Tips on Auto Registration of new car (Tesla) in Hawaii - Things to do

[gmtom1]

Aloha all,
Not sure if this is the right thread or not but here is my situation:
I already own my MS, having purchased it on 3/28/14. It is a 60, pano,black,19s.
My questions are: If I decide to bring it (I am relocating for work on Kauai) there are several concerns:
A) the registration process seems like a big deal, compared to back on the mainland (NJ) where tesla did everything.
B) are the fees (Taxes, and others) similar for an already owned vehicle (I have 15K miles, if that matters)?
C) should I just sell it, and buy a new one?
D) is service available? how about Superchargers?

I will be coming there for my first ever visit in a few weeks. Hopefully, I can have the answers I seek by then.

Because you already own your vehicle, it's treated as an out-of-state transfer. The registration process is similar (except with the County of Kauai DMV instead of Honolulu as noted in this thread) however you will not have to pay State of Hawaii use taxes, since you are not purchasing a new vehicle.

Check the Kauai DMV site here

Also, I believe you may drive with your out-of-state plates here in Hawaii until your current out-of-state registration expires.

 

[NorthShore]

My questions are: If I decide to bring it (I am relocating for work on Kauai) there are several concerns:
A) the registration process seems like a big deal, compared to back on the mainland (NJ) where tesla did everything.
B) are the fees (Taxes, and others) similar for an already owned vehicle (I have 15K miles, if that matters)?
C) should I just sell it, and buy a new one?
D) is service available? how about Superchargers?

I used a company similar to this one before to help with both transport and registration. The one I used doesn't seem to be around any more, but they were super helpful. I don't have personal experience with these guys though the seem to have replaced the old company. http://www.alohavehicleregistrationonline.com

A) Once you reconcile yourself that you are going to devote a little time to playing scavenger hunt, it's really not that bad. Even the DMV on Kauai is a mellow place. The back and forth with car inspection thing you go through the first time you do is woefully inefficient and irritating. Don't take it personally.

B) See comments above

C) A lot of that depends on your personal situation, but even if you buy a new one on Oahu, you'll still need to go to the port to pick it up... which is easy. Keep in mind if you buy a new MS they'll be certain lag time from Tesla of weeks to months and then they need to get to Kauai. I have one on order right now and got an email telling me that it will ship from California to the Big Island, from the Big Island to the dealership on Oahu and then ship it on to me on Kauai. I don't think there are any Tesla's on Kauai right now, but the people on Maui and the Big Island have been really pleased with the level of service they've received.

If you ship your car from New Jersey, be sure to do your homework on car shippers. I've shipped several and the recommendations from here have always been good: http://www.transportreviews.com/ Once you get it to California, they all come over on Matson. They're not kidding when they say remove everything from the car, so be sure and take your charging cable out.

D) The are no superchargers in the Hawaiian Islands. There are several EV chargers scattered about Kauai though. hawaii.gov | EV Charging Stations I think you'll need a dedicated charger at home, and if you have that, you won't need to charge anywhere else. It's not that big a place.

 

[NigelM]

how about Superchargers?

Kauai is approximately 33 miles long and 25 miles wide. Even with elevation changes and driving a 60 you'll never suffer from range anxiety.

 

[Akikiki]

I used a company similar to this one before to help with both transport and registration. The one I used doesn't seem to be around any more, but they were super helpful. I don't have personal experience with these guys though the seem to have replaced the old company. http://www.alohavehicleregistrationonline.com

A) Once you reconcile yourself that you are going to devote a little time to playing scavenger hunt, it's really not that bad. Even the DMV on Kauai is a mellow place. The back and forth with car inspection thing you go through the first time you do is woefully inefficient and irritating. Don't take it personally.

B) See comments above

C) A lot of that depends on your personal situation, but even if you buy a new one on Oahu, you'll still need to go to the port to pick it up... which is easy. Keep in mind if you buy a new MS they'll be certain lag time from Tesla of weeks to months and then they need to get to Kauai. I have one on order right now and got an email telling me that it will ship from California to the Big Island, from the Big Island to the dealership on Oahu and then ship it on to me on Kauai. I don't think there are any Tesla's on Kauai right now, but the people on Maui and the Big Island have been really pleased with the level of service they've received.

If you ship your car from New Jersey, be sure to do your homework on car shippers. I've shipped several and the recommendations from here have always been good: http://www.transportreviews.com/ Once you get it to California, they all come over on Matson. They're not kidding when they say remove everything from the car, so be sure and take your charging cable out.

D) The are no superchargers in the Hawaiian Islands. There are several EV chargers scattered about Kauai though. hawaii.gov | EV Charging Stations I think you'll need a dedicated charger at home, and if you have that, you won't need to charge anywhere else. It's not that big a place.

Dear NorthShore, You are mistaken in your references about Tesla on Oahu. Let me summarize for you. First the cars do not go to the Big Island before they come to Oahu. The ship might pass the Big Island, but I don't think that really counts. And we do not pick them up ourselves at the dock. Its been that way for about two years next month. The Service Center takes possession, processes, services and preps the car for the customer to take ownership. If you already own the car you may be picking it up at the dock yourself. But they still come to Oahu first. Pasha also ships cars to Hawaii.

And although we have not changed the first page of this wiki, the SC is getting the Safety Inspection these days. That makes the payment of state excise tax and registration easier. Not much more than it is any place else. The correct paperwork is the key.

And there are already a couple of Teslas on Kauai. And to charge the car, you only need electricity. You do not install a charger. The charger is in the Model S.

And we are working on convincing Tesla to install one or two SuperChargers on Oahu. Not here yet, but we are working on it.

 

[WeazL]

I have used Pasha for vehicle shipments in the past two years and been very pleased with their rates and service. Gotta love the underdog!

 

[NorthShore]

Hi Akikiki,

Thank you for your comments. It's exciting to hear there are other Teslas on Kauai after all. I've only ever seen one roadster here and haven't seen it in over a year.

I thought shipping to the Big Island part sounded strange, and unnecessarily complex but the but the email I received from the "Tesla Inside Delivery Specialist" said:

"Based on your production date and transit time I would expect your Model S to be delivered to the Big Island between December 22nd and December 30th . The Honolulu Service Center will reach out to you when your Model S is ready for delivery and scheduled to be shipped. Tesla uses Young Brothers for all of their inter-island shipping."

It's [FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]possible that the Tesla delivery specialist confused Oahu and the Big Island. I hope that's the explanation and I am happy to hear that my car may do less inter island travel than I initially was told.

I've used Pasha too and they did great for me. I thought i saw on KHON a while back that they were pulling out. I've never been more happy to be wrong!

Since the OP was asking about buying a Tesla from Kauai, I was repeating what I was told to expect. My DS told me that Tesla on Oahu would be shipping my car to Kauai and I would be picking up my Telsa at the port at Y[/FONT][FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]oung Brothers at Nawiliwili Harbor.

Whether or not you want to call it a charger or not, if you are going to be charging at home, if you want to charge faster than the 3mph that that a standard wall outlet delivers, you will need to get an electrician to install a 50 amp plug for the proprietary smart cable to charge or install the 100amp[/FONT][FONT=Calibri, sans-serif] Tesla HPWC to charge.

That's exciting if the SC can get the safety inspection completed prior to taking delivery. That'll decrease the annoyance factor considerably.[/FONT]

 

[StephenM]

Yes, if you're speaking with someone on the mainland team, they have definitely confused the islands. Early on in 2012 when I spoke with them, the guy I spoke with didn't even know we had multiple islands (!) when I asked how they intended to service for the outer islands (they didn't have the service center here established yet).

 

[WeazL]

I've updated the beginning of this thread so that the new (shorter) registration procedures are now in post #1. The old procedures are now listed in the bottom of the wiki post (#2) for thread integrity and history.

I've left a copy of the current procedures (duplicate of post #1) at the beginning of the wiki post (#2) so that they can be edited by anyone should the procedures change. Going forward, please post in this thread indicating any changes to the wiki (#2) so that I can copy it into post #1. This is the easiest way to keep the most up-to-date info at the top.

 

[MooseKeyz]

Any updates on this process? I may have been making an assumption, but I thought Tesla was registering my car. However, it's been a couple of weeks and haven't received any plates in the mail and I haven't heard from Delivery.

 

[G'sinHawaii]

Aloha and welcome Moose,

Your plates can take from a month to 2 months and it will arrive via FedEx.

 

[InParadise]

Picked up my 3 on 5/4 and received plates 6/5 from FedEx

 

[Litigate28]

Aloha folks,

I'm considering purchasing a new Tesla in Hawaii and then immediately shipping it to California. I'm guessing Tesla will take care of most of the registration stuff, but any tips to share for a newbie?

Since I'll be registering it in CA upon its arrival too do I just disregard the plates and stickers that will eventually get mailed?

Seems like Pasha is a good option for shipping even though it's not covered transport.

 

[Akikiki]

I've been here 30+ years. I've shipped cars and trucks here on my own. Matson and Pasha are about equally reliable and won't mess up your car. Sure, sure, once in a while something happens and it gets hurt. It can happen to anyone from either one.

But in behalf of everyone that will read your post in the next couple of weeks, we are itching to know why are you buying here and shipping there. It clearly seems the car is already here, and you are sending it back to the mothership? Please share the circumstances, 'cause that's a bit backward for us.

 

[Litigate28]

I've been here 30+ years. I've shipped cars and trucks here on my own. Matson and Pasha are about equally reliable and won't mess up your car. Sure, sure, once in a while something happens and it gets hurt. It can happen to anyone from either one.

But in behalf of everyone that will read your post in the next couple of weeks, we are itching to know why are you buying here and shipping there. It clearly seems the car is already here, and you are sending it back to the mothership? Please share the circumstances, 'cause that's a bit backward for us.

Thanks Akikiki. Good to know either company will be trustworthy.

The short of it is I wanted a very particular set of options and color combo on a car and there happened to be one available in Hawaii so I put a deposit on it. I was going to pick it up there, then it seemed I may have a chance to get it transferred to CA by Tesla itself for a while, but then that was denied recently. So now if I want it I'll have to go to HI to take delivery and apparently register it there first.

It's quite a huge hassle actually. But I'm thinking of just making a vacation out of it and hoping I don't hit any weird red tape issues along the way.

 

[Akikiki]

Well, that's a worthy explanation. The sales tax here is called an excise tax and its 4.71%. I've heard stories of folks in the USofA traveling to the factory to get their Tesla and even though they are not CA citizens they are required to pay sales tax. Even when they have to maybe deal with paying again when they get home. How about you? Are you saving any $$$ by taking possession and registering here vice the great state of CA? They didn't always for us, but for the past several years, Tesla takes the excise tax and registration fees at delivery and pays them for us. So I suspect if you are actually taking delivery, you will pay that upfront.

 

[Litigate28]

Overall I would save some money, though not huge amounts. I would pay the HI excise tax, and that would be credited against the CA tax I would pay upon re-registering it. Which is more than double if you can believe it. But at least I am not paying twice, it would be the same amount if I had just registered it in CA at the beginning, just paying about half in HI and the remainder in CA.

 

[Akikiki]

Like you said, at least not twice even if CA is ordinarily double ours.

Well in behalf of the state of Hawaii, we appreciate you leaving part of your money here

 

[gkarsin]

Moderator Note: This thread has evolved with the registration process in Hawaii and this post (#1) has been revised to consolidate the latest information into a single post. The original version of the registration process can be found at the bottom of post #2 (wiki) for thread integrity.
-------------

HI Vehicle Registration Process

Last update: 12/28/15 (minor)

A. The Hawaii Tesla auto registration process has evolved since the first Tesla were delivered on Oahu.
Post #2 of this thread documented the process up and until about Fall of '14. State of Hawaii, Dept of Taxation's Excise Tax and City & County registration is handled by Tesla Motors now. (Thank you Tesla!)

B. The Tesla Service Center performs safety inspections and using a contractor source applies for the vehicle registration and picks up the license plate. By state law auto dealers are permitted to perform a vehicle safety inspection and apply a sticker that is good for two years vice the standard one year. Good news: When you pick up your new Tesla your safety inspection is good for two years.

C. Safety Inspection Sticker location.
Several new owners do not like the traditional method of affixing the stickers to the bumpers. There are options available other than applying the sticker to the rear bumper. The new owner has the option of bringing their own sticker mounting plate/bracket.

(1) The Service Center uses a metal safety inspection sticker bracket mounted to the right of the license plate, so that they do not need to apply the sticker to the colored bumper. The Service Center supplied sticker bracket has an insulating material on the car body side of the bracket to prevent rubbing on the truck lid.

(2) An alternative sticker mounting method is a clear plastic plate with a sticker extension out the side to allow room for the sticker available at Min Plastic. The clear plastic plate is the same size as the license plate so it extends across the width and length of the license plate. This length protects the car from scratches. The clear sticker mounting plate is available at Min Plastics, 921 Kaamahu Place, Honolulu (808) 847-1511. (Min Plastics is located on the street behind Institute for Human Services, near the corner of Dillingham and King Street.) The cost is about $22. The design has been updated to accommodate the new one piece HI safety inspection sticker that mounts horizontally.

D. Owners are still responsible for paying the state excise tax 4.5% on Oahu for the individual automobile purchase. However, owners no longer need to make the trip down to the Dept of Taxation (DoTax) office on Punchbowl Street. New owners pay Tesla and Tesla pays the state for the owner. Thank you again Tesla.

E. Vanity plate versus EV plate. Vanity plates are cool. However to qualify for EV perks from the C&C and State your Tesla must display the EV plate. It's worth it, but it's your choice. We recommend the EV plate. Owners with regular or vanity plates have reported they too usually receive the EV tag benefits but there's no guarantee 100% of the time..

My Model 3 came with the inspection sticker on the bumper. My salesman told me that is where they are putting them now. Can anyone recommend where to get the license plate safety sticker mount?

 

[Akikiki]

Yep, this is a clear Plexiglas plate that is the same size as the license plate. Its got a "tab" off the side to allow the safety sticker.
Price has been $20 for years. Don't know if they are charging the same now. I recommend calling and asking them to have one ready. Last time someone went by, they reported they didn't have any cut and it would be a few days. They are located off Dillingham near King St.
Going towards King on Dillingham, right on Kaaahi St and quick left beside IHS. Their shop/office is on the right at the end of the short street dead end street. Parking is terrible.

Min Plastics
921 Kaamahu Pl,
Honolulu
847-1511

 

[gmtom1]

Ron's, before they closed down, used to stock the metal plates that used to come with the cars. I still see a few new(er) vehicles (BMW, Audi, etc.) with the metal plate on, so there must be another supplier somewhere. Amazon has a listing for one, but it's not fulfilled by Amazon, so buyer beware. They also have motorcycle inspection sticker plates, but those appear to be too small for the Hawaii sticker and too thick to work with a vehicle plate mount.