What's your biggest automtive related mistake?

[daiheadjai]

I was parking my BRZ with my wife at a busy plaza.
Had a spot that I could park front-in. Now I usually like to back in, but this plaza is so busy that I figured I better take what I could.

Next to the spot is a white MB B200 (the little hatchling Benz). Now I'm pulling in, and thinking "hmm, it's kinda close - but I think I have just enough room"

We hear a loud *scrape* but the car pulls into the spot fine (didn't feel any resistance or rubbing at all).
I look at my wife and she has this "I heard that too" look. I go out to look at the damage, and found that the very tip of the corner of the front lip and the angled leading edge of the front bumper had made light contact with the tire and wheel of the Merc.

The Benz was fine, but I ended up with what looked like 2 big black scrapes on the bumper (it went through the paint) and a reminder to take even the most mundane driving task seriously - and that it's better to take the extra 3 seconds to assess a situation than to go in and simply guess/hope for the best...

Luckily the other car was fine, and white plastidip and some glossifier actually did a decent job of covering up the scars (after wiping off the rubber from the MB's tire, I found the scratches were actually very small).

[Chill]

Many winters ago I had a Discovery II that was used to haul my ass to the ski resorts and back in relative comfort (I realize the land rover purchase is the first mistake, but that thing was surprisingly reliable). Anyways, there was a trip where I got lost on a b road during a storm and had to throw the car in low range to crawl. Alas I hit the open plowed highways once more and proceeded to bring her to a 50 mph cruise without a second thought (I was also a newb driver).

Needless to say after a few miles I started to wonder where the odd burnt smell was coming from. Luckily I got to where I was going soon after and used high range the next morning. It wasn't until recently that I learned low range + highway driving = (((

Just realized as I tell this story the real reason why that engine blew up a few weeks later.... oooops. Live and learn I guess

[Kiske]

Letting a company do head work on an engine I was building simply because they were local. Shitty raw die grinder finished portjob, and used some shitty advanced auto valve seal kit. They led me on for almost 3months saying they were in-the-works before I pulled the plug. $1800 later (quoted $860 in writing) I had 2 heads. I tried my best to salvage the port job and redid the valve seals. Installed everything and dropped the engine (S/c 3.8 v6 l32) into the car and fired it up. I then found out they didn't deck the heads, nor remove material from the rocker arm pedistal. Needless to say valve imediatly kissed a piston and bye, bye $10k+. It was my 2nd engine build ever and the most money I've ever dumped into a engine at the time.

Since then I do my research on shops or DIY everything. I've only had 1 shop ever do any engine work since then in the past 15 years (Rotary Ressurection, street port on a 20b. <3)

Costly little lesson.

[hmong337]

Was young and naive. Gave a bunch a monkeys a shit ton of cash to fix my 93 mr2 turbo at the time. $4000 later, the car was still not fixed and it was heavily played in (bolts missing, loose wires, etc). Lesson learned. Since that fiasco, I have taken it upon myself to do as much as time, space, and tools will allow me. I have learned tremendously over the years. Luckily, later in life I ran into an old middle school buddy that now has his own shop. He performs the jobs that I can't do myself.

[Andrew025]

Note to self: don't let monkeys work on car.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

...And shit ...I just now realized my dad was drifting in a massive muscle car way before drifting was a thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yea, except then we called it being "too lame or drunk to race".

[Hot Lava]

Bought a brand new Corolla. Mistake one. Drove it on a fishing trip up a dirt road. On the way back took a wrong turn, noticed an erosion caused ditch. Drive right over it ripping off the lower front bumper. Mistake two. Paid the piper out of pocket. Parked it in my garage. Carelessly stacked boxes fall against the passenger side. Don't notice, jump in, back up, tear the hell out of the passenger side. Mistake three. Insurance fixes it.


All this in less than a year after twenty years of accident free driving.


Trade it in on an FR-S. Redemption.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by hmong337

Was young and naive. Gave a bunch a monkeys a shit ton of cash to fix my 93 mr2 turbo at the time. $4000 later, the car was still not fixed and it was heavily played in (bolts missing, loose wires, etc). Lesson learned. Since that fiasco, I have taken it upon myself to do as much as time, space, and tools will allow me. I have learned tremendously over the years. Luckily, later in life I ran into an old middle school buddy that now has his own shop. He performs the jobs that I can't do myself.

Don't worry sir we will have those coil overs on in a jiffy!

[Sideways&Smiling]

Buying any new car.

Buying & financing any car from a dealership ever, new or used.

[UtahSleeper]

Originally Posted by Sideways&Smiling

Buying any new car.

Buying & financing any car from a dealership ever, new or used.

I just barely made that mistake for the first time in my life and I am 34. Still scares me, but I love the car.

My first real car mistake was on an 82 Regal. I was 17. It was running weird and someone told me to replace the fuel filter. After some research I learned it was in the carb and you had to remove the metal fuel line going to it.

Well, I start undoing the line and didn't notice I was twisting the while line. Noticed too late, tried to bend back. Go to start and gas shoots out. That was followed by the mistake of having the car towed to Firestone and them charging my mom 300 for a universal fuel filter and about 2 feet of fuel line.....I didn't learn how much she was ripped off till I started working at pep boys and learned about cars.

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by dem00n

Bought a car sight unseen and it was a lemon? Installed a part wrong and went for a drive? Reoccurring sex stains on the passenger seat?


I'm still young, so i have plenty of automotive mistakes to look forward too. Mine would have to be driving from NY to OH right after getting my license. An 8 hour drive for a noob was a stupid mistake...

I came home with a duct taped on underbody from hitting a dead deer on the I-80.

hmmmm. let's see....

probably not changing out a tire on my 66 mustang when the tread was getting thin...

Because later after I had considered changing it but didn't, the tread came loose on the freeway and started to flap against the wheel well.

No, problem, pull over to switch it to the full size spare...

EXCEPT....This is on the 15 south going to San Diego and it's up and down hills, difficult to tell what's flat and what's slope.

Looks flat and I have no blocks for the wheels.

I jack it up no problem, I take the wheel off no problem, as I'm going to put the spare on it, it rolls forward off the jack and lands on the brake drum.

I jack it back up, put the spare on and tighten down the lugnuts and go on my merry way...

Someone flashes his lights at me about 5 miles down the road, so I get out of his way.

Well he was flashing me because my wheel was wobbling, don't have a clue how I didn't feel it.

It was dark and what I didn't notice was that the brake drum got canted when it hit the ground. So even though I tightened down the lug nuts, the drum prevented the wheel from going on straight and the wobble ate right through the lug nuts and the wheel went flying by my window.

All I could see were sparks and I decided to try and lightly tap the brakes to come to a stop...

As soon as I did, I started spinning. I went across three lanes of traffic and ended up facing the wrong way in the second from the right lane with cars coming at me.

Cars started going around me and I was able to get out of the car and to the side of the freeway. I realized that I left my cell phone in the car and managed to get back out to it and dial 911. Then as they answered and I started to say I was reporting a stalled vehicle on the freeway I got to "I'm calling to report" and a drunk kid came slamming on his brakes and skidded for 75 feet and still managed to hit it hard enough to total it.

So, failing to change the tire when I knew I should resulted in a totaled mustang. It also resulted in an $8000 settlement from his insurance company, but I would prefer to still have my car to be honest.

Jaden

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Sideways&Smiling

Buying any new car.

Buying & financing any car from a dealership ever, new or used.

AHHHHH but I think we have discussed this before.
Somebody has to buy new cars for there to be used cars!!!!!!!

[stugray]

Here's one: (same Karman ghia)

I needed to pull the gas tank from my VW so I drove it till it was about out of gas, jacked it up and put it on jackstands, got under to unhook the fuel lines - it's getting dark - get a worklight (incandescent uncovered bulb) - crawl under car - loosen gas line.
Line pops off before I expected it and gas covers me from the waist up and is dripping everywhere.
I look over and gas is pouring on the ground RIGHT NEXT TO THE WORKLIGHT.
I flew out from under that car faster than about anything I have ever done in my life.

If ONE DROP of gas had hit that light bulb, I would have been an instant human torch

[Dimman]

Make sure your Supra's targa top is bolted down before you exceed ~100 km/h...