Garage Parking Fit Calculator
Check whether your car fits your garage — front, side and door-opening clearance — from the vehicle and garage dimensions.
How it works
Depth clearance = garage depth − car length · Side space each = (garage width − car width) ÷ 2 · Doors OK if side space ≥ wanted gap
Parking indoors comes down to two clearances. Front-to-back, the garage must be longer than the car with a little room to walk around the nose. Side-to-side, the leftover width splits between the two sides, and each half has to be at least the swing of an open car door — usually 50–70 cm — or you cannot get in and out comfortably. A car can fit the footprint yet still be unusable if the doors cannot open.
Worked example
A 480 cm car in a 550 cm-deep, 300 cm-wide garage leaves 70 cm front-to-back and (300−185)/2 = 57.5 cm each side. With 60 cm wanted for doors, it fits but is a touch tight to open the doors.
Frequently asked questions
How much side clearance do I need to open a car door?
About 50–70 cm on the side you get out of lets a door open enough to slide in. Tight garages often work by parking closer to one wall so the driver’s side gets the room.
Should I include the mirrors in car width?
Use the width without mirrors for parking, since mirrors can fold, but keep them in mind at the door opening — folded mirrors buy you a few centimetres of side clearance.
How much front clearance is comfortable?
Enough to walk around the front and to fit a wall-mounted shelf or a hanging tennis ball as a stop — 40–60 cm is typical. Less than that and the bumper lives very close to the wall.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.