car safety in Park Slope

anonymous · January 2007

I've just spent a good part of my life savings on my new pride and joy: 2006 PT cruiser convertible. I am also moving to Park Slope soon and am getting a lot of horror stories about car safety over there.
Should I sell my new car and buy a beat up old car or will my baby be OK?

dw438 · January 2007

buy a parking space

brooklynpotter · January 2007

why in the world would you want to park a brand spanking new car, a convertible, on the street in the city. really, doing so just asks for it to be dinged and dented and keyed and scratched, not to mention being broken into.

what were you thinking?

testtest · January 2007

I've had my car on the street for 9+ years (including when it was brand new).

Nothing major has happened to it, but I have had my license plate knocked off twice (somebody probably bumped/pushed my car when parallel parking) and I have a bit of a dent on the hood (which I think is from a football).

Eh, you take your chances. Since you spent your life savings on it and it's your pride and joy, I would recommend a secure indoor spot.

brooklynpotter · January 2007

but flexi, you live in windsor terrace. i think the car situation over there is much better, even though it's a mere few blocks away.

also, i'm biased because i live near the movie theater and on the bus route. people constantly parking then leaving, groups of hyper kids strolling around, buses trying to squeeze by idiots who double park here, shelter on the corner, etc.

roseann perrotti · January 2007

Yes, I live in WT and my steet is pretty quiet, but it IS also narrow - garbage trucks, fresh direct, etc. all trying to squeeze through.

There's no indication of where mortal plans to live, and some of the PS streets are quite quiet as well........and some of them are VERY wide, and probably have less to worry about with people trying to squeeze by

brooklynjack · January 2007

brooklynpotter wrote: but flexi, you live in windsor terrace. i think the car situation over there is much better, even though it's a mere few blocks away.
.

I've had my 2004 Focus in Windsor Terrace for 2 years. Besides the regular bumper scratches from parking I've had both outside mirrors broken and someone tried to pry open the (locked) passenger door once.

Of course insurance rates in Brooklyn are incredibly high. When we moved here from Manhattan our car insurance rates went up by 15% and we didn't even own a car then (just carried none owned auto liability)

Can you afford to pay for off street parking?

anonymous · January 2007

depending on where you live, you may have a hard time finding
conviently located indoor parking. Very few in the South Slope. BTW, how old are you that you consider a PT cruiser to be cool?

willregistersoon · January 2007

Don't leave ANYTHING of value in the car - EVER. My 89 Camry was broken into 3 times. The first time they got my discman in the glove compartment. After that they got nada both other times - because there was NADA. I had to pay for a replacement window - thats it. I recently bought a used Forester and have been lucky so far. I would never buy a new car to park on the street though.

mypasswordwontwork · January 2007

This idea of using a lot of your life savings on a car is scary to me.

seussan · January 2007

Moving from the burbs to Brooklyn, I learned to stop thinking my car had a personality or that it was my baby and to just start thinking of it as the inanimate object that it is, a car. It will get dinged. In the year that I had my car parked on the street the side view mirror fell off twice, the car was keyed, and lots of dings appeared in the back and front.

Then my husband and I smartened up and got zipcar. That was the best decision we made. Now we don't have to pay a high insurance bill or waste 2 hours of our time trying to find a parking spot on the correct side of the street for cleaning.

newsome · January 2007

Subject: Re: car safety in Park Slope

mortal wrote: I've just spent a good part of my life savings on my new pride and joy: 2006 PT cruiser convertible.

From this starting point you must either:
a) purchase off-street parking (which will only be partially helpful)
or
b) undergo a significant perspective change.

On the street your car will be keyed, bumpers scratched and dented to hell, side mirrors smashed off, tires knifed, windows smashed, and more.

These are all things that have happened to my car. The important question is do you need a car? will you be using it to drive to work everyday? One of the greatest aspects of PS life is not needing a car. Have you ever calculated to costs of PS car ownership, in time and money? Most people vastly under-estimate.

as others have said, it's just a car and hopefully PS life will help you see that there are many more things to be proud of and take joy in.

username: * · January 2007

Subject: Re: car safety in Park Slope

Newsome wrote: ...On the street your car will be keyed, bumpers scratched and dented to hell, side mirrors smashed off, tires knifed, windows smashed, and more. ...

My pickup had a window smashed within a month of me moving to the Slope. It was parked underneath a street light on Sixth Avenue, right on the expressway bridge. Everything in it, mostly junk, was taken. ...I finally got sick of the worry, the insurance and having to move it all the time, and so I sold it last month. There isn't anywhere I can't get comfortably on a bus or train, anyway.

Sign me... Walking, and Loving It.

pitu · January 2007

I had a junky car for a couple of years, that *still* got the sideview mirrors knocked off and little windows broken into . . .
and I came to love the guy that runs Joe's Auto Glass, on 7th Ave just on the other side of the Expressway. Guess that would make him in Greenwood Heights these days.

username: * · January 2007

pitu wrote: ... and I came to love the guy that runs Joe's Auto Glass, on 7th Ave just on the other side of the Expressway. ...

I love Joe, too. Joe fixed my poor pickup's window on the che-eap.

8thandprez · January 2007

Anything that is your "life's pride and joy" should probably not be left on the street over night in New York City. We have a 10-yr old Explorer, which came to us pre-dented. I'm constantly delighted that our car is already a little beat up... it helps me sleep at night. We've had no problems so far, except for a ham sandwich that someone abandoned on the hood of our car and sat there for a week. The stain is still there.

8thandprez · January 2007

BrooklynJack wrote: Of course insurance rates in Brooklyn are incredibly high. When we moved here from Manhattan our car insurance rates went up by 15% and we didn't even own a car then (just carried none owned auto liability)

Expensive, really? Not having had a car for 7 years, I was actually shocked to discover how cheap insurance was in Bklyn. It was much, much higher in Seattle and Florida.

anonymous · January 2007

Oh man I can't tell you how sad it makes me feel to hear of someone spending their life savings on something that will immediately depreciate in value! That's aside from the fact that keeping the car in Brooklyn will only give you heartache and worry anyway. I'd seriously consider selling your new car ASAP and buying an old reliable used vehicle. Not only will you save a lot of money, but you'll have much less to worry about.

anonymous · January 2007

Thanks for all the great, but very worrisome, advice. Coming from the suburbs, car safety was never an issue for me. Even living in London, U.K., spoilt me a little with regards to not having to lose a night's sleep over my vehicle.

I really need a car because I love Brooklyn and I'll be doing the reverse commute to New Jersey and public transportation, via Penn Station, would just take an exorbitant amount of time (2+ hrs each way).

I would think having indoor parking would solve the problem entirely. Is that true?

anonymous · January 2007

I think you are foolish to even consider parking a converttible on the street. Get a parking space.

MOD · January 2007

If you can afford it, buy a parking space. We had to sell our baby, a 63 Plymouth Valliant, when we moved here. It's just not worth it to have a car here, unless you are doing a long commute, as you mentioned.

armchair_warrior · January 2007

go rent a parking space or park a little farther inwards towards windsor terrace or kengsington.

car safety in Park Slope

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