Garage Fitment Challenges: When Your New Car Doesn't Quite Fit

cazalea · 2020-06-20T16:31:15Z

Discover common garage fitment challenges for new cars and SUVs. Cazalea and the community share anecdotes, solutions, and the Edmunds AR app for vehicle parking.

cazalea

WPS member · Automotive forum

29 replies4765 views5 photos

Cazalea's original post delves into a surprisingly common dilemma for car enthusiasts: the challenge of fitting new vehicles into existing garage spaces. He highlights how seemingly minor changes, like a new garage door or accumulated clutter, can create significant parking and access issues. This discussion offers practical insights and personal anecdotes that resonate with anyone who has ever faced the spatial realities of vehicle ownership.

Not that I have done this (yet) but I've been talking to a friend with an Audi A8L who just had a new garage door installed, the sectional kind that rolls down in rails behind the door frame.

The new door uses 4-5 inches of the length of his garage, and now he can't get through the gap at the front to enter his house. He has to go around outside and in the front door. A major inconvenience!

Another friend of mine bought an SUV and discovered his new vehicle was just a hair too tall to get into their garage, so it has to sit out front which they do not like.

Raising the door isn't possible nor is lowering the floor.

Maybe I am overthinking it, but I did some measuring of a new car I'm thinking about getting, and it's going to be a colossal pain to get it inside... I'll have to redo shelving, get rid of things (that's the good part) and/or build myself a carport for one of the rest of the fleet.

Here is the potential new vehicle and one of the existing 3 cars that rotate through the slot now. Green dotted lines indicate the safe cubic space for parking. Brown is the maximum allowed by my garage.

At first things were fine - the garage was "huge" but then the stuff came pouring in to fill it.

Kayaks (now outside) bicycles (now in their own shed), tools, christmas ornaments, etc etc.

I added lots of shelves but they are getting in the way now of opening the doors!

Safe, more stuff neatly stowed, but ...

Cazalea

PS I just discovered that Edmunds (a car pricing company & former client of mine) has a iPhone app that uses AR simulation to show if your chosen vehicle fits! More details later on this.

Key Points from the Discussion

A contractor's design choice for a central pillar in a double garage led to one car being too wide to fit, despite the doors themselves being standard size. This highlights the importance of checking all dimensions, not just the opening.
The Edmunds iPhone app uses Augmented Reality (AR) to simulate how a chosen vehicle fits into a user-defined garage space, offering objective and subjective viewpoints, and even an action video.
Even a slight difference in width between car models, like a Porsche Macan versus a MKIV Supra, can make a garage space feel significantly tighter, necessitating careful maneuvering or alternative parking solutions.
Garage dimensions in different regions can vary significantly; what is considered a roomy garage in the Midwest might be a tight squeeze for the same vehicle in California.
Obstacles like spiral stairs or HVAC units installed by contractors can drastically reduce the usable parking capacity of a garage, turning a seemingly large space into one that can only accommodate fewer vehicles.

The Discussion

patrick_y

Jun 20, 2020

I just keep on collecting more stuff and I keep on getting fatter. The house just gets smaller and smaller! Soon I won't fit! The closet is already so full of clothes that all the new clothes sit outside!

Sleeper

Jun 20, 2020

When I lived in the midwest, every garage space I had was roomy enough for a Chevy Suburban to both park and open the tailgate after the garage door closed - great for inclement weather unloading. In California, not even close - my Lexus 460L barely fits in with enough room to get around it to the inside door. I miss large midwestern homes...............................

mdg

Jun 20, 2020

...as if there weren't enough of those already on this forum : )

Jurry

Jun 21, 2020

Nasty question because I must admit that we once did that but the other way around. We were building a house with double garage and big enough to host 2 card plus all kinds of other stuff. We couldn’t make the garage wider but instead we made it deeper. Original design was 1 big door The contractor than came with an offer to install 2 separate doors where we only had to pay for the 1 extra motor. Looks better we thought and eagerly said yes. But when we moved into the house one of our 2 cars did

cazalea

Jun 21, 2020

Here is the Edmunds App output. Currently only working on Apple with Augmented Reality software/hardware. You define a space (length, width and height) by walking and aiming the phone. Then select a car and you get these images and decisions/results Corvette 2020 Sideways Hummer Bentley I have to move a couple cars before I can check my garage. Stay tuned.

halgedahl

Jun 21, 2020

forward to your dealer experience! (And which watch will you wear???) This post is pure YOU, Mike. So happy we have you around. Have a fine and relaxing Sunday. FH

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Garage Fitment Challenges: When Your New Car Doesn't Quite Fit

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