50 Times Car Mechanics Took Pics Of What They Were Dealing With So Others Would Believe Them (New Pics)
Having a car is a commitment to yourself. If you properly take care of it, you will keep yourself safe on the road.
But some people have serious trouble with maintaining their ride.
Luckily for them, cars are tough and know how to talk. They make noises and vibrations, and all kinds of complaints, telling their owners to get some help. All they have to do is listen.
A few months ago, we at Bored Panda published an article on the subreddit r/JustRolledIntoTheShop, a place where mechanics share photos of the craziest things they see on the job. Since then, the online community has continued to showcase the biggest surprises they find under the hood (or the trunk, or the fender, or...), so we figured we should put together an update on it. Enjoy!
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Not A Rolled In But More Of A Birth Into The Shop... Stray Left A Puddle Of Kittens Out In Our Side Yard A Year Ago. The Neighbour Took This One Home And The Boss Took Another
Going to a mechanic to get your car fixed is one thing, but there's also something about being able to make at least basic repairs by yourself. It gives you pleasure, working with your hands. Not everyone's born a car-savvy genius, but we can always learn! Plus, not everyone has an uncle who's a handyman or a petrolhead grandad to teach us. Luckily, the Internet is always here to help when we need it the most.
Nick Gerhardt points out in an article on Family Handyman, that you should start off with the smallest things and work your way up. For instance, you can kick things off by replacing your wiper blades or your air filter. Then, maybe try replacing the bulbs.
Just Saved This Lil Guy. I Had To Remove The Front End Of The Vehicle To Do It, But He Is Now Free And Alive And Well
Senior tech editor at Jalopnik and owner of far too many Jeeps, David Tracy, shares this sentiment. If you want a crash course in wrenching, he suggests you buy yourself a junker. According to Tracy, it is the single best way to learn to fix cars. Especially if you're young and/or don't have much money, because you’ll be forced to do your own repairs.
"Coming out of high school, I hadn't turned a single wrench. I hadn't changed my oil, I hadn't changed spark plugs," Tracy writes. "Heck, I hadn’t even changed my air filter. I was a total noob. But then I got to college and bought a 215,000 mile 1992 Jeep Cherokee — a total pile of junk."
The Eyes After A 30 Mile Trip
Soooooo
Tracy's Jeep had rust holes in the rocker panels, a huge exhaust leak, a bad fuel pump, a bad power steering line, brakes that would seize when it got slightly warm outside, filthy brown transmission fluid, and leaky gaskets everywhere. But he wasn't discouraged by it. Tracy was intrigued. And he didn't really have another option.
"It was my only car and I spent all my money on textbooks, so I had no choice but to learn to fix it myself. I also had no garage, so most of my wrenching was done in parking garages or on the street side."
Customer Said All 4 Of Them Were Uninjured But We Can’t Say The Same About The Car
Customer Said Her Husband Patched The Tire But It Keeps Leaking Air
"With the help of some friends at a neighboring university, I learned the basics. They taught me to change plugs, replace my valve cover gasket, and change my oil. Just that little bit of guidance was all I needed to get the ball rolling," Tracy says.
That was the beginning of my love affair for wrenching. And now, with my new project, I’m learning quite a lot more. You can learn, too. Just go ahead and buy that Volkswagen Type III Squareback on Craigslist you’ve been salivating over.
I Swear These Customers Do This On Purpose
Guess Somebody Has A Hard Time Remembering
This person must have experienced a few flat batteries in their life lol.
Well... Almost Pissed My Pants... Caught Off Guard
Found A Friend
If you do get your old VW Type III Squareback, you're gonna want to change the oil, go through the brakes, and do a basic tune-up. So go out and get some tools.
"The heart of any toolset is the socket set, so start there. My first set was a cheapo one from AutoZone. It worked okay for light-duty things, but then I had to take my bumper bolts off, and I ended up breaking ratchets and shearing extensions," Tracy explains. "You can get a pretty decent socket set from Wal-Mart for $60 or so."
When You're Towing A Car Behind Your Rv, Remember To Put It In Neutral
Customer States Left Rear Tire Is Flat, Please Repair
Customer Says "Don't Worry, It's Friendly"
OK, let's say your car isn't that bad. Then what? Well, if your ride is (somewhat) decent and you just want to know how to change the brakes, YouTube has the answers.
"I can't tell you how many times I've gone to YouTube to learn how to fix something. In fact, I referenced a YouTube video to figure out how to pull the engine from my Jeep Cherokee," Tracy says.
So, We've Got A New Regular Customer In The Shop Now Apparently
My New Carpeting
There's A Battery Terminal In There Somewhere
"There's such a wealth of wrenching knowledge on YouTube, it should be one of your first resources for information on how to fix your car."
That being said, be careful and use some judgment. Anybody can post stuff on YouTube, so if some guy uploads a video and cuts his brake lines and tells you it will get you better gas mileage because of the decreased brake drag, you might want to turn your brain on and think about that for a second.
Customer Asked Me To Put Their Spare Tire On. Saw A Cement Atlas Ball In The Back. Those Things Are Solid Concrete And This Thing Weights Like 150lbs. I Said No Way. I'm Not Blowing Out My Back On A Job I'm Not Being Paid For
Sister Just Bought A New Nintendo Switch. This Is Her Tire. Priorities
How American
The next logical step would be to get a repair manual, a step-by-step guide on how to fix things. Get one. "You can get a Chilton or Haynes manual for about $25 at any car parts store, or, better yet, download or buy a hard copy of a factory service manual for your car. These books can save you tons of time and effort, especially when it comes to stuff like torque specs and fluid capacities," Tracy advises.
When You Dispute The Bill And Tell The Other Mechanic To Just Put The Motor Back In The Car
Customer Complains Of Fuel Smell. This Is Half Of The Gas Cans He Has In The Back
Expecting Snow And Ice Statewide Tomorrow. Cs “.. And Don’t Try To Sell Me New Tires - Don’t Need Them!”
Customer's Vehicle Has Been Overheating For The Past Month
Can’t Explain To The Elderly That They Don’t Need An Oil Change After 8mo/23 Miles
Who's Talking
Just Rolled Into The Shop
Inside Of The Smokers Cars From Earlier
Grandpa Said "Just Pump The Tire Up"
Omg. I worked at a call center for years....these were the customers who call wishing death upon us when we had to tell them NO there is no warranty coverage.
My Dad Asked Me To Come Over And Give Him A Hand With His Vette. He Hands Me A Pair Of Gloves To Wear Around The Headers. Uh, No Thanks Dad
Wow, I hope you bought dad new gloves. Those had some serious longevity, but it's definitely time to be done with them.
Customer Installed The Wrong Battery And Slammed The Hood Down. I’ve Seen It All Now
Anyone Else Hate These Kind Of Carseats? Scared The Hell Out Of Me
When The Edible Starts Kicking In
He Drove 700km Like This In Outback Aussie, Rims So Bent He Couldn’t Get The Nuts Off To Change Them
Engine Swap That I Bought Off Of Facebook Marketplace... Turned Fine And Seemed To Have Good Compression There, But This Was Hiding Under The Valve Cover
And that's why you don't buy anything more complicated than a lamp on fb.
Paper, Rock, Scissors On This One
Maybe they just put that on there so people would social distance away from their car.
Pick Up Your Starfire Slicks From Your Local Pep Boys!
A Customer Came And Said "I Can Smell Something A Little Bit And There's Small Noise Front Right"
Northeast USA, It Seems Nobody Ever Buys Tires Anymore
Yeah, She Felt The Car Was A Little Slower Today
Just Rolled Into The Shop... Guy Came In For A Flat Repair, Didn't Understand That He Needed A New Sensor After He Twisted His Stem Off With Pliers. Thought I Was Ripping Him Off When I Told Him He Needed New Lugs And Studs. Brakes Were Metal To Metal And He Said They Were Brand New
Normally I Don't Post Here But I Couldn't Resist With This One
This Could Get Messy
When The Dealership Lets A Kid With 0 Manual Transmission Experience Test Drive A Mazdaspeed 3
Rolled In For Timing And Exhaust Work But Couldn’t Help But Notice The Custom Lift
Passenger Door Felt A Bit Heavy
So We Have A New Advisor
Some Honesty Tests Are Harder Than Others
They are accident detectors. If they are broken, you were in an accident.
Another Super Safe Michigan Vehicle. Seat Belts Are For Pussies Anyway
Michigan is one of the states that doesn't have mandatory safety or emissions inspections. This is the result when we leave it up to the owner to make sure their car is safe to drive.
People Fought Wars Over This Much Salt
Gotcha
Seeing this I’m really happy about our mandatory bi-yearly vehicle inspection...
I'm sorry, BluEyed, but I rather have some people without cars than having a car that could malfunction at any time and hit and kill other people.
Load More Replies...This is quite scary. In the UK any vehicle over 3 years old has to have an annual safety check. These are quite thorough and 1/3 of cars fail. Main problems are faulty lights, worn suspension and steering components, corrosion, worn tyres and engine warning lights staying on.
Yeah, I had an inspector tutting at me last year because I had something dangly hanging off my rear view mirror.
Load More Replies...We own a rental store, you would NOT believe some of the things that people do. One time a man came in driving a brand new Cadillac. He wanted to rent a concrete saw, a big one. OK, we asked where he wanted it delivered. He said "I ain't paying no delivery charges, just put it in the trunk of my car." "Sir, that will be very bad for your car." We rent those, primarily, to contractors and they haul them away on flat bed trucks. This guy insisted that we load the saw into his trunk. We made him sign a note saying that he had insisted on it against advice. The saw weighed over 340 pounds. It took three guys to load it. We had to tie the lid down. When he left the back of the car was scrapping all the way down the road. And when he brought it back, he found someone with a flat bed to help him bring it back. We have people rent white tablecloths for weddings and they use ball point pens to draw on them We even had a bride who provide "magic markers" to kids to draw on them.
Seeing this I’m really happy about our mandatory bi-yearly vehicle inspection...
I'm sorry, BluEyed, but I rather have some people without cars than having a car that could malfunction at any time and hit and kill other people.
Load More Replies...This is quite scary. In the UK any vehicle over 3 years old has to have an annual safety check. These are quite thorough and 1/3 of cars fail. Main problems are faulty lights, worn suspension and steering components, corrosion, worn tyres and engine warning lights staying on.
Yeah, I had an inspector tutting at me last year because I had something dangly hanging off my rear view mirror.
Load More Replies...We own a rental store, you would NOT believe some of the things that people do. One time a man came in driving a brand new Cadillac. He wanted to rent a concrete saw, a big one. OK, we asked where he wanted it delivered. He said "I ain't paying no delivery charges, just put it in the trunk of my car." "Sir, that will be very bad for your car." We rent those, primarily, to contractors and they haul them away on flat bed trucks. This guy insisted that we load the saw into his trunk. We made him sign a note saying that he had insisted on it against advice. The saw weighed over 340 pounds. It took three guys to load it. We had to tie the lid down. When he left the back of the car was scrapping all the way down the road. And when he brought it back, he found someone with a flat bed to help him bring it back. We have people rent white tablecloths for weddings and they use ball point pens to draw on them We even had a bride who provide "magic markers" to kids to draw on them.