How to Ship a Subaru to Big Island from Oahu

It was easier and less $$ to ship a Subaru from Oahu to Big Island than buy on island.

It is cheaper to ship a Subaru to Big Island from Oahu than it is to buy a Subaru on the Big Island. That’s the lesson I learned while trying to figure out whether it was better to focus on buying a car in Hawaii vs shipping a car from California. What you lose in sales tax and shipping is not enough to make up the difference in the sales price when you send a brand new car from California to Big Island.

Far easier and much simpler to buy the car at any other dealer than the Subaru dealer on Big Island. The Subaru dealer charges too much on Big Island. It’s a big difference. I really believe in keeping my money local, but the impression they gave me was they care more about soaking me than I care about driving 30 minutes up the coast to Kawaihae Harbor. You can buy a car on another island, ship a Subaru to Big Island from Oahu and still pay less. Plus the Subaru dealer on Big Island was rude without reason.

Young Brothers handles the shipping for Servco Subaru. The dealer on Big Island does not seem to be affiliated with Servco so maybe Servco is too big for them to compete with. But Servco has better prices. Better service, too.  Not only that, it only cost $317 to ship a Subaru to Big Island from Oahu.

When I picked up my car yesterday, it already had plates and license issued. The dealer arranged for all of the shipping from Oahu, how easy is THAT?

Side view of Subaru Forrester with paddle board rack.

I chose as my salesperson Melan Evangelista from the Maui Servco Subaru. Melan was very responsive from the get go. When I told him I wanted to buy the vehicle in October but ship it to Big Island to arrive November 30th, he didn’t blink an eye. Not only that, but the car arrived at Young Brothers, pier 2 at Kawaihae Harbor the day after Thanksgiving, a week early!

It was easy to grab a cab from the airport (no Uber allowed there) to take me to Kawaihae Harbor. Once there, I paid my $317, hopped into a golf cart with a charming woman who has such an exciting job, and was delivered to my car. The gas station was just around the corner (they ship cars without much gas).

Driving back to Kona in my new Subaru from Kawaihae Harbor.

While driving back to our house in Hawaii, my team member and close friend Barbara Dow asked me to send her a photo. I should not take photos while driving, yah? But I did it anyway.