The Grad Voice

"Location, location, location" is advice taken to the extreme by some New York parking garages, where daily rates can be twice what is being charged on the next block. Ideally, one should inquire about the price before parking because rates are often deliberately hidden from the street view, enticing drivers to be taken for a ride. The following tips, learned the hard way, will hopefully save parking money.

Early Bird specials

Most drivers already know about the hard to miss Early Bird specials.

Cars arriving between 6:00-10:00 am and leaving before 7:00 pm are showered with generous price breaks in many parking locations. Faced with too many birds, owners sometimes lower the incoming deadline from 10:00 am to 9:00 am, so a bird flying into the nest at 9:30 am is in for a surprise. Nonetheless, upon leaving the car keys with a valet attendant, the driver can request an early bird tag in exchange for a good tip.

Available, but not advertised, deals Similar to casino's blackjack dealers, parking attendants want you to win.

If there is a parking garage your car can't be parked without, it pays to be nice to the valet guys. They know all about missing from the price board offers like, for example, substantial discounts for the employees of neighboring firms.

Far away from Fifth

Park as far east or west of Fifth Avenue as you can.

Driving a few extra blocks often saves double-digit dollars. Parking locations right off the FDR or West Side Highway are the least expensive, but they can surprise by charging premiums for SUVs.

Quick research

Spending a few minutes online saves money and time circling around.

BestParking.com (nyc.bestparking.com)displays daily rates for hundreds of Manhattan garages run by major parking chains. By contrast, Icon Parking's website (iconparking.com) displays rates exclusively for its own 175 garages. Icon's site is friendlier and offers more reliable information.

A stretch for space

After getting in your car, you might as well sniff it since you have no idea where it may have been.

After leaving my car with an attendant at one Upper East Side parking garage, I realized that I needed to go back for my bag. I found my vehicle underground, squatting on a crowded patch surrounded by channels of dark-colored substance. Yet in another garage, this time in SoHo, I observed a parking attendant cleaning a car, which had a disturbing odor. There may be nothing wrong with it, but who wants to park in a car wash?

Article Tools