Owning a car in NYC

Owning a car in NYC is a true luxury. The montly cost of a garage is probably the same cost as the mortgage on a 5000 square foot house in upstate New York. You can always opt for keeping the car on the street, but to me, that is just another aggrevation to deal with. Moving the car to the right side of the street. Worrying about break-ins etc. Unfortunately, it is what it is.

We don’t use the car that often but when we do, it is a treat to have. My husband hit a huge pothole the other day. This left one of the tires with a big bump. Like a swollen node. Not pretty. Of course, I have been left to deal with this. One of my biggest fears is getting a flat tire in the middle of nowhere or worse on the LIE.

I got the car this morning and drove up 10th Avenue. Between 23-34th there are a variety of repair shops. I found one between 28/29th that appeared to have availability. The majority of these guys work on taxi cars which are abused daily.

Ralph was happy to help. I could stay and wait or he’d call me when he’s done. I opted for the call. 45 minutes later, Ralph called me. New tire and alignment complete and by the way, your inspection was up over a month ago. I never notice that stuff. So, I told Ralph, do the inspection too and let me know when you are done. 1/2 an hour later, done. So, I basically dropped off the car around 10 and it was done by 11:15ish. Total cost $200 with tax.

I was thrilled. It was a no brainer. Ralph could not have been nicer or more efficient. No appointment, no problems, no wait. Maybe owning a car in the city is not such a big deal after all.