My wife and I will be moving from Las Vegas to Southern California within the next year, so naturally, I'm wondering how this will affect caring for my Fieros.

Prior to buying a home, we plan on renting for 6 months to a year. We don't want to sink a lot of money into a rental, so I don't anticipate tons of room for our daily drivers, let alone two low-mileage Fieros.

Does any storage facility exist that provides reliable security, enough so that I could actually SLEEP at night knowing that my Fieros are safe? I'd have to be able to visit them at least a couple times a month to keep their juices flowing, avoid flat spots on the tires, etc.

I have heard of very exclusive "car-condos" where the wealthy store their Rolls Royces and Ferraris: I doubt that I could afford anything like that. But: Something similar?

Anyone have any ideas? I'd appreciate your thoughts.

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quote Originally posted by davikan: Anyone have any ideas? I'd appreciate your thoughts.

My first thought is that i wouldn't move from there to here. No Way. i live on the "east side" and things are less expensive here than most places. if you live in an apt. "complex", a 2-bedroom apt. will cost you around $1600 / month and you'll get at least 1 parking place; maybe a car-port type thing; other than that you'll need to scavenge for a place on the street. i had to hunt long and hard to get my small 1-br apt with a garage. I pay an extra $40 per month for an assigned, uncovered parking space. There is a limit of ONE extra space per tenant. More cars - park on the street and move once per week for street cleaning; cars parking on the street (and not being moved) for more than 3-days can get reported and towed by the police. Wanna rent a house instead ? - maybe your parking problems are solved and rent alone will only be $2000 or more.


There is a "Stor-All" facility near here that is typical for similar places in the surrounding area i called for fiero storage. A parking space in a locked, fenced area will cost about $125 / month - outside, uncovered, PARKING SPACE. Plan on a layer of black soot building up from the bad air. Do the math, and you'll see that even cheap storage will quickly cost you more than the car is worth.

Talk about "car-condos" (!?). You should realize that people are renting luxury penthouses on the west-side for $10,000 - $15,000 Per Month. If you've never lived here, realize that this place has it's own "economy-of-scale".

If you're a brain-surgeon, you'll have no problems; if not, plan on having empty pockets most of the time and probably less cars than you have now.

[This message has been edited by PaulJK (edited 11-07-2009).]

So: that's it? My options are either "don't move" or "get rid of the Fieros?"

There's GOT to be a way! I mean, we're only talking about a few months.

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When i had more than 2 cars, that's what i found - $125 / month per car ($1500 per year) for a parking place. That's why I now have 2 cars. Do an internet search and see what you get - phone area code for San Gabriel Valley is 626; zip code 90640, cities = alhambra, montebello, san gabriel, City of Los Angeles is 213 and zip code is 90010.

[This message has been edited by PaulJK (edited 11-08-2009).]

Although this move keeps getting pushed out a few months, it's still going to happen. So, I'm still collecting information...

Does anyone have any experience with using four-post lifts in a home garage?
Which ones could stack two Fieros under a standard-height garage ceiling?
Which ones are of high enough quality to stay upright during a Southern California tremor?

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"Southern California" is a big place with expensive cities and cheaper rural areas. Can you narrow it down to a particular city (or neighborhood) so we can better tailor an answer?

quote Originally posted by DJErikd: "Southern California" is a big place with expensive cities and cheaper rural areas. Can you narrow it down to a particular city (or neighborhood) so we can better tailor an answer?

Yeah, I know: I'm not being very specific. Without going into the reasons why, we're considering LOTS of options, with Thousand Oaks and Orange County being our front-runners (for now.)

I'm really starting to wonder about four-post lifts - this might free us up (a bit) in our choice of a place to live. If the lift were compact enough in overall size, I figure that Fieros are small enough that I could store them both, even if we ended up in a house with a one-car garage,

Or is this unrealistic? Who makes a four-post lift with short(ish) posts and variable locking points for storing the top car as low as possible?

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I looked into lifts awhile back, and couldn't find one to fit my ceiling height. I could
have the fiero and my mustang together if I didn't raise the lift all the way. Was too
close for comfort. I stored for a couple of years at a rv storage. Was outside, would
suggest a hiquality breathable cover, two reasons, the second being so others don't
see what you have under the cover. Regarding earthquakes, tall buildings are built with
ability to sway, rigid structures fail first. So your car would likely be swaying
up there but not come down. Of course there are constant news alerts that the
"big one" is coming, if which case your car on the lift may not be your top priority.

quote Originally posted by davikan: Does anyone have any experience with using four-post lifts in a home garage?

Yes, PM "Brastic". He has a 4 point lift and stores two cars on it.
Shane is our acting president of GGF. (Golden Gate Fieros)

He can tell you all about what he paid, installation, minimum height requirements, etc...

Kit

Just get car covers...California is the Mojave desert. If they didn't pump the Colorado River water to the big cities, nothing in the state would be green, just brown desert!!! It rains for 5 minutes once each year. Your cars will be fine. If the airlines trust their planes to be stored long term outdoors in the Mojave, then you can trust yourself to do the same!!! Problem solved and no storage fees that cost more than your cars are worth.

Don't get a lift in this highly active earthquake zone....that is just plain dumb! Put them outside where nothing can fall or collapse on your car or buy/rent a house with a big garage.

[This message has been edited by Johnny Smith (edited 06-24-2010).]

Oh and one thing you will need to add into the equation is new cats on your cars if they dont pass smog at over 200 for each car.... And registration costs are crazy high. I think i paid over 200 per car to change the plates from hawaii to california. just food for thought. Thousand oaks is a nicer area than the OC but it depends on what you would like for a drive time.

quote Originally posted by mmeyer86gt/gtp: Oh and one thing you will need to add into the equation is new cats on your cars if they dont pass smog at over 200 for each car.... And registration costs are crazy high. I think i paid over 200 per car to change the plates from hawaii to california. just food for thought. Thousand oaks is a nicer area than the OC but it depends on what you would like for a drive time.

My Indy has about 4,400 miles, and the '88 GT has about 8,700. They're both bone-stock and they pass smog each year here in Nevada pretty well. Should I assume that they might not in Cali? Yikes.

Isn't Thousand Oaks closer to say, downtown L.A., in terms of drive time than someplace like Costa Mesa or Irvine? Either way, my Fieros won't be making the commute, it'll be my Subaru. The Fieros are pampered garage queens (I can hear some of you snickering...) The whole point of this thread is to try to keep them that way.

Anyone know of a safe car condo that won't cost an arm and a leg? Maybe even just for a few weeks/months, until we get more situated? (Yeah, now I can hear some of you LAUGHING... But, you can't blame a guy for asking...)

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You can assume that you will need new cats on both. As the standards for smog in california is ridiculous espically where you will be living. I think that the OC is closer to downtown as thousand oaks is about 1 hour drive away. (driving the limit)

I put a new Cat on my 86 V6 SE about a month ago. Holy Crap my car is the fastest "stock" Fiero I have ever driven and I have been Driving Fieros since my first new one in 1983 - my 1984 SE Iron Duke!!!!

The technologically superior new CATS flow is not restricted at all like the factory CATS (they rob tons of horsepower).

I recommend everyone change their CATS for both the environment and so you can have a blazing fast Fiero - the difference is HUGE!!!

[This message has been edited by Johnny Smith (edited 06-26-2010).]

Folks:

If you are in CA, read this before you replace your CAT: http://www.car-sound.com/02...uct/02california.asp

Regards,

David

[This message has been edited by MountainHiBlue87GT (edited 06-26-2010).]

I have a lift in my garage and I could not live with out it. It was the only way to get 2 cars in a 1 car garage. I have the Direct Lift (http://www.directlift.com/) brand and am very happy with it. There are a couple of things to know. The first being that they sell the made in China and made in the USA lifts. The quality of the US workmanship and functionality is much better. I chose the cheeper China made one as I do not bring my upper car down often to justify the expense. If you were going to use the lift weekly or bimonthly, then the US made one would be my choice. I also had to install a new garage door as the old single piece door was bad and the newer style sectional roll up would hit the lift post. I went with an industrial roll up type garage door and am very happy I did. I cannot think of ever owning a sectional garage door again. The roll up types are much easier to install and open and close. I have a low ceiling garage and I can still park two Fieros.

In 2006, I paid $2k for the lift delivered to my house. When they say delivered, that means on a semi and you have to get this 1600lb packaged piece of metal off of the trailer in 5 mins. You will not have time for two people to unbolt the unit. I had to rent a fork lift. The instructions say that the lift assembly takes 3 people. I thought that since I am strong and my friend is strong that two would be enough. That was a bad assumption. 3 is a minimum and 4 would be better.

Since you will be in California, the recommendation I have heard from manufactures and other lift owners is to not bolt down the lift. In an earthquake, you want the lift to walk around a bit. You do not want the car on top to be thrown off. Run some Google image searches, and you will find some pictures from last LA quake where lifts not bolted down did not toss the cars off. You should also check the city you are moving into for the local ordinates. In my town, I would have to be permits and inspections if I bolted down the lift.

brastic -

THANK YOU for that post. I will definitely check out http://www.directlift.com. Thanks especially for the advice about not bolting down the lift - it's amazing to think that something "unsecured" would survive an earthquake better, but then again, it's logical: even saplings survive storms that blow down older, bigger oak trees.

I'm on my way to check out the link now...

THANKS again.

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