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“I Knew I Should’ve Called In Dead Today”: Mechanics Share The Absurd Things They’ve Seen On The Job (50 New Pics)
Imagine you are driving along, minding your own business, when the dreaded “strange” sounds start to emanate from your vehicle. Or perhaps the “check engine” light comes on. The pain of finding out what is wrong coupled with the pain of paying to fix it means most people bring their vehicles in way too late.
The “Just Rolled Into The Shop” online group is dedicated to the craziest and most absurd things mechanics have seen people bring them. So get comfortable as you scroll through, consider getting your vehicle looked at, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your thoughts online.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Someone Came With A Car And This Was In The Trunk. He Said We Can Keep Everything From Inside The Car. I'm Definitely Keeping It
#2
Customer States Abs/Esc And Front Radar Lights On…
#3
This "Time Machine" Just Rolled In. 9 Thousand Miles, And The Plate Expired In 1983
The truth is, normal wear and tear can (and will), over time break something in your car. After all, even home appliances under normal use break down and your blender doesn’t spend hours flying down a highway. This is why, as with one’s health, preemptive and preventive measures are often smart then explicitly waiting for something to break.
As they are the main point of contact with the road, naturally, the tires tend to be the first to go. If you live in a place with a lot of ice and snow in winter, you have the wonderful opportunity every year to pay to get winter tires installed.
#4
Me Standing Next To A Cat 797
#5
Tool Box Battery Backup Is Warm And Comfy
#6
Pulled This Guy From A Camry
On the flipside, this does mean that an expert gives your tires a once over at least yearly, so you have someone to tell you it’s time for a new set. That being said, like anything car related, it gets expensive so most people prefer to wait way too long, as the examples here show. Once you add on the fact that some mechanics will take you for a ride, people’s anxiety becomes a bit more understandable.
#7
"Well, I'm Not Sure How To Say This, But It Looks Like Your Engine Bay Has Been Overtaken By Gay Mice"
#8
Third Car We've Had Towed In Within A Week For A No Start After Refueling At A Local Gas Station. This Fuel Sample Is About 96% Water
#9
Customer Is Going Through A Nasty Divorce, Wanted Us To Have A Look Around After She Saw Her Husband Following Her Around Town
Melody 8 months ago (edited)
OP is on Reddit and will most likely never see your comment, but they said that the customer took it to her lawyer.
Load More Replies...
sharyn turnicky 8 months ago
She should hide it on his mom or dad's car. Let their mechanic find it
Sue Phillips 7 months ago
Also, love how fast my own computer gets to stalking me. Before I even finished my below post, there were divorce lawyer ads on my screen.
Sue Phillips 7 months ago
This is stalking. It should earn at least a restraining order, if not an arrest. Also, what a moron. He put a tracking device on his wife's car AND followed her around? He can't even trust the tracking device. My experience from a 35-year career in family law tells me the husband is DANGEROUS and needs to be psychologically evaluated. If there are children involved, this WILL segue into violence. A guy where I live had one of these on his ex's car. She was afraid of him for both her and their son due to his past behavior. She went to the courthouse for a restraining order on behalf of the child. The man actually texted her while she was there, asking why she was at the courthouse. THAT ALONE should have been enough reason to remove the child from his custody. 2 judges f****d up and denied the order. Sadly, the man had killed himself and the child before either judge saw the request. Probably did it as soon as he sent the mother that text. He knew why she was there...
As with anything else, the main moving parts are the first to go. This is why some car experts believe that getting your transmission and batteries checked is a good idea from time to time. On the other hand, again like when one visits a doctor, it’s best to not lie to the person who is going to be doing the fixing, otherwise you’ll end up with the main issues overlooked.
#10
Boss Man Came To Work In His Old American Truck Today. A Rare Sight Here In Scotland
#11
Driver States "Odometer Speaks Martian Before Startup"
#12
Found This On The First Truck I Hoisted This Morning
At the same time, while it’s important to not be the sort of car-owner you see here, it also helps to do your due diligence when picking a mechanic. While there might be hundreds of garages out there, not every person working in them is an actually certified expert who knows exactly how to fix what you have.
#13
This Is Not What I Was Expecting When The Customer Said “The Tire Exploded And There Are Wires Showing”
Wanda R Zimmerman 8 months ago
I found more photos but cant pist them here. tire exploded and the flapping of the tread tore the bumper off, damaged the fender, and grabbed and pulled the wiring harness out of the car. the wiring is wrapped all around the tire.
#14
Any Suggestions?
He's got a death grip on the wiring and he's trying to climb deeper.
#15
324k Mile Tacoma. Oil Changes Work Folks
This isn’t just to ensure that the cars roaring down the highway are safe (although that is a big part of it), but also to ensure that when repairs are done, they are conducted in an environmentally friendly way. If you are in the US, the EPA provides courses and certifications for car repair specialists to that effect.
#16
Had This Brand New Escape Show Up.. Owners Were Towing It Behind Their Motor Home And Guess The Parking Brake Locked Up. Took Them A Few Miles To Realize What That Terrible Noise Was 😂
#17
C/S The Solar Panel Isn’t Working/Won’t Charge Batteries
#18
Cars Like These Always Make Saturdays Great
So when you are swapping stories of untrustworthy mechanics (which do exist, there is no use denying it) just remember that many of them do work hard and honestly. It’s a physically demanding job with lots of exposure to toxic chemicals. So perhaps don’t be like the folks in this list, get your car checked when it’s still in good condition.
#19
Customers Really Make Me Question Life……
Volvo tech here, customer comes in and complains my iPhone charger will not plug in the charging socket for 2nd row. They are not normal and look to be Swedish. Did you guys forget to change the plugs for a USA car??? She was really trying to plug a wall socket into 2 USB-C sockets. Husband couldn’t figure it out either. These people are among us!! Be careful out there.
BarkingSpider 8 months ago
It seems pretty dumb, but with that design I can understand the mistake. Some vehicles do have an outlet like the wall ones.
#20
We Will Not Be Installing Your Spare Sir
#21
I Present The Jellyfish. Dual Axle Trailer, Was Ran Flat For Quite A Distance
#22
Guy Pulled Up To The Shop To Do An Oil Change
#23
That's A First For Me, Loaded With An Extra Mag Next To It. These People Shouldn't Be Allowed To Own Guns
#24
The Dangers Of Texting Your Service Customers
#25
Forgot My Drill So I Asked The Customer And This Is What I Got 🤣😂🤣
#26
Someone Needs To Wife This Lady
#27
I Knew I Should've Called In Dead Today
#28
Customer Sold Us Their 07 Hyundai Sonata For Scrap Then Later Told Us He Needs His $1400 Floor Mats Back
He shows us a receipt when purchased. Custom Bugatti fitted floor mats to a 2007 Sonata he paid $1300 + tax.
#29
Driver Refused To Wait Till Morning For Repairs. Drove Away With Brakes As Shown
#30
Sweeper Wasn't Sweeping. Who Would Have Guessed?
Geoffrey Scott 8 months ago
Had one of my coworkers complain our auto floor scrubber at work was not working as it should, the scrub pads were about 2mm thick, new ones are 1.5cm or so "could this be the problem?"
#31
Going On 18 Years In The Industry, I Hate Where Car Technology Is Heading
#32
Rolled Out Today Boys. 22 Years In The Field, I’m Done. No Idea What’s Next
Laura Williams 8 months ago
Congratulations Don't tell anyone you can fix cars. Especially if you move. In today's world you will owe them repairs. Trust.
#33
Anyone Else Drive With A Loaded Firearm Pointed At Their Foot At All Times?
#34
A Letter From Gm To My Great Aunt
#35
Wtf Is This Shi**?! Some Weirdos Out Here…and Why Keep This In Your Car Door?????????? 😂😂🤢🤢
#36
It's So Hot In Texas, The Emblem On My Buddies Truck Is Melting
Laura Williams 8 months ago
Perfectly believable. Go to dealership and have removed they didn't make heat resistant. Please remove it. Do not put a new one on
#37
There’s No Way Wearing Your Seat Belt Is Bad Enough To Actually Have To Buy One Of These
Shaunn Munn 8 months ago
I'd be dead without my seat harness. Ain't playing chicken. Crashes are deadly.
#38
'05 Corolla With Not A Single Oil Change In 15 Years
#39
This Sticker Has Been On Since 1988
John Dilligaf 8 months ago
I wish modern cars had instrument controls like this. Touch screens to control everything suck.
#40
My Mechanic Just Sent Me The Picture Of My Tire
#41
I Had To Let It Cool Down A Bit Before Working On It (Cat 3406)
#42
These Are The People You Share The Road With Daily…
#43
If You French Fry When You Should Pizza, You're Gonna Have A Bad Time
#44
My Friend Traded A Dirt Bike For This Limo. Tuesday He Goes To Get His Chauffeur's License. This Surely Can't Turn Out Well
#45
Came In For Tires. Decided To Use Up The Rest Of What He Had On The Way In. Customer Claims 700+hp
#46
Service Writer Did Not Bother To Get Any More Info From Customer Than This 🤦
#47
Possibly The Loudest Sound I’ve Ever Heard. Hourly Guy Couldn’t Get The Bead To Seat So He Just Kept Putting Air In It
#48
Customer Came In For New Tires On A…ford Festiva?
#49
A+ For Effort For Whoever Put This Spare Tire On
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Shark Lady 8 months ago
I probably shouldn't have bothered with this list. Most of the time I didn't have a clue what I was looking at or why it was bad. The possum family and the cats were cute though!
Danish Susanne 7 months ago
Me too. I have never driven a car or had a licence so I have never bothered to learn about them. But some were easy to understand, like the tires that were barely there.
Load More Replies... Emma S 8 months ago (edited)
Is there no legal requirement for your car to be checked every year to make sure it's safe to drive in the US? In the UK all cars over three years old have to have an annual MOT and if it's not safe to drive you have to get it fixed in order to continue driving it, if you don't then you're driving it illegally which will also invalidate your insurance. The only time you can legally drive a car that failed it's MOT is to and from the mechanic to get it repaired. Some of these pictures show damage that has accumulated over years so I'm just curious.
SBocker78 8 months ago
Most states require an annual inspection, but 13 do not and each state decides whether to check just basic safety or also emissions. It's kind of a mess.
Load More Replies...
Kim Lorton 7 months ago
Haggle the price of your car, walk away if they will not deal. When you do get new car, drive by and show the guy who wouldn’t deal, because you were a woman, that you did buy a new car at the price you wanted, and paid. Cash! And good regular upkeep of the car , if you know your mechanic well, take him o with your mechanic, take them with you to check out the new car, pre purchase, pay attention to the noises it makes so you know which are normal and which are not. I got taken a bit by Carmax because I said the front passenger seat wouldn’t recline, he forced it. I still liked it, so, buyer beware. Mechanic should’ve come with. When we tested it, it was stuck. Took an auto repair shop all day ( HAH!!., right… and me, 2500 dollars to discover coins that fell out of pockets fell into the seat crack, and filled up, yes FILLED UP, that area so the seat would not recline!! Buyer beware. I still like the SUV, AND it will be my last car I have to buy, but it’s a great drive!
Will Cable 8 months ago
I would never had one of those liquid car air fresheners in a vehicle, I had one that leaked and melted the airvent and dashboard, surprised they still are available....though having now seen loaded guns in cars..meh
Shark Lady 8 months ago
I probably shouldn't have bothered with this list. Most of the time I didn't have a clue what I was looking at or why it was bad. The possum family and the cats were cute though!
Danish Susanne 7 months ago
Me too. I have never driven a car or had a licence so I have never bothered to learn about them. But some were easy to understand, like the tires that were barely there.
Load More Replies... Emma S 8 months ago (edited)
Is there no legal requirement for your car to be checked every year to make sure it's safe to drive in the US? In the UK all cars over three years old have to have an annual MOT and if it's not safe to drive you have to get it fixed in order to continue driving it, if you don't then you're driving it illegally which will also invalidate your insurance. The only time you can legally drive a car that failed it's MOT is to and from the mechanic to get it repaired. Some of these pictures show damage that has accumulated over years so I'm just curious.
SBocker78 8 months ago
Most states require an annual inspection, but 13 do not and each state decides whether to check just basic safety or also emissions. It's kind of a mess.
Load More Replies... Kim Lorton 7 months ago
Haggle the price of your car, walk away if they will not deal. When you do get new car, drive by and show the guy who wouldn’t deal, because you were a woman, that you did buy a new car at the price you wanted, and paid. Cash! And good regular upkeep of the car , if you know your mechanic well, take him o with your mechanic, take them with you to check out the new car, pre purchase, pay attention to the noises it makes so you know which are normal and which are not. I got taken a bit by Carmax because I said the front passenger seat wouldn’t recline, he forced it. I still liked it, so, buyer beware. Mechanic should’ve come with. When we tested it, it was stuck. Took an auto repair shop all day ( HAH!!., right… and me, 2500 dollars to discover coins that fell out of pockets fell into the seat crack, and filled up, yes FILLED UP, that area so the seat would not recline!! Buyer beware. I still like the SUV, AND it will be my last car I have to buy, but it’s a great drive!
Will Cable 8 months ago
I would never had one of those liquid car air fresheners in a vehicle, I had one that leaked and melted the airvent and dashboard, surprised they still are available....though having now seen loaded guns in cars..meh
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