Greetings! I'll be moving to chicago in about 3 weeks from NYC. I've been struggling to find a way to keep my car but no luck so far because of the cost of parking. I found an apartment on Michigan Ave and Grand and the parking in that area is about 200+ a month. Anybody familiar with the area and can suggest a parking garage? I'm willing to take the train to get to my car if i have to, if it's along the redline. 1800 a year for insurance and 2400+ a year for parking is a wee bit much. Then have to factor in the cost of gas and maintenance. OIY!

If anybody has any suggestions, by all means, throw them by way. Thanks!

-Kent

 

Yeah if your living in the city parking sucks. Right now I am paying $195 a month to park my everyday driver. And currently my S2K is stored at my parents house in WI (3 hours away) for winter. However I plan on bringing it down to Chicago sometime in March (probably the end of March or early April) When I do bring the S2K down to Chicago I plan on parking it in a storage unit located in one of the near by suburbs (probably like 20 minutes away) and that is going to cost my another $170 a month. So yeah I will be paying $365 a month for parking ... yeah it's a lot but whatever.

 

Welcome to the windy city!!

How was it in the big apple? I used to live out there but it's been years since I moved out for my job...

Anyway, it's pretty much the "average" cost for finding a parking for your S in the Chicago. If you're willing to live in the burb's (like 20-30 min driving) the parking cost will DROP!!! I'm paynig about $50 a month to park my S in my apartment's underground parking.... it's a pretty good deal in my opinion... of course I drive my beater to work and everywhere else during the winter months...

PM me if I can be any help....

Kai

 

just how much will you use your car? area up by me (wrigleyville) is about $100-150/month for parking, and off of the red line. the only thing is, that would be a pain. at $1800/yr for insurance, and if you're not gonna use it much, i'd say just sell it or store it somewhere if you have that option.

your location is pretty nice and you wont be driving all that much, especially if you work right by where you live. depends on your financial situation too. if i had to pay any more for parking or insurance right now, the car would be on the market.

 

Keeping a car in the city at the moment seems to be a complete luxury. Absolutely unjustified. I'll probably post up an autotrader ad by this weekend. Wow, I'm depressed. If I were to keep my car till I turn 25 (4 months away) in storage, my insurance nearly halves. But even then, the cost of parking a car, 200 - 225 a month seems a bit outrageous. I wouldn't even mind keeping the car up in wriggleyville have i have to. I've considered dropping my collision coverage and going with the highest deductible comp. I don't think I can win here. And away goes the car.

Do you think I can sell my car for more here in NYC or there in Chitown?

I'm also moving to the area because I'm being relocated by the company... I figured this would be a good change, but i'm losing my car...

 

Dude,

The way I see it if you want to keep the car you may need to find a place in the burbs where you can take the Metra (train) to the city for work (or what ever). One of my co-workers lives out in the Wriglegville and he commutes to work on Metra (our office is in the Des Plaines; suburb of Chicago). He bought his S after I let him drive mine on a few occassions & now he has it in his uncle's garage (well for a small fee) until Spring comes... while he uses his own parking spot (came with his apartment in Wrigleyville) for his commuter in case he needs to drive...

The point is if you relocate somewhere in the suburb of Chicago close by the Metra, you'll have a pretty good chance keeping the S!! The parking is SUBSTANTIALLY cheaper in the suburbs than in the city. Besides, Metra is rarely late and you can relax while on it to/from work.

Hope this helps! I'd hate to see a fellow owner loses his ride because of the stupid parking cost...

Peace out...

 

I'm going to have to agree with klui on this one, I live in the burbs but I am very aware of the parking situation the City presents. I have my S currently in storage and for three months the storage fees were right around $225, in the suburbs. Even better yet, if you can find a friend or relative that lives in the burbs you can easily find a place cheaper than what I have found.

Don't give up yet. Hell, if I get my house as planned, I will glady store your car alongside my S, for a significantly lower price.

 

I'm the guy Klui is referring to, and I pay $100/spot for my cars on the North Side of the City near Wrigley Field.

Will you be living downtown, or would you consider moving to a cheaper/better area? I say better because I find there are a lot more things to do in Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Lakeview, Wrigleyville than downtown. Downtown just has the expensive stuff that you go do once a month or so.

Where will you be working? Is it near a subway stop?

For me, there is no force on Earth that could get me to move out of the city into the burbs.... except maybe kids, one day. I love city life, and there is so much more to than in the suburbs. It's also a much more social life... you can go anywhere at any time, and find people to hang out with..... especially in the SUMMER.

I'm in the same boat as you, man.... I moved out here from NY. Been here 2 years, and love it.

 

I live in Lakeview and I pay $150 for my garage spot. That's just what it costs. And $200 is right on the mark for downtown/river north parking. There's almost zero available street parking there, so you have no alternative (unlike the northside where you there is a lot of street parking).

You could just buy a condo with an included spot

 

Welcome to Chicago. I actually just sold my S due to parking and insurance reasons, I miss the S. I'd definitely suggest living in the city (if you work in the city) rather than living in the suburbs an taking the Metra train to the city everyday.

If you look around on Craigslist.com you should be able to find a parking garage on the North side of the city (Lincoln Park, Lake View, Wrigleyville) for around $100/month. I was paying $85 per month in the North Center/Lincoln Square area.

If I were you, I'll first try to figure out if it makes sense to pay more (for parking and insurance) to keep the S and live in the city. If I can't justify the extra cost, I'll sell the car rather than moving to the suburbs because it's just not the same, but then again that's just me and everyone has their own preferences.