I'd build my dream car(s) from the ground up in my garage.
so yea, garage it is
I have my GarageMahal, 1008 sq.ft. with 11 ft. ceilings and 13 X 8 X 42 ft. storage above.
Drawbacks? Bitch to heat. All your friends want you to store their car for the winter.
Wifey's potting shed.
Really depends on time. If I have time, then garage to tinker in. If not, then car to drive. I'm always going somewhere anyway and a fantastic car makes life better. However, there's noting worse than having a spectacular car and being bored.
It's worth pointing out that 10-15 years ago, my answer probably would have been "car". As I settle into middle age, I find myself tinkering with my work space as much as I do my work pieces. Maybe it's a nesting thing, I dunno. But cars come and go, my shop is a long-term relationship.
Freshly painted a couple of years ago:
Garage, because like others have said, gotta build the dream car somewhere. Plus, I would absolutely love the ability to fab whatever I needed...nice TIG welder, plasma table, CNC machine, lathe, manual mill, lift...the list goes on. Most of my dream vehicles have lots of out of production or NLA parts, so having a nice shop is critical.
Speaking of which, I really could use a 3D printer to make some trim clips that I can't seem to get ahold of...
I don't have a garage so that makes it easy, garage. For along time my dream vehicle was a VW bus and now i have two so that takes care of the car situation.
Garage, my current set up is 30X35 with a 1 car separated that will be a paint booth this summer. Above the shop part is finished with a walkout deck above the garage part.
I am building the dream car now , so I get both.
I own a garage that would lead most folks here to have to change their shorts.
So I say...
Garage.
Mine is nice, but there is always more to dream of.
Cars depreciate and deteriorate. Garages can grow and be opportunity for creativity and future dreams.
I don't dream of cars. I'm not sure I even like them. I like to race - which is mutually exclusive of loving the car because it involves beating the E36 M3 out of it every single second of it's useful life then getting another one when it dies.
I guess I have to say garage - although my "dream" garage is more of a warehouse or very large metal construction pole barn with a machine shop, lift and indoor parking for lots of vehicles.
In reply to 914Driver:Wow I can relate to what you're saying. When I had a 1,600' garage out back and a 2 1/2 car garage attached I still seemed to run out of room. Wintered over friends' cars weren't too bad.
But I had a bud who owned several collector cars and was trying to hide them during his divorce. He hit up everyone he knew who he felt should hide his stuff. He was really not pleased when I told him I didn't have room for everything he wanted me to hide! I'd have had to park my tractor outside to accomadate him. BTW: His wife already had an inventory of what he owned & her lawyer tracked them all down. At considerable expense to him.
Still I'd always choose garage over car. With a good garage cars can come and go. Not having much of a garage anymore greatly limits what I can now comfortably keep.
I own neither of these cars, but I'll take a well-restored $100k+ 1972 911 S (in orange please) in a $20k garage, instead of the $20k resto mod 914 in a $100k+ garage. The 911 is going to put a much bigger smile on my face than the garage will.
But the way things are going, I'm much more likely to get the garage.
I actually made this choice six years ago...Lotus Elise or a New Shop?
I went with the shop. The Elise would probably be junk by now and have cost me a lot to maintain. The shop has been a great place to hang out and build a lot of neat projects.
I'm in a tough situation because I have no idea where I'll settle, but knowing that, it would be good to know that when I do settle, I'll have an awesome garage. Maybe my dream garage would also double as a dream home, because honestly I think I'd love having a shop that I could live in comfortably. Little bunk, kitchenette, nice bathroom.
A garage/shop is also more than just the building and the tools in it. Just like owning your dream car would be pointless if you couldn't afford to pay for gas or tires.
LuxInterior wrote: Okay garage lovers... Now I'll expect to see a *lot* more "Which Garage?" threads.
Probably not.
When the magazine ran the garage contest issue, I assumed what they wanted to see was stuff like this:
Not my repository of mechanical mayhem.
considering I use my garage for my income... yes a fully outfitted "garage" for me please....
something along these lines maybe.......
Fully equipped garage please. I'd rather have the ability to work on any car rather than see the car of my dreams sit broken in my garage.
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