Hawai'i may be overpaying for government vehicles

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Are the state and counties paying too much for cars and trucks?

A Mainland auto dealership's court claim is drawing attention to practices the company says prevent out-of-state firms from selling vehicles to Hawai'i government agencies at the lowest cost.

At issue is a state procurement requirement that all government vehicle suppliers have Hawai'i dealership licenses, and regulations that make it virtually impossible for Mainland firms to obtain them.

Harry Marx Chevrolet, of Gilroy, Calif., believes the state's licensing law does not apply to dealers licensed elsewhere, and that it is being used to illegally restrict interstate commerce.

The company offered the lowest price when Maui County's Department of Parks and Recreation, and the state Department of Hawaiian Homelands, requested bids for pickup trucks. But the bids were tossed out because Marx had no Hawai'i dealer's license.

Company municipal sales executive Warren Bell said Mainland firms often sell vehicles to private customers in Hawai'i, but that the state's view of the dealership law is a roadblock to government sales. Other states have no such restriction, he said.

"The state is losing because it's paying higher prices," Bell said. "If the Hawai'i dealers' bids were more competitive, we'd be out to lunch."

The state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs ruled that it had no authority to decide the matter. Marx then filed an appeal in state Circuit Court. The court has not responded yet.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.