Good luck and welcome to the forum. There is a lot of experience on this forum please feel free to ask questions. I would suggest you learn as much as you can about e-bikes and the various technology used before making a choice. It's a real mind field out there with new sellers joining the market everyday.
There seems to be no guarantee that even expensive "name brand" e-bikes sold at local bike shops will be all that you pay for. I sure being in Hawaii will make it even more difficult do to limited choices of where to shop.