car to BI questions (vehicle registration, insurance, inspection)

[destinyleigh]

Shipping my car to the BI, what am I looking at having to do to get my car once it gets there?

[OpenD]

Pick it up at their parking lot.

[Due]

Originally Posted by destinyleigh

Shipping my car to the BI, what am I looking at having to do to get my car once it gets there?

Go to this site: County of Hawaii - Finance - Vehicle Registration General Information Registered Vehicle. Following is a quote from their site.

"Non-Hawaii Registered Vehicle

The following lists the requirements to switch from out of state license plates to Hawaii license plates and obtain Hawaii County registration:
Complete and sign the appropriate Application for Registration form.

Submit the last issued out of state certificate of registration.
Submit the last issued out of state certificate of title if you are listed as the lienholder.
Submit a bill of lading or shipping receipt, which shows the date the vehicle, arrived in Hawaii County.
Submit a current Hawaii certificate of safety inspection.
If vehicle’s year model is previous, current or subsequent year (ex. 2010, 2011, or 2012), submit a State of HI form G-27 form with any required attachments. This form may be obtained from the State of Hawaii Department of Taxation or from their web site at www6.hawaii.gov/tax/a1_1alphalist.htm . Questions regarding the G-27 form should be directed to the Hawaii District Tax Office at 808-974-6321.
If we do not have the weight of the vehicle as established by the manufacturer, you may be required to have the vehicle weighed at a state certified scale.
Registration personnel will determine the required fees."


It takes time, but must be done ASAP.
A couple of notes from our experience:
~they check the tint on windows. If the tint is too dark, you will be required to have it removed before the safety inspection is complete.
~vehicles are required to have a front license plate and no safety inspection completed until it's done.

[mdand3boys]

In addition to what "due" said, make sure you keep the shipping paperwork and the registration and a copy of your old insurance card in the vehicle. You have 30 days from the day the car arrived in port to get your registration changed over to Hawaii or fill out the form that allows you to use your out of state plates. If you get pulled over and don't have that proof - the nice police officer will most likely ticket you.

[Due]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

In addition to what "due" said, make sure you keep the shipping paperwork and the registration and a copy of your old insurance card in the vehicle. You have 30 days from the day the car arrived in port to get your registration changed over to Hawaii or fill out the form that allows you to use your out of state plates. If you get pulled over and don't have that proof - the nice police officer will most likely ticket you.

Those are good points.

In addition, your vehicle insurance must be Hawaii based. Mainland insurance will not be accepted at the safety inspection.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by Due

Go to this site: County of Hawaii - Finance - Vehicle Registration General Information Registered Vehicle. Following is a quote from their site.

"Non-Hawaii Registered Vehicle

The following lists the requirements to switch from out of state license plates to Hawaii license plates and obtain Hawaii County registration:
Complete and sign the appropriate Application for Registration form.

Submit the last issued out of state certificate of registration.
Submit the last issued out of state certificate of title if you are listed as the lienholder.
Submit a bill of lading or shipping receipt, which shows the date the vehicle, arrived in Hawaii County.
Submit a current Hawaii certificate of safety inspection.
If vehicle’s year model is previous, current or subsequent year (ex. 2010, 2011, or 2012), submit a State of HI form G-27 form with any required attachments. This form may be obtained from the State of Hawaii Department of Taxation or from their web site at www6.hawaii.gov/tax/a1_1alphalist.htm . Questions regarding the G-27 form should be directed to the Hawaii District Tax Office at 808-974-6321.
If we do not have the weight of the vehicle as established by the manufacturer, you may be required to have the vehicle weighed at a state certified scale.
Registration personnel will determine the required fees."


It takes time, but must be done ASAP.
A couple of notes from our experience:
~they check the tint on windows. If the tint is too dark, you will be required to have it removed before the safety inspection is complete.
~vehicles are required to have a front license plate and no safety inspection completed until it's done.

It sounds like the first step is to get the car insured to get the safety inspection completed. However, that might be a problem if you come from a state that does not have front license plates. My state has front and back plates, but many states only have a back license plate that is issued. It also sounds like the required safety check might lock you out of getting insurance from a national insurance company, and effectively make it illegal to use a nationally based insurance company, if I am understanding your post correctly.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by davephan

It sounds like the first step is to get the car insured to get the safety inspection completed. However, that might be a problem if you come from a state that does not have front license plates. My state has front and back plates, but many states only have a back license plate that is issued. It also sounds like the required safety check might lock you out of getting insurance from a national insurance company, and effectively make it illegal to use a nationally based insurance company, if I am understanding your post correctly.

The states that only require a back plate will give you a front plate by request.

All the national insurance carriers do business in Hawaii, like Geico, State Farm, Allstate, etc - you need the insurance card issued by a local Hawaii branch or mailed to you from the branch as the card can't be printed at home.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by davephan

It also sounds like the required safety check might lock you out of getting insurance from a national insurance company, and effectively make it illegal to use a nationally based insurance company, if I am understanding your post correctly.

If registering the car in Hawai'i, you need a new policy from a Hawai'i chartered insurance company. Let's say your mainland insurance was through Geico... you will need to terminate that policy, and open a new policy through their Hawaiian subsidiary. It can all continue to be billed on your same national Geico account, but technically it's from a different company.

And if you are used to being able to print out your insurance card on your personal computer, then hopping over to the inspection, not so in Hawai'i. The ID card has to be printed on specially water-marked paper, and mailed to you, adding a few days to the process.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by OpenD

If registering the car in Hawai'i, you need a new policy from a Hawai'i chartered insurance company. Let's say your mainland insurance was through Geico... you will need to terminate that policy, and open a new policy through their Hawaiian subsidiary. It can all continue to be billed on your same national Geico account, but technically it's from a different company.

And if you are used to being able to print out your insurance card on your personal computer, then hopping over to the inspection, not so in Hawai'i. The ID card has to be printed on specially water-marked paper, and mailed to you, adding a few days to the process.

That's good information to know! Years ago my insurance company provides a way to print out the proof of insurance cards on their web site. I'm sure the main reason is to offload the cost of printing the proof of insurance cards to the end users.

If you are stopped by the police, do they insist on seeing the special water marked proof of insurance card? If so, hopefully it fits in a wallet and you can get more than one copy. I never leave my proof of insurance information with the car. That information travels with me. If my car is broken into, I don't want the criminal to know my personal address and information. I know people who leave that card in their car, and I think that is a huge mistake.

That's odd that that the insurance must originate in Hawaii. I don't know if any other state has those kind of laws. Maybe the reason behind that is to create a few insurance jobs in Hawaii.

Minnesota used to have an annual Vehicle inspection. Many testing stations were setup to handle all the testing. The reason for the inspection was to reduce air pollution. After several years, the inspection program was ended. It didn't make any difference in pollution and turned out to be a scam. It was eliminated because everyone knew it was a scam.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by davephan

If you are stopped by the police, do they insist on seeing the special water marked proof of insurance card? If so, hopefully it fits in a wallet and you can get more than one copy.

That's odd that that the insurance must originate in Hawaii. I don't know if any other state has those kind of laws. Maybe the reason behind that is to create a few insurance jobs in Hawaii.

Yes, you must produce the Hawaii insurance card (unless you just got here and you are within the window of time legally to drive with your out of state plates) - and it is the same as a mainland card (as in size) - just with the special watermark.

Hawaii has all sort of odd laws, not just insurance. For instance, you can't get google voice in Hawaii - because Hawaii law says you have to have a physical presence in Hawaii, which google does not.