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Hi, I'm moving to Maui in a few months and want to ship my smart car over. Just curious.... how common are they on the island, and are there any smart service centers? From my research I know that there is a smart dealership in Honolulu, but I haven't found anything in Maui and before shipping it want to be sure that I would be able to get any needed repairs/services by people familiar with working on smarts. Thanks!!
Mercedes Benz of Honolulu and Mercedes Benz of Maui both list themselves as Smart Car Dealerships. The Maui location doesn't actually have any in stock, so it might be worth contacting them to see if they provide service. I Googled it, and found that there are maybe 5 SCs on Maui. If you seek service that is not under warranty, I'm sure there are many repair shops that could help you. Cars can be barged to Oahu if necessary.
Hi, I'm moving to Maui in a few months and want to ship my smart car over. Just curious.... how common are they on the island, and are there any smart service centers? From my research I know that there is a smart dealership in Honolulu, but I haven't found anything in Maui and before shipping it want to be sure that I would be able to get any needed repairs/services by people familiar with working on smarts. Thanks!!
I don't know about Maui, but I've seen one on the Big Island a number of times.
A while back another poster asked about service here and found out that minor service could be done at a Mercedes dealership, but that major warranty service would require barging it over to Honolulu. I don't know if that's still true.
I've driven Smart FourTwo cars many times on the mainland... both using the Car2Go carshare service in major cities, and driving one that a family member owns... and I like them a lot, in an urban environment, for quick dashes around town or for city commutes, on smooth streets.
But I wouldn't want one in Hawai'i, because there are just too many poor roads that a Smart car does not handle well. They have a rough ride in the best of circumstances, and Hawai'i roads are among the worst.
Why are Hawaii's roads in bad condition? Hawaii doesn't have the cold and snow, plus the freeze/thaw cycles that destroys the roads. I don't know if there is a lot of heavy trucks wearing out the roads in Hawaii. Or is it caused by lack of periodic maintenance to keep the roads in good condition? If the roads are poor condition, is it because a lack of money or unwillingness to maintain the roads?
Or is it caused by lack of periodic maintenance to keep the roads in good condition? If the roads are poor condition, is it because a lack of money or unwillingness to maintain the roads?
Yes, yes, and yes, at least on the Big Island.
Another factor in Hawai'i County is that a lot of roads are private roads. I can't find a reliable figure, but I've heard it said that only 1/3 of the road mileage here is maintained by the County. And state law prohibits the County from maintaining privately owned roads.
Main traffic arteries in population centers are generally fairly good, but that leaves a lot of secondary streets in many areas that are not so hot, and when there is a lot of rain it can wash out sides of the road and create potholes. I feel sorry for people on mopeds, because road shoulders can develop major fissures.
Anyway, my point was that a Smart Car is great in many ways, but it's notorious for having a harsh ride. Put one on a gravel road with potholes and it will become a milkshake machine.
Hi, I'm moving to Maui in a few months and want to ship my smart car over. Just curious.... how common are they on the island, and are there any smart service centers? From my research I know that there is a smart dealership in Honolulu, but I haven't found anything in Maui and before shipping it want to be sure that I would be able to get any needed repairs/services by people familiar with working on smarts. Thanks!!
There are very few of them on The Big Island. When one does come up for sale, it generally is listed at several thousand dollars below the general KBB and Edmonds "values".
Why? They aren't really that useful and do not get that good of mpg for the tiny size. Add in the lack of real service and parts availability and there you have it.
Sell it before you move and buy any of the Toyota, Honda, etc., small cars instead and ship it over. You will be ahead of the game then.
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