Hawaii Bound
-
kmartin83
Hawaii Bound
I am going to be moving to Hawaii when I retire in 3-5 years and want to take my Fiat with me. I am in California where there are smog requirements; can I rebuild and take everything off now to prepare it for Hawaii, or do I have to wait until Hawaii gives it an inspection and then modify?
-
boogiedude
- Posts: 410
- Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2009 5:22 am
- Your car is a: 1978 spider 1800
- Location: Honolulu, HI
Re: Hawaii Bound
Congrats on the move to paradise! Now there will be one more fiat running around the islands.
When it comes to inspections, Hawaii is very lax(no smog, or emissions testing). We do have safety checks which consist of an annual inspection of the cars basic safety functions(horn, wipers, blinkers, etc) and "recon" which is basically there to keep the import tuners from doing ridiculous modifications to their cars. So you should be fine in regards to that as long as your car isn't shooting sparks over every bump in the road and blinding oncoming traffic with improperly installed HID kits.
The only type of hassle you might have when you bring it over is when you register it for the first time, since our VIN#'s aren't in the standard format, you'll have to meet with an inspector so he can look at your vin plates and make sure they match your title(not a big deal). I went through that process when i purchased my car from a guy who had brought it over from california 10 years prior where it was registered as "in storage" and had never bothered to register it in the state of hawaii. Again it's really not a huge hassle.
Other than that, you can modify the car pretty much as much as you'd like as long as it is still safe for road use(safe being a relative term
)
On a side note, do you know what island you're moving to? what area on it?
When it comes to inspections, Hawaii is very lax(no smog, or emissions testing). We do have safety checks which consist of an annual inspection of the cars basic safety functions(horn, wipers, blinkers, etc) and "recon" which is basically there to keep the import tuners from doing ridiculous modifications to their cars. So you should be fine in regards to that as long as your car isn't shooting sparks over every bump in the road and blinding oncoming traffic with improperly installed HID kits.
The only type of hassle you might have when you bring it over is when you register it for the first time, since our VIN#'s aren't in the standard format, you'll have to meet with an inspector so he can look at your vin plates and make sure they match your title(not a big deal). I went through that process when i purchased my car from a guy who had brought it over from california 10 years prior where it was registered as "in storage" and had never bothered to register it in the state of hawaii. Again it's really not a huge hassle.
Other than that, you can modify the car pretty much as much as you'd like as long as it is still safe for road use(safe being a relative term
)On a side note, do you know what island you're moving to? what area on it?
-
kmartin83
Re: Hawaii Bound
Looking at either Kona or Maui at this point - will be coming over in September next year to look at houses -- selling the rental here in Rescue and using the equity to purchase there. I can't wait!!! I was planning on doing a complete rebuild on the Fiat, rather than replacing the engine, it's good to know before hand about the inspection. Thanks much.
It's nice to know that there are other Fiats on the road over there
It's nice to know that there are other Fiats on the road over there
-
manoa matt
- Posts: 3442
- Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2006 4:28 pm
- Your car is a: 1978 Fiat 124 Spider 1800
- Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Re: Hawaii Bound
When you go to ship the car, go with "Pasha" not only are they the best, but they are also the cheapest (rare combination) I bought my car in San Diego and shipped it to Honolulu and did not have any problems with paperwork, registration, etc.
Kona(Big Island) and Maui have A LOT BETTER roads than Oahu, the car will love it. Roads on Oahu are in the bottom 5 in the nation, more potholes than Chicago if you can believe that.
Kona(Big Island) and Maui have A LOT BETTER roads than Oahu, the car will love it. Roads on Oahu are in the bottom 5 in the nation, more potholes than Chicago if you can believe that.
-
kmartin83
Re: Hawaii Bound
Thanks for all the great info -- of course the fiat gets a say in where it wants to live too!! I will be sure to look up Pasha and get rates for shipping. It's good to have a great referral.
I will be sure to look up Pasha and get rates for shipping. It's good to have a great referral.-
rocky
Re: Hawaii Bound
How lucky for you to move to Hawaii for retirement. My wife and I will be doing the same in about 18-24 months. For us it is moving back home. We are back with family often, 4-6 times a year. We have a home on Oahu in Kapolei. I shipped my Honda del sol back with Matson about 10 years ago. It was pretty reasonable then. I'm really going to have to make a decision on how to get all the cars to Hawaii. Maybe a group discount.
Kathie, I see you're in Placerville. I love that area. We often drive through the foothills in the late summer and early fall. Just haven't done it in the Spider this year, the engine rebuild is going a little slower than I want. It should be finished in a week.
Good luck and I hope to see you around.
Greg
'77 Spider
Kathie, I see you're in Placerville. I love that area. We often drive through the foothills in the late summer and early fall. Just haven't done it in the Spider this year, the engine rebuild is going a little slower than I want. It should be finished in a week.
Good luck and I hope to see you around.
Greg
'77 Spider
-
kmartin83
Re: Hawaii Bound
Yes, Placerville is a wonderful place to drive your Fiat. Highway 49 is a must; I love cruising with the top down. My husband is and old Fiat owner too, so taking the Fiat to Hawaii is a must (just couldn't part with it).