Just checking in letting everyone know I'm here....Joe

 

Hey! Nice to see a neighbor on the Forum.
Steve

 

Hi Joe!

Happy Holidays!

Anthony

 

Welcome joeglow42, I spent Christmas day in Southampton

 

I'm not ignoring anyone on here it's just that I'm still trying to decipher how this works.

 

There's a bunch of Jersey Boys on here...

Welcome

 

Another neighbor from New Jersey. Welcome!

Ed

 

Where in jersey ED?

 

Welcome! Another Jersey boy here. I've taken my Brittanys to the Medford setter club for hunt trials. Nice area!

Mike

 

Hi Clamdigger,

This is Ed from NJ responding to your inquiry.

I live in Monroe Twp. near exit 8 or 8A of the NJ Turnpike. Not too far from Freehold. They call this Central NJ.

I see that you are in Tom's River. I bought my car from Jaguar of Monmouth in Ocean which should not be too far from you. There are not that many Jag dealers in NJ and they are probably the closest and easiest dealer for me to get to. Have you done any business with them? They were a Land Rover dealer and recently took in Jag's which they got from Ray Catena who had the Jag dealership before them. I found them very accommodating to deal with. I have had a couple of service issues as well and they were good.

George who is also on this forum is in Hamilton NJ which is not too far way and in Mercer County. I am in Middlesex County. Enjoy the nice weather we have had. I heard more snow on the way by the middle of the week.

P.S. I don't go on the forums too often so you can reach me by e mail at eo145@aol.com.
Ed

Hey George- how's that new place of yours coming along? Are you open for business yet?

 

Hey Ed,

I'm in the process as we speak. I received the municipal approval from Ewing Township regarding zoning and them allowing a used car dealer on the property. I have submitted my paperwork to the NJMVC and they have to come out and do an inspection of the site (to determine that it meets their requirements - easy just time consuming). They are in the middle of renewals, my existing dealer license is up for renewal and I have the paperwork in front of me. - I have yet another location in Bridgeton for the purpose. Hamilton was unwilling to sign off, regardless of the fact that my shop there USED to have a used car dealer, and it's supposed to be grandfathered in. We were basically promised that they would sign off on any existing use before the purchase. BUT they hid behind some imaginary rule that once the business ceases operation (I bought the shop from the bank as a foreclosure and it was closed for approx 3 years), that after 12 months all zoning is null and void and you have to go before the planning board and zoning board and start from the beginning. They acted like they did us a favor by allowing us to open the Auto Repair portion of the business unopposed. Basically because they knew that due to the building the planning board would infact approve it. We were given a firm indication that they were none too pleased and would oppose any and all attempts to get a dealer license out of there, because it was a "residential" area. Never mind the fact that my shop - a full 2 acres, with a 5 bay repair shop and a separate office building, was built in 1976, and the "residential" neighborhoods popped up around it in the late 80's and 90's. When me and my attorney pointed out the grandfathering and that they were blatantly violating the law, they basically said too bad, if you feel that way sue us. There have been two other cases of this, one rather high profile, neither having to do with a car dealer, but where Hamilton blatantly refused to allow businesses that were properly zoned to either build or expand. One involved a pre school that bought up 4 homes knocked them down and tried to build in a neighborhood commercial zone. (what my property was currently rezoned too). It took the corporation 4 years and god knows how much $$$$ to finally get their permits through the courts.

The other involved a more controversial scenario. There is a little adult video store - really a shack on rt33 right in the heart of Hamilton. It's been there since the early 1970's, but the guy owns a rather large parcel or land. He's been applying to build a new, larger building on the property, and is consistently illegally denied. The have hidden behind the fact that it "does not suit the character of the neighborhood" and therefore have the right to deny him. But they cant run him out of business. It's funny I was talking to a couple guys I know at a local pizza shop. They were supposed to get an award for being one of the longest consistently running businesses in Hamilton. BUT they realized that the **** store was the longest running business and they would have to give him an award as well so they ended up canceling the whole thing.

In NJ there is no zoning class that guarantees you a used car dealer, Highway Commercial guarantees a new car dealer but used car dealer is always a variance and subject to municipal approval. I gave up with Hamilton and am going to use that strictly as a repair facility. Ewing was virtually painless. I walked in, talked to the zoning guy, explained what I wanted to do - an indoor dealer / auto gallery. He was like oh that sounds cool, what do you need from us. I was like I need a signature on the MVC municipal approval form. Sure no problem. Whole thing took 30 mins. I should be open (or at least legal) sometime in April, with a real opening prob May 01.


Hope all is well with you.


Take care,

George

 

Ed,
I have friends in Monroe and yes I have used both Ray Catena, before they sold to Monmouth, and Monmouth Jaguar. I am so happy Ray sold to Monmouth, I was not happy with their service. Jaguar of Monmouth on the other hand was a pleasant experience. On one trip they had my car for two weeks but gave me a new XF to drive. My warranty was running out and they went over the whole car and fixed a few things and my was bill was $136. I had to pay for a couple of worm hoses but for all they fixed it was a drop in the bucket. Thank you Jaguar.


George,
Let us jersey boys know when your dealership is finished, I know I'd like to stop by and see it.

 

Hi George,

Same deal... keep us apprised of your progress and opening - I'll take a drive down to see it as well.

Thanks - Anthony

 

Hi Clamdigger,

My salesman at Monmouth Jaguar had told me that Ray Catena was forced to give up that Jaguar dealership in Ocean.

It seems that Catena wanted to open another dealership (I think in New York) which Jaguar would not allow unless he gave up one of his other spots so he gave up the one in Ocean and Monmouth Jaguar who are owned by Schneider and Nelson Porsche/Audi took it over since they already had the Land Rover spot over there.

Ray Catena still has the Jaguar dealership in Edison but I have read some bad reviews about that place and they seem to keep that place really low key with not much advertising or volume. BTW- Ray Catena has a construction sign on a vacant lot on Rt. 9 in Freehold stating that they will be building an Audi dealership there soon.

I have heard good things about Madison Jaguar up North but they are too far away for me and it is much easier for me to get to Monmouth who have so far been OK to deal with. Take care.

Ed

 

Better late than never.
Welcome aboard Joe!!!! I'm up there with you at 68!! Lovin life as I
hope you are!!! Checked out your garage and like what I see.
I'm compelled to jump into this forum which it seems should be renamed
"New Jersey" Land of Jag lovers. Count me in!!!!!
I'm in Egg Harbor Township, South Jursey; the forgotten land!!! Forgotten
except for the refreshing contacts here.
Clamdigger, thanks for the $136 Monmouth Jag post. What do you have
on them to get such a deal? LOL Would like anyone else dealing with them
to post equal value for work done there,or not, to build up confidence
for them if we have to make that inevitable necessary trip to a dealer!!!!
Like Clamdigger George, Let us Jersey boys know when your dealership
is finished, I'd like to stop by and see it. Maybe we could arrange for a
bunch of us to set a date to visit together when the time arrives for a
face to face and possibly a boost for Georges business. Any ideas??
Also George, I've been meaning to visit your place in Hamilton, I have
a few things I would like done. Are there any car rentals near you there?
So long for now and wishing all a great driving season!!!

Dick

 

If Toms River is any indication of the amount of jags in NJ I think Dick is correct in his "NJ land of Jag lovers". Many times I will be waiting for a light with two other Jags right in front of me.


Dick, Egg Harbor township is a nice place to live especially if your a water person like me. My cheap bill at Monmouth Jag was all due to Jaguar living up to their warranty.


I'm in for a meet at George's place when it's finished, that's if he even wants us.

 

Hey,

All are welcome, although for a larger scale meet my Hamilton facility would probably be a better option from a logistics standpoint. The Ewing place is a 10k sq ft indoor dealer, with indoor wash / detail bay etc. There is a parking lot for about 60 cars. Once I get everything settled I'll let you guys know.

I actually own a weekend home in Little Egg Harbor, Mystic Island specifically on a canal, but it was severely damaged during Sandy. I had 4ft of water in the entire first floor. FEMA's flood insurance is a joke. Especially when you do not have the home as your primary home.

First of all they don't cover contents - at all. Second since it's not a primary residence (which was determined simply by the address on your drivers license on the day of the storm), they pay depreciated value for everything that they do cover. If I had my license based out of there, and had Hamilton as a second home, that would have saved me 45% and made me eligible for all of FEMA's disaster aide. Thirdly, they cover nothing outside the 4 exterior walls. My dock, floater, deck and detached garage were all destroyed. Oh well.....

I've been slowly rebuilding it as time and money allows, but It's going to cost me 30-40k out of pocket to get it close to what it once was, which scares me because of the current condition of the rest of the neighborhood. All the one story homes were condemned. Out of maybe 30 2 have been rebuilt and raised on pylons - what the law now requires when the damage exceeded 50% of the homes market value. At least 10 have not been touched at all, and simply have a for sale sign out front. People throwing in the towel. Others have just sat there. Out of the 50 homes on my one street I'd say 5 have been reconditioned or rebuilt to the point where they are habitable. One guy built a beautiful brand new house, but the area is not what it once was, and is very slow to recover if it ever completely will. I'd say my property value is down 50-75k from before the storm, even once my home is completely rebuilt.

Take care,

George

 

George,
I know what you are going through, I live in the Green Island section of Toms River and we got hit real bad. We had 5ft of water in the neighborhood, two of it in my house.
I completely gutted the house, all down to just studs and beams and then let it dry for two months. The interior is all rebuilt but going through the grant process now to raise the house and then I will tackle the out side.
You are so right about flood insurance not covering anything out side or contents, I lost a good 50K in Tools alone.
Pre-Sandy I had a 1st grade education in insurance but now I could get a PHD in it. I was on the phone with FEMA the day after the storm and read all I could. If you should have any questions drop me a note and I'll give you my phone number. Some times it is good to talk to someone who has already cleared the hurtles.

 

I have reached my wit's end with the insurance company. It is what it is I suppose. Like I said the fact that it's not a primary residence pretty much ruined my chances of any additional help...

Here's what the house looked liked a few days after the storm when I finally got down there...





The only thing that stopped my boat from drifting away:



Everything was soaked:



Floors destroyed:




After the great "clean up". Thanks to my brother and one of my best friends for the help. This was heartbreaking... You can also see I had several roof shingles ripped off. This was the ONLY thing that homeowners insurance was willing to cover.



Then the gutting began:











The house sat this way until pretty much May of last year. I hadn't gotten the power reconnected (was backfeeding the panel with a generator when there).

I'm finished the drywall at this point, Got the deck outside redone in pavers. - My neighbor had a paver deck and let me tell you not one damn brick moved. All the wood decks looked like mine or worse.

Next is flooring - I'm thinking of ceramic tile throughout, the floor in the kitchen area didn't budge. All the wood floors were completely destroyed.

After that I have to get an entire kitchen, new interior doors, hvac, god the list goes on.


Here are the latest pics of where I'm at.







So It's been a slow, painful, frustrating process... With no real end in sight. I don't think I'm eligible for a grant to raise the house because the damage didn't exceed 50% of the "value".

Sorry for all the pics... Just venting.

Take care,

George

 

George,
Looks like a nice house and neighborhood, the new paver deck looks great. I feel your pain, looking at your pictures just brings back the heart break I went through doing my house. I had rain come through the roof so I had to rip out 80% of the sheet rock and throw out everything in the house, everything was filled with mud in the whole house.
I take it you did not have flood insurance on the house at the time of the storm. If that is the case the most you could get out of FEMA is 35K. Your roof damage should have been covered under you home owners policy and covered completely. Flood is a totally different policy and one has nothing to do with the other.


On another note and again nothing to do with this forum, I see your house is on a lagoon, boats are my other passion. I've worked in the boating industry all my life.


Good luck with your recovery and my offer is still open.


Barry