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AI-generated image of a mechanic standing next to a damaged car
Cheapism / DALL-E 3

It’s a wonder how some people are able to get their drivers license at all. Unfortunately, you’ve probably shared the road with one senseless driver at some point or another. And their cars? Let’s just say that terrible drivers often don’t know how to take care of the vehicles they’re driving. 

To see just how bad it can get out there, we took a quick road trip through the ins and outs of r/Justrolledintotheshop. Here are some of the most mystifying jobs mechanics have come across. 

1. They Thought They Were so Sly

A family of opossums in the rear of a car.
u/theeyeofchaoss via Reddit

According to u/theeyeofchaoss, one customer stated that their ABS/ESC and front radar lights were on. Turns out the car was serving as a critter’s home. Opossums have been known to pull some crazy stunts. 

2. Something Isn’t Right Here

An image of a display screen that is upside down.
u/anonymous via Reddit

Sometimes the fault that results in a troubled customer rolling into the auto shop isn’t a fault of their own — at least according to u/deleted, who shared this photo. Nobody wants to fire up their fancy new car only to realize that the front seat display screen is stuck upside down.

3. That’s One Way To Handle an Automatic

u/blkoutzaraki via Reddit

Just imagine peering through the window of this car if you pulled up next to it. Would you find such a sight comforting? Probably not. Would it fit into an apocalyptic scenario? Absolutely, and that’s probably why u/blkoutzaraki shared the photo of this terrifying gear shift lever in the first place. 

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4. The Roaches, Though

u/ameslay1211 via Reddit

The backstory on this mess is that the customer had just traded this car in on a $105K BMW 840. Not only was the trash impressively mountainous, but there were around 50 roaches as well, according to u/ameslay1211, who shared the photo. 

Related: Expensive Car Problems You Never Want to Have

5. That Poor Brand New Escape Really Wanted To Escape

A Ford Escape that had its back completely wrecked.
u/gunsrazorsknifeprty via Reddit

The story goes that when this brand new Escape pulled up to the shop, the owners could be seen towing it behind their motor home. According to u/gunsrazorsknifeprty, the parking brake locked up. The owners realized a few miles too late that the horrible noise they heard would have even worse financial repercussions. 

Related: 7 Oil Change Ripoffs, Scams, and Problems To Avoid

6. Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

u/IssaVSport via Reddit

U/IssaVSport wrote that the customer in question was panicked, and in their attempt to find a reasonable way to get their car to the shop, they ended up breaking out the wrenches. Maybe, just maybe, that was not the most advisable call. 

Related: 25 Ugly Cars That Should Have Never Left the Assembly Line

7. So Many Questions About the Origin Story Behind This

An image of a tire that looks like it was bitten into.
u/TT_Xyooj8 via Reddit

It’s almost as if some kind of rabid animal was possessed and ready to chomp down on anything — tires included. Must’ve been a wild day for u/TT_Xyooj8, who shared the photo. 

8. It’s Honestly Hard to Even Be Mad About This

An image of a red-colored, 6-wheeled Ford Festiva.
u/deleted via Reddit

This whole situation fits the bill for being one of the more pleasantly mystifying sights that rolled into the shop. The model of the car is a Ford Festiva, and you can check it out over here. This beauty has six — count ’em, six wheels — and we can thank u/crackheadonskis for sharing the photo in the first place. 

Related: Cool Vintage Convertibles That Will Blow Your Hair Back

9. Now This Is Just Terrifying

u/icetilt via Reddit

To think that we share the road with folks like the one that took this precarious setup into the shop is enough to keep you up at night. You’ve got to wonder what could’ve been going through u/icetilt’s mind before they shared the photo. 

10. Change My Oil, but Also Check Out the 800 Pounds of Concrete

An image of a car that has 800 pounds of concrete loaded into the back of it.
u/ItsMeLukasB via Reddit

That must’ve been a lot of additional stress on a car that could’ve already been going through the ringer before it had its oil changed. According to u/ItsMeLukasB, there was 80 pounds of concrete in the back. 

11. Apparently It Was This 2022 Compass’ First Servicing

A close-up of a car that had gone years before having a proper servicing.
u/Rex_Racer95 via Reddit

According to u/Rex_Racer95, it was this 2022 Compass’ first ever servicing. Why wait that long? Sure, it’s one way to save money, but the risks associated with waiting that long for a proper servicing for your car aren’t worth it. Especially when you’ve got a serious issue like this car. Yikes. 

12. When the Odometer Speaks in Alien Tongue

An odometer that is spewing out written nonsense.
u/actually_iceman via Reddit

You’ve got to wonder how something like this could’ve happened in the first place. Maybe the aliens were trying to communicate after all. The real question is how u/actually_iceman figured out how to eventually fix this.

13. They Put in ‘Some’ Effort

An image of someone who failed miserably to set up their spare tire in a safe manner.
u/NoahF0920 via Reddit

This is why attempting to take care of your car’s repairs or tires yourself (instead of paying a professional to do it) can have dire results. Effort doesn’t guarantee safety on the road, unfortunately, and it must’ve been quite the rattling experience for u/NoahF0920 to encounter this spare tire situation while they were in the shop. 

14. Not an Oil Change in a Daunting 15 Years

u/Prospero424 via Reddit

According to u/Prospero424, this is an example of a customer who stubbornly waited upwards of 15 years to have their car’s oil changed. Waiting too long to change your oil can result in significantly diminishing how long your car’s engine operates smoothly. Not only can that make for a hazard on the road, but you’ll literally end up paying for it that much sooner. 

15. That Was One Formidable Pothole

An image of the aftermath of a car that drove over a horrible pot hole.
u/DarmoweOrzel via Reddit

Anyone who has ever driven down a road full of potholes knows how stressful that can be. You better hope you don’t have motion sickness to go with the experience. According to u/DarmoweOrzel, this car came across one particularly terrible pothole, indeed. 

Meet the Writer

Matt has spent the last 8 or so odd years as both a writer and editor in Seattle and Brooklyn, where he is now based. He loves escaping the tirelessly fast pace of the “Mad Apple” that is NYC by taking walks and runs through parks where he’s able to catch up on the latest tea about society from the city’s ever chatty, always hungry, occasionally rabid, pigeons. When he’s not taking his urban nature strolls, or dutifully combing the deepest rabbit holes of the internet to find the content that’s worth sinking your mind’s teeth into, he’s likely holed up at a dark-lit dive bar with a book and/or some friends, or just easily he could be on the hunt for the next addition to his steadily growing plant family.