Tami, that's exactly it. When I pull in at night my headlights get checked. Turn off the lights one click to parking and they're checked. Close the garage door with the, uh, remote (would be kind of silly to say "close the door with the opener" wouldn't it??) and I can check taillights, step on the brake and check brakelights and with foot on brake put it in reverse and check the reverse lights. Can do the same against a wall or behind a car or otherwise. Improvise! Or get someone to watch as you check them. When I had my oil change before going up north a couple weeks ago (and Dottie, I honked and waved as I went by-didja see me???) they checked the lights as part of the service. Come to think of it, the trip in there is the subject of another thread... coming up next after a word from our sponsor so stay tuned. And thank you Dotmom, you're too kind! :)

My check engine light came on last winter and I was concerned. Never dealt with that issue before so I had no experience. I did some research and found a lot of variables. I remembered Auto Zone would read them for free so I went there, they were real nice about it, read it and printed out a list of things. The code was ambiguous and the list included recommended maintenance for the vehicle which was handy. I knew my battery had tested weak at the last oil change and they wanted to replace it but I wasn't spending $130 there for a battery. It started fine but I did have a time or two the previous winter where it turned over slowly but since it started I was in no rush to replace the battery. Found one on sale, bought it, but still haven't installed it. I'll do it when the weather is nicer. Auto Zone then reset the light and I went on my way. More research said oxygen sensor which could come from a loose gas cap. Another issue I started finding was that the battery was weak. I'm going with that. And the light came on again, but went off after a couple weeks. It's back on now. I'll be replacing the battery soon so as Penny on Big Bang Theory puts it should put a piece of tape over that light. I'm not going to lose any sleep at this point and I don't think you should either. I sense that the problem will end when the battery is replaced (on both of our vehicles). As a side note, you have to be careful with mechanics. Find one you trust. I went to my sister's favored repair place with a shaky front end and they wanted $50-$75 to just bring it in. That was doing NOTHING. THEN comes the diagnostic fees of an estimated $200-$300 and that's diagnostics ONLY. More if it takes them longer to find the problem, THEN come the repair charges. The only reason I went there was that they were open on Saturday and my favored mechanics were not and I wanted to get it done. Plus, to top it off, there were no cars being worked on and 3 guys standing around doing nothing but I needed to make an appointment for later in the day to get it looked at. However, if I wanted an oil change they'd do that right away. I made the appointment but got more irritated on the way home so I called and canceled the appointment and took it to my usual repair place who always give free estimates. As it turned out I needed an alignment and replaced tires, all of which cost less than $400. So for what the other place would charge in fees and diagnostics, I got new tires and repairs. Needless to say I'll never darken the door of that other place again. And I didn't need an appointment with mine. They go first-come-first-served and I was there at opening so it was done in a couple hours. Reminded me of the value of honest and competent mechanics.

Here it's called a "hand brake"; there is no connotation of emergency use. It always goes on when you park. I also (I have a manual, can't stand automatics) leave the car in first gear when parked. As I always depress the clutch when starting the car, kangaroo-ing isn't an issue. Hyundais have a "special feature" where they won't start at all unless the clutch is depressed. I was vaguely aware of this but as I always depress the clutch anyway it's not in the forefront of my mind. A few years ago I sold my late stepfather's Hyundai (in very good condition) to a friend of limited means who had had a succession of clunkers and I was glad to let her have stepdad's good car for a low price. The next morning she called to tell me the car wouldn't start. I felt terrible. I went over to her house to see it, got in and started it up straight away. She couldn't work out why she couldn't start it. That little light bulb flashed on over my head and I remembered you have to depress the clutch to start it- which I was doing automatically without thinking about it. She was used to leaving the car out of gear and just turning the key. So I guess Hyundai's expectation is that the car would be parked in gear.

@3onthetree thanks for your input (and for assisting with labeling the word I was looking for, aka the niche!); I was just realizing also that the third bay garage door tracks would prohibit me from shortening the existing wall and building a niche further towards the door entrance, anyway. The floor slope is minimal, if nonexistent. The only thing I was interested in getting a contractor for was the drywall and mini split install...perhaps one or two electrical outlets, if needed. The previous owners did a lot of shop work in there, and on the left side of that wall (as positioned in the picture) is a pegboard and countertop level drawer storage with plugs, so what we currently have may be sufficient. Lighting is typical fluorescent garage/shop lighting, so I think all my husband would care about would be additional outlets to plug a lamp into. Now that I've posed my initial question, I'm wondering if the wall would be needed at all...could we pull off a comfortable garage hangout with just a mini split install and ensuring the garage door edges are sealed?