living in manhattan and owning a car? (New York, Boston: rental car, rental)

[mikester]

Hello, my fiance and I are thinking about moving to Manhattan as a result of job requirements. The situation is that we own a car which we prefer to keep. What is the best way for us to reconcile this situation? We understand that cars are rather impractical for Manhattan but we are hoping to keep our car in case we relocate outside of the city (eg. Westchester County) after some time.

[BITTER_SC]

I hope you like this:

[SIZE=4]A blonde walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer.[/SIZE] [SIZE=4]She says she's going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]borrow $5,000.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=4] The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the l[/SIZE][SIZE=4]oan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Mercedes Benz SL 500. [/SIZE][SIZE=4]The car is parked on the street in front of the bank, she has the title and[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]everything checks out.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]
The bank agrees to accept the car collateral for the loan. The bank[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the blond for using a[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]$110,000 Benz as collateral against a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]then proceeds to drive the Benz into the bank's underground garage and[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]parks it there.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=4] Two weeks later, the blonde returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]which comes to $15.41. The loan officer says, "Miss, we are very happy to[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]we are a little puzzled.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=4] While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]multimillionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=4] The blonde replies....."Where else in New York City can I park my car for[/SIZE]
[SIZE=4]two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?"[/SIZE]









There's more than one way to skin a cat. I only work (drive) in NYC in the wee hours of the morning. I have noticed that Manhattan residents who own vehicles often work out an "arrangement" with people on a different work schedule to 'save' a spot for your 'partner-in-crime' (the denial of said parking space to the hoping/praying/looking perpetually for a place to park crowd).

I thought a former mayor of NYC had a parking regulation sign which read something like this:

"Don't Even THINK Of Parking Here"

Maybe it was Ed Koch - I'm gonna go google that!

[BITTER_SC]

Sorry, ADMIN BOT CENSOR!

The title of the previous post should have been:

Sometimes, parking is a beach!

[Viralmd]

Parking STARTS in Manhattan at $400/month and goes up from there. And don't even begin to think about insurance. It's such a nuisance to have a car, you're much better off, renting when you want to or join ZipCars. Unless you enjoy spending 10,000/year or so just to have a car...

[DonnaReed]

Manhattanites I know, those who bother to own a car, have monthly or yearly accounts with parking garages which are rather costly.

Most opt for trains and cabbies to get around the city and rent cars for vacations and outings.

[SaintLaurent]

Just find a parking garage. I have a car as well.

Here are some rates.

Compare Parking Rates – Daily/Monthly Garages Lots NYC Boston New York

[arel]

When I first moved to Manhattan, I had a car. I learned that to have a regular parking space, I would have to rent one. And the fee was not cheap. I parked in the street.

It was very inconvenient. I had to move the car before 8 or 9 am or it would be ticketed. Maybe even towed.

One morning I discovered that the car had been stolen. A long time later, they found a piece of it in someone else's car.

Moral of the story: If you must keep a car in Manhattan, don't be penny-wise and pound foolish. Use a garage and shell out the money for it. Or leave the car with a friend or family member elsewhere.

If you are willing to live in one of the outer boroughs, or in the suburbs, you may be able to find a place to live where you can park. Private homes in the outer boroughs often have their own driveways. And now many of those new condos going up provide places to park. But in the most urban areas of Brooklyn, for example, the parking situation is similar to Manhattan's.

And when you drive in Manhattan, parking anywhere is almost always difficult. Street parking is hard to find and parking garages and lots are very expensive. After a snowstorm, there are even fewer parking spaces, and the garages are often full. It's a mess.

There have been times when I have driven into Manhattan and have had to abort my plans because I could not get parking anywhere, even in garages. Other times I have had to search for an hour or so to find parking. You learn to anticipate that, and to budget time for it.

There is plenty of public transportation. There are plenty of taxis (at least in Manhattan). There are rental cars. And now there are businesses like Zipcar, where you can get a car when you need one.

So unless you absolutely must keep a car in Manhattan, why bother? You will have to pay through the nose for a parking space or have to jump through all sorts of hoops to keep it unticketed, untowed and unstolen. And, away from home, you will have the frustrations of parking in Manhattan.

And then there are the insurance costs and the traffic congestion.

Manhattan is not a car-friendly place. The outer boroughs are more car friendly. In fact, in a lot of places it is hard to get around without a car. But Manhattan, no. You don't need a car in Manhattan, and a car is usually not worth the expense and the headaches.

[Morningside_gal]

We have a car and rent an outdoor space in a secure lot for $150 per month just inside of Harlem (126th street). At first I tried to do the move from one side of the street to the other thing but all this alternate side parking really just sucked. Inexpensive parking is available..you just have to be willing to park it far away (well, it's not far away for us, as we live up here, but for most people, it would be far away).

[newtoli]

Parking on the street is a GIGANTIC PITA, and you'll inevitably get a ticket. Just garage your car in an outer boro if you are not going to use it on a regular basis. It will be cheaper. If you garage it in Manhattan it will cost $400+ a month, if you can afford that and will be using the car a lot, go for it.

[john_starks]

yup, paid rent for my car for several yrs. $350 for outdoor, $400 underground in lower manhattan. that was the going rate 2 yrs ago.