Never mind “garages are not just for cars” – check out these stats:
82% of households in the United States have a twin car garage (many even larger) yet only 15% of them are used to park the car
It’s not just here in the United States either . . .
53% of UK households have a garage (or access to one) yet less than half of them have a car inside.
Do these figures mean that only a small proportion of the shiny cars for sale at Nissan Ontario will be going to a good home where they’ll have a nice, warm garage to sleep in? I guess it does.
So what’s going on? The clue is in the name – a “garage” is specifically designed as an area in which to park a car, that’s why they are incorporated into so many homes, to keep the cars safe and sound and off the streets. Architects, builders and experts with degrees all came up with the same idea – incorporating a garage into a property will make it more appealing, valuable and popular with people – even if they choose not to use them for their intended purpose.
So if garages aren’t used for cars, it begs the question – what’s in the garage?
It’s pretty amazing really when you think about the number of people who choose to park their cars out in the rain and the snow, getting out on the driveway or roadside and running to the shelter of the house rather than parking inside where it’s warm, dry and sheltered. How convenient would that be – to get out of a car into a warm, light, dry garage! Surely that makes good sense.
I strongly suspect that the majority of householders move into their properties with the express intention of parking the car into the fabulous spacious garage but then . . . . life happens.
Many people will probably move into their new home complete with one or two car garage intending to use the space for just such a purpose before uttering those fatal words – “we’ll use the storage space until we’ve moved in properly then use the garage to park the car inside after we’ve cleared away all of the boxes”.
In my experience most people have far more “stuff” than they think they’ve got and rather than clearing this stuff and putting it into the house or dumping / selling what they don’t want any more they simply add to it and the garage becomes increasingly cluttered. The fact is that if you have any unopened boxes lurking in the garage which you haven’t even looked in for the past couple of years you could probably live without it, it’s just taking up valuable space where your car would be. Garages are simply one step further towards the trash – the stuff you know you ought to throw but can’t quite make yourself do it just yet.
The majority of garages have plenty of space for a car plus the lawnmower, bicycles, barbecue and the odd tool box – maybe even a few bits of garden furniture throughout the winter.
If you don’t believe me just take a look inside your own garage – or peep into the open doors as you drive around your neighborhood. You’ll be surprised at how much stuff is kept in the space which really should be reserved to park the car.
They’ve got some really splendid motors at metronissanredlands.com all of which deserve a good home with an uncluttered garage where they can be kept safe, dry and warm.
