Hi

I am graduating college in May and am planning on moving into an apartment in the city which is going to cause major problems with my car. The few alternatives that I have are...

1) Bring car into city and park at garage (paying huge monthly fees and having an attendant rape my car)

2) Leave car at parents where I would barely see it, let alone drive it.

3) Sell car since I will be using mostly public transportation anyway.

I only plan on living in the city for about 2 years, so I don't want to sell my baby. I don't know what the right choice is. If anyone has experience keeping their car in the city or just has any advice for me, please help me make my decision. By the way, I have an 05 Acura TL. Thanks!

 

Sell it...I live in London and ended up buying a beater (I sold my 04 TSX)....As long as my car can still operate, Im ok....

 

4) Don't live in the city. Live in Bergen or Westchester.

 

2 or 3. I would say 3, esp. since that gen TL has good resale, and you wouldnt get raped...after 2 years buy something new! You will save money on insurance as well.

 

Thought about that option... but I will be working crazy hours and think the extra time at home not comuting is valuable (and if I was to live out of the it would not be as far as Westchester). After a couple of years I would want to buy a house somewhere in that area though. I am young now and will never get the shot to live in the city again.

 

2 or 3. You dont need, or want a car in Manhattan.

 

If living in Manhattan is important to you, then sell the car. Once you are ready to buy a house in Scarsdale, you can buy a Maserati.

 

Option 3 ftw.

Your TL as much as you love it, ain't gonna appreciate sitting in your parent's driveway. Unless you have a trust fund or are earning well north of $150 gizzle out of the gate, keeping a car in Manhattan is silly.

 

Def #3.
And BTW - I envy you.

 

why not keep it? what part of nyc?

i dont see whats the big deal. i live in brooklyn.

 

the title says MANHATTAN...
big diff bw parking there and bk...

 

sell the car. have fun in the city, i am jealous.

 

Sell it.

No car payments, no gas, no insurance fees, no maintenance costs, no parking fees, no plate renewal, and it sounds like there's really no need for it (based on your own account).

 

Everyone is making me see the sad reality which I didn't want to face. As much as I want to live in the city, I really don't know if I could part with my TL. I still have several months to think it over... but I really appreciate all of the comments.

To the guy asking how bad it could be... I am from Brooklyn also (although upstate at college now)... but we both know (or should know) that the driving/parking situation in Manhattan is a lot worse than it is in Brooklyn.

For those who say they envy me... realize I am looking for an apartment either in the Upper East Side or possibly Midtown, and am just starting out a new job. I will be lucky if my whole apartment is the size of one of your bathrooms. But... that is just another sacrifice I THINK I am willing to make for the opportunity to live in Manhattan for my first few years on the job.

So... no one here on the forums has a car in the city? I need someone to say it might be a possibility........... please

 

^ well... I'll try to be that guy. I couldn't even fathom the IDEA of parting with my TL, so I pay ridiculous amounts of $$ to park it in the resident parking for my building. HOWEVER... I commute VERY often to the outer boroughs as I go to school in Queens and work part-time for my uncle in Long Island, thus i have a reason to have the car. Plus, I live in Orlando, FL 4-6 months out of the year so i CAN'T get rid of my car. If you're new life is going to revolve around the city alone, then I hate to say it... If you have the $$, leave it @ the parents'. If you don't have the $$, sell it. Who knows - selling the car might allow you to move into an apartment of a decent size.

 

What's your new job?

 

Our family lived in Brooklyn for 5 years, no car all subway. It drove us batty so we headed west and now our household has 3 cars. NYC felt like a jail, public transit gets so old after a while. Sorry to pop your bubble, dont sell the car you need to escape far away in a nice car on weekends trust me on this.

 

I will have to agree. I plan on moving down to Manhattan once I graduate from college in a few years and absolutely will not sell my car. I plan on leaving it up at my parents house while I work down there. You need something to look forward to, why not have it be your car sitting at home waiting for you...

BTW, what's the new job?

 

I have to agree with Street Spirit. There is absolutely no reason to own a car living in the city. NYC's public transit is second to none in the world. Owning a car (no matter how nice a car) would be a headache on multiple levels. If you need to get away on weekends then you can always rent a car from Hertz (which now rents cars like the 350Z and V8 Mustang).

Another alternative: move to Hoboken or Jersey City. VERY short commute ((via PATH or bus) to the city and I suspect it would be an easier parking situation.

 

Why be talked into keeping it? --- Read your initial post.....You're talking yourself out of keeping it. All of your answers are in what you wrote; you don't need our opinion.

 

Sell it. Take the $$ & put it into a savings account & add to it with the $ for insurance & your car payment for 2 years & then you can get a killer car after you leave NYC. You just do not need a car if your living in NYC. Period!

 

Definately live in Manhattan!
once in a lifetime opportunity.


Ditch the car.
You have two choices
1) You don't really need one (it is a pain in the ASS)
2) Buy a shit box to park on the street because you car will get hit.

have fun!!

 

Rub elbows with Jerry Seinfeld and ask him if you can park your car next to one of his umpteen Porsches. I think he has his own freakin' garage there.

I would either sell it or leave it at the parents' for when you need it

 

Do you have a job yet? Where would the office be? Depending on where things are, your commute to the upper east side could take the same amount of time to get to White Plains by express train, or Bergen by bus or ferry.

If you are dead set on living in the city, sell the car. Otherwise, there are options of living within easy commute (30 minutes). Like you said, your apartment will be the size of a shoebox in Manhattan.

My suggestion would be to hold onto the car until you have everything settled.

 

sell it NOW! and get an 09 LATER!

depending on where you live in the city...it is not too difficult to find parking in some areas. yes, it will be a pain in te ass waiting for a spot and also beign able ot make sure you could move your car when they clean the streets, but it is possible. in my opinion, its not worth it, cuz you wont be using it.

 

btw..i do drive al lthe way downtown near west 4th st each day sinec i go to school downtown. i dont usualy have toruble finding parking...circle a block a cpuple of times and you wil leventually find a spot. but some days. if you are going to liv ethere though, its a different story. in msot areas you can aprk in no parkign zone around 6 or 7. so if you can find a spot to park between then then your good. its not like you will be the only person in the city who owns a car. many others do too.

 

he actually bought an entire warehouse out for his cars.

and for pikabb i would say sell your car. you said it yourself if you leave it at your parents your never gonna see it anyways. if you get tired of the city for one weekend jump on the metro north and you could be out of the city in no time in peace and quiet.

 

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0527041jerry1.html

 

This is your best option.

 

The only cars in NYC that are not dinged up are the ones still on the showroom floor.

 

Something else to think about. "Alternate side of the street parking" you have to move your car so the city can clean the streets. I forget if it's 1 or 2 days a week. But if you don't move it. You get towed.

 

Again, thanks for all of the insight.

To answer some of the questions posted above....

Yes, I already have the job and it is with a large public accounting firm. They are located in midtown, so I would hope to find an apartment somewhere close. I still have a few months before I even graduate, so I have plenty of time to look around.

I did consider moving to an area just outside the city like Jersey City, but I just don't know if it will be the same. I don't know if I will get the same experience as being right in the heart of Manhattan. But when I think about being able to keep my car, it might be worth it.

Trust me, my car isn't going anywhere for a while. If I do move into the city as planned, I would probably still leave the car at my parents at least for a few months to see how things go.

Parking on the street is not an option. If I take the car with me I am going to have it garaged. I have enough problems parking on the street when I am home in Brooklyn, I am not going to deal with that in the city. Also, I know all too well about alternate side parking rules. We have them in Brooklyn too

I guess I'll have to spend the next few months looking around and making the decision on the move. Right now it seems that the best option might be living right outside the city where I would be able to keep my car and be close to work. I just finished getting my 07 Switchblade Key... how can I sell my car?? But really... thanks again for all of the advice.

 

While it is not exactly the city (or NYC life), Hoboken is fast becoming know as Greenwich Village/Soho west. Good luck with your decision.

 

So I'm confused. If you live/lived in Brooklyn what's the fascination with having to live in Manhattan? You can live anywhere in NYC & get to the heart of Manhattan in 20 minutes by subway.

 

manhattan is big with many parts.

nobody living in manhattan has a car? its a normal thing to own a car in manhattan.

 

u can try to get apartment on rosevelt island

 

I know someone who lives there and he wants to move ASAP. According to him, it's BORING there. There's hardly anything there. It's always nicer when you have a good number of "options" (bars, restaurants, shops, etc.) within walking distance of your apt. I've always been happy where I live (Brooklyn Heights).

 

I'm not too familiar with the UES, but as for midtown . . .
Parking garages range $300-$500 a month - then you have to tip them all the time and you have to wait for them to bring out your car when you need it
When its busy, you could be waiting anywhere up to 20 mintues. Sometimes, if youre picking up your car late at night, the attendant falls asleep and youre SOL (yes, it happend to me)
You WILLget just as much dings on your car IN the garage as parking on the street --guaranteed and they will always deny they did it
Just about no street parking unless on the far east or west sides
parking tickets are $105 compared to $55 in outer boroughs and above 96th street, and then after you get the ticket, they can tow you and charge you (last i remember, it was $195? on top of the ticket)

Other than that, yea, it makes perfect sense to have a car in the city

 

It looks like right now your best option is to leave it with your parents, unless you can find/afford a indoor garage where you can keep the keys (no valvet, lower risk of damage) which appears to be unlikely.

 

Accounting firm? One of the big 4 I assume. Damn when you mentioned Manhattan and crazy hours I thought you got in the investment banking. In that case you could easily afford to garage your car. I dunno man manhattan is expensive be prepared to shell out big bux for rent and food.