/lantencd.html it discusses: 1) rental agreements 2) security deposits 3) repairs 4) prohibitive practices 5) termination of tenancy etc. we give this handbook to the tenant along with the rental agreement.

[qwerty007]

I've heard back from DGX who have quoted the highest so far. If you add insurance and the trip back it would probably be about the same to lease a car for six months.

[ocdirtyjerz]

A very large frieght compaby here on Oahu is Young Brothers out of southern Honolulu. I would check with them. A car should cost around $800 to ship from the west coast.
Maybe you want to think about buying a car here. There are many good and newer cars with high mileage here on the islands. Many people have long commutes. The auto sales is at its worst right now. Now is the time to buy. Are you in love with your car? I would recommend shipping your favorite furnishing here. Not a big selection. Its also expensive for the most part here because the would need to expense the shipping costs. IKEA does not ship here, and I think Victoria Secret may not either.

[tsays]

You mention doing price comparisons for leasing a car here. If you plan on being here for any length of time, or your cars are paid off, consider shipping them. ALTHOUGH, the other poster is right - there are TONS of used cars here. We shipped both our cars via Matson last February before oil prices sky rocketed, and it still wasn't cheap, although we went through a broker <Ranier Oversees>, which I would not recommend. We paid additional for no additional assistance or peace of mind; the communication was terrible. If I had to do it all over again, I would call Matson, and ask them who they would recommend and where to drop off your car in LA (lucky you, that you are in LA and don't have to ship your car there).
We had never shipped vehicles before, so maybe you know this but:
1) be sure your car is completely empty. any and all items will be removed, due to homeland security restrictions. we chose to pay the ransom for our items which were removed from our vehicles, but it was at quite a price and it took 12 weeks to get it.
2) make sure there isn't more than a 1/4 tank of gas
3) realize that your car will arrive within a window of time..and maybe outside that window. ours actually arrived before we did and Matson was extremely helpful to us, they stored it for a couple of days without charge.
Here in Honolulu, we used Crown Movers and we could not have been happier with their communication and service. If you call them, I am sure they can recommend a shipper/mover to get you started there in LA. Then, when your property gets here, they will pick it up and deliver. Keep in mind, your property will go into a large crate <maybe 10ft tall/4ft deep/4 feet wide> and it costs no less to send it 1/2 empty than completely full. Its good advice to bring your furniture if you like it -- furniture is very expensive here, its much less expensive to send your furniture here than to buy it here, especially if your furniture is expensive <heck, everything here is expensive, wait until you hit the grocery store>. You can of course, rent property furnished, but not all of those are available long term. Most mainland companies do not ship furniture here <incl. crate/barrell, pottery barn, IKEA, not even target>.
Also second the advice on doing a vacation home for a couple of weeks. Honolulu may not be a big place, but the neighborhoods are quite distinctive and you will want time to check out the areas and see where you are most comfortable.
Good luck on your move. E Komo Mai. I hope you enjoy Hawaii. Its quite an adjustment, but we do love it here. Check out some of the other posts here about how to make Hawaii feel like home and how business is done here. Sorry for the long post =)

[SkyBob]

Originally Posted by tsays

Keep in mind, your property will go into a large crate <maybe 10ft tall/4ft deep/4 feet wide> and it costs no less to send it 1/2 empty than completely full.

Thanks for your comments on your move. I hope to move, and hopefully sooner rather than later, and so I am filing away for future use all the helpful comments I can get.

On the dimensions for the box, is that a typo? It must be. It would be difficult to get any furniture into a box that small.

[Sole]

Shipping from Califonia to Hawaii, whichever Island for a car truck or equipment or in other words drive-on, you should Google the Pasha Group, a new shipping company servicing Ca.Hi. route.