Big Island Used Cars

Recently my car died – I’d had her for 20 years, she was 26 years old and the motor was not sounding good, so I had been looking on Craiglist for several weeks and doing my research on what could work for me with my limited budget and certain needs. Results were dismal. Finally, what seemed to be a near match came up on another island, but of course I would have to fly there to see it, get someone to appraise it, ship it to my island, etc. Meanwhile, every day I would pass Big Island Cars, but I never stopped by because the cars I could see from the street were not in my price range. But that small nagging voice inside kept telling me to look there, so finally I did. As I walked around the lot, I didn’t see The Car, but there were a couple that came close. I asked a young man who had just parked a car what the mileage was on one of the cars. After he answered, he asked me what I was looking for. After he found out my budget and specs, he showed me a car that didn’t fit my specifications – I like hatchbacks and manual shift – and was above my price range, but I liked it and it revised my ideas about what I wanted. He said he’d be getting another one with a lower price in about a week, and he’d give me a call Thursday or Friday to let me know when I could expect to see it. He explained that the lower price was because of the color, which would be a gray rather than silver or white, and because there were some cosmetic body issues. He said they would accept my car as a trade-​in and take care of the licensing, registration and paperwork to make it really easy. That’s how I met Brandon Perea, the son in this family business. He is friendly, high energy, and was as attentive and interested in my finding what I needed as if I were looking for something 20 times the price. On the way home, I was very excited. I felt I had found my car. The sunset that evening was the most beautiful I’ve seen in 10 years on this island. Brandon called me Friday and said I would be able to see the car on Wednesday.
Saturday in the early evening my car died (at a busy intersection!) I emailed Brandon and told him what happened. The business was not open that Monday, so I called him Tuesday morning and he said he’d gotten my email and made sure the car would be ready for me to look at that afternoon. When I saw the car, I liked the color, a pearl gray, not as dark as I had anticipated, and I could easily live with the cosmetic issues. I felt really at home driving it; it was perfect for me and I bought it. When I noticed there was no manual in the car, Brandon went ahead and ordered one.
It was such a pleasure doing business with the Perea family. I met Brandon’s dad and mom, Don and Michelle, and their little dog Yuko. Their customer service is outstanding. The atmosphere in the office is so positive – kindness and a feeling of stability.
To see their inventory and get an overview of what they have to offer, visit
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I am so happy with my car, a peppy little Echo, and enjoying the luxuries of power steering, AC, CD player and automatic shift.

While the sales people are nice, they only let you use 2 pre-​approved mechanics to look at their cars. This is a huge red flag. If a car dealership doesn’t let you use your own mechanic, you should just find another dealership.

I had visited this used car dealership on my own on a Sunday when they were closed and looked over their inventory. I was surprised that the vast majority of their cars were in «good» to «excellent» condition.
The make, model, year, VIN# and asking price were displayed on each of the vehicles. (not all dealers do this) I found several I liked. Took down the information, went home, did my research and chose one car I wanted to make an offer on.
I went down to Big Island Used Cars the following Thurs. and seen a sales person, Ivan. He and I went over the car. He answered all my questions. I did not feel pressured at all. I got the mileage from the car and went back home to do more research.
I returned the following Sat. and made an offer on the car. After a few minutes of negotiating with the owner of the business, Don Perea. I walked out of the dealership with a very clean, 2005 Pontiac Sunfire 2DR coupe. Excellent interior, low mileage at a very fair price.
I’ve been to all the dealerships that sell used cars. This dealership along with Honda, (although they have very limited selection) are the only two places where the used cars were worth buying.
I’d definitely buy another car from them.
(actually I have my eye on a 1995 Buick Century they have)