I know that I am not suppost to work on my vehicle at the house. But what does that mean??? Like I cant wash and detail my auto. How about change the headlight bulbs??? What about putting in a new battery? Must be a guide line about what you can and cannot do to your vehicle. Work is to broad a term it covers about anything that you do to your car. Checking the air in tires???
What exactly does your HOA agreement say?
If you choose to live in a housing division with a HOA then you have to play by their rules.
Talk to the head of the HOA. Depending on the area some are a real pain in the neck and some aren’t.
An ex-boss of mine moved into a high rolling home some years ago (he had money, but was always getting his hands dirty) and just to spite the HOA one time he drove an old, oil puking, cabover White Freightliner home and parked it in the street in front of his house, where it proceeded to drip oil in a dozen places. The neighbors were ready to drag out the pitchforks and torches. Priceless.
That’s why I’m glad I moved outside of the metro years ago into a small town where I can pretty much do what I want.
When we built our house 15 years ago…we looked at a few places that had HOA restrictions. They are designed to keep property values high. Some of those restrictions were outrageous (no cars parked in the driveway or road, No clothes lines, No more then x-amount of christmas lights…etc…etc). Some are NOT so bad (like where I live)…(No unregistered vehicles on the property for more then 30 days, NO discarded appliances left outside for more then 10 days).
It’s up to you if you want to buy a house there or not. No one is forcing you to buy a house there.
HOA’s may nag you to death, but they seldom file a lawsuit against you, which is their only recourse if they want to take it that far…What you do in the Garage is your business…If it’s not visible from the street, don’t worry about it…
One of my colleagues lives in an upscale neighborhood in my community. He bought a riding mower from a big box store and was told in no uncertain terms that cheap mowers weren’t allowed. He bought some green spray paint and painted it so that from a distance it looked like a John Deere. This placated his neighbors.
An orthopedic surgeon has a lot that adjoins the back of his property just down the street from me. He wanted to put in a woodworking shop so he and his son could do things together. He wanted an easement to the street so he consulted with everyone. I told him that I didn’t have a problem. After the shop was put up, some snooty people stopped me and asked me about the shop. I told them the purpose and they thought it was awful. I responded, “I agree. I didn’t want him to put in a woodworking shop. I wished he had put in an auto salvage yard so I could get parts for my car”. These people haven’t spoken to me since.
I can’t read your HOA regulations from all the way over here.
Can you hold the regs closer to the computer?
Seriously, however, these rules vary considerably from one community association to another.
Only you and the locals in charge of the HOA have access to the specifics.
If you don’t have a copy of the regs, you have the right to request a copy.
Once you have the regs in front of you, that document should give you the answer to your question.
What you do in your own garage is your own business. I think what they are probably talking about is having your car up on blocks or looking like its taken apart in the driveway visible to anyone driving by. Checking your oil or washing your car or checking tire pressures is nothing. I live in a very prissy neighborhood and even they dont complain about that.
transman
My ex-boss that I mentioned moved into his 'hood because his wife wanted that area.
The first week a neighbor complained to the HOA because my boss had the unmitigated gall to park his clean, late model Chevy truck in the driveway.
Several weeks later several neighbors complained because they saw him in coveralls out in the yard one weekend doing his own gardening and edging his own sidewalks. Apparently the norm there was hire a gardener and his failure to do so offended his neighbors; who appear to be a pretty pathetic group of people.
After those 2 complaints is when he unleashed the heavy artillery; the 800k miles Freightliner. 
Love it! My kinda’ guy.
My daughter and son moved into a golf course development in Mission, TX. If you don’t join the golf club, it really doesn’t cost that much to live there. They also have the snooty woman who comes around to make sure you paint THE INSIDE of your house an approved color, I kid you not.
He put the yard into rocks, because the Falcon dam where all the water comes from was very low, at one point only a few weeks of water left and everyone in the Rio Grande Valley would have had to evacuate.
She threatened him (wouldn’t you know it was one person?) if he didn’t plant grass and water it like everyone else. He finally put in some horrid spiny things that cover the rocks and don’t need water, and finally she left him alone.
But, here’s the kicker. With all their bossing and inspecting, the houses are so poorly designed almost no one ever manages to sell one after it is built to suit the bossy woman. The owners are scrod, and have to convert them to rental property for financial reasons. Instead of all the bossing, seems like they should have the houses designed so someone other than desperate renters will live in them.
My SIL designed his own house, and when people come in the first thing they say, “Is it for sale??” Great house except they need two more bedrooms…