Boston Parking Woes

Grundlestiltskin

So, long story short - Moved to the Boston area in 2006. Had underground parking in Somerville in 2006, driveway parking in Cambridge in 2007, and got by with visitor/unmarked parking in Brighton in 2008. However, I just moved into Boston proper (Boylston St, right near the Pru) and seem to be up sh*t's creek without a paddle with regard to parking.

It looks like I can probably rent a spot somewhere "nearby" for a reasonable price. The bigger problem is that my car is still registered in PA (I also still have a PA license, which has been on my...to do...list for several years (I realize I could get in a lot of trouble for that)). Now it should be a no brainer to just register my car in MA, but I'm planning to sell my car around August as I'm going back to school and won't need the hassle of having it anymore.

I guess the question is, how much will it cost me to register my car here? Is it worth just finding somewhere obscure to put it (maybe back in Brighton) until I can sell it? Will I even be able to sell it without Mass plates?

RUNN1NGMAN

I think it's about $35 for registration, and then like $25 for plates. They should have the exact cost on the RMV website. Selling it shouldn't be an issue; you're selling the car, not the registration. Transferring the title might be a pain, but not a huge one.

If you're renting a space, does it matter what state your car's plates are? Shouldn't that only be an issue if you're trying to get a resident sticker for street parking?

Even if you leave it in Brighton, won't you have to deal with street sweeping?

Grundlestiltskin

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

I think it's about $35 for registration, and then like $25 for plates. They should have the exact cost on the RMV website. Selling it shouldn't be an issue; you're selling the car, not the registration. Transferring the title might be a pain, but not a huge one.

If you're renting a space, does it matter what state your car's plates are? Shouldn't that only be an issue if you're trying to get a resident sticker for street parking?

Even if you leave it in Brighton, won't you have to deal with street sweeping?

The only thing I'm worried about with my plates and parking is that supposedly it's illegal to have your car parked in Boston for more than 30 days without Mass plates - it's a big fine, and they're supposedly getting a lot stricter about it.

I never had problems with street sweeping in Brighton (near Cleveland Circle) the whole time I was there. The side streets down there are like the parking spots time forgot.

Malyonsus

When I moved to MA from PA, the whole shebang (new license, new registration (along with plates)) cost me just around $100 - $130. This was about a year ago, so I'm not fully aware of the cost breakdown, but it was probably something like $90 for the new license and $40 for the plates.

RUNN1NGMAN

Grundlestiltskin wrote: »

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

I think it's about $35 for registration, and then like $25 for plates. They should have the exact cost on the RMV website. Selling it shouldn't be an issue; you're selling the car, not the registration. Transferring the title might be a pain, but not a huge one.

If you're renting a space, does it matter what state your car's plates are? Shouldn't that only be an issue if you're trying to get a resident sticker for street parking?

Even if you leave it in Brighton, won't you have to deal with street sweeping?

The only thing I'm worried about with my plates and parking is that supposedly it's illegal to have your car parked in Boston for more than 30 days without Mass plates - it's a big fine, and they're supposedly getting a lot stricter about it.

I never had problems with street sweeping in Brighton (near Cleveland Circle) the whole time I was there. The side streets down there are like the parking spots time forgot.

Ah, yeah, I forgot about the whole excise tax thing. Are you a student? Because if you are then it's not a problem. If not, you're a dirty excise and income tax dodger and should burn in hell (not really, but kind of). :evil:

But seriously, the state runs an anonymous tip line for people to report you for not paying excise taxes on your car. Depending on how dickish your neighbors are you could have a problem. Those taxes are friggin ridiculous too, so people get a little spun up about people who dodge them.

Grundlestiltskin

I haven't been avoiding it because I'm cheap, more because I'm lazy. And I'm start business school at Northeastern in the fall, so I was wonder about getting one of those out of state student stickers (we'll gloss over the fact that I've been living here for 3 years).

RUNN1NGMAN

Grundlestiltskin wrote: »

I haven't been avoiding it because I'm cheap, more because I'm lazy. And I'm start business school at Northeastern in the fall, so I was wonder about getting one of those out of state student stickers (we'll gloss over the fact that I've been living here for 3 years).

I'm sure, but around the time those $400 bills start arriving you may have some rather peeved neighbors. You're kind of rolling the dice, and if someone reports you the tax assessor will probably discover how long you've been living in MA and then you'll be in some hurt.

Grundlestiltskin

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

Grundlestiltskin wrote: »

I haven't been avoiding it because I'm cheap, more because I'm lazy. And I'm start business school at Northeastern in the fall, so I was wonder about getting one of those out of state student stickers (we'll gloss over the fact that I've been living here for 3 years).

I'm sure, but around the time those $400 bills start arriving you may have some rather peeved neighbors. You're kind of rolling the dice, and if someone reports you the tax assessor will probably discover how long you've been living in MA and then you'll be in some hurt.

Hadn't even considered that

That could be bad. Wonder how badly I'd have to piss somebody off to get reported for that. At any rate, it's sounding like registering my car asap would be the best bargain.

DJ-99

Can you park it at a T stop like Alewife, and maybe move it every week or something? I think it's like a dollar a day to park it at a T stop, although I'm not sure which stops exactly offer this parking.

Or, my apartment building will let you park it underneath the Pru/Shaw's for a mere $350 a month.

Apparently we are basically neighbors, by the way.

Grundlestiltskin

Howdy. We just moved in directly above the Pour House. Mixed feelings so far, the gf called this morning after I went to work and told me that it sounds like there's an idling motorcycle inside our living room wall, that it's very loud and the floor is shaking. That's encouraging.


Anyway $350 a month would be waaaay more than I want to spend on parking. I saw some spots on craigslist for ~$200 a month, but I should probably deal with this registration deal. I wonder if I could get a non-resident student sticker from Northeastern (I had something like this when I was an undergrad in western MA). Other than that it's getting new insurance, going through this administrative hassle...ugh.

DJ-99

Yeah, $350 a month is ridiculous. I moved here last August, and rather than pay that much for parking I just sold my car.

I guess there is some reason you want to hang onto the car until August? I'm not sure if you need it to commute to work, or what. But, with the hassle of parking, maybe it would just be easier to sell it now, and if you need a car like twice during the summer, just get a ZipCar.

I know my mom parked her car at a T stop for 2 weeks, but I'm not sure if you want to pursue that option for 2 months.

Grundlestiltskin

Yeah I work in Maynard, which is about 45 minutes out on 2. Stopping in August for school.

I guess I could look into the commuter rail, but last time I tried that I was coming from Brighton. Would probably still take forever though.