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How to find a safe NYC parking garage

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Although there really is no perfect formula for finding the best or safest city-parking garage, we at EuroBumperGuard.com do our best to point out helpful hints to locating “one of the good ones”. We do our best to make finding a decent parking garage as easy as possible, but please understand we are not attorneys and none of the advice or tips we provide should in any way be construed as legal advice.

Hours of Operation
This is something that at one time or another has probably affected more of us than we would care to admit. Such a simple concept, yet we assume because its NYC that everything is open 24/7…but is it? Be sure to pay attention to the parking garage hours before you leave your car there, even better, just ask the attendant what time the garage closes. You do not want to find yourself standing on a dark street, by yourself, in front of a closed garage at 2am with no way to get your car. A lot of garages are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but be sure to double check those details before you leave.

Location of the Attendant’s Booth
Make sure to check out where the attendant’s booth in the garage is located. Do you have to walk way into the back of the garage, out of the street view? Or is it conveniently located in a well-lit entrance? If you are picking up your vehicle late at night, perhaps after a show or dinner with friends, you might want to pay particular attention to this, while if you are coming in and out during the day it may not be as important to you.

Larger Garages vs. Smaller Garages
As we discussed in NYC Parking Garage Tips, a larger capacity garage (housing 200 or more cars) tend to be a better option than the smaller or “boutique” garage (housing 100 cars or less) if only for the one simple reason of having more uninterrupted, open space. The less obstructions in a parking garage structure, gives attendants less things to smash into causing damage to your car. If torn between the smaller slightly cheaper garage, or the larger garage which is charging you $5 more, it might be worth it to shell out the additional $5 for some peace of mind. However, if the small lot is your only choice, make sure to take the necessary steps to protect your bumpers. Check out the Bumper Blocker Indoor Parking Garage Protection products that we offer for exactly this reason!

Well Lit Entrance / Exit
An amply lit entrance or exit is not to be undervalued. If by chance the parking garage has caused damage to your vehicle and you have picked a parking garage with a poorly lit exit, you may not see it at the time they give you your vehicle…and that might be exactly the game they are trying to run on you! Once you pull your car out of the garage…its too late, no matter what damage the parking garage or the attendants might actually have caused, they will never admit to it once you’ve left. We always recommend doing a “full walk around” before you get in your vehicle and drive out of the garage, taking the extra 30 seconds to do a thorough inspection may save you a lot of unnecessary aggravation.

Separate Entrance & Exits
We cannot stress enough that you should avoid parking garages that have a common entrance / exit. Some of them indicate this by posting siren lights posted at their entrances. Having only one way in or out almost always means cars cannot enter and exit at the same time, which can lead to a traffic jam, or worst case put you in the position of a potential head-on collision. Parking in a garage with a limited view while entering or exiting can certainly be a potential danger for customers. But it also should make you think, if their entrance / exit is so narrow, what does the rest of the facility look like?

Try to stick to nice wide parking garages, with a separate entrance and exit. You really don’t want to find yourself staring into the eyes of a driver facing you, with nowhere to go but backwards!