Matson

Well, for the third time in seven years I found myself shipping a vehicle to or from Hawaii. Each time I’ve used Matson with absolutely no problems. The process is clear and while it is a bit of a hassle with the paperwork, it is really the easiest way to ship a vehicle to or from the islands. There are other companies, and even folks on the islands who say they ship but really are just independent shippers. Save yourself some money and go directly to the source for your vehicle shipping needs.

Shipped my 2008 Sentra Nissan from Honolulu, HI on ⁵⁄₂₃ to Oakland, CA. Process was great and easy. The crew in Honolulu were great.
Left it in good condition. It was arrived in Oakland on 6/5/13,five days early. Went to pick it up and it was completely dead! No lights no nothing came on. I was told by the mechanic who jumbstarted my car that this is normal from having a car sit too long. The thing is, I’ve had my car sit for up to two weeks while I travel and this was never a problem. I’ve shipped my car with Matson before and I didn’t have this. The Matson mechanic at the Oakland port told me that it will be fine just drive it for 20 minutes and battery life should be back to normal. I got home 4 hours later. Turn it off and could not start it again. I had to jumpstart it again to take it to my local mechanic and he said that it appears that something on my car was left on while it was shipped for my car to be completely dead. I had to buy a whole new battery! smh wth Matson shippers? Would not be using Matson again!

shipped my brand new Kia Soul from Oakland to Maui and it arrived in the condition I left it at the dock in. My lack of 5 stars is due to the length of time it takes to get the car to you, but I will explain.
First off, some of the negative reviews could have been avoided if the owner followed directions. I took my car to the car wash before I dropped it off. I washed it, waxed it and dried it completely. It was in perfect condition. I vacuumed it and left nothing in it except the manual in the glove box. That is what you are supposed to do. I arrived a half hour before lunch ended as was first in line after lunch. I was in and out in less than 15 minutes.
Getting my car after it got to Maui (which was 20 days later) was the hard part. It took so long. But, that is because, it arrived in Honolulu on a Thursday and the shipment from Oahu to Maui goes every Friday. It missed a week, so therefore, took another week to get to Maui. And then there was Thanksgiving. So it got in on Saturday. I didn’t wait to be called. I went to the office and found this all out. So early on Monday morning, I went straight to the dock and was first, so I had no wait. My car was ready. It had no marks or damage and I picked it up in 15 minutes.
If you are going to register your vehicle on Maui, you HAVE to have the registration, title or MSO. I had none of those because of a long story, and I am now dealing with the DMV. But my advice is make sure you read all the requirements for Matson and for the DMV in your home state and new state and county so you know what to expect and it will avoid bad reviews that are really your own fault, and not Matson’s. They did a good job and everyone I dealt with was friendly and helpful.