Here's What You Have In Your Garage Right Now

According to a study conducted in 2022 around 36% of Americans stated that they had so much junk in their garage that they couldn't park a car in it, and 62% of Americans deemed the garage the most cluttered space in their homes. Reading this, I was compelled to see if those same percentages held for the Jalopnik readership community. I had an inkling that the people who read this blog are much more likely to care for their vehicles as if they were members of their own families, and would park them inside when the opportunity presented itself. Obviously anecdotes aren't the same thing as evidence, but it seems I was right about this. 

My house is over 120 years old and situated in a pretty dense urban neighborhood, so it doesn't have a garage, but I rent a shop to store my cars outside of town, and our daily drivers simply must be parked exposed to the elements at all times. It's just a fact of life, but at least I can prevent my enthusiast cars from being hit by the road salt and grime that our regular cars are subjected to. They spend the winter in a nice dry space. 

When I asked Jalopnik readers to tell us what's in their respective garages, we got a wide variety of answers. Most of those answers included cars, but we got some pretty fun results for non-car garage contents, too! I split them up into three categories for your enjoyment below. Let's dig into the answers from the Jalopnik commentariat — why don't we? And if you didn't get a chance to weigh in last week, here's your opportunity. Drop a few ideas in the comments below, and we'll have a rousing conversation.

I am fortunate to have a two car garage and even though it does have a workbench and tools there is still room to park and charge my 2023 Ford Mach-E.

Suggested by Random29

It's important to have room for a workbench and tools. If you don't need the space for a second car, keeping a nice workshop is a great use of space in the garage. 

My scruffy 996, which is finally working again after three months being broken. My 1983 300TD wagon, which is in beautiful shape but waiting for me to do some work. Two bikes. A fridge. And my 3D printer.

Suggested by Poorsche

That's what garages are for: getting scruffy 996s working again. Excellent work and good luck keeping it running in the future. Maybe make sure that garage fridge is fully stocked for the next time you need to work on it. My scruffy 996 is causing me some headaches right now, myself, so I definitely relate. 

52 Vincent Rapide, 60 Norton Dominator, 59 BSA goldstar, 55 BSA goldstar, 43 BSA WM20, 66 Benelli 175 Sport, 80 Guzzi Lemans 2, 96 MuZ Mastiff, 98 Ducati Monster 750, 24 Triumph Tiger 900 Gt Pro

Suggested by Kev

That's quite the collection, Kev. I particularly like the Guzzi. Sounds like fun. 

What do I have in my garage? Three 72 inch roll away toolboxes full of tools. Plus a 70 C10 and a 24 Zo6! I find it hysterical that a person will spend thousands on a car and leave it outside in the elements, while storing stuff in the garage that's worth a few hundred bucks! It's ridiculous!

Suggested by 24C8Zo6

That's a whole lot of tools. 

2019 McLaren 720s, 2023 BMW M4 Comp Convertible, 2023 Rivian R1S Quad, 2024 Chevy Trax, 2017 Tesla Model X

Suggested by DitPun

Oh hell yeah, a Trax! I love the Trax! Bummer about the Tesla, though.

The garage is for the current project, a porsche 914 next to a subaru 2.5L motor and 5speed. The cars that drive are of course on the driveway!

Suggested by LS1T56FC

A 914 is a perpetual project, so I respect it. The Subaru motor should make it pretty fun. I'm considering putting a rotary in my old flat-four-powered Porsche. That should make it a little more fun to drive, just like your water-cooled flat-four. 

A 2003 Triumph Speedmaster that I got at an estate auction for $2500. It's in beautiful shape but will only idle for 2-3 minutes before dying. I think the carb needs cleaned and maybe I should drain the fuel tank and clean it out. It sat for about 5 months without being idled, then it went for auction and I bought it, so that might help. Gotta check the spark plug and it needs the right hand side passenger footpeg mount/peg because it came with a side car that mounted there.

The BRZ won't fit in the garage, even with the bike outside. Tiny garage is tiny. But that's ok, a CJ-2A will still fit in it, when I find one.

Suggested by Daniel

Fuel, air, and spark are all an engine needs to run. Just work your way through them until you figure it out. I would guess a carb clean and new spark plugs would get it running again. You're almost there, make it happen!

A one car garage with a 2006 Subaru STI with 52k miles I bought from a friend, who bought it new but didn't take care of it at all...and all kinds of junk from 20 years of living in the same address, lol.

Everything on this car had to be replaced. One thing I'm glad I had to replace was the exhaust system, which was too rusted out to fix. Installed Invidia downpipe and catback, and now I just can't wait to find a reason to drive the car just to hear it rumble and scream.

Suggested by musashi427

There's nothing quite like the rumble of a turbo Subaru with a hot exhaust. I'm a big fan of that sound, especially coming from the rally stages. Even with neglect, hopefully a 52,000-mile STI will be good and reliable for you. 

Just brought home the project car, a 1970 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow that was used at my wedding. Couldn't pass it up even though it needs a bunch of work to get it running properly.

Suggested by GrandmastaCaptcha

A project car with a personal connection is definitely too good to pass up. What are your plans? Personally, I'd be looking for a DIY electric motor swap. There's nothing more luxurious than a vintage Rolls with minimal noise, vibration, and harshness. 

Our garage is only a one-car garage, and I've got wood shop equipment/tools and other household clutter waiting for a bulk trash day that coincides with a motivation to take out the bulk trash day.

Suggested by Dallas Thomas

Bulk trash day is a fun day to walk around the neighborhood and pick up scrap metal and cool stuff your neighbors don't want anymore. Some of that is worth money, buddy! 

2 Car Garage: 1 Beer Fridge, 2 Tool Chests, Umpteen empty Amazon boxes, 1974 Saturn Yellow Porsche 914 1.8L (8,794 original miles). Only new vehicle my father ever bought

Suggested by Cubicle Captive

Empty Amazon boxes can be broken down and recycled, but a beer fridge is forever.

Lawn mowers, snow blower, more yard tools than I need, assorted woodworking tools, an old refrigerator with about 30 beers in it, some bikes nobody will ever ride, a functional Kenwood stereo system I bought in 1992 and a very nice stock 85' RX7 I might get to drive 5 times a year.

Suggested by fluffy_bunny_feet

The correct number of yard tools is n+1, where n is equal to the number of yard tools you currently have. 

A 1978 BMW R100S, a 1983 Honda CM250C, 7 bicycles, 2 kayaks, a hitch mounted ski rack, skis and a waxing bench, a table saw, a miter saw, and a reloading bench. I have managed to park our 2013 Fiat 500 in the garage by moving out the Honda and the mountain bikes, so I may do it again.

Suggested by Slow Joe Crow

While it would be nice to have a covered space for your Fiat 500, it sounds like you're too busy with your hundreds of hobbies to be able to clean out the garage. Get out there and bike or kayak until it's too cold. Winter will be here soon! 

My father is an extreme hoarder so both of my beautiful garages are filled with garbage

Suggested by Matt

Would he notice if any of it was missing? 

a bunch of deer skulls and random assortments for chopping up deer. I will one day get around to cleaning out the crap left by the previous owner...

Suggested by Scaramimer

Okay, there's a story there for sure, but I'm not entirely sure I want to hear it. Good luck, I guess?