Garage parking sensors, on the cheap

I live in an old, converted, Italian farm house. The garages are down below and the one I use for my Ferrari is plenty big. However, the door is just wide enough so that I can squeeze my 360 Modena through with about 15cm clearance on each side. One of my first tasks after I bought the car was to install a parking guidance system.

Anyone familiar with nautical navigation will understand the principle behind visual range markers used on water ways and harbor entrances. The idea is that two markers, separated in range, are placed in the distance. The one further away is usually higher than the other so that you can see both of them at the same time. They are installed along the desired course. When your boat is also on the desired course, the range markers appear to be lined up with one another. Lights can be positioned in the same way for use at night. Normally one of the lights blinks so that you can tell which is which.

I dangled a string with a soft plastic weight from my garage door entrance. It is just higher than the car’s roof. I put a stripe on the far wall using a piece of black duct tape. Of course, these optical parking aids must be offset from the centerline of the door (not the center of the garage) exactly the same distance as the drivers eyeball is offset from the centerline of the car. When the string appears to be aligned with the black tape, I know I’m in the correct position enter the garage.

As luck would have it, there is a stair railing at the far end of my garage. By placing an intermediate marker on the railing, I can use it to stay on centerline as I finish parking. It also serves to keep me on centerline as I back out of the garage because, obviously, I can’t use the door string when leaving. This intermediate marker is made from a piece of silver tape with a red centerline which contrasts nicely with the black duct tape on the far wall. An intermediate marker made from a weighted string would work as well.

The system works very well and I don’t have to worry about scraping my mirrors because I’m off center. But more importantly, I don’t have to worry about scratching my fenders because I’m accidentally entering or leaving at an angle.

The picture on the left shows the car nearly parked and slightly to the left of the desired position. The picture on the right shows the car entering the garage slightly to the right of the proper position.
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The laser parking devices I've seen function as a stopping point only. Is this what you have? Or does your laser system somehow guide you through a narrow door opening?