Ways Hawaii can be more expensive (sales, house, buy)

[bolus]

There are things that people expect to be more expensive when moving to Hawaii (bread, milk, fuel) but there are also frequent surprises that you dont think about until they happen. For those considering moving to Hawaii its good to know how things get expensive here.

This example I had recently is a good look at how things get expensive. This is specifically regarding a rural area on the Big Island

My truck needs new brake pads and Rotors. My wife took the truck in for the yearly inspection and registration (costs of which are based on the weight of the vehicle so the farmers with trucks are paying more than the celebrities with a Ferrari). ~$250 for the year and a $25 inspection fee

Wife asks the mechanic to check the brakes and they need to be replaced. She gets a quote of "around $1000 for parts and labor for brake pads and rotors"

Well, I've replaced those on cars several times. Not going to pay $1000 to do it or even shop around to other mechanics. I'll order some parts.

So I start pricing pads and rotors:
1. Only local parts store, Napa, has them for about $500 for the whole set (before tax). Napa no-name brand and no other brands in stock. Next closest parts store is 60 minute drive away and also a Napa.

2. Amazon has a good set $230. Does not ship to Hawaii even with Amazon prime. Why? probably because of shipping costs. If it is heavy, Amazon wont ship it here.

3. checking online parts stores.
$200-400 for the parts
shipping? up to $700 quoted for shipping. More than the price of a one way flight here.
Ebay? no one ships to Hawaii

Ok, now I got to find the cheapest shipping. After a much of searching: Rockauto.com has parts for $180 for everything and shipping is:

-Mainland? free of course
-Hawaii?
- $350 if it goes to the PO Box
- $240 if it goes to the PO Box but uses the address of the post office instead of the po box address (still goes to the PO box). Different carrier

using this USPS option from the post office: https://ribbs.usps.gov/mtcsa/documen...rAgreement.pdf



Do a bunch of searching and that's the best I can do.

$420 final price for brake pads and rotors including shipping that costs more than the parts
$500 for parts if I buy local and want bottom barrel parts options.
$1000 if a local mechanic does it

$180 on the mainland.

[whtviper1]

This can't be surprising.....

[hotzcatz]

Or call a buddy on the mainland, have them buy the parts and send them to you.

[Arktikos]

^Excellent suggestion above.

On the bright side, it's likely you drive less than someone on the mainland which means brakes need to be replaced less often.

Have a shade tree mechanic do the work if you don't want to pay the high shop costs. They seem abundant on the BI.

[whtviper1]

Buy a hybrid or electric car - brakes typically last well over 100,000 miles.....

On the flip side, you'll likely need new batteries before you need brakes.

[bolus]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Or call a buddy on the mainland, have them buy the parts and send them to you.

How do they get me 100 lbs in parts for less than $240 in shipping?

[Grassyknoll]

Were your rotors thinner than serviceable life? If not, why replace, a pad-swap is cheap easy and perfectly safe.

But for shipping, yeah, it can be an adventure to find ways to get things here. I have had Amazon ship me some incredibly heavy and large items that qualified for free shipping (like a gas tank or sets of tires) and then I've also been shut-down on something stupid and small. It makes no sense but is just part of life here.

[bolus]

Originally Posted by Grassyknoll

Were your rotors thinner than serviceable life? If not, why replace, a pad-swap is cheap easy and perfectly safe.

But for shipping, yeah, it can be an adventure to find ways to get things here. I have had Amazon ship me some incredibly heavy and large items that qualified for free shipping (like a gas tank or sets of tires) and then I've also been shut-down on something stupid and small. It makes no sense but is just part of life here.

They were right at the minimum recommended thickness. I wasnt even going to bother with finding a machinist to surface them at that thickness. Plus the kohala mountain drive is like 1200 ft up 3600 ft back to 800 ft or sea level depending on where we are going. I didnt expect them to last long.


But the point of the post was not the brakes, just a regular problem of needing something, local price is high or few options, wont ship here or shipping is insane.

This was just to give others thinking about moving here an idea of what to expect.

I did find out that sellers on ebay dont really care what's being shipped so I have been able to get a few things I needed that retailers wont ship because of hazmat rules.

[justus978]

...i hear ya...it's all about doing your homework...retired and moved to O.V. 11 years ago...the woman i bought my house from didn't do any at all...she didn't even make two years here...hence, i got what i called 'a steal'..



...there's always a trade off...we left new england....here, there's no snow to shovel, no freezing cold, no ice storms to drive through...and the beach is 25 mins away....


...it's very expensive to live here...just know that going in...

[Mikala43]

There is a company called Ship To Hawaii, where you have Amazon (or whoever) free ship to LA terminal, and you pay a charge for the flight here with them. I think they are still in business.

But yeah, living in the middle of the ocean poses problems, and solving those problems usually costs more money.

If you need specialized medical care, it is going to cost you more being on the neighbor islands, also our excise tax is on services and food, which a sales normally isn't in most places. It all adds up.