As far as critters are concerned. I have had NO success trying to casually dissuade them from entering a vehicle. Traps ( a bucket filled with anti freeze for long term ) and poisons… seem to work best.
No mice in Hawaii ? Interesting.
Congrats on your good fortune, and enjoy!
For any island location, if you garage it while you are gone I’d suggest ensuring it has enough ventilation or you may become intimately acquainted with “mildew.” Ditto for books, clothing, etc. Might also clean it and remove all food particles from the car to avoid mold, and consider some moth balls for mice, insects, spiders, etc. It’s a pretty old car so consider dropping the collision, and you may be able to talk your insurance company (or a competitor) into a discount. Used cars were pretty expensive in Hawaii when we were there, so shipping one way may make sense, although you may consider pricing “off-brand” rentals if they still have those.
In case anyone reading Mousse’s comment thinks military members get a taxpayer-funded free lunch by having one car shipped to Hawaii … not many service members I knew made money on their (frequent and mandatory) moves (throw in things like trying to frequently re-sell houses and it may be even worse in today’s market). In fact, I knew one medic who lost thousands of dollars on a Toyota SUV he had just bought. He had to sell it because he was moving. To Japan. Seems Japan would not allow re-shipment of cars they had manufactured because they did not pass their emissions standards. So much for the free-lunch vacations, for those who are not congresspeople or presidents.
To piggyback on that, mold can be pretty serious. In Hawaii, my closet smelled like the Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyland. And a prized leather jacket was destroyed by mold in another closet. Just ate it up. You probably have a nicer house than I did, but it might not be a bad idea to buy a tub of dessicant to leave it in the car and see if it catches any water while you’re gone.
You might ask the timeshare company about pests (but I supposed they could be biased, perhaps ask neighbors). It might seem silly, but geckos get everywhere. They lived in our mailbox and our house but I thought they were awesome so I left them. There are mice in HI. And there are some epic insects.
And rust can be an issue, but certainly not in a garage. Just remember there are yearly safety inspections there, unlike in CA. Be sure all your lights work and things like that, or you will regret it. They are nazis about the safety inspection. AND WHEN THE CAR GETS THERE, CHECK THE OIL. We got ours back empty of oil. It didn’t occur to my husband or myself to check if the oil was still in there (why wouldn’t it be?!) and we drove it off the shipyard with virtually no oil. Lasted an hour before overheating (oil light didn’t come on).
I think its an excellent idea to move your car to HI. We live across the bay from you. My brother works in San Francisco and will not get a car – despite his entire family nagging him to – but I think he has the right idea. SF is just one of those places where a car gets in the way. We go to SF every Saturday religiously. I figure it costs about $20 each trip just to get our car there (with bridge, parking and gas).
@Satisficer you are right! Thank you. It was terribly costly to move so often (I stayed broke my first two years, mostly due to moving three times). One month, you’re scrambling to throw away several cubic yards of your belongings because your orders came suddenly, the next month you are buying everything again. People give away their enormous TVs, throw away furniture, buy and sell cars, all sorts of things like that. We sometimes straddled double rentals or bills. The military only pays to move you if you’ll be in one place for a certain length of time. One (unpaid) move, I only brought what’d fit in my car and drove the stuff across country myself. I was in debt by the time I got to Hawaii and was relieved to hear they’d ship my car. Don’t get me wrong, I was still extremely thankful to have the job and a place to live, but its not the luxurious life some people imagine!
Mousse: Amen to that! It was a good way not to get attached to “stuff.” The old saying, three moves makes everything new. Yes, Hawaii was great, but we sure learned that any other assignment had its good points too. It was kind of easy to see why great civilizations have rarely arisen in a place as climatically stable and laid-back as Hawaii.
Back to bobinsf: If you keep the car in a garage, you might put a white flannel sheet on the top to keep the major dust off (many classic car owners do this). If you store it outside, a car cover might trap moisture and leave its imprint on the car, so it may be best not to use one. Also, it would be good to have a friendly neighbor look after your place. One final piece of advice … just before you get back to Hawaii and see your vehicle for the first time in a few months, repeat the mantra … “It’s only a car.” Good luck and Aloha!