Shipping a vehicle, truck, or SUV in Hawaii can be done with any of the major, established carriers that ship vehicles in Hawaii. Since most vehicle transportation services first head for Honolulu, located on Oahu Island, shipping your car to a different island will cost you more. If your car needs to go from a different island on Hawaii, or past the port of California, you should expect longer transportation times.
When you select door-to-port shipping services to move a vehicle to or from Hawaii, a moving company will take your car from the nearest container terminal. When shipping your vehicle in Hawaii, you are working with one vehicle transportation broker and one transporter – the foreign-based company physically moving your car across the ocean. Very few car transport companies will be able to take your car from your house on the mainland and bring it to your front door in Hawaii.
As you can see, moving your vehicle to Hawaii (or moving a car from Hawaii to the mainland) is easy when you are moving with a knowledgeable auto transportation company, such as Alpine. In many cases, you can use a third-party car hauler to transport your vehicle from the port to your new doorstep. You do not necessarily need to use the shipping company who is moving to Hawaii to make this initial leg of your journey, however, it can be easier to find one company who will drive the vehicle from port to door for you. If you want a door-to-door service, you should look for a local company in Hawaii that will be able to handle the final step of delivery (they are typically the only ones who will transport the vehicle from the port to your house).
When your car is located a long way away from the port, like northern California or a different state, you will have to hire a vehicle shipping company. For instance, if you live in Texas, this journey would involve land-based auto transportation to California, followed by an ocean-based transport to Hawaii. Simply moving a vehicle out of the port on the west coast is the easiest and fastest route, but moving your vehicle to Hawaii or back is likely a bit trickier if you live on the other side of the continental United States.
If you are further away from a port in Long Beach (for example, if you are shipping a car from the East Coast to Hawaii) and you require surface transportation, it could take a week or two after you make the pickup date for the car to arrive at the port. Your vehicle can arrive five to 10 days after being shipped, but that may vary depending on which port you are shipping from and what company you choose.
If you are not able to get your car immediately, the car transport company will hold it for free for several days (or we can even arrange a driver who can bring it to your exact location in Hawaii). Drop off your car at the mainland port of shipment, and pick up your car at a Hawaii port. A reliable auto transport company will come and collect my vehicle on time, and will move your vehicle into a covered container to keep the vehicle safe. The Port Shipper will load your Car on to one of their rolling-on/rolling-off freight ships, who will then take your Car to a Port of Honolulu.
If your vehicle is dirty, the shipper cannot perform an inspection, and the vehicle will not be accepted into the port facility. After the vehicle is checked out at the port, any personal items left in it will be removed prior to loading the car on a vessel. If your vehicle is not cleaned up (inside and outside), it can not pass a USDA inspection, and you will need to pay for a transport company to wash and scrub the car.
When you are moving your vehicle in Hawaii or back to the mainland, your quote will vary depending on your vehicles make and model, how far your vehicle is going to go to or from port, type of transportation (for example, open-carrier vs. enclosed-carrier), how fast you need the shipment, and whether or not your vehicle has been modified. The cost to ship your vehicle to Hawaii depends on a few factors, including distance between pick-up and drop-off locations; the make, model, and year of the car; the type of vehicle transportation services you require; time of year; and the supply and demand of the routes you select. Due to the isolated location of Hawaii, expect a high auto transportation cost when sending a car to Hawaii.
For instance, you might have wondered whether it is possible to send your vehicle with things inside it to Hawaii, or if it is possible to score a lower price by sharing less details about your car when booking. The port would turn down your vehicle, and you would need to immediately book another delivery. In situations such as this, your moving company will arrange for a driver to take your vehicle from the exact pick-up location to the port, where it will be loaded onto the vessel, and appropriately secured by lashings to prevent it from moving throughout transportation. Make sure that you are not going at the back of your pick-up window — or make arrangements for a family member or friend to drop your car off to an auto transport company.
Getting your vehicle to a domestic destination also takes extra time. You arrange for SGT Auto Transport to collect your vehicle at your home on land, then bring it right to the port on land. Door-to-door shipping to Hawaii Full-service moving companies often deliver your vehicle to your new address (rather than to a port) if you are shipping it along with your household items.
