How is your Neighborhood? Garage Usage.

[berettafan]

i leave the galvanized, clear coated depreciating assets in the driveway. my garage houses the 911, a couple bikes (cub and r25) and a bunch of goodies with words like 'Miller' 'Craftsmen' 'Bosch' written on them. We do have boxes of stuff stored along the walls as well in one area but our home simply doesn't have the storage capacity nor do we get basements here.

i've always assumed folks with late model DD's in the garage are soul-less checkwriters who have absolutely zero to add to a conversation about wrenching. it seems i'm wrong based on some of the responses here but i'll bet on average it's true.

[javadog]

We bought a house with a two car garage. First thing I did was give that one to the wife and build a bigger one for me on the other end of the house. I can keep up to 5 cars in it, but lately have kept 3 and some bikes. The rest of my crap lives in a warehouse I rent. That's also where I do any serious wrenching. The yard tools, lawmowers, and assorted junk lives in her garage, not mine. It's usually halfway organized but she uses the garage as overflow space, so it gets pretty full at times.

In my neighborhood, most garages are two car in size and the average house has at least one car in the driveway. The neighbor across from me stores a rank '55 Buick and a load of crap. He typically has 4 trucks in the driveway, unless the kids are home from college. They were home this last weekend, so three more trucks got parked in the street.

There are a couple other eyesores down the block. One house has a buttload of little kids, no cars in the garage (all junk) and kid's toys everywhere in the yard. The other is a family with several teenage boys, all of whom park a POS truck of some sort in the street. They never even use their driveway, let alone the garage.

I think how people use their garage is less of a result of whether or not they are car nuts but more likely whether or not they are slobs.

JR

[Scuba Steve]

I've got two cars in the garage, but really need to clean the crap outa there... it looks like most of the people in my neighborhood have at least one in their garage, which is really unusual for me.

[berettafan]

so if i don't have the bux to build a 3 car workshop and rent a warehouse so that my wife's boxes of Christmas decorations and old photos can be stored elsewhere i'm a slob?

i'm supposed to have 3 empty white walls, a modest workbench and a craftsman 'homeowners special' tool chest w/ 4 drawers in the garage so nobody has to look in and see boxes or, heaven forbid a few tools? what must the neighbors have thought when i had the ass end of the car up on stands and was crawling underneath it cussing at the fuel lines? dear God i think i had an open beer next to me at the time as well!!! Oh the humanity!!!

[JeremyD]

We have a big two car garage with two cars parked in it. My neighbor across from me is more typical - her has a three car and can only park one in there because of all the crap.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by berettafan

so if i don't have the bux to build a 3 car workshop and rent a warehouse so that my wife's boxes of Christmas decorations and old photos can be stored elsewhere i'm a slob?

Wifey stuff should be off limits in the garage. That's my domain, seeing how it's the only room in the house that I have any say in. If she ever argues, I'll just tell her I'm concerned about spiders and snakes. That should keep her away.

[JavaBrewer]

No love for our Disco True it's not the most reliable vehicle around but damn is it nice to drive. 60K miles (and 60K gallons of premium) and so far no tow trucks or major issues. Knock on wood.

Our HOA enforces a no street parking rule. That plus a million others that annoy. Beats living next to a VW garage like wide Most neighbors round here park their cars in the garage.

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by dmoolenaar

No love for our Disco True it's not the most reliable vehicle around but damn is it nice to drive. 60K miles (and 60K gallons of premium) and so far no tow trucks or major issues. Knock on wood.

Our HOA enforces a no street parking rule. That plus a million others that annoy. Beats living next to a VW garage like wide Most neighbors round here park their cars in the garage.

Ours is the same way, nothing out front or in the driveway for over 24 hours, and no commercial vehicles or trailers. Guy down the street had to move or lose his painting business.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by berettafan

so if i don't have the bux to build a 3 car workshop and rent a warehouse so that my wife's boxes of Christmas decorations and old photos can be stored elsewhere i'm a slob?

i'm supposed to have 3 empty white walls, a modest workbench and a craftsman 'homeowners special' tool chest w/ 4 drawers in the garage so nobody has to look in and see boxes or, heaven forbid a few tools? what must the neighbors have thought when i had the ass end of the car up on stands and was crawling underneath it cussing at the fuel lines? dear God i think i had an open beer next to me at the time as well!!! Oh the humanity!!!

You're only a slob if you have endless kid's toys in the yard, dog crap on the driveway and you can't open the door from the house to the garage because one of your piles fell over.

Beer belongs in the house, in the TV room.

JR

[JeremyD]

You can park your car in the drive, you just can't park your boat in the driveway more than 24 hours.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by javadog

Beer belongs in the house, in the TV room.

JR

If you're watching TV. Otherwise, it belongs next to you, in the garage.

[VINMAN]

I'm with Barettafan on this one.
I have a 2 1/2 car garage(shop). My vehicles are all in the driveway. No room for cars in there, although I can fit one in with no problem. Only vehicle in there is the Harley.
I'm not a "pristine, Griots Garage" person. I use mine.
There are about a bunch of motors in various states of rebuild and storage. Oil drips on the floor and all. Lots of shop tools, engine hoist, four tool chests. Three workbenches. Hot girl/car posters on the wall. Bunch of large wood working tools. Other woodworking projects in progress.
Oh yeah, and a fridge full of beer.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by tcar

Very simple.

Like many new cars they are all leased. Not the owner's car. Don't care.

?????

[gprsh924]

In my neighborhood, the average family keeps its cars in the garage, unless they have too many cars. There are a few houses that have one or two of the stalls filled with crap, but it isn't too common.

We have a three car garage, a single door on the left and a double door to the right. Only the 924 or the M3 can fit on the left as that is where we also have a huge shelf full of random equipment, along with the bicycles. The 924, GX470, and M3 go in the garage. The 525 and the Xterra sit outside. The garage is for cars. When we go up to the lake during the summer, the boat and waverunner trailers take up one side of the 2 car garage and we usually park the nicest car we have up there at the time in the garage. During the winter, when the toys are stored in there too, we still maintain room to have the boat, waverunner, and any car (including the SUVs) parked in the garage at the same time.

[berettafan]

Originally Posted by javadog

Beer belongs in the house, in the TV room.

JR

Wine lives in the house (small wine fridge) and beer lives in the garage fridge for easy access. seems like every time i want a beer i am either on my way to a neighbors house for horseshoes, a meeting or a card game and every time i want a bottle (oops, i mean glass or two) of wine i'm grilling something yummy in the back yard (wine fridge is 10 feet from the door to the back yard).

[speeder]

In SoCal, all you really need is a carport or a really good shade tree that does not drop berries/sap to park under and the car will stay nice. Carports are better, obviously. The sun really will beat the hell out of a car, especially if the car isn't washed a lot and the polluted dust builds-up on it and then gets baked for 12 hours a day. Garages really do keep cars nice; no rain, sun, tree sap, sprinkler water, etc. L.A. tap water from a sprinkler on a car in the hot sun can absolutely ruin paint and glass if it gets a chance to etch it.

It's always bugged me when people convert a perfectly good garage into a POS "family room". To me, the garage is one of the most important aspects to a house. Not to others, though. Most people could not give two schits about cars, no matter how much they cost. You can't let it bother you, although it is heart-breaking to people like us when a special car is left to deteriorate outdoors. New cars? Who cares?

The cost of a new, mass-produced car is irrelevant. They are all disposable/replaceable. If you want to get worked-up about waste in the world, that's a dumb place to start. Our whole consumer economy depends on massive waste. Can you imagine if people only bought what they really need and took anal care of their ordinary cars so as to make them last as long as possible?? Economic disaster. Leased, expensive POS cars/trucks/SUVs have been feeding the beast these last 15-20 years. Non-leased ones before that.

[speeder]

Here are some pics I just took of my Dad's old 450SL that sits in the garage. Bought it new 29 years ago, DD for 7 or 8 years then just a summer cruiser since. I need to do some normal maintenance on it, but w/ 90k miles and dealer/open checkbook maintenance for most of its life, it's still pretty tight.

Too bad the old man wasn't a 911 guy back in the day, huh?

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by speeder

Here are some pics I just took of my Dad's old 450SL that sits in the garage. Bought it new 29 years ago, DD for 7 or 8 years then just a summer cruiser since. I need to do some normal maintenance on it, but w/ 90k miles and dealer/open checkbook maintenance for most of its life, it's still pretty tight.

Too bad the old man wasn't a 911 guy back in the day, huh?

Very nice Denis! Keep it forever!

[speeder]

Not worth selling, it doesn't have much monetary value but lots of memories w/ it.

[911boost]

My mom has always wanted one of those older SL's.