Meet the Staff of Aloha Auto Depot

Chris Koyama - General Manager

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This is Chris, our general manager! Chris has been navigating throughout the car business for the past decade and has a plethora of knowledge when it comes to buying, selling, and trading vehicles in the market. His goal has always been to sell honest cars at honest prices, and he’s been doing just that. He brings vision, wisdom, and teaches the team to navigate the market with confidence! 

Fun fact: Though Chris is passionate about the car multiverse, he’s also an ardent fan of Dachshunds! They currently have two Dachsund’s accompanied by a Labrador retriever named Eddy who sometimes joins us at work. (Those are always the best days.) 

Keala Buhr - Sales Manager

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Say hello to Keala, our fearless sales manager. Keala has been with us for three years and has done a marvelous job stewarding each sales customer here at Aloha Auto. His patience, competence with financing, and ability to meet the concerns and questions of each customer is impressive. Keala excels at not just reaching the financial goals of the business, but building significant relationships among his team members along the way.

Fun fact— Keala is an electric guitar legend. Some Nordic sources tell the story of Keala shredding Van Halen guitar solos’s when he was a mere six weeks old. Yup, that’s right. Six weeks. If you ask him about it, he’ll vehemently deny the story. But we all know the truth, Keala— it’s okay. One day, you’re gonna have to teach us those guitar skills. Thankful to have you on the team!

Jesse Tagura - Marketing & Sales Associate

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Meet Jesse! Jesse has been with us for two years and has seen various sides of the business, from detailing, to operations, and now sales and marketing. He does a great job balancing formality with high relational equity with both the team and his customers. We’re glad to have him on the team, for sure! 

Fun fact— Jesse was homeschooled throughout his high school career. He was voted most likely to succeed, most likely to fail, worst looking in his class, most likely to own a scarlet macaw, least funny in his class, and most likely to become a comedian— all at the same time. With a prestigious resumè like that, we couldn’t afford to not have him on the team.

Paul Cross - Sales Associate

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Up next, one of our favorites— Paul. Born and raised in Hawaii, Paul quickly got immersed in the business world. With experience at Cutter Ford, BMW of Honolulu, and The Hilton— Paul brings an abundance of marketing knowledge to the team. Though young, Paul is a seasoned veteran in the sea marketing & sales. We’re lucky to have him! 

Fun fact— if Paul could own one animal, it would be a lion. So if you’re looking for something to get Paul for Christmas, you’re welcome! I’m not even sure if owning a baby cub is legal, not to mention incredibly unwise— but I guess Paul will find out the hard way. But anyway, it’s good to have you on the team, Paul!

Jacob Mauga - Sales Associate

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Meet Jacob!

Kilo Lacanilao - Operation Manager

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Meet Kilo! One of the hardest workers we have, we’re super thankful to have him alongside our operation department! Kilo enjoys fishing, football, video games on his days off a plays a critical role moving our cars along the restoration process within the company. 

Fun Fact: They call Kilo the “Crustacean King” because he catches everything except fish. From lobster, to crab, to eels— I even heard Kilo reeled in a 87lb Pterodactly one time out in the Ala Wai. Kilo has photos on MySpace to prove it. Go check it out! Pinky promise. 

Shunske Sawai - Operations

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Dylan Kodama - Operations

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Meet Dylan! 

He’s one of our youngest workers on the team, but also one of our hardest workers. Dylan helps out the team incredibly through our operations department, and even our glass coating department as well. The day is always better when Dylan is on the shift. Glad to have him apart of the Depot family! 

Fun fact: Dylan’s dream car is is Toyota Supra JZA70 Twin Turbo from Japan. Though young, Dylan has a pretty expansive wealth of knowledge when it comes to JDM vehicles. 

Kody Macalib-og - Operations

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Meet Kody! Kody plays a huge role helping our operation team meet the daily objectives of the company and manages the tasks of operations with ease. Kody assist our team with progression in the operation department, as well as our glass coating inventory too.

Fun fact: Kody might be one of the happiest people to ever walk the earth. He’s always smiling and laughing during work. Rumor has it, every time Kody laughs, a puppy golden retriever poofs into existence somewhere in the world. 

Ryuta Shigetsuna - Rental Director

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Meet Ryuta, our friend from Japan! Ryuta has recently been hired as one of our rental directors as he assists our customers arriving from Japan with sales, rentals, and maintenance.

Fun fact:  Ryuta is a baseball legend, we’re talking Hall of Fame talent. He’s mentored a few greats like Shohei Ohtani and Ichiro Suzuki, but they pale in comparison to Ryuta’s baseball competency. I heard one time, Ryuta threw a no hitter in a baseball game with just his left foot. Those aren’t my words, that’s just what an article in ‘The Daily Punctilio’ said. Either way, Ryuta is an absolute gift to the depot team. We’re glad to have him!

Ryan Rich - Rental Director

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This is Ryan! He’s one of the recent additions to the team, but has quickly become family during his short time with us. Originally from Utah, but recently moved here to the islands and got hired as one of our rental directors. Ryan brings both a light hearted spirit and a driven mindset to the team. 

Unfortunately, due to Ryans voracious sweet tooth, our team can no longer bring any sugar products to work as they mysteriously vanish during his shifts. Quite strange. Regardless, we’re thankful to have Ryan a part of the family!

Deja Rae Torres - Technician

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Meet one of our technicians, Deja Rae! Deja has been with us about a year, and has done an excellent job as our automotive technician. One of our objective’s is to thoroughly inspect each car, making sure each vehicle is healthy and ready to deliver to our customers, and Deja makes that goal possible! 

Fun fact: Deja can fix anything and everything. And we mean everything. Toyota’s Honda, Fords, cotton candy machines, blenders, bounce houses (most of them), PS5’s, you name it. Legend has it— she once blew up eight Toyota Camry’s and put them all back together, blind folded—— just for fun. 

Ka’eo Lacanilao - Technician

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Up next, Ka’eo-- one of our technicians at our mechanic shop. Ka’eo is our fellow car enthusiasts and has been a part of the car scene for the past five years. He’s got his own custom Subaru WRX with more modifications on it than we can count. Ka’eo is also one of our glass coating specialists here at the shop and professionally glass coats a variety of different vehicles. He’s done an excellent job mastering the craft of coating, and has his work to prove it! (Check out http://alohaautocoating.com, they’re pretty sick.) 

Fun fact: Ka’eo is youthful in age, but is in love with music from the 70’s and 80’s. (We know this from his valiant attempts to sing their songs a cappella.) We’re talking Journey, Bon Jovi, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Police, Billy Joel— you know, good music! He brings both automotive knowledge and an entertaining sense of humor to the table, and for that— we’re thankful! Glad to have you, Ka’eo.

April Fermin - Office Manager

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Meet April, our office manager here at Aloha Auto Depot. With all of the title work, financing documents, and accounting logistics that arrive from running a business— April brings clarity to all the chaos. 

Fun fact: April is an alumni of Farrington High school and graduated as a Valedictorian of her class. She also just recently graduated with her Master of Arts in Formational Leadership this year. April is a bright thinker and a key player responsible for the success we achieve here at Aloha Auto Depot. Couldn’t do it without her, and thankful to have her on the team!

Nicole Paraoan - Title Clerk

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Meet Nicole! Our most recent addition to the team. She’s been a huge help behind the scenes with our administrative department. Nicole diligently takes care of each customer, making sure their vehicle paperwork is transferred, processed, and delivered to their doorstep. If you see your title and registration in the mail, she’s the one to thank! 

One of Nicole’s interests is dying her hair a variety of vivacious colors! She’s lost count of how many she’s done thus far, but in her short time with us, we have seen two! We are excited to see where her hair color journey leads, but much more thrilled to have her on the team!

Amelia Dennis - Admin Assistant

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Aloha Auto Depot - Friendly Staff

808-599-9360 - sales@alohaautodepot.com

Aloha Auto Depot was founded in 2016 in Honolulu HI and exists to serve the community of Hawaii. As a locally owned and operated business, we know that transportation is important to living on the island and want to help you find the car that meets your needs. The moment you step on our lot until the time you drive away in your next car, your buying experience with Aloha Auto Depot is our number one priority. We encourage you to use the expertise and resources of our sales staff; they are here to help you find the right car at the right price. We are open all days of the week, Mon-Sat 10am-6:30pm, and Sundays 10am-3:30pm. Call us today at 808-599-9360 to schedule your test drive!