"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
12/07/2019 at 14:23 • Filed to: None
3
10|
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
12/07/2019 at 14:23 • Filed to: None | 3
| 10 |
I came home last night to see orange warning stickers on my vehicles. The warning? Fix whatever the sticker says in an unspecified amount of time or have your vehicles towed.
Here’s what each vehicle said:
1) 2012 smart = Hasn’t moved in 20 days.
2) 2005 smart = Expired plates.
3) Stella = No parking pass.
4) GS 850G = No parking pass.
5) Vespa = Hasn’t moved in 20 days.
6) Trailer = Not allowed on property.
Okay, so some notes here. Up until last night, management has operated on the rule of “don’t be a dick.” Meaning, you can break the rules but if you piss someone off they’re going to come down on you. For the two years I’ve been here, that was the status quo.
Apparently, not only is there new management, but someone has been complaining. An old man that lives four buildings over has trouble parking at night. He’s been whining about the lack of parking. Then last weekend a family moving out obliterated a $7,000 light pole. Then without warning the management team decided to check every car in the entire complex of ten or so buildings for any possible violation, including previous unenforced ones. Looks like they’re out to make back that $7k.
E veryone is entitled to four spots and technically unlimited vehicles in those four spots. The only requirement is that every vehicle has to display a parking pass . The problem with this is that the buildings do not have adequate parking for four parking spaces in front of every condo. That means if you live in a building where there are multiple car enthusiasts, there can be a natural parking shortage. The bylaws don’t specify where you have to park, just that you get four spaces and have to display parking passes. S o if you want to park four cars in front of your condo, you can.
Thankfully, the complex as a whole DOES actually have enough parking spaces for four cars for every condo, you just have to park in the expanded parking outlot.
I’ve decided to be a good neighbour and I park all loud vehicles and vehicles I don’t drive often in that expanded lot. Yes, it means I have to walk a good distance whenever I need to work on them, but it was no big deal to me. My neighbours were happy, I was happy, everyone was happy.
The last management team was cool with my motorcycles and trailer. They even stated that the parking pass rule isn’t enforced on bikes because even they thought it was stupid. This new one? Not so much.
So then, what do I do..
First, I sold the trailer.
I kept the cool Ford hubcaps and I sold it for enough to break even on it. Since I stopped collecting motorcycles I really haven’t used it much. And storing it offsite will quickly start costing more than it’s worth.
Second, I moved the motorcycles into a neighbour’s garage. It’s impossible to comply with the “motorcycles need passes” demand. The passes get blown off in the wind and very often stolen, so putting the real passes on them is dumb (they cost $100 each).
Also weird is how the Vespa didn’t have plates, didn’t have a parking pass, and very clearly doesn’t run, but their only complaint is “haven’t moved in 20 days”. OK
Third, the project smart gets a fresh 2020 sticker.
Fourth, I moved the 2012 smart into the main parking lot. It’s not my fault a guy four buildings over has no parking. But since he wanted to whine to management about it, I’m going to make sure he can’t park at the building I live at. He tried to bark at me the other day about the trailer and the Passat. And sure, the trailer didn’t belong and I had forgotten to put a parking pass in the Passat. But I was only using three of my four spaces.
But now all three of my cars are in compliance and I don’t even own the trailer anymore. He can now proceed to pound sand.
In other news, I was inspired by diplomat flags on big German cars, so I did this:
I also confirmed that the 2012 smart’s alternator puts out less than 12V. It’s only putting out 11V.
My X-type is too a real Jaguar
> Mercedes Streeter
12/07/2019 at 14:41 |
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Storing a seldom used trailer is always a money pit, around where I live you could rent a UHaul open trailer once a month for A year for your monthly storage fees would be.
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Mercedes Streeter
> My X-type is too a real Jaguar
12/07/2019 at 14:45 |
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My thought exactly. I got the trailer because I thought I'd be shuttling bikes all over the place (remember, I averaged over a bike a month in 2018) but I've used the trailer only three times in 2019. So if I can't keep it at home then it's not worth keeping.
fintail
> Mercedes Streeter
12/07/2019 at 14:52 |
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$100 for a parking permit? Is this the kind of complex that has $500+ monthly HOAs for reasons unknown ? I’d run.
Sovande
> Mercedes Streeter
12/07/2019 at 15:18 |
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I’ d park them all in a fashion that is most convenient to me and me alone. I don’t have the time or patience to worry about what my neighbors think about my stuff as long as it is in compliance with the rules.
Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> Mercedes Streeter
12/07/2019 at 15:54 |
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I think you should buy a suburban for scrap money and park it sideways across 4 spots.
MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick)
> Sovande
12/07/2019 at 17:27 |
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Agreed, but these neighbours also likely have infinite time and patience in worrying about your stuff regardless of if it’s in compliance with the rules
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Mercedes Streeter
> fintail
12/07/2019 at 18:01 |
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Probably, but that's for my landlord to pay lol
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fintail
> Mercedes Streeter
12/07/2019 at 19:47 |
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I’d want a parking permit to be covered too. But you are probably doing it right, I wouldn’t want to own there.
facw
> Mercedes Streeter
12/07/2019 at 22:09 |
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Then without warning the management team decided to check every car in the entire complex of ten or so buildings for any possible violation, including previous unenforced ones. Looks like they’re out to make back that $7k.
A more charitable view would be that they want to make sure all cars are insured and supposed to be there in case someone is dumb enough to knock over a light post or something.
My complex in Houston had two parking lot checks when I was there, I’m not sure what triggered the first but I’d guess around a third to half of the cars did not have current registration/inspection (lots of med students with out of state plates who didn’t bother renewing or getting Texas plates). Their second check was clearly to prepare to remove cars that had been abandoned, or left non-functional after hurricane Harvey flooded the place .
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Mercedes Streeter
> facw
12/08/2019 at 11:41 |
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Probably accurate!
Unfortunately, the vehicle that took down the pole was a U-Haul truck. The rub is that nobody actually saw it happen so it can’t be reasonably proven they did it. The only evidence is a dually tire track from a vehicle that clearly cut the corner far far too sharp.