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<\/p>\nSometimes I wish I were just a normal car owner who could trade in their car to a dealership and get something new, repeating that cycle every few years until I die. This way, I\u2019d never have to deal with the agonies of selling a car privately again. In my experience, selling a car is the least exciting, least enjoyable part of the ownership experience.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve owned dozens of different cars, from worthless trashboxes that barely ran to fairly clean, desirable performance machines. But I\u2019ve never once had an easy, pleasant time selling a car. Instead, I\u2019ve had to deal with disorganized, flaky, and often rude buyers who end up ghosting me after a few Facebook Marketplace messages. It\u2019s been much of the same so far while trying to sell my Miata.<\/p>\n
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Things are made far less convenient by my location. I live in New York City, which means organizing viewings, snagging pictures for prospective buyers, and test drives are far more difficult than they\u2019d be anywhere else in the country. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n
I Don\u2019t Live Near My Car<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the thing about New York: Driveways and in-building parking garages are reserved for the wealthy. Homes with included parking are exceedingly rare, and if your apartment building happens to have a parking garage under it, a spot costs several hundred dollars per month. My apartment building doesn\u2019t have any parking, which means if I want to keep a car nearby, I have to park it on the street.<\/p>\n
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When I first bought this car, it was parked on the street exclusively. This is exactly the type of situation I don\u2019t want. Source: Brian Silvestro<\/p>\n
For many years, that\u2019s exactly what I did. While there was some level of convenience, the cons of having a car living out in the cold outweighed the pros. Not only did I constantly have to worry about moving my car to avoid street parking tickets, but I also regularly dealt with damage caused by other motorists. I didn\u2019t want to subject my Miata to that, so I managed to find an off-street parking spot<\/a> that I paid to have access to.<\/p>\n Like I said, those spots are expensive. But they get cheaper the farther away from the main island of Manhattan you get. My spot is in Brooklyn, two subway stops away from my home. I\u2019d get something closer, but it was the only one I could afford.<\/p>\n See where the problem is, right? If someone wants to come take a look at the car, I can\u2019t just give them my address and have them show up at my house. Instead, I have to call ahead to the garage to have them get it out of storage (this is a valet-only lot, which means I don\u2019t park it), and pay $2.90 in subway fare to present the Miata to anyone interested.<\/p>\n I have the same issue if someone messages me asking for a specific type of picture of my Miata. Because I\u2019m not near the car, I can\u2019t just snag a quick photo of the brake pads or film a video of a cold start. That would involve a 45-minute round trip and cost me $5.80. It\u2019s impeccably annoying.<\/p>\n Doing Test Drives Is A Nightmare Downtown Brooklyn, where my Miata is parked, isn\u2019t exactly the most hospitable place for cars. There\u2019s lots of traffic, plenty of bikers, numerous pedestrians, and the speed limit is 25 miles per hour. Not to mention the quality of the pavement is among the worst in the state.<\/p>\n Those factors, all combined, make the area a pretty terrible place to drive, much less to test a vehicle to ensure it\u2019s working properly. If I were test-driving a car, this is the last place I\u2019d want to do it. And prospective buyers likely feel the same way. So far, I\u2019ve had three curious customers show up to check out my car. But none of them have been able to get out of third gear, much less experience the car\u2019s handling or braking attributes.<\/p>\n I can understand why none of them made me a real offer. Even if the car drives fine at 30 mph, how can they tell if everything works without getting up to highway speeds? I made the mistake of buying a car without checking how it ran at high speeds once, and only discovered the problem (a heavily worn-out wheel bearing) once I got on the highway to drive home. Never again.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s My Plan<\/p>\n As (bad) luck would have it, I\u2019m losing my parking spot<\/a> at the end of November. That means in the next month or so, I\u2019ll have to find a new home for the Miata if it doesn\u2019t sell. Instead of continuing to let strangers on the internet drive the car a few blocks only for them to ghost me the next day, I\u2019ve come up with a different plan.<\/p>\n In fact, I\u2019ve already set this plan into motion. After I bashed my eye socket<\/a> on the Miata\u2019s tow hook this past weekend, I left the car at my parents\u2019 house in upstate New York, electing to take my Range Rover<\/a> home instead. That might seem counterintuitive, seeing as how the car is now even further away from me than it was before. Just hear me out.<\/p>\n With my dad at his house, he can just sell the car for me. All I have to do is arrange the meetup, and he\u2019ll be the person to present the car and give out test drives (what a great guy, right?). This also solves the cityscape test drive problem, as my parents\u2019 house is out in the suburbs, where there\u2019s plenty of room for people to stretch the Miata\u2019s legs.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve done this type of move in the past, but usually for car parts, not whole cars. So I\u2019m a bit uneasy about it. But I also trust my dad not to get scammed by people, so I\u2019m confident things will go just fine. Whether I\u2019ll be able to make any money on the Miata upon its sale, well, that\u2019s an entirely different story. So stay tuned.<\/p>\n Top graphic images: Brian Silvestro<\/p>\n![\"Miata](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/miata-vs-me-location-v2.png\")
This commute takes about 20 minutes via train. Graphic credit: Google Maps and Brian Silvestro<\/p>\n
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Spot the Miata. Source: Brian Silvestro<\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-15-at-4.14.49\u202fPM.png\")
Ah yes, the perfect place for a thorough test drive. Source: Google Maps<\/p>\n![\"Img](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_3406-2-scaled.jpg\")
The Miata on jackstands this past weekend (it was nothing serious, I promise). Source: Brian Silvestro<\/p>\n![\"Upstate](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/upstate-v-downstate.png\")
This drive takes about an hour and a half, but I\u2019d like to avoid it altogether if I can. Graphic credit: Google Maps and Brian Silvestro<\/p>\n