Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer tries to find their car in the parking garage of a shopping mall in New Jersey. Complicating matters is that George must meet his parents by 6:15 to take them out to celebrate their anniversary, Elaine is afraid that her newly bought goldfish will die before they get home and Jerry badly needs to use the bathroom.
Tropes:
- The Alleged Car: In the ending, Kramer puts his key in the ignition, but the engine keeps turning over but never starting.
- Bottle Episode: While it does meet the "core cast only" requirement (something even "The Chinese Restaurant" doesn't do, as Michael Richards did not appear in that one), the enormous cost of "The Parking Garage" ends up subverting the trope. It was extremely costly to shoot, because while it does technically take place in one location, that location—the titular garage—was enormous, meaning that the set dressers had to completely tear down and then rebuild the walls and props whenever the group moved to a new area.
- Creator Cameo: Writer Larry Charles makes a cameo as one of the persons that Elaine ask for a ride from.
- Downer Ending: George misses the deadline to meet his parents, Elaine's goldfish dies, and, when the gang is finally about to leave the garage, Kramer's car breaks down.
- Hurricane of Excuses: Jerry gives several excuses for why he peed in the parking garage, including that he has uromysitisis and that he actually poured out a bottle of water.
- The Lad-ette: Elaine shows off this trope when she stands up to two muscular bodybuilders who turn down her request for a ride to look for the missing car. After she insults them, they turn around and look ready to scrap. She doesn't back down for a second; it takes George steering her away to stop a fight from breaking out.
- Oh, Crap!: Jerry, Elaine and George finally find Kramer's car. Their jubilant cries of happiness are cut short when George suddenly freezes, realizing that they're short one person.George: Kramer! Kramer's not here!
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: According to Jerry, his mother still warns him to hold onto his jacket when he takes rides (even on planes) because he once lost a jacket on a bus when he was 14.
- Parking Garage: As you might expect, the entire episode takes place in a parking garage.
- Potty Emergency: Jerry and George suffer from this, and thanks to Kramer's bad advice to go behind a trash can, they end up getting arrested by a guard.
- Ungrateful Bastard: George defends a little boy who's being mistreated by his mother, and the boy thanks him by saying that he's ugly.
