Car Possible In New York?

There is a garage in the village where my brother, and other people I know, garage theirs. It is cheaper than most, and comes at a couple of hundred dollars a month.

Considering that you won't need it day to day, a car is a luxury in NYC, especially downtown.

btw Johnny - you decided to part with $1000 for more thinking time yet?

Leave the car in Beantown.

Think that's what I'll end up doing Kidderek.

3underscore - I have a deposit in at BU because I needed more time to think, I've never been totally paralyzed w/ indecision like this.

Well, you have a week and then you have to pay $1k to remain indecisive further!

Yeah no kidding, this is getting expensive! I'm going to make a h*ll of a CEO some day.

Vice President: Johnny, we need a decision on whether we're going to shut down the factory in Toledo or sell it to the Chinese.

Johhnyx9 (CEO): Hm. I don't know. Let's keep it open until I make up my mind next month.

Vice President: But we're operating at a loss, waiting another month will cost us close to a million dollars.

Johhnyx9: That's okay, it's a small price to pay considering it gives me more time to think about it.

Vice President: Okay, okay. You want to grab lunch?

Johnnyx9: Hm lunch....let me think about that one, I'll let you know some time early next week.

The insurance alone in the city would probably cost a fortune. My cousin drives in to the city and pays like $700 month for a space in a garage downtown.

Since your car is going to continue to depreciate and you wont be driving it, if you go to NY you should just sell it. If you can't sell it no your own sell it to Carmax. Better to take a hit on negative equity than to make two years worth of payments, never drive it, and sell it for less than you could get now. You will be ahead of the game if you sell it now instead of making payments on something you dont need. Unless you have a lease then its a lot more complicated, you either have to buy it outright then sell it or you can try and find someone to take your lease over if you have good rates and a desirable car.

I was at Greenwich village y'day, had to hunt for 1 hr to get street parking ....so forget about parking your car any where close to Stern...It's always busy and crowded

I doubt if one needs a Car in NYC --Traffic Traffic and Subway would be faster and more economical....

One can always rent "ZIP CAR" by the Hour --if needed

cheers

I agree. I never felt the need to have a car while I was in NY. The subway system is really good - depending on the traffic situation, I actually preferred the subway to cabs a lot of the time.

Cool, thanks for all the info.

I actually wouldn't bring my car to drive around NY, I would use it for driving back to Boston to visit friends or up north to go snowboarding -- basically just to get out of NY every weekend or two. I really don't want to get rid of it since I just bought it, but I guess I may have to.

My brother has the zipcar membership and said it was a mistake. You have to be really good about bringing it back on time. If you are just a second late they hammer you on over charges. You have to use it for a minimum every month.

If you are going to Boston you can take the Fung Wah for really cheap, you just have to take your life into your hands on those things though. JetBlue is pretty cheap, I have used that a lot going to NYC from Portland, ME and from Boston (Portland is usually a lot cheaper).

It generally cheaper to just rent cars on weekends when you want to get out of the city, especially if you are splitting it with people. Some people I know who live in NYC rented a ski house in upstate NY and took turns renting cars and driving up on weekends...it added up but to them it was worth getting out of the city. Having a car in the city just gets so expensive, and if people know you have it then everyone will always be looking to you for help shuttling things around or driving places.

Riverripper - You just hit on the biggest issue of all, the fact that people constantly ask for help moving stuff. I have an SUV so people are always asking for help moving. I wish I could say that I'm a nice guy and i don't mind, but it gets out of hand. I can imagine in NY it would be ever worse since so few people have cars (relatively speaking).

The Fung Wah is ridiculous, I'm never taking that again. I took the Acela last time I came back from NY, it's really expensive but totally worth it. It costs as much as flying, but takes about the same amount of time (3 1/2 hours on train vs. hour flight, plus waiting around airport and travelling to from airports to city proper). So the Acela is the high-speed train and it's really luxurious, every seat is a business class seat, and unlike flights you won't get hung up because of bad weather.

Hmm. How big is this car? Like, how many other preferential NYU students can you fit in?

I am beginning to thing you bringing the car to NYC is a good idea.

3underscore - You're welcome to come along on any out-of-town excursions, but I'm not helping you move!

johnny, have you decided on stern now?

It's very convenient to have a car in the village/city after 7pm when the parking is free. During the day time, you're better off taking the subway.

[EDIT]
I saw your other post. Congrats on coming to your decision. You will love city life. There is no substitute.

Kidderek - Thanks! Yeah, I've always wanted to live in NY, I can't imagine a better way to get to know the city than being a student. I think Stern has some pretty cool activities and events (for instance admitted students weekend has a reception on the floor of the stock exchange) so I'm pretty dam excited.

On the car question: sell the car and get a Vespa. I've heard they are very trendy these days.