Yearly Parking for Little to Moderate Driving in Chicago (how much, maintenance)

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

$20 on maintenance per year? So you change the oil less than once a year, and never wash it? Or do you wash it twice a year and never change the oil? Or maybe you get new wiper blades once a year but never wash it or change the oil? You also apparently have the original tires from the year 2000? Impressive. If you've never had to replace any hoses or belts on a 12-year-old car you've been beyond fortunate, let alone shocks, struts, bearings, etc. You will likely have a major repair bill soon unless you can do all the work yourself and get all your parts from a junkyard.

I could kinda see that if you decided that the car was too old to put more money into it, and accepted that once it required major work, it would be abandoned/junked. Still probably a bit more than $20/year for maintenance though. Obviously if you have a newer car (especially with a car loan) that you want to take good care of, its gonna cost a lot more than $20/year.

[ChiGuy2.5]

Originally Posted by Drover

Most here are talking like parking is difficult everywhere in town. I could park a moving truck on my street with room to spare. Whether it's worth it to keep your car from a convenience standpoint will be highly dependent on which neighborhood you move to. In some neighborhoods, street parking is a genuine pain in the ass. In others it's relatively easy.

From a monetary standpoint it doesn't make sense to bring a car you only plan to use occasionally regardless of the parking situation. State registration is $100 per year; city registration is $85 per year plus another $25/year if you live on a zoned street; insurance will probably run you $50/mo minimum for basic liability coverage; and if you want off-street parking you're looking at a minimum of $75/mo even in low-density neighborhoods and up to $200+ month in high-density neighborhoods. If you're making payments then it makes even less sense to keep it. As others have pointed out, you can rent a car for the occasional out-of-town trip and there are a number of options for in-town travel (public transportation, cabs, car-sharing services, etc.).


How do you figure?

Your right. I meant $110 including the registration.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by Ann Arbor 02

People are massively overestimating costs. It's not particularly difficult to own a car in Chicago.

No one is saying it's particularly difficult, just that it's not worth it financially if you're not going to use it often.

Originally Posted by Ann Arbor 02

I'd say it's much more difficult to not own a car. Try big-box shopping on Clybourn, or going on a date by CTA.

Most people I know avoid "big box shopping" at all costs, but if it needs to be done and you're actually buying more than you can carry, it's not hard to get a cab or zip car. Walking and/or taking the CTA or cabs on dates in the city is the norm for most people I know, including those with cars, because you don't have to deal with parking or drinking and driving. That kind of convenient access to things without a car is 80% of the reason to live in the city, IMO. If I wanted to drive to everything and shop at big box stores and strip malls, it would make much more sense to live in the burbs.

Originally Posted by Ann Arbor 02

Everyone I know in Chicago has a car

Everyone? I'd say 1/2 or at most 2/3 of the people I know in the city have a car, and I mainly know 30-something professionals who could easily afford one if they wanted to. With the early-to-mid-20's demographic and lower-SES demographics, the rate of car ownership is significantly lower than that.

Of those of my friends who do have cars, I'd say roughly half of us only have them because we commute to the burbs for work. I know I'd gladly get rid of mine otherwise.

[hindukid]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

$20 on maintenance per year? So you change the oil less than once a year, and never wash it? Or do you wash it twice a year and never change the oil? Or maybe you get new wiper blades once a year but never wash it or change the oil? You also apparently have the original tires from the year 2000? Impressive. If you've never had to replace any hoses or belts on a 12-year-old car you've been beyond fortunate, let alone shocks, struts, bearings, etc. You will likely have a major repair bill soon unless you can do all the work yourself and get all your parts from a junkyard.

I only drive it 1000 miles per year. So the only thing I have done in the last three years is change the oil twice. I have never washed it and its very dirty. It is a junker but its fine for the occasional trip to the store or whatnot. If it ever has a major expense I'll get rid of it. At the rate I am driving the tires will be good for another ten years.

Back when my wife drove it daily I put money into it and its average maintenance costs is certainly over $20, but now the only thing I am doing is changing the oil once in a rare while.

My example is a little different as its our second car. My wife drives the first one daily. So on weekends and for road trips we do have a nice car. But if you take public transit to work and only need an occassional car I think you can drive a beater that you put no money into.

Personally I think public transit is pretty slow to anywhere outside the loop. If I want to go to Home Depot or Whole Foods or something its way faster to drive. Its only about 2 miles. But it will take 10 minutes drive, 15 minutes by bike, 30 minutes by 2 buses, or 40 minutes walk. To me the only two reasonable options are drive or bike.

[Jzer21]

Originally Posted by Ann Arbor 02

People are massively overestimating costs. It's not particularly difficult to own a car in Chicago. I'd say it's much more difficult to not own a car. Try big-box shopping on Clybourn, or going on a date by CTA.

Everyone I know in Chicago has a car, and many people do not have reserved off-street parking.

You can easily park your car on the street, even in Lakeview/Lincoln Park. As long as you have a residential parking sticker, you're good. You can even get stickers for visitors, so when out-of-towners visit, you can have them park right on the street, for free, even overnight.

Just curious where in LP/Lakeview do you live or have you lived? My experiences have been the complete opposite.

[ChicagoMeO]

Originally Posted by Jzer21

Just curious where in LP/Lakeview do you live or have you lived? My experiences have been the complete opposite.

Ha! Beleive me, if i lived in Lincoln Park/lakeview, I'd NEVER trust street parking only. Especially in winter when some people do not ever move thier cars once the snow falls. Even when I lived on the northwest side and just drove to Lakeview to park for the day, when some people had already taken their street parked cars away for the day, I still had to circle a few blocks for 20 minutes to find ONE tiny spot, and some of them I had to go back and forth about 8 times to be able to squeeze into that spot. I dont even trust those permit parking places because other people who dont have the legal right to park there - take their chances and park because they have no other place to go. for that matter, good luck on the days people are moving out and they double park the big moving van right in the middle of the street blocking it! And then, thinking that you have a bunch of guests that can easily find parking in lakeview, hahaha haaa that is funny!

[hindukid]

If you have a 383 permit its real easy to park in Lakeview. I am talking the area between belmont and addison and clark and southport. Its never an issue so long as you have 383 permit. I would pay at most $50 a month if I lived there with a 383 permit because street parking is easy.

[hindukid]

Originally Posted by Jzer21

Just curious where in LP/Lakeview do you live or have you lived? My experiences have been the complete opposite.

Do you have a permit? I think its real easy so long as you have a permit. Its so easy my buddy doesn't even bother to clean out his garage and just street parks.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by hindukid

I only drive it 1000 miles per year. So the only thing I have done in the last three years is change the oil twice. I have never washed it and its very dirty. It is a junker but its fine for the occasional trip to the store or whatnot. If it ever has a major expense I'll get rid of it. At the rate I am driving the tires will be good for another ten years.

So basically, bring your car if you're willing to run it into the ground; otherwise, you're better off getting rid of it.

[hindukid]

Originally Posted by Drover

So basically, bring your car if you're willing to run it into the ground; otherwise, you're better off getting rid of it.

Depends how much you want to use it. I mean if you are only going to use a car a few times a month then probably zip car will not cost you that much. If you are going to spending $2000 a year on zip car than it may make sense to look at owning.

I would think that if you took basic care of your car it would survive. All I ever do is oil changes, tires every 40K miles and brakes every 40K miles. Also I spend a few bucks on wipers and windshield fluid. Really that is all a car needs. And if you never drive those things don't really need to be done very often at all. So IMO, cars today are practically maintenance free. I had my last car for 8 years and it ran with no issues and those items are all I ever did. If you listen to the dealer than you will spend a lot more but that is not really what your manufacturer tells you to do.