To ship truck or not to ship? Want advice

[kauaitita]

Planning my move to Kaua'i to be near family. I have a white 1997 Dodge 2500 Ram Cummins Turbo Diesel 4x4 automatic transmission extended cab long bed grill guard tool box leather seats sliding rear windows, tinted windows, PS/PW with only 51,000 miles (for any of yall who dont know about diesels, that is considered low miles-diesels dont "break in" until 100,000)....very good on gas mileage too for a big truck, no doubt about that.
The truck is financed, so I have monthly payments on it. From what I see on Kelley Blue Book or NANDA, I would make a small profit selling it private party here, even after paying off the auto loan, so it is not upside down or anything.
To ship it from Savannah GA to Nawiliwi Harbor, Lihue, Kauai, would cost me $2000.
I am really undecided on what is the best thing to do. To ship it and have a very reliable low miles excellent shape truck and just pay the price to ship it, or to just sell it and buy another vehicle when I get to Kauai.

From what I have thought about, the pluses of shipping it are:
-to have a very good rust-free (for now lol) vehicle
-possibly be able to sell it for a profit on Kauai because it just might have better resale value out there, and get a small Jeep type vehicle e.g. Tracker, Sidekick eventually

The negatives of shipping it are:
-the price obviously
-having to rent a car for 2-3 weeks on Kauai while waiting for it to arrive
-the size of the truck being awfully big for a small island. wouldnt feel comfortable driving up the coastal highway on the north shore (Hanalei) with the curvy and narrow roads

i would REALLY welcome any advice/feedback on this, to help me decide, especially if you have been in this position before.
big mahalos!

[newroots]

Re: To ship truck or not to ship? Want advice

since its a really cool car. i'd go with ship it

[SouthKona]

Re: To ship truck or not to ship? Want advice

over the years we've shipped lots of cars back and forth (it used to be cheaper to ship a car than getting a long term rental on the mainland). anyway, if you've got a "good car/truck", go ahead and ship it. but watch out for hidden problems with shipping, such as the car being too low to the ground or to high, as that can really screw up your options, especially if you are going to a neighbor island. get very accurate dimensions of your auto, and compare them carefully to what is allowed w/out having to pay extra should it will not fit as a regular shipment. ditto for the interisland portion. AND, don't count on the auto showing up on any kind of schedule, our last one from oakland to kawaihae took 6 weeks to get here!!!! it sat on oahu for weeks waiting for space. by the way, don't leave anything in the car you ever want to see again, we've had go missing racing harnesses, heavy duty tireirons, and other various parts.

[Kekaha Roots]

Re: To ship truck or not to ship? Want advice

over the years we've shipped lots of cars back and forth (it used to be cheaper to ship a car than getting a long term rental on the mainland). anyway, if you've got a "good car/truck", go ahead and ship it. but watch out for hidden problems with shipping, such as the car being too low to the ground or to high, as that can really screw up your options, especially if you are going to a neighbor island. get very accurate dimensions of your auto, and compare them carefully to what is allowed w/out having to pay extra should it will not fit as a regular shipment. ditto for the interisland portion. AND, don't count on the auto showing up on any kind of schedule, our last one from oakland to kawaihae took 6 weeks to get here!!!! it sat on oahu for weeks waiting for space. by the way, don't leave anything in the car you ever want to see again, we've had go missing racing harnesses, heavy duty tireirons, and other various parts.

SouthKona,

Good advice, thanks. Sorry to hear about the missing stuff. What kind of car did you ship over? Do you race? (saw that you mentioned racing harnessess)

Quick questions: How much is it extra to get a car shipped over in a container? I had a friend ship his '96 Porsche 993 over from Long Beach to Lihue and he had several dings on his car because his car wasn't in a container.

Also, what is the ground clearance allowance? My car sits pretty low, but not terribly low. Thanks.

[SouthKona]

Re: To ship truck or not to ship? Want advice

SouthKona,

Good advice, thanks. Sorry to hear about the missing stuff. What kind of car did you ship over? Do you race? (saw that you mentioned racing harnessess)

Quick questions: How much is it extra to get a car shipped over in a container? I had a friend ship his '96 Porsche 993 over from Long Beach to Lihue and he had several dings on his car because his car wasn't in a container.

Also, what is the ground clearance allowance? My car sits pretty low, but not terribly low. Thanks.

The racing car was a tubbed out '57 Chevy, but that was a few cars ago. It's history to us now, someone else is working on it.
Contact Matson 800-462-8766 or www.matson.com. Also try Horizon (used to be SeaLand, then CXS Lines, now it's Horizon). Honolulu (808) 842-1515 or www.horizon-lines.com/ . I've heard that CXS (as they were called at the time) only shipped in containers. But, you'd be best off to contact both the shippers (Marson & Verizon) and find out the current policies/prices on inside of containers. We've had cars shipped in containers and not in containers. Both ways have resulted in missing items. Dings and damage are not so much of a problem, and they will repair anything they've caused. (Not the same coverage for theft, as you are not supposed to send anything loose. But, we've learned to take extensive photos inside and out so we can prove things like SEATBELTS are missing!!)
It was a '55 Chevy that sat too low for an interisland trip. It had come from the mainland in a container, so it was not a problem then.

[kauaitita]

Re: To ship truck or not to ship? Want advice

also heard PASHA HAWAII Transport Lines is a good one-its fairly new-google them and check out their website! i hear they are cheaper than Matson