Parking car while sailing in South Florida

[wyowind]

We will moving aboard our sailboat in mid January for a few months. Any suggestions where we could park our car in South Florida while cruising? ?Any ideas on costs?

[UNCIVILIZED]

Perhaps brainstorm up a list of places where you might work out an inexpensive rental agreement for this? Such as inquiring with marinas, and... ?
Another option might be to consider parking it somewhere where the cost of everything is lower, & then fetching or stowing the car based on when you'll be in town or out of town (sailing) for a while.

[Shrew]

There are many, many fenced in secure storage facilities for RV's and trailerable boats in Florida. They'll take cars. My father in law keeps his truck (3rd car) in one in central florida. He has two cars in the garage and his HOA won't let him park in the driveway long term.

Had a friend 'park' a car at a commuter 'Park and Ride' lot for a few months. I wouldn't trust that it wouldn't get towed as assumed it was abandoned.

[Suijin]

I think most storage outfits (EZ Storage, ExtraSpace Storage, etc.) have units sized for automobiles. Might not be the cheapest option but probably the most secure.

[hellosailor]

Even the "Public Storage" and other self-store chains will gladly rent you parking spots. Although if it is outdoors for some summer Florida sun, I'd get a good car cover and tie it down securely, or at least have it waxed before it was left out. You might want to look (quietly) at whether you'll have any problems with your insurance or the car's registration, Florida says that once it is there for 90 days it must be registered, licensed, and titled ($$) there as well. Mainly ignored, but that could be an insurance issue if anything happened to the car.

[Seeking Solace]

What city in Florida?

There are long term parking garages that are multi leveled. Being able to park on a level not at the top or bottom and hopefully close to the center will save it from the sun and rain.

Most also have a pretty good CCTV system that records for months at a time. last I checked it was about a dollar a day for stays of 90 days or more. If it's anywhere close to an airport expect to pay 4-5 times as much.

Someone suggested a storage facility. Many of them have a parking area, but it isn't very secure. They are behind a fence, but your insurance might not cover damages when being long term stored. You can also get a pretty good discount on insurance if they know that the car isn't going to be driven for an extended period.

If you do park it outside a car cover is pretty important. You might want to block it up so the tires don't flat spot too. It's like driving with square wheels after a few months of sitting on hot pavement in the summer sun here. If you're storing over the winter months you might want to put some sort of fuel additive in too. Gas goes pretty flat after a few months here, especially since ethanol became the norm. Ethanol ruins every engine I've seen it used in.

[wyowind]

Our boat is in Ft Lauderdale so somewhere in that area would be helpful. Could you give me more information on those multi-level garages you were writing about? Sounds like a great deal. Are they secure?
Thank you for the heads up on so many details I wouldn't know about coming from Wyoming.

[Seeking Solace]

Originally Posted by wyowind

Our boat is in Ft Lauderdale so somewhere in that area would be helpful. Could you give me more information on those multi-level garages you were writing about? Sounds like a great deal. Are they secure?
Thank you for the heads up on so many details I wouldn't know about coming from Wyoming.

I'm in the Panhandle, but I'll see if I can find some down that way and get some rates and locations for you. I'm sure they are in about every major city in Florida.

[Seeking Solace]

Check out this site. It gives you rates for monthly parking. It's about twice as much as it is around here, but it is South Florida.

Sailboat Bend Parking Finder | BestParking

There are quite a few there to choose from, it really depends on what part you want to be in. The farther from the airport, the lower the rates will be. You may also be able to choose a marina to base out of that will allow you to park free of charge knowing you will be docking there whenever you are at port. Since you're not there yet, you've got time to shop around and find a good deal. There's plenty of shady places down there, so don't be afraid to use Google street view or ask about the area before making a choice.

Just so nobody is offended, there are shady areas everywhere that you wouldn't want to leave your car for a long period of time. Also, some of the parking areas have 24 hour security. That could very well be because they are in those shady areas and actually need someone patrolling them.

[wsmurdoch]

We leave our cars parked for 5 or 6 months each year while we are in the Bahamas. We have done it for 9 years so far. Add to the list of things to do a few things from our "lessons learned" - disconnect the negative wire from the battery. Otherwise, the the things on the car you can not turn off will drain the battery to flat. (Others have someone run their cars once a week or once a month to avoid the problem.) And, be sure you know the radio code; without the battery you may need it to restore the radio to running. Also, - if you leave things in the car that you do not want to take with you and if the car is in the sun, cover them with a cheap blue tarp or such or the sun might bleach them out.

[pesarsten]

I would also suggest covering the tires. The sun here can dry rot tires in record time. I left my tandem trailer for a summer , parked in the sun. Had to replace all four tires.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by wyowind

We will moving aboard our sailboat in mid January for a few months. Any suggestions where we could park our car in South Florida while cruising? ?Any ideas on costs?

Why PAY to park your car... there are companies that will pay you to rent your car out to others. Their insurance picks up when someone else rents your car.

Rent your car out to someone for an extra $12,000/year

[Scaramanga F25]

Please note that on some newer cars, removing the battery cable would need
having the computer system rebooted by your friendly dealer. $$$

Inside car storage in Ft lauderdale is about 210 $ a month.
Out in the sun a little less than 100$.

Cheaper the farther west you go.

[Ingersol]

How about renting a one way car hire from where you are starting/living to where your boat is and leave your car in the garage!