For mod-specific information about garages, see garage.
There are several types of vehicle garages in Grand Theft Auto games.
Types
Vehicle storage
The first type is garage for storing vehicles, almost exclusively attached to a safehouse, or located near one. Garages may vary both in number of spaces and height clearance (for tall vehicles such as a Barracks OL or Hotdog). The primary purpose of the garage is to allow the player to preserve vehicles that have been obtained; normally, vehicles left outside are subject to disappearing after the player saves a game and restarts it later. They can also be stolen. Parking a vehicle in a garage usually protects it (with exceptions noted below).
In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a maximum of four vehicles will be saved in any of the garages though fewer or more may actually fit inside, depending on the size of the garage as well as the vehicle. A variation on this is the large hangar at the Verdant Meadows airstrip, in which larger vehicles including planes can be stored. Despite its huge size in which it may store up to at least 30 cars, it can still hold only four vehicles just like any other garage.
GTA San Andreas contains a glitch that causes vehicles to occasionally vanish from a garage. This can occur when the number of vehicles stored in the garage exceeds its storage limit - this is particularly the case with adding motorbikes, although it's possible for vehicles to disappear even if the maximum capacity is not met. The vehicle chosen to be removed from the garage is entirely random.
Computer-controlled pedestrians are also prone to wander into garages if the doors are open. This is a particular annoyance in the Johnson House where Grove Street Families gang members may congregate within a garage, though they disappear after a save or if Carl exits the immediate area. In some places, such as the Paradiso Safehouse in San Fierro, it's possible for a passing pedestrian to enter the garage while the door is open and actually attempt to steal a vehicle parked within.
In the 3D Universe, garages can be used to repair damaged or even destroyed vehicles, similar to Pay 'n' Spray. Once the garage opens and closes, a brand new type of that vehicle respawns, which is useful for acquiring unique vehicles such as the bulletproof Securicar in Van Heist.
In Grand Theft Auto IV, garages were replaced with parking spaces outlined in yellow outside any safehouse marked with 'Residents Parking Only'. Though more may fit inside the outline, these spaces can eat up vehicles if more than 2 are parked. Generally, vehicles parked within the space will become dirty, probably from dirt or such kicked up by traffic passing by, or clean, after rainy weather, other vehicles kept in spots that haven't been driven a while will stay dirty until rain comes. At random times, most stored vehicles will spawn dirty, or clean. There is also a risk that traffic might collide with the vehicles (though this only happens when the parking space is still near the player); although any damage to the vehicle is repaired when the parking spot spawns again, if the vehicle is pushed out of the parking spot - and the player doesn't notice or repark it - the vehicle will be lost.
In Grand Theft Auto V both parking spaces and garages were returned, along with marinas, hangars and helipad for alternate vehicle storage. Franklin's aunt's house contains room for one car, as does Trevor's trailer, but in the latter forcing a second vehicle in works and they can be entered easily. Michael's mansion can fit two vehicles. Franklin's house can also fit two but a second makes both vehicles vanish, but one on its own. Garages take a few in game hours to fix vehicles, rather than the automatic fixing in the 3D Universe, and Los Santos Customs is the only place to automatically fix a vehicle. Each protagonist can purchase a vehicle garage, where they can spawn four vehicles, one for Franklin Clinton in Davis, one for Trevor Philips in Pillbox Hill, and a third in West Vinewood for Michael De Santa. Parking spaces can also be used to save cars. The Vanilla Unicorn can be used to store vehicles, as indicated by the parking spaces located beside the place. This parking space can hold up to two vehicles, as indicated by the white line before the spaces. It also resembles the old parking space system from GTA IV and is also useful for large vehicles, such the Rhino.
Vehicle repair
The second type is a public vehicle repair business. Pay 'n' Spray garages exist in all 3D Universe cities and in GTA IV, and will repair any non-public vehicle, as well as repainting it and replacing the engine to remove wanted level stars. In GTA V, Pay 'n' Spray garages were replaced by Los Santos Customs where vehicles can be repaired and resprayed, but to the player's choice.
Vehicle customization
The third type is a customization shop. TransFender, Loco Low Co., and Wheel Arch Angels are the public garages in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas from which car modifications can be purchased, such as wheels, nitrous, or hydraulics. Car modification returned in Grand Theft Auto V, with cosmetic upgrades returning from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, with performances upgrades added. This is accessible from four Los Santos Customs garages, one near Los Santos International Airport, one in Burton near the Rockford Plaza, a third across from Lester's old factory, which is accessed via a small road and a fourth on Route 68 across from Larry's RV Sales, which can be purchased by Franklin. A fifth Los Santos Customs garage can be found at the gas station in Paleto Bay but is named Beeker's Garage.
Bomb shops
Bomb-fitting garages are featured in the 2D Universe games Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto: London 1969. Garages like the 8-Ball Autos in all GTA III Era games and Welding & Weddings in GTA: San Andreas allow you to attach a bomb to a car, and to blow up it later if necessary. Sometimes their services will be required for specific missions, in other times, they can be useful or they can be for fun.
Armor shops
Ye Olde Armour Shoppe are a unique type of garage present in London in 1961 and featuring predominately in the game Grand Theft Auto: London 1961. These garages are used to put armor plating on vehicles to make them akin to a Tank.
Vehicle sale/purchase
Garages of the given type accept vehicles from the certain list for a payment. Examples are Import/Export garages in Grand Theft Auto III and Sunshine Autos Import Garage in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and S&M Auto Sales in Grand Theft Auto IV. Once the list is finished, cars from it become available for purchasing in garage or other bonuses appears (except GTA IV).
Miscellaneous garages
Some garages are only available during particular missions, and will not be accessible otherwise. In GTA IV some houses have working garages - for instance, the double-wide garages in Westdyke, Alderney. These will open automatically when a car approaches and NPCs can use them for parking, but vehicles are not saved if the player leaves the area.
The southeastern-most hangar at Las Venturas Airport is only used for spawning the AT-400 airliner.
In GTA V and GTA Online, there are some working garages through out San Andreas.
Trivia
3D Universe
- In GTA San Andreas, the Ganton Garage, Doherty Garage, and the Verdant Meadows Hangar, can be used by the player to store cars in before the player even owns them. They are quite useful when storing special vehicles.
- It is actually possible to store more than the intended limit of vehicles in a garage by parking a vehicle as close to the garage as possible, then, step out, when the garage opens, quickly speed into the garage. An alternative way to do this is to walk into the garage, enter one of the vehicles that are already in there and then reverse until the car is parked where the garage door closes. You can then get out, and then enter the extra car that you would like to store, you can then drive that into the garage, then drive the other car (the one that was already in there) into it.
- In GTA Vice City Stories, vehicles will often disappear from the player's garage, making it difficult to store special or rare vehicles.
- In the mobile version of GTA San Andreas, when you store a car into a garage (don't exit the car) and then you close and open the game, you'll find that CJ is wasted inside the car. This is likely a glitch.
HD Universe
- In GTA IV, the Broker Safehouse becomes unavailable after the mission Roman's Sorrow, but the player can still save vehicles in the parking space. It is unknown if this was intended by the designers or not. This also applies in The Lost and Damned, where The Lost MC Clubhouse is burned down in the last mission, but the parking spaces are still available for saving vehicles.
- In GTA IV Multiplayer, players are able to save cars in the parking spaces provided at the safehouses for the course of the game. However, only cars that do not spawn with traffic will save. Cars that will save include the Sentinel at the airport and the Rancher that's parked outside the Triangle Club in Industrial, Bohan.
- There are a few garages around Liberty City and Los Santos that will open up if approached, but they will not save vehicles and serve no purpose.
