Unfortunately I have a very tight garage and will need to back in any XK I buy. What would you guys suggest I can put on the stucco walls in case of a mishap with my rear bumper? I was thinking of some kind of rubber foam used around a/c units or anything soft that can absorb the contact without scratching the paint. I'm not concerned of how it looks as long as it protects the paint. I already have a pillow tied to the back wall for the furthest point. I just need protection on the passenger side wall. I will be working very close to getting the car in. Thank god for folding mirrors.

PS...Can any of the mirrors fold individually on the 2010 XK or do they only fold as a pair? Thanks all.

 

I used a block of styrofoam from a TV I recently purchased. I attached it to the wall with double-sided tape. Works great, but I'm careful. I also bought a plastic garage parking mat at Lowe's for $10 that I can feel when I drive into the garage and know that I've reached the stopping point. Search amazon.com for "garage parking mat" - there are several choices.

My wife's pulls her car into the garage nose-first, and she is not as careful as I am. I didn't want to run the risk of her hitting the wall too hard, so I attached a tennis ball to a string that I mounted to the ceiling using a small eyebolt. I did this when her car was parked, so I would know exactly where to screw the eyebolt into the ceiling so the tennis ball would be 2 inches in front of the center of her windshield. Works perfectly for her to park in exactly the same spot every time!

There are also several electronic aids, but why spend big bucks when there are several simple, inexpensive solutions?

The mirrors on my 2009 fold as a pair, not separately.

Stuart

p.s. I forgot to mention that my car is equipped with both front and rear parking sensors, which makes it easy to know when to stop after I've driven over the parking mat. The styrofoam on the wall protects my door when I open it.

 

Thanks Stuart. I don't have any option to nose in because I won't have enough room to open the driver's door. Backing in is the only way. My girlfriend has the ball which works well, but she noses in. A friend of mine mentioned the thickest bubble wrap as an option. I thought that was a pretty good idea especially if I double it up and make 2 layers. It should absorb the contact without scratching the paint. My concern is would it be thick enough so that I don't make contact with the wall. I would like something that I could place along 1/2 to 2/3rds of the length of the passenger side wall at the body line level of the car where the rear bumper or (god forbid) the rear passenger side quarter would touch the wall. I'm clearing out my junk and getting ready to place something on the wall possibly tomorrow.

 

Boca:

Suggest that you go to your local Harbor Freight store or go on-line and buy "movers blankets". They are used by major moving companies for household goods. At Harbor Freight they are low priced and you can surround the interior garage area. We have stucco outside on our homes in New Mexico and surely would NOT want to run the sides of my car against a stucco wall. It would scratch the heck out of the car.

Think the moving pads may be a highly viable way to protect the paint surface against scratches. You just need to find a way to secure them to the walls.

Are the interior walls of your garage stuccoed?

Here's the link.

Search results for: 'moving pads'

Give this a try.

 

one side is either a stucco or cement type of material. The other side is sheetrock, but that wall is not an issue. I have plenty of room to open the drivers door if the right passenger side is closer to that stucco/cement wall.

 

Richzak. What do you think of a Yoga mat? 2 or even 3 of those would cover more than the area I would need. They aren't very thick but seem as if they would absorb a slight contact. What do you think? Any way you look at it, I will be moving like a snail when pulling in.

 

Boca:

Yoga mat sounds better than the movers blanket. I am sure you just want to protect the paint surfaces when opening a door.

The yoga mat would work for sure. Good idea, Boca

 

What I'm concerned about is not the driver's side of the car. I have plenty of room to open the door without interference. My issue is the passenger side of the car. It has to get close to the wall in order to clear my garage a/c unit. Therefore I need something to protect that side (the passenger side rear bumper and passenger side rear quarter)as I'm backing in from scrapping against the stucco/concrete wall. I've been thinking about eggcrate foam bed padding, which is 2" thick 36" wide, 72" long and gives plenty of cushion. Two or even three of these will cover almost the entire passenger side wall. I think I may be able to pick it up at Target. I will need an adhesive that works for foam and stucco/concrete. The wrong adhesive may not work or may eat through the foam. To be continued.

 

I think I would go to Home Depot or Lowe's and walk the aisles for insulation and/or cushioning. I bet you can find lots of alternatives at either place.

 

Go to griotsgarage.com and in their latest Griot's Garage catalog, on page 59, there are 4 different items that would solve you problem, ranging in price from $10 to $20. To see what I use & highly recommend, go on Amazon.com and type in "garage parking sensor". I've used for years with great success the Maxsa Dual Laser, Motion-Activated Parking Sensor, cost $26.50. Mount it to the ceiling of your garage and plug it into a 110v outlet. Pull your car into your garage exactly where you want it, say, 2 inches from the back wall and 18 inches from the side wall. Then adjust the red laser light to hit a particular spot of your choosing on the inside or outside of your car. From the on, each time you pull in or back into your garage, your moving car will activate the motion sensor and you keep going into your garage until the red laser light hits the exact spot you chose before. Turn off the engine and get out knowing that your car is once again exactly where you want it, 2 inches from the back wall and 18 inches from the side wall. It's cheap & foolproof!

 

May have to buy one of these.......thanks Snide72........great idea.

 

How about the foam rollers as used at a gym? They come in several diameters.

Another option is put 2 x 4's for instance nailed-drilled to the ground to make a bumper or track for the car to drive along. You'll know where the marks are on the way in for sure.

 

Water pipe insulation foam pieces are what I use in several areas I park, It is split so it is easy to slip around protruding objects. You could even open it up enough to nail to the wall from it's inside, then let it close and seal over the nail.
Nice part is that if you get the right kind, it is a "Closed cell" foam, not Open cell like the egg crate stuff, so the protection is much higher.

Vince

 

Some 2x4 nail-gunned into the floor, so if you go too far right or back, you'll feel an obstruction? Relying on wall padding is OK, but it could still scratch your paint if you rub along it with road grime on your car.

Edit: damn, Moses beat me to it!

 

I also have a tight-fit in the garage.
I use those grey foam workshop floor tiles sold by Sears (and probably others).
They're about 18in square, sold in packs of 6 for about $30. They sell a plain foam, and a carpeted version.

I have them on the floor (around the cars - they're not rated to drive-on), and also on the walls where the doors swing-out. They interlock together, and stay up with double-sided tape. Seems to work well,and absorb casual door impacts, but I'm not sure backing/driving into them tho !!

Jeremy

 

One thing that I used when I had a garage was those pool noodles. I mounted a bunch of them that I cut in half so that it looked neat.

Another suggestion that I used for my ex wife (are all women bad drivers/parkers?) was to tie a racket ball to a string and hang it so that it hits the rear windshield when you are in as far as you'd like to be. I've seen this also with a tennis ball but think the blue racket ball looks neater.

Pool noodles are also great as pads for opening the door in areas of tight clearance.

 

I use 3" flexible clear plastic tubing, available from home improvement or pool supply stores. Just screw a strip or two horizontally to the wall. I have used this on both side walls where the doors might hit.

Sambo

 

Because this backing in has become such an issue for me, and the care of my car is a priority for me, I'm even looking into rebuilding the a/c air handler's platform in my garage to give me additional space. Although this will be pricey it should allow me to pull straight in which would solve all problems. Although it would still be tight, the extra 10" I am expecting will allow me to open my driver's door which I cannot do now.. I'm sure to do the platform could be as expensive as getting a new air handler.

 

You asked about the 2010 models, so I'm not sure when they started adding the rear sensors, but I've been able to use those for the back of the car. I always back in, and have yet to back too far. Fingers crossed, I suppose. I just go about 6 more inches after it flashes red, it puts me about 4 inches from the steel bar that would otherwise crunch my bumper.

As for the side, my uninformed vote is for 3/4 inch styrofoam insulation/packing. You're going to go right through that bubble wrap.

But good for thinking ahead--these are deceptively large cars.

 

You think your garage is tight ??? Bah !