[ddc9999]

Hello everyone,

I live in an apartment in Hoboken and I was wondering what fellow city dwellers do when they want to work on their car. I don't have a garage I can use and my parents driveway back in brooklyn is on too sharp of an incline to attempt any work.

I'd like to work on my car myself as I'm mechanically handy, but it seems that the only thing holding me back is a place to actually do the work. Any suggestions?

[mwahal]

I know that few people rent space in the weekend at any indy garage. Since most of these indy mechanics are closed in the weekend. Ask around and see if they let you rent space.

[BAL278]

Drive 5 minutes to River Road and work on it in one of those parking lots.

[ddc9999]

Originally Posted by mwahal

I know that few people rent space in the weekend at any indy garage. Since most of these indy mechanics are closed in the weekend. Ask around and see if they let you rent space.

I'll look into this. I take it they don't let you use any of their equipment or tools obviously. Also, wouldn't this be a serious problem with their insurance? I doubt their insurance provider would like them to have non-employees working in their garage.

Originally Posted by BAL278

Drive 5 minutes to River Road and work on it in one of those parking lots.

Do you mean river street? You have to pay just to get in those parking lots, and I'm almost positive they don't let you do any work in their garages.

[umzzy]

Originally Posted by ddc9999

Do you mean river street? You have to pay just to get in those parking lots, and I'm almost positive they don't let you do any work in their garages.

I think he means River Road in Edgewater...go on park ave towards weehawken and turn right on Port Imperial Blvd right before the the port authority police station...take that road and it continues to river road and you'll see a bunch of parking lots for apartments and stores, etc.

[ddc9999]

Is it legal to go to one of these "public" lots to do car work? Ie) change brakes, oil, rotate tires, etc.

If someone sees me I take it they could force me to stop and move my car. Could be a real pain depending on how far along in the job I am.

[PKL]

I wouldnt do work in a public [store] parking lot, seems like you are asking for trouble/headache

[umzzy]

Originally Posted by PKL

I wouldnt do work in a public [store] parking lot, seems like you are asking for trouble/headache

agreed...you should def try to hit up any local shops first...

[Eights-n-Aces]

I always see some minor repairs being done in the parking lot of the autozone store near me. I wonder if they would allow you to do some work in the back, or in an out of the way area of the lot.

[Elliott@DetailAddict]

Most Autozones/Kragens/Oreillys have signs stating you cannot work on their premises (I assume insurance reasons).

[ddc9999]

Originally Posted by mwahal

I know that few people rent space in the weekend at any indy garage. Since most of these indy mechanics are closed in the weekend. Ask around and see if they let you rent space.

has anyone here ever tried this? My gut says that there is no way an indy mechanic would let you be in their shop when they aren't there.

[Coolieman1220]

go to cake boss and do it!

spread a mat and some hazard triangles and make sure u can do it in a day!

[Magic-Man]

When I lived in apartments & such, I made sure I lived in ones with lots with room etc to do my work.

Move.

[Eights-n-Aces]

Originally Posted by Grant@DetailAddict

Most Autozones/Kragens/Oreillys have signs stating you cannot work on their premises (I assume insurance reasons).

It's actually Advance Auto Parts but the same probably applies.

[PoorMan]

Don't you have a friend, neighbor or relative with a garage that you can use? Joining a local car club is also a good option.

[BAL278]

Originally Posted by Coolieman1220

go to cake boss and do it!

spread a mat and some hazard triangles and make sure u can do it in a day!

[sjones0812]

this tread made me think about how this guy in NY painted his car http://jalopnik.com/5805154/how-i-pa...york-apartment

[kudos]

Go to a self-carwash and do it. Though obviously it can't be too difficult as you have no lift or anything.

[John 070]

Back in my apt. days I'd change the oil of my Nissan at Wal Mart in the parking lot. My coworkers found it ridiculous, but what could I do? It took me a while to get it done because people would walk up and ask if I needed any help.

One day I was waxing the Nissan in a bank parking lot really early, and a security guard comes over. I was like oh s*** the jig is up. He just said nice car!

I guess you do what you have to and what you can when you don't have a garage.

[dmorga1]

1. It's rarely comfortable to work on cars outdoors in the winter, or in the summer. Certainly not in Hoboken. Auto repairs and even maintenance needs will not conform to your comfort needs/wants.

2. Discomfort makes you rush repairs or do a lousy job.

3. If you don't rent space, it's usually illegal, and even if the store owner doesn't mind, what kinds of things can you do on this car without a proper garage, tools and electricity?

This is why I finally bought a house after years of living in major cities and owning European cars. I told my future wife at the time that there were three things that would tremendously improve my quality of life: a dishwasher, a washer/dryer, and a garage. I got all three, and yes, life is much, much better. The cost of living in an apartment is letting someone do your work unless you have a friend with space and tools, I find. Generally, when you don't have space and tools available on demand when you really need them, you'll just skip the task. And that's no way to maintain a car this expensive. Everything is so difficult on this car, I have it serviced most of the time anyway. I don't think I'll recoup the costs of the electronics and software to really read codes right and feel comfortable enough working on the car to make it worth my time. I'd rather have a really experienced indy tech working on the car. It's not that I pooh-pooh folks who want to wrench their own cars, but there's only one way to do that, I think--with a garage.

[DUI Elite]

Originally Posted by dmorga1

1. It's rarely comfortable to work on cars outdoors in the winter, or in the summer. Certainly not in Hoboken. Auto repairs and even maintenance needs will not conform to your comfort needs/wants.

2. Discomfort makes you rush repairs or do a lousy job.

3. If you don't rent space, it's usually illegal, and even if the store owner doesn't mind, what kinds of things can you do on this car without a proper garage, tools and electricity?

This is why I finally bought a house after years of living in major cities and owning European cars. I told my future wife at the time that there were three things that would tremendously improve my quality of life: a dishwasher, a washer/dryer, and a garage. I got all three, and yes, life is much, much better. The cost of living in an apartment is letting someone do your work unless you have a friend with space and tools, I find. Generally, when you don't have space and tools available on demand when you really need them, you'll just skip the task. And that's no way to maintain a car this expensive. Everything is so difficult on this car, I have it serviced most of the time anyway. I don't think I'll recoup the costs of the electronics and software to really read codes right and feel comfortable enough working on the car to make it worth my time. I'd rather have a really experienced indy tech working on the car. It's not that I pooh-pooh folks who want to wrench their own cars, but there's only one way to do that, I think--with a garage.

Heard that. I've done some amazing quality stuff in reasonable working conditions, and almost fucked shit up when its been too hot or too cold. You'll start skipping steps or you'll get frustrated with the task because you'll have to stop to try to keep yourself cool (or warm).

[mashimarho]

Friends? Your work? Get to know your nearby body shops