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.
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.