Just had a home built by a custom builder - this thread was me a few months ago. I'm actually going to settlement in 2 weeks... Of course initially I thought I was going to build the Show Car Garage, but this is what I ended up going with:
1. Almost 3 car size garage with a single double wide garage door. In my case, a full 3 car garage would have been overkill. So, I got a 2 car garage with a "bump out" on the side. The "bump out" will house tools, detailing stuff, etc... This will make the garage clutter free and leave me with 2 clear, uncluttered, working bays. Here is a pic of the garage during e construction:
Also, wanted a window in the garage. This to me was just common sense, so you have the option to open it and get some air.
2. Flat driveway - No way was I buying any house with a driveway that was like a hill. I hate working on slopes. When the weather is nice, you may want to do "car stuff" in your driveway. Where I live now there is a slope; and my buckets, vacuum, work stool, and Master Blaster always want to roll away.
3. Insulated garage - dunno where the OP live, but if it's the NE - it gets COLD. I had the garage insulated. Nothing in it should ever freeze, even if it's pushing 0° outside. Of course, full climate control would be great, but the reality for me was it probable wasn't necessary. Because the garage is insulated, adding a portable AC unit is a cheap option I can do later. Builder charged < grand to insulate - so it's not super expensive.
4. Water taps and floor drain in the garage. This is pretty self explanatory. Basically you can wash your car inside the garage. You can also hose the floor down to clean it. I'm just like concrete, so I'm not looking for an epoxy flooring or whatever. But if I was, I could ad it later - and the water taps will make it easier to clean.
5. A lot of people recommended I get an electrical sub panel for an air compressor. The reality is, I would never use or need air tools or an air compressor. I do all my own work on my own cars, but electric power tools work pretty well now a days. Again, your needs may be different.
6. Dunno if you want a lift or the option to add one? I decided on eventually adding a midsize lift like Max Jax. If your having the house built - make sure the concrete is spec'd correctly for the lift you want. Also, consider the height and location of the auto garage door opener. If you want (need?) a real full size two post lift - you will need special electrician requirements in the garage (sub panel?) most likely. A Max Jax mid rise doesn't require this and is more than sufficient for my needs. It's also moveable, as I know a full two post lift would annoy me because it's in the way. Again, maybe you plan on pulling transmissions on a daily basis, and a full size lift would be better for you. But for detailing - it's kind of overkill for a home garage.
7. Lighting - LEDs are the way to go. But regular fluorescent lighting (T5s or T8s) are significantly cheaper. I decided to go with 28 inline T8 Bulls in surface mounted fixtures, because the price was reasonable and I knew it would be sufficient for me:
Of course, if you are taking out the trash - you won't need 28 bulbs. So, I had the builder put one strip of just 4 bulbs on a single switch, and a switch next to it that turns on all the lights.
I also made sure the auto garage door opener was fairly low profile, and won't interfere with a mid rise lift:
Of course if you are detailing for a living, you may want a fancier light set-up. But in reality, lights on the side of the wall would just be in the way for me.
8. Outlets everywhere - Outlets are CHEAP. My builder alloyed a certain number of outlets, and then charged like $40 for each additional. I got a slew of them all around the garage.
9. This may go without saying, but I wanted direct access to the garage from the house. In the old days, they built homes where the garage was only accessible via the garage door (attached garage). I'm guessing they aren't doing that anymore? Also, I wasn't really looking for a house with a detached garage.
**** That is what I went with. For me, it's plenty and left me money to do a lot of other upgrades inside the house.
****please support trans-species humans.
Can you imagine overlooking this detail and suffering with these annoying problems later? That would suck! Lol.
Can't imagine how I ever did without it truth be told.