Thread: Apartment living + working on your car..how do you do it?

Phone won't let me edit:

That or just rent the garage out so u can be at ease.

that's an interesting idea.

i remember when i was living in my apartment, i worked on my car outside the blazing heat w/o complaints. but usually i go to my boy's garage in which he has morer tools, compressor,etc. i had no garage due to that down here in florida, if you wanted an apt/garage, your gonna start dishing out $1200 in rent.

I'm living in an apartment right now and renting out a pretty big garage for $300 a month. It has the room to fit 6-7 cars in there, so plenty of space to work with. It's a little pricey but the place is huge.

I've been at the same apartment for four years now. In my agreement it says I can't work on my car in the parking area. The property group that owns my apartment doesn't care for their properties, let alone patrol the parking areas so I get away with having my car up on jack stands for weeks with no complaints. I've done all manner of work to my car without problems. Obviously working outside and such blows, but *shrug*.

I have a friend with a garage at his parent's that we regularly use now, so I've given up working in my parking area.

Thats a great idea!

I'm prolly an expert on the matter. I've lived in apartments for the last 4.5 years and I've ALWAYS worked on my cars. Keep in mind, nothing up scale, we're talking college-style 4-4 apartments.

I lived at my first place for 3 years, I've done everything to my cars EXCEPT engine swaps right in the parking lot. I typically found a secluded area in the back, and I typically worked on weekends when the maintenance people weren't on duty. Even so, the maintenance dudes almost never gave a ****, I've been told 2x in 3 years and I said, "ok, yea, I'm just finishing up" or "Oh, I'm just changing a flat."

My last 1.5 years in my new place: half a year, I didn't have a garage and I had 3 cars total. only one car worked, and I was messing with them constantly. Dropped 2 engines in the parking lot and literally carted the engine and tranny back to my patio on the 1st floor. That's the DET I was selling a year back. After that, I got a garage, but most of the BS happened outside in the parking lot b/c there was more light and room to work. Did another 2 engine swaps and built up my 3.5SEL there. Also did a clutch job and many oil changes.

I would highly suggest the $50 garage, that's what I paid. It's a great place to store all your tools and crap, to say the least, you have a place to work on your car when it's dark or raining, and you have a safe place to park your car at night.

I don't suggest sharing a garage at all. Not if you want your tools to stay put.

for the record, the last place I lived, the maintenance guys were cool with me. I mean, they worked on their own cars there, they would watch me work on mine, they stuck with me for most of the 3.5 project. I could drop a tranny in the parking lot and they would hang around and have a beer.

I don't understand why the F people care that you would do work in a parking spot. Seriously, how can they possibly be bothered by it. I understand if you have to sign an agreement not to.. but other people living there should seriously not give a sh*t.

If you have a place for it, you've got it good. Don't even worry about it, especially for something like an oil change that takes 15 minutes. If anyone complained about that they really deserve a punch in the eye! Just do it wherever.

I am not even lucky enough to have a parking spot.. I get the joy of street parking and people asking me for money every 15 minutes when I work on the car. You just have to ignore people who give you funny looks. What do they know about you anyways? No big deal.

I have actually spent hours doing work right out on the street.. installed prothane engine mounts, the full exhaust, and numerous other maintenence things (like axles and stuff). I usually feel a little ridiculous when I go out and start lifting the car up and stuff on the road but after about 15-20 I get absorbed in the work and don't even care anymore about what it looks like. A parking spot would be a luxury IMO .. its also sort of unsafe to be under a lifted car on the road because there's always a chance someone could hit the car. But it's a slow and low traffic area so it seems ok most of the time.

Anyways those are my thoughts.. if you can't afford a garage, don't worry about it. Just do what you need to wherever you can.

autozone parking lot

ive seen people change engine oil to shocks. I know ive hcanged my brakes in there parking lot before when i had my b12