Justifying a NYC Jeep

[martoaj]

So I think I’ve found my solution.

I’ve reserved a 10x20 vehicle storage unit (with 10ft ceilings!) in NJ that’s a 30 minute cab/Uber ride away, or about an hour via public transit. This will be more than enough space for all my Jeep parts, gear, and tools.

Any additional thoughts or feedback on this?

Speaking as someone who lives in Manhattan and drives a Wrangler ...

Really depends how often you actually want/need access to the vehicle. A 30 min cab ride or 60 min public transit may not seem like that much, but remember that you need to do that ride both ways when you go to the truck, and that's going to get really tiring really quickly.

I obviously don't know your lifestyle or car needs, but I'm guessing if you're a "car person" you're probably going to want to use it pretty often; you won't do that 1-2 hour round trip just to get to your car more than a handful of times a year once you realize how much of a PITA it is.

I also agree that you should at a minimum give up on the idea that you're going to keep an extra top, tools, gear, tires/wheels, doors, whatever ... again it's all about being realistic, these just aren't things that people who live in Manhattan expect to have or be able to do. Sell it all if you plan to be in NYC for long; you can always reacquire things later, particularly after you save hundreds per month on storage.

I pay for a garage close to my apartment. It's for the truck only, so not doing any work on it or storing anything with it; but even though I'm only using the truck 1-2x per week I would never consider parking further than a few blocks away from my apartment. Now and then I look at garages in Astoria or The Bronx that are a couple hundred $/mo cheaper, and I snap out of it when I realize that once I do that, I might as well sell the truck because I won't actually use it anymore.

Check out apps like Parking.com and Spothero.com ... you may be able to find a deal on a garage, at least a handful of months at a time. There are often garages you can find under $500/mo, depending on where you are in Manhattan. Yes, it's expensive. But you probably already understand that everything is expensive here. You either pay the price, or don't have a car. If you try to split the difference, you get the worst of both worlds.

Also remember that Manhattan residents do not pay parking tax on garages in Manhattan. You have to file for an exemption, but if your truck is registered at your address in Manhattan you only pay sales tax (~10%) but not the parking tax (8%). That's a big difference! https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/benefits/vehicles-manhattan-resident-parking-tax-exemption.page

Like I said, I have a Wrangler and I love having a car despite the insane hassle/cost involved with having one while living in Manhattan. But you have to be realistic about what you can do here, and trying to replicate the way you owned a car anywhere else in the country here is going to drive you insane. You just have to lower your standards and realize that simply owning a car here is a massive privilege; you simply can't own it the same way you would in TX or MI.

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[The Fixer]

@WranglinNYC - great points on this! @Philly_ my JL only has a soft top and lives outside year round here in NJ. It's held up well in the elements over the last 4 years. I think you'd be fine if you unload the hardtop and only bring the soft top with you.

 

[WranglinNYC]

Speaking as someone who lives in Manhattan and drives a Wrangler ...

Really depends how often you actually want/need access to the vehicle. A 30 min cab ride or 60 min public transit may not seem like that much, but remember that you need to do that ride both ways when you go to the truck, and that's going to get really tiring really quickly.

I obviously don't know your lifestyle or car needs, but I'm guessing if you're a "car person" you're probably going to want to use it pretty often; you won't do that 1-2 hour round trip just to get to your car more than a handful of times a year once you realize how much of a PITA it is.

I also agree that you should at a minimum give up on the idea that you're going to keep an extra top, tools, gear, tires/wheels, doors, whatever ... again it's all about being realistic, these just aren't things that people who live in Manhattan expect to have or be able to do. Sell it all if you plan to be in NYC for long; you can always reacquire things later, particularly after you save hundreds per month on storage.

Co-sign on all of this. Lot of gold in this reply.

 

[Philly_]

Speaking as someone who lives in Manhattan and drives a Wrangler ...

Really depends how often you actually want/need access to the vehicle. A 30 min cab ride or 60 min public transit may not seem like that much, but remember that you need to do that ride both ways when you go to the truck, and that's going to get really tiring really quickly.

I obviously don't know your lifestyle or car needs, but I'm guessing if you're a "car person" you're probably going to want to use it pretty often; you won't do that 1-2 hour round trip just to get to your car more than a handful of times a year once you realize how much of a PITA it is.

I also agree that you should at a minimum give up on the idea that you're going to keep an extra top, tools, gear, tires/wheels, doors, whatever ... again it's all about being realistic, these just aren't things that people who live in Manhattan expect to have or be able to do. Sell it all if you plan to be in NYC for long; you can always reacquire things later, particularly after you save hundreds per month on storage.

I pay for a garage close to my apartment. It's for the truck only, so not doing any work on it or storing anything with it; but even though I'm only using the truck 1-2x per week I would never consider parking further than a few blocks away from my apartment. Now and then I look at garages in Astoria or The Bronx that are a couple hundred $/mo cheaper, and I snap out of it when I realize that once I do that, I might as well sell the truck because I won't actually use it anymore.

Check out apps like Parking.com and Spothero.com ... you may be able to find a deal on a garage, at least a handful of months at a time. There are often garages you can find under $500/mo, depending on where you are in Manhattan. Yes, it's expensive. But you probably already understand that everything is expensive here. You either pay the price, or don't have a car. If you try to split the difference, you get the worst of both worlds.

Also remember that Manhattan residents do not pay parking tax on garages in Manhattan. You have to file for an exemption, but if your truck is registered at your address in Manhattan you only pay sales tax (~10%) but not the parking tax (8%). That's a big difference! https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/benefits/vehicles-manhattan-resident-parking-tax-exemption.page

Like I said, I have a Wrangler and I love having a car despite the insane hassle/cost involved with having one while living in Manhattan. But you have to be realistic about what you can do here, and trying to replicate the way you owned a car anywhere else in the country here is going to drive you insane. You just have to lower your standards and realize that simply owning a car here is a massive privilege; you simply can't own it the same way you would in TX or MI.

I appreciate the post! And yeah, I've kind of come to a similar realization, and that's why I hadn't actually pulled the trigger on one of the larger units that are farther away.

Honestly, the Jeep is purely a toy or luxury at this point. I have not needed a vehicle a single time since I moved to the city in April, but it would be nice for the occasional long weekend or wheeling trip. I'm truly not much of a city person, but made the move to quickly advance my career, and only plan to stay for 3-5 years. I may not even live in Manhattan for the entirety of that time, either, as I only have to be in office twice a week, or even less some months.

My job keeps me insanely busy with overseas travel that I'll maybe only use the Jeep once a month (don't ask me why they bothered moving me at all), but the Jeep and off roading are a part of my life I am willing to make sacrifices for.

As for the misc. Jeep stuff, I have been looking to unload some of it for a while, but if I had to get a unit to fit the hard top, then the rest will all fit as well and so there wouldn't be much rush. If I do make significant cuts to save on space, I will likely be selling the soft top for a Bestop Sunrider and keeping the half doors for the nicer months. Those doors are WAY too difficult to get a hold of to be worth selling unless I am abandoning the Jeep entirely. My tools and recovery gear are consolidated enough that they'll fit in my apartment if I really wanted them to... but I don't want them to. ?

So, I guess I just need to decide what the right balance is for me. It's looking like I can do it all for about $350/month if I signed today, but I am going to hold off to see if prices go down in the fall and decide what, if anything, I am going to offload.

 

[kenp1985]

Speaking as someone who lives in Manhattan and drives a Wrangler ...

Really depends how often you actually want/need access to the vehicle. A 30 min cab ride or 60 min public transit may not seem like that much, but remember that you need to do that ride both ways when you go to the truck, and that's going to get really tiring really quickly.

I obviously don't know your lifestyle or car needs, but I'm guessing if you're a "car person" you're probably going to want to use it pretty often; you won't do that 1-2 hour round trip just to get to your car more than a handful of times a year once you realize how much of a PITA it is.

I also agree that you should at a minimum give up on the idea that you're going to keep an extra top, tools, gear, tires/wheels, doors, whatever ... again it's all about being realistic, these just aren't things that people who live in Manhattan expect to have or be able to do. Sell it all if you plan to be in NYC for long; you can always reacquire things later, particularly after you save hundreds per month on storage.

I pay for a garage close to my apartment. It's for the truck only, so not doing any work on it or storing anything with it; but even though I'm only using the truck 1-2x per week I would never consider parking further than a few blocks away from my apartment. Now and then I look at garages in Astoria or The Bronx that are a couple hundred $/mo cheaper, and I snap out of it when I realize that once I do that, I might as well sell the truck because I won't actually use it anymore.

Check out apps like Parking.com and Spothero.com ... you may be able to find a deal on a garage, at least a handful of months at a time. There are often garages you can find under $500/mo, depending on where you are in Manhattan. Yes, it's expensive. But you probably already understand that everything is expensive here. You either pay the price, or don't have a car. If you try to split the difference, you get the worst of both worlds.

Also remember that Manhattan residents do not pay parking tax on garages in Manhattan. You have to file for an exemption, but if your truck is registered at your address in Manhattan you only pay sales tax (~10%) but not the parking tax (8%). That's a big difference! https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/benefits/vehicles-manhattan-resident-parking-tax-exemption.page

Like I said, I have a Wrangler and I love having a car despite the insane hassle/cost involved with having one while living in Manhattan. But you have to be realistic about what you can do here, and trying to replicate the way you owned a car anywhere else in the country here is going to drive you insane. You just have to lower your standards and realize that simply owning a car here is a massive privilege; you simply can't own it the same way you would in TX or MI.

I had no idea we don’t pay parking tax, that is a big deal! I live in the Upper East Side and usually always find street parking. It’s Jeep city up here, dozens on each block

 

[martoaj]

I had no idea we don’t pay parking tax, that is a big deal! I live in the Upper East Side and usually always find street parking. It’s Jeep city up here, dozens on each block

Yup! 8% off those monthly prices is notable. Also, always go into the garages and inquire about pricing. The price they post on the sign is going to be 10-30% higher than what they'll actually take if you make them an offer -- particularly if you want to sign up for 6 or 12 months.

I used to be on the UES and definitely found it to be manageable to street park, particularly in the 80s. But as I moved further downtown, it just became too difficult and I started to realize I value my time and it makes sense to just pay for a garage.

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