Lotus owner on Oahu...

[MikeVR4]

Aloha!

I am moving to Oahu this summer, and am most likely bringing the Elise along. What's the Lotus crowd like over there? Any social events? Driving events?

I have seen online that the Hawaii Raceway Park has closed... Are there any other road courses, or are we out of luck? Any high speed driver's ed events hosted by Porsche, Audi, or BMW clubs? Or should I have checked the 007 submersible option on the Elise???

MikeVR4

[Thomas Praetzel]

With all the rain as of late the 007 option isn't a bad idea. The H3 can be a lot of fun, or the Pali very early in the morning. Where on Oahu?

Aloha,
Thomas Praetzel
Gonna rain!

[ekological]

Wow Mike! I'm envious! Does it stop being paradise once you're living in it? Lemme know if you need 50watt highbeams to go along with the lowbeams

[charliex]

i'd been toying with the idea of moving to kauai, and i was thinking the same thing theres lots of cool roads to drive on, seems like the cops sit in the same spots too for speed traps.

i dunno, i like the look of new zealand, but i've never been, las vegas i like too, but i really love kauai... i've got itchy feet.

[Beanie]

Yes, Hawaii Raceway Park closed. Local law enforcement (what other kind would there be there?) has cracked down on street racing, too. I have not been back there in a while, but keep track of current events. Is there even a Lotus dealership on Oahu?

[MikeVR4]

Originally Posted by Thomas Praetzel

With all the rain as of late the 007 option isn't a bad idea. The H3 can be a lot of fun, or the Pali very early in the morning. Where on Oahu?

Dunno yet...Re-assigned to Pacific Command, so I'll be working at Pearl Harbor. We have begun house-hunting online, but really can't do the serious looking until closer to summertime. Any hot tips?

Originally Posted by Ekological

Wow Mike! I'm envious! Does it stop being paradise once you're living in it? Lemme know if you need 50watt highbeams to go along with the lowbeams

I fear I will suffer from Polynesian Paralysis and not want to even drive my car! And I gotta install the lowbeams first before you pitch me the highbeams, bra!

Originally Posted by Beanie

Yes, Hawaii Raceway Park closed. Local law enforcement (what other kind would there be there?) has cracked down on street racing, too. I have not been back there in a while, but keep track of current events. Is there even a Lotus dealership on Oahu?

That really stinks. Seems to me that removing the legal means to drive safely at speed would cause more street racing...

MikeVR4

[Thomas Praetzel]

If you like condo life, give the Craigside Condos a look. I had a place there for years, close to downtown, 10 or so minutes to the airport or Pearl, and feels like you are in the country. Right on Nuuanu Ave, highly recommend it. BTW, my company did a lot of work at Pearl and KMBH a few years ago.

Aloha,
Thomas Praetzel
Think its gonna rain!

[MikeVR4]

Originally Posted by Thomas Praetzel

If you like condo life, give the Craigside Condos a look. I had a place there for years, close to downtown, 10 or so minutes to the airport or Pearl, and feels like you are in the country. Right on Nuuanu Ave, highly recommend it. BTW, my company did a lot of work at Pearl and KMBH a few years ago.

We'll take a look, thanks for the tip. Definitely looking to rent, tho, as we will be living there for only two years.

MikeVR4

[808elise]

Hey Mike did you ever move out here? I am also in the navy and attached to Pearl. Have not seen any other Elises on the base though.

[MikeVR4]

Originally Posted by 808elise

Hey Mike did you ever move out here? I am also in the navy and attached to Pearl. Have not seen any other Elises on the base though.

As a matter of fact, I am on the island right now finishing up the househunting.

We are headed back home 17 July on the C-5 (hopefully) assuming it doesn't break, which is what they do best. We'll be back permanently the first week of August.

Since you are Kama'aina, I have several questions:

1) Where do you put the stupid HI inspection sticker? On your license plate, or <shudder> on the car?

2) If you didn't purchase it on the island, how did you transport it? I am still looking for a good shipping co. to send mine, since we are bringing 2 cars and they only pay for shipping one.

3) What color is yours? I'm a card-carrying member of the COM.

4) Any other Loti around?

[808elise]

Originally Posted by MikeVR4

As a matter of fact, I am on the island right now finishing up the househunting.

We are headed back home 17 July on the C-5 (hopefully) assuming it doesn't break, which is what they do best. We'll be back permanently the first week of August.

Since you are Kama'aina, I have several questions:

1) Where do you put the stupid HI inspection sticker? On your license plate, or <shudder> on the car?

2) If you didn't purchase it on the island, how did you transport it? I am still looking for a good shipping co. to send mine, since we are bringing 2 cars and they only pay for shipping one.

3) What color is yours? I'm a card-carrying member of the COM.

4) Any other Loti around?

Aloha!!!

Well i'm glad to hear we will have one more owner out here. When you get back make sure to PM me so we can meet up sometime. Where did you end up buying? or renting? your place? Hope you did not move towards the west side (anything past Pearl City). Traffic is terrible out there. We just moved to Waikiki and just love it there. I've been here for the last 6.5 years and plan on staying. Anyhow on to your questions:

1) There is a few options here

a. License Plate
b. Car
c. or a plate that you can drill or or rivit into your bumper (looks kinda cool)

My last car I went with option c. This one came from the dealership with option a. I liked c. better but it fell off once. P.S. did anyone tell you about recon?

2) I bought the Lotus here in HI. But second car was shipped via Matson. They did well. Everything was perfect and on time. Accually I think they were even a little early but I was deployed when it accually arrived. They were great about keeping it in good condition and not charging me any storage fees.

3) Storm Titanium, black rims, black tint, dark red interior.

4) There is not alot of elises around. And even if there is there is not alot of them driving around much. I have seen 3 the entire time i have been here. All of the owners were much older than I and it seemed that they had made no modifications. Most people here have NO clue what they are. And oh yeah do you do your own maintenance? If not an oil change here runs $250!! I was pretty shocked.

Well i'm looking forward to seeing you around. BTW what do you do in the navy?

[ormandj]

Whatever you do now, don't buy a home. Rent, lease, whatever - but do not buy. The housing market here is insanely over-priced, and is going to go bust like it did in the 70s any time now. Wait till it drops again. Everybody here is living on second mortgages, and when things go poof, prices are going to drop a LOT. I'm leaving this place due to the cost of living, for a poor soul like myself it's absolutely impossible to exist.

Good luck, the weather is great and you can't beat the view!

[MikeVR4]

Originally Posted by 808elise

Aloha!!!
Well i'm glad to hear we will have one more owner out here. When you get back make sure to PM me so we can meet up sometime. Where did you end up buying? or renting? your place? Hope you did not move towards the west side (anything past Pearl City). Traffic is terrible out there.

We are renting a place in Kahala...Actually a guest house, since all the houses here cost a fortune. It really says "guest house" on the keys... It is 500 yds to the beach, and has a 2 car garage with gate, so I am not worried about my cars, unlike in Maryland. It seems the majority of military live on the Leeward side...I don't understand why. Just out of curiousity, we tried a dry-run driving to Pearl Harbor from Ewa in the morning, and a return in the evening...NO WAY! You get more house for your money there, but the traffic is totally not worth it.

Originally Posted by 808elise

a. License Plate
b. Car
c. or a plate that you can drill or or rivit into your bumper (looks kinda cool)

My last car I went with option c. This one came from the dealership with option a. I liked c. better but it fell off once. P.S. did anyone tell you about recon?

a. Do you mean sticking the sticker on the license plate directly? Do they care if it's on an out-of-state plate?

c. Can u just remove a bolt from the undertray lip near the license plate, slip the holder onto the bolt, and then reinstall? Who sells the holder?

Recon? That's what I am doing right now. I'd much rather here it from a fellow owner than an employee of State of Hawaii.

Originally Posted by 808elise

4) There is not alot of elises around. And even if there is there is not alot of them driving around much. I have seen 3 the entire time i have been here. All of the owners were much older than I and it seemed that they had made no modifications. Most people here have NO clue what they are. And oh yeah do you do your own maintenance? If not an oil change here runs $250!! I was pretty shocked.

I do my own maintenance. Who is the local dealer that does warranty work, etc?

Originally Posted by 808elise

Well i'm looking forward to seeing you around. BTW what do you do in the navy?

I'm in the AF, and work at JICPAC. It's a joint assignment, so all the services are there. We will be here for 2 yrs, assuming I get school next.

[808elise]

We are renting a place in Kahala...Actually a guest house, since all the houses here cost a fortune. It really says "guest house" on the keys... It is 500 yds to the beach, and has a 2 car garage with gate, so I am not worried about my cars, unlike in Maryland. It seems the majority of military live on the Leeward side...I don't understand why. Just out of curiousity, we tried a dry-run driving to Pearl Harbor from Ewa in the morning, and a return in the evening...NO WAY! You get more house for your money there, but the traffic is totally not worth it.

-WOW!! Nice place. Kahala is a great place to be but it comes at a high price. You must be really close to me then. We live right beside the zoo.

a. Do you mean sticking the sticker on the license plate directly? Do they care if it's on an out-of-state plate?

-No not on the plate its another plate or holder and then you can bolt that into your car or yes.....

c. Can u just remove a bolt from the undertray lip near the license plate, slip the holder onto the bolt, and then reinstall? Who sells the holder?

-Yes that is how mine is right now but last time I bolted it under the bumper.

Recon? That's what I am doing right now. I'd much rather here it from a fellow owner than an employee of State of Hawaii.

-Recon is a pain. Did you already do your first appointment? If not you are going to have to put on your front plate if you have not already done so. My plan is to not even do recon. With the amount of these cars here I would be really surprised if the inspection stations or for sure the cops know anything about them. Unless you go putting a bunch of chromed out engine peices with fresh scratch marks over all of the bolts I doubt they will even know what to look for. I have not had to do a inspection yet with this car. So I guess only time will tell. I just ordered a bunch of stuff from Esta (carbon rear diffuser, front clam, front lip, and spoiler). The only thing I'm a little worried about is when they get in and see the stereo because they will know that I have been tinkering. When I put my Acura through I only had to go twice and that was because I did not have foam in the upgraded bumper. So just make sure your tint is legal and your plate is mounted. Did you upgrade anything?

I do my own maintenance. Who is the local dealer that does warranty work, etc?

-Yeah I'm not much of a mechanic and have no tools. I think for that much though I need to start investing. The Audi dealership on Beritania sells and does maintenance and warrenty work.

I'm in the AF, and work at JICPAC. It's a joint assignment, so all the services are there. We will be here for 2 yrs, assuming I get school next.

-Oh ok, are you enlisted or officer? And isn't BAH awsome here?

[X000000101]

Hello all...

I'm moving to Oahu too and have decided to bring along our Magnetic Blue Elise.

Folks that shipped with Matson...any advice and/or tips? How long did it take between drop off and arrival? Were your worries about potential damage to the car alleviated, somehow? I'll ship from Richmond, CA, since it's the closest port to home.

It will likely be January by the time we arrive with the car, but have begun to make plans, and look forward to meeting other Elise owners in paradise!

Thank you,
Dave

[AgentTripleX]

I just got back from Ko Olina and it was pretty peaceful. I saw maybe a few Boxsters and some older Bimmers, but nothing exotic.

[MikeVR4]

Originally Posted by X000000101

Hello all...

I'm moving to Oahu too and have decided to bring along our Magnetic Blue Elise.

Folks that shipped with Matson...any advice and/or tips? How long did it take between drop off and arrival? Were your worries about potential damage to the car alleviated, somehow? I'll ship from Richmond, CA, since it's the closest port to home.

It will likely be January by the time we arrive with the car, but have begun to make plans, and look forward to meeting other Elise owners in paradise!

Thank you,
Dave

Aloha!

Matson moved both my Lotus and Porsche, one on the govt's dime and the other on mine. EDIT: My wife is correcting me. American Auto Logistics moved our cars however the company uses the Matson terminal in the port of Honolulu for pick up/drop off.

They couldn't dispel ALL my fears, since they are crossing the Pacific with my baby, but seemed reasonably careful...I found no damage to either car upon arrival. It took a few days short of a month for both cars to arrive, but that is coming from the East Coast.

Advice:

- Take everything out of the car that isn't glued or bolted on. If you leave things in the car, they will put them all in a carboard box, seal it, have you sign it, and then put it inside the car. Just do yourself a favor and take it all out to relieve any worry. I didn't take my mats out, but you may want to if you are concerned. Take the soft top out of the back and pack that with your household goods, so it doesn't show up "missing." If you have a hardtop, put that on for the voyage. The car can't be shipped with more than a 1/4 tank, so drive the hell out of it until you get it there!

- Maintain your car insurance in your old state while it is in-transit.

- While you are waiting, check their tracking website religiously, since they snail-mail the delivery notices, vice email! (OK, WHY did I give them my email address/phone #???) Once you get the magic "ARRIVED" entry on the website, go out and get your baby! Just make sure it's before 3:00pm, they won't deliver 1 minute after and you will be left car-less for another day!

- When you come to receive your car, it will be very dirty. Despite this, they expect you to inspect the car for damage. Inspect what you can, but make sure to immediately clean it and inspect it further, since you only have 24 hrs after delivery to make a claim. Check your tire pressures, they will be low.

- Post on Elisetalk that you got your car, and we will go out for a drive!

[MikeVR4]

Originally Posted by 808elise

-Oh ok, are you enlisted or officer? And isn't BAH awsome here?

I'm an O'. BAH is amazing, but it all goes to pay for that guest house, unfortunately. We're waiting to see what the utilities are gonna be like...

[X000000101]

Aloha!

Thank you for the detailed advice. What was the charge to ship from the East coast? They quote $975 from Richmond CA to Honolulu.

Was it all the way with Matson (assume so, but worth the ask). I'm actually in Omaha NE and was going to drive the Elise to the West Coast to alleviate at least the ground shipment part...seems like fewer hands, bodies in the car, less likelihood of "trouble".

Glad to hear your experience went well! The cars' still pristine so still "babying" it too much!

I do have a hard top so am planning to do exactly as you mentioned.

Wilco on the drive...! Can't wait to have roads with CURVES to drive every day (once out of traffic, from what I'm hearing.

Dave

[MikeVR4]

Originally Posted by X000000101

Aloha!

Thank you for the detailed advice. What was the charge to ship from the East coast? They quote $975 from Richmond CA to Honolulu.

Was it all the way with Matson (assume so, but worth the ask). I'm actually in Omaha NE and was going to drive the Elise to the West Coast to alleviate at least the ground shipment part...seems like fewer hands, bodies in the car, less likelihood of "trouble".

Glad to hear your experience went well! The cars' still pristine so still "babying" it too much!

I do have a hard top so am planning to do exactly as you mentioned.

Wilco on the drive...! Can't wait to have roads with CURVES to drive every day (once out of traffic, from what I'm hearing.

Dave

Oh, we have something else in common then, I am very familiar with Omaha - I was stationed at Offutt AFB 4 yrs ago. I've heard it's grown quite a bit. We used to live on the West side, down Maple St. Definitely not alot of twisties out there to have fun on, though didn't they finish that road course nearby, was it in Iowa maybe on the Council Bluffs side??? They had just laid the asphalt down as we were leaving, never got to drive it in anger...

EDIT***We used American Auto Logisitcs to ship both cars however they use the Matson terminal in the Port of Hawaii for pick up and drop off of vehicles.

It was app. $2600 to ship the 2nd car from Maryland...Pretty steep, definitely not the cheapest way, but they were the same company that shipped my other car thru the military, so I decided to stick with them.

As for drives, take H-3 or Pali Hwy in the morning - There are few tunnels thru the mountains (good with the top off ), and the hill-climb to the top is lots of fun! For a little cruise take H-1 East (Kokohead-bound) and continue as it turns into Kalanianiole Hwy near Hanauma Bay - It is a fun, slow, twisty drive on the rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean. I'm sure there are more good places, maybe North Shore - Thomas, you got any good ones?