Looong car

[mikeash]

I put one of these on each of the lower horizontal supports of the garage door that could ever contact the car:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_21411-1410-S10XB/6_4294765361__?productId=1060001

It is self-adhesive (sticks to both the top and bottom side of the support) and took about 5 minutes to apply each one plus some cleaning/prep. It's hard to tell from your picture if it would work on yours but it's cheap enough to try.

Great idea! I fit decently into my garage, but my worry is that the door is a bit low and it's close to the tailgate when opened, and it might go bump if the door moves while the tailgate is open. I don't know why I didn't think of your solution, but I'll be applying that soon. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[MrClown]

Great idea! I fit decently into my garage, but my worry is that the door is a bit low and it's close to the tailgate when opened, and it might go bump if the door moves while the tailgate is open. I don't know why I didn't think of your solution, but I'll be applying that soon. Thanks for the suggestion.

The tailgate was my problem. I can't be sure someone (most likely kids but even me) won't open it into the garage door. I have tested it and the nice bit of padding does gently stop the tailgate.

 

[Kalud]

Its also possible to move the sensor on the side of the garage door to be at the tip point of the nose cone so the door will refuses to close if it doesn't have clearance to do so.

 

[tomas]

3 feet a luxury! I have about 14 inches of clearance to split between front and rear. My solutions: 1) I do not back in... too imprecise. 2) Tennis ball positioned to exactly hit my vehicle sticker on windshield when I'm positioned correctly (I'd say ball plus string = $2.00, except I got $2.00 use out of ball before it got this job). 3) I mounted a (used) yoga mat on the far wall of garage. If I pull in too far, my license plate and maybe nose cone hit the yoga mat... unlikely to sustain any damage! 4) On way out of car into house, the only path is around back of the car. I always look to make sure I've cleared garage door path.

Now, there remains one risk: if I either accidentally or mistakenly open hatch with garage door closed, it could nick on door supports. Another reason I have wrap!

 

[LucM]

Yeah, my problem is that I have to almost always get the front in.

I think I'll install a small bump on the floor. 100% effective.

You can still use tape and the camera if you drive front in.

 

[Zarwin]

So apparently I'm spoiled to have so much free space with my 3 feet I was used to parking a Leaf in the garage (2 feet shorter), which I could just about ride a bicycle around with the garage door closed, so the Model S feels like it takes up the whole garage!

Lots of great suggestions!

 

[rogbmw]

This works great for me -- a ball hanging from a string -- when it touches the windshield you stop...

View attachment 75702

I use this very High Tech solution too, and have for years. We use a tennis ball. Ball touches window...stop.

 

[EVenthusiast]

I use multiple solutions (I swear, I'm not a redneck):

1. 4x4x8 for the SUV: Does a great job, and won't give you false positives when you are used to dragging huge amounts of slush/ice/snow into the garage.
2. A small STOP sign mounted on a pole which flashes when touched.
3. Pipe insulation applied to the area where the doors might touch the wall if not careful.

Now personally, I don't need this, but I'm not the only one driving

That said, I'm working on a DIY solution which relies on an ultrasonic range finder to control some LED lights to indicate how well the parking is going.

 

[Usatyke]

I bought one of these precisely because I was afraid of doing that:

http://smile.amazon.com/MAXSA-Innov...72162?ie=UTF8&%2AVersion%2A=1&%2Aentries%2A=0

A tennis ball on string hanging from the ceiling works for me.

 

[CHG-ON]

This works great for me -- a ball hanging from a string -- when it touches the windshield you stop...

View attachment 75702

So I have a classic spaz story about the famous tennis ball. I used it for years...One day I came out of my office and saw a white rub mark on my rear bumper (another car). I thought, damn, now I need to buff. Well, the next day it was worse and kept getting worse. I couldn't figure out who kept bumping into me.

Then one day, I open the garage door and heard this weird clunk, went around back and saw that the door was hitting the back of the car every time it opened and closed. The tennis ball had been very slowly sliding down the string because the knot has loosened up! By this time, the mark was all the way through the paint.

But wait! There's more! The very next week, after figuring this all out, I got mildly rear ended and got the whole thing fixed and paid for by the guy who hit me. Pretty good luck!

So, of course, I can never trust a tennis ball again!

 

[JimmyAZ]

This works great for me -- a ball hanging from a string -- when it touches the windshield you stop...

View attachment 75702

I use the same trick. My S will replace this Vantage in a month and I'll just adjust the length to suit. I know it's not very sophisticated, but it never breaks down, never complains, and the neighborhood kids can give it their worst and it still works.

 

[Cyclone]

I use the same trick. My S will replace this Vantage in a month and I'll just adjust the length to suit. I know it's not very sophisticated, but it never breaks down, never complains, and the neighborhood kids can give it their worst and it still works.

Beauriful ICE! I'm so jealous of all these posters who have had some really nice cars. My car history is nothing to be proud of until a MS enters the picture!

 

[JimmyAZ]

Beauriful ICE! I'm so jealous of all these posters who have had some really nice cars. My car history is nothing to be proud of until a MS enters the picture!

Thank you! We've had a lot of fun with cars recently. The Vantage is a LOT of fun and gets a lot of really nice people coming up to it asking questions all the time. It replaced a 2013 BMW M3 convertible that was totaled after 6 months. We also have a 2004 911 C4S convertible and a 4Runner. I seem to get bored with cars fast. I'm hoping the MS changes that!

 

[Cyclone]

Thank you! We've had a lot of fun with cars recently. The Vantage is a LOT of fun and gets a lot of really nice people coming up to it asking questions all the time. It replaced a 2013 BMW M3 convertible that was totaled after 6 months. We also have a 2004 911 C4S convertible and a 4Runner. I seem to get bored with cars fast. I'm hoping the MS changes that!

My current daily driver is a 2006 4Runner. It will stick around when we get a MS.

 

[ggr]

The tailgate was my problem. I can't be sure someone (most likely kids but even me) won't open it into the garage door. I have tested it and the nice bit of padding does gently stop the tailgate.

You know that you can adjust the height to which the tailgate opens, right? Manually move it to the position you want it to open to, and press and hold the close button. After it beeps (a few seconds) that is now the opening you will get when you use the fob or app or console to open it.

 

[Cyclone]

You know that you can adjust the height to which the tailgate opens, right? Manually move it to the position you want it to open to, and press and hold the close button. After it beeps (a few seconds) that is now the opening you will get when you use the fob or app or console to open it.

I just want to note that this only applies to cars with the tech package. Non-tech cars only have full open rear hatches.

 

[MrClown]

You know that you can adjust the height to which the tailgate opens, right? Manually move it to the position you want it to open to, and press and hold the close button. After it beeps (a few seconds) that is now the opening you will get when you use the fob or app or console to open it.

I do have that set up for the top. The situation I have is when the garage door is closed. The tailgate does not go straight up, it swings towards the garage door first near the bottom of its arc. That's where I'm trying to prevent damage. You have to park within about 4 inches of the garage door for this to be an issue but I have less space than the OP in one of the garages where the car gets parked.

 

[Johan]

I use the same trick. My S will replace this Vantage in a month and I'll just adjust the length to suit. I know it's not very sophisticated, but it never breaks down, never complains, and the neighborhood kids can give it their worst and it still works.

Nice Aston. Don't crop the image and just show the car with the Nazi flag reflections of out context though

 

[brucet999]

The tennis ball had been very slowly sliding down the string because the knot has loosened up!

So, of course, I can never trust a tennis ball again!

Sounds to me like you needed a boy scout (or bos'uns mate) to tie a good knot.

- - - Updated - - -

Nice Aston. Don't crop the image and just show the car with the Nazi flag reflections of out context though

Wrong war. That's Iron Cross insignia from WWI.

 

[Dborn]

I have a tiled step leading into the house from the garage. Very easy, I have picked a specific grout line and when it appears on the screen, I stop. Perfect position every time! Come in nose first. Step is at the rear of the car. If I were in any other spot, I would go for a painted line on the ground or tape as shown above. Works whether you reverse in or come in forward. Learned the trick with my boat. Very tight fit in the pen with another boat alongside. I never bother with the other boat, just concentrate on the side of the vessel next to the dock. If that is right, I will definitely miss my pen mate!