Buyer be aware: Not all car issues are mechanical

DEAR CAR TALK:

We love your column. For some time, I’ve been meaning to suggest you address the following problem:

My friend bought a new home after her husband passed away. After the deal was done, she discovered her beloved pickup would not fit in the garage. Heartbroken, she then had to sell the truck and buy a smaller vehicle.

Our new Honda almost didn’t fit into our garage either. No one ever thinks of making those measurements first. Thank you for helping all of us with our car problems.

– Yolanda A: It’s a good suggestion, Yolanda. On the house inspection list, I’d put it somewhere between making sure the house won’t fall down and seeing if you like the color of the toilets.

The real problem is vehicle expansion. We keep wanting bigger and bigger cars.

And since people replace vehicles far more frequently than they build new houses, the houses haven’t kept up.

It’s like when I go to see the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Fenway Park was built in 1912. And its seats were built for 1912-sized butts. I don’t have a 1912-sized butt. I have a 2022 model. And it’s tight.

Similarly, a lot of people are finding that garages built for 1970s or 1980s cars don’t hold today’s F150s and Escalades.

So, listen to Yolanda. Test drive the garage when you buy a house. Otherwise, you’ll have to downsize your truck. Or live like an abject pauper and park in the driveway.

I can’t believe no one’s made a fortune selling “garage extensions” yet.

DEAR CAR TALK:

I read your column regularly. Recently, Fran asked about extra sun visors for the side window.

Amazon sells stick-on shades for car windows that I use to block the sun from the side. They come in various configurations. I bought mine years ago. They’re pretty cheap, if I remember. You can leave them in place and move them around easily, so you don’t need double-sided tape to attach them.