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+--- Thread: Vehicle Purchase/Registration/License (/showthread.php?tid=22253)
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Vehicle Purchase/Registration/License - achutch3 - 04-24-2021
Hello All,
My wife and I are moving over September 1st and will be staying in an AirBnB while we look for a place to buy. As of now our rental is only for two and a half months and we'll extend it out further from there as needed.
Our plan is to use a car rental for a week and then purchase a car from a private party. My question is with the registration of this vehicle. Not sure what will be needed when trying to register the vehicle as far as address and liscense goes as we will only have the rental address, our out of state driver's licenses, and possibly a P.O. Box in Hilo. Can anyone shed any light on roadblocks we might face?
Thanks.
RE: Vehicle Purchase/Registration/License - leilanidude - 04-24-2021
Well before you get to the part of the DMV, you need to be very careful buying a used car from a private party here.
Ask to see the title before you agree on any price. Ensure that the name on the title matches the seller. Flippers buy vehicles and never transfer the vehicle into their name and if there are any title issues such as unpaid tickets, past due registration, etc., you are on the hook to pay it. You will see vehicles offered as having "no back taxes". Do not do a sale if the DMV is not open to verify the information.
Verify that the year/model on the title matches with what you think you are buying. I came across a vehicle that was offered as a 2004 when in reality, after seeing the title, I noticed it was really a 2002. Of course, the scammer claimed he didn't know and was asking a price for a 2 year newer model. I passed.
It is also becoming quite common for folks here to buy instrument clusters from salvage yards with less mileage and swap the cluster out. Do a Carfax on every purchase. I discovered one Honda CRV I was looking at, had 180k miles not the 75k that was on the odometer. The seller had owned the vehicle all of 3 months and the mileage paper trail indicated that he was the culprit of the falsified mileage.
All in all, you are much better off to either bring your existing vehicle over or buy something on the mainland and ship it. Yes, it costs $1500 to ship from the west coast ports but you will still be ahead of the game, dollar wise when you get it here.
RE: Vehicle Purchase/Registration/License - kalakoa - 04-24-2021
Hawaii will honor valid out-of-state plates/registration for one year, and unexpired out-of-state drivers' licenses indefinitely.
You still need a safety check or vehicle permit (just like a safety check, but for vehicles that might return from whence they came; they are rare but I have seen them in the wild). If you go this route, you can put off the DMV visit for a year -- they will probably be much easier to deal with by then.
I have had good luck at Pono's used car lot, they are actually willing to accept cash -- they will even drop the price a little. Some of the other used car lots won't take cash because they're really making their money on financing.
If you're not fully committed to the pavement lifestyle, be sure to get something with ground clearance.
RE: Vehicle Purchase/Registration/License - terracore - 04-24-2021
Agree with everything LD said. It seems like 75% of the cars on Craigslist have some degree of scam going on with them. Every seller apparently subtracts two years off the age of the vehicle in the listing as an "accident" and the titles are never in their own name. I actually purchased a beater truck after "correcting" the year and having them transfer the title into their name first. I wasn't sure what else I was walking into but 10 years later the truck is doing fine. Another time I was ready to buy a vehicle with a suspicious title by going with them to the DMV to clear it up first but then I realized it was only for sale on Furlough Friday.... the one weekday a month the DMV was closed. I walked away.
Unlike most states, unpaid registrations follow the vehicle, not the owner. You may get a good deal on a car for $1000 but if it hasn't been registered in 5 years its going to cost another $1000 to register it.
The bigger scams are the car lots. Every used car I looked at on a lot was junk. It's like they were taking trade ins and only doing basic cosmetic remediation and nothing else. One car I looked at wouldn't start. Another had a headlight full of water. I asked if they would fix the headlight and they actually told me no, "they were already losing so much money on it". Are you kidding me? I left in disgust and went back to looking on Craigslist.
I was getting ready to try the lots on the Kona side when I found acceptable vehicles on Craigslist. A few years later I eventually wound up buying two government auction cars on Oahu and had them shipped over.
So many people have moved here in the last year I'm sure the pickings are very slim. Even the used car lots are looking bare and several have big "WE BUY USED CARS" signs up. I highly suggest shipping cars over here. The only reason I didn't ship mine was getting them from Alaska would have required to ship them twice and the Alaska to Seattle leg was almost double the west coast to Hawaii, and I didn't have time to drive them down.
"Some of the other used car lots won't take cash because they're really making their money on financing"
I offered cash on a vehicle (not at Ponos) and although they would accept it, they wouldn't negotiate on the price, and they were asking $2k over what it was worth given even the most generous interpretation of the condition. And you are right, they were really pushing the financing. One of the lots is even called "Credit Cars".
Also, finding a rental is going to be expensive. Some of the rental companies went out of business last year and shipped their fleets back to the mainland.
RE: Vehicle Purchase/Registration/License - eightfingers2.0 - 04-24-2021
If you can, wait a year until all the covid19 stuff gets settled.
RE: Vehicle Purchase/Registration/License - Gus - 04-24-2021
I have purchased 2 vehicles off Craigs list, including one last November. Both sales went smoothly. To register the vehicle I made an appointment which took 3 weeks to get. They needed the signed certificate of title, current valid registration, and current valid safety inspection sticker. They also wanted a government issued ID. I think I used my passport. They were not interested in where I lived. Most areas around here don't have mail delivery, so your address may well be a PO Box or mail drop off store.
https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/departments/finance/vehicle-registration-licensing/motor-vehicles-general-information/ownership-transfer-buyer
What was way more difficult was getting a Hawaii driver's license. Your current license is good until it expires and can be traded in at any time once you can prove a valid address. But, if you wait until it expires you will have to take both a written and road test.
You can always call the DMV to double check. I've had reasonably good luck calling the Pahoa DMV just as they open. After that it goes to recording.
RE: Vehicle Purchase/Registration/License - achutch3 - 04-24-2021
Hey All,
Thanks for the information and tips. This is exactly what I was looking for.
Thank you!!!
RE: Vehicle Purchase/Registration/License - terracore - 04-24-2021
"What was way more difficult was getting a Hawaii driver's license. "
In pre-covid days it took me 5 hours to get my driver's license and that was just the written test. We showed up at Pahoa just before they opened and there was a small line but nothing big. It just moved painfully slow. Then after the written test have to wait in line all over again to get it graded etc. One of the 5 hours was when they closed for lunch and they moved the line outside and locked us out.
One of the answers on their written test was wrong, and when I pointed it out to the lady she said that she knew, it had been that way for years but they weren't allowed to change it. And when I say written test I mean written. Old school circling answers with a pencil. I don't know if they have upgraded to machines. I got my learner's permit 37 years ago in Oregon and it was pushing buttons on a kiosk thing.
So then I left with the temporary license printed on office paper while I waited for them to mail me the real plastic variety, I went to 7/11 to get a beer, got carded, and they wouldn't accept the paper license (I don't blame them, except that I clearly looked over 40 years old). I tried joking that I didn't need the senior discount on the beer but no dice.
So in covid times if they are making appointments to get the license, I say that is a huge improvement.
RE: Vehicle Purchase/Registration/License - terracore - 04-25-2021
Here's a timely piece. Car rentals are so expensive / hard to come by in Hawaii that tourists are renting U-hauls just to get around!
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/04/22/why-are-visitors-cruising-around-u-hauls-blame-pandemic/
RE: Vehicle Purchase/Registration/License - Obie - 04-25-2021
Just bought a car because I needed a car for family coming to visit.
Not going to pay thousands for a rental.
Saw the ad on Facebook marketplace, Chevy Dealer in Hilo had the car and I bought it 3 weeks ago.
Today I picked up the new registration at the Dealership.
One little reason to buy from a dealer ! No lines, I had to go in person because the title was there too.
I bought the car as-is and had to sign multiple wavers that I bought it as-is, they were honest !