There are over 285 million registered vehicles in the US and this number alone explains why we need many auto mechanics. But here’s a fact: not all car owners know everything about cars. And there’s no shame in that. Besides, you don’t need to become an automotive engineer to drive a car. As long as you have basic knowledge and fundamental skills such as changing a flat tire, checking engine oil and other vehicle fluids, checking the brakes and making sure the headlights and taillights are working. However, more complicated car problems can unexpectedly occur from time to time.
Most of the time the problem is beyond our capacity to pull off a successful DIY repair. Why is the engine sputtering? What makes the brake system squeak? Why is the steering wheel shaking? If you can’t pinpoint the source of the problem, don’t play Mr. Know-It-All and just take your vehicle to the mechanics. As most of the time you can make the problem worse if you leave it. With that said, you can just imagine how many people are bringing their cars into a garage on a daily basis.
Mechanics share the funniest things they’ve encountered on the job
“Hood Opens. Hood Is Layed Down Immediately. Tech Exclaims ‘Oh Hell No.'”
And with that, we can only assume that these workers have dealt with all types of customers and vehicles including the absolutely stupid ones. Since mechanics are trained to study all mechanical parts of the vehicle, they are able to diagnose the problem right away and analyze the cause. But sometimes, they can get the biggest surprise by discovering that the vehicle failure is caused by none other than the car owner. A customer complaining of an engine failure just to find out that a possum has built its home under the hood. Or a customer complaining of a flapping noise while driving just to find out that the noise is coming from a flag installed on the driver’s side.
“C/S She Hears A Flapping Noise Coming From The Driver’s Side”
“The Car Sounds Like A Cartoon”
“Customer Refused All 4 Tires On A Rainy Day, She Also Had To Sign A Waiver Before Releasing The Car”
Mechanics never run out of fascinating stories to tell about their work experiences.
Sometimes, their stories are so hilarious that it’s almost impossible to believe. So, these mechanics took pics of some of their unbelievable encounters so others would believe them. In fact, the subreddit r/JustRolledIntoTheShop is dedicated to collect funny and surprising incidences that happened in car repair business. We’ve picked out the best submissions from the page to show you some of the most ridiculous things that they were asked to fix.
“Stayed A Little Longer At The Shop To Save This Little Guy From Someone’s Engine Bay”
“I Don’t Condone Stealing… But Man I Want To”
“Customer: “Let Me Know When You Are About To Pull My Truck In So I Can Get My Raccoon” And He Sat In The Lobby With A Raccoon Until His Truck Was Done”
“This Made Me Laugh Way More Than It Should Have”
“Customer Has Been Coming Since 200k Miles, Said He’d Get To 1 Million. I’ve Been Waiting For That Day For Years, Today He Casually Rolled Up And Asked To Plug His Tire. Needless To Say Best Tire Plug Ever!”
“The Odds Of A Single 4 Leaf Clover Rooting Into A Fender Line”
“Actual Work Order At Our Shop From One Of Our Technicians”
“I Am Pretty Sure I’m Younger Than The Tire”
“Accelerator Gets Stuck To Floor. Pull On String To Unstick”
“Self Aware Prius Owner”
“Customer States Temperature Gauge Is Reading Full Tank”
“I Work At A Rental Company And The Police Brought This Back…”
Dogs and other animals are often the cause of some surprises to!
“Customer Failed To Mention The Fact That His Dog Was In The Vehicle, Scared The Hell Outta Me!”
“Just Hopped Into The Shop”
“C/S Lost His Keys… I Wonder Why”
“The First And Probably Last Time I Will Ever See One Of These. Jaguar Xj220 With Only 3k On The Odometer.”
“Just Crawled Out From Under A Broken Lift”
“Work Never Fails To Disappoint.”
“Private Security Tahoe With 1” Bulletproof Glass. The Rest Of The Vehicle Is Just As Heavily Armored”
“A Girl Who Works At Sonic Just Paid Her 1k Repair Bill With Mostly 1’s And 5’s. Mad Resolve”
“16 Years Of Writing Service And It Finally Happened. Gloves In A Glovebox”
“Surprised It Didn’t Explode Into The Shop”
“Just In For An Inspection & Was Greeted With This…”
“Guy Drove In Like This. Another Reason Why We Are Essential.”
“86 Yota. 211k Miles. In Mint Condition”
“7 Months Since The Last Post About This Car… He Finally Did It. Our Customer Bought This Civic New In 06 And It Has Only Been Serviced At Our Dealership. Original Motor And Transmission.”
“The Only Worthwhile Lift Kit Instructions.”
“Customer States ‘I Played Edm Once And Now My Car Won’t Stop Pretending It’s At A Rave'”
“When I Saw This I Told Her It Wasn’t Going To Be Cheap.”
“A Sweet Old Lady Asked Me To Apply Her 2018 License Plate Decal Today As She Couldn’t Kneel Down To Do It Herself Anymore”
“Had An Interesting Tailgate Come In Today.”
“Just Pulled This Out Of A Customers Car Between The Grill And Condenser.”
“An Actual ‘Key’ Supplied By A Customer”
This next one shows how unbelievable some days at work can be
“Lexus In To Pick Up Some Brake Pads”
“This Little Girl Helped Me Check Codes In Her Owner’s Car Today. Good Girl”
“Which Car Has The Worst Battery Location?”
“Says Didn’t Have A Spare, Drove For 3 Days! I Found The Spare In The Trunk Complete With Jack!”
“In Case You’ve Ever Wondered That The Undercarriage Of A Tesla Looked Like”
Sometimes the most unexpected things end up in the garage
“They Told Me Someone Was Dropping Off Their BBQ For Me To Do Brakes And Bearings On. I Thought They Were Joking, They Were Not”
“Ya Think”
“Rental Car Came Back Like This ‘Had A Plane To Catch'”
“Sorry Officer I Didn’t Know How Fast I Was Going!”
“Customer Stated He Needed A Punctured Tyre Repaired, Had To Tell Him He Was Screwed”
“I Think My Boss May Be Compensating For Something With His New Toolbox”
“Customer Was Wondering Why When He Started His Car This Morning, It Sounded Different. He Didn’t Understand It When I Told Him He Had Been Robbed.”
“I Replaced A Battery Last Week In A Customers Car And She Is Trying To Claim The Battery Is Causing Weird Things To Happen To Her Car Now. This Morning, She Said The Red Line Was Never There Before The Battery Was Replaced And Wants A Refund. Lord Help Me”
