Tell us about your weirdest or dumbest car damage.

[Rain Man]

This is partly inspired by frozenchief's eagle grill, but also by something I saw yesterday.

I was walking in downtown Denver, and I heard a horrible scraping sound. Looking around, I caught the back end of a guy generating ridicule fodder for the rest of his life.

There's a hotel under construction at a tight intersection, so the sidewalk has been closed and they've got those big concrete jersey barriers all around it.



One of the construction workers was in a company pickup, and he cut the corner too sharp leaving the intersection and caught the edge of the barrier. That was a bummer, but then he doubled and tripled down.

For some reason, he gave the truck more gas, and the barrier started dragging down the side of the truck. Then it got to a flared wheel well and got stuck. So the guy gave it more gas. I and some other pedestrians waiting at a stop light were wincing, saying, "Back it up, dude. Back it up."

The barrier completely caved in the side of the truck, and for some inexplicable reason the guy kept trying to accelerate forward. Eventually, he actually pulled the barrier out into the street, blocking half a lane, before it let go of the truck. Then he sped off.

Now, it was late in the day, so maybe his coworkers didn't see it. But maybe they did. And I'd also be willing to bet that there are security cameras on the job site, and someone's going to check on why a 1,000 pound jersey barrier was pulled out onto the street. So this guy had to show up to work today with a company truck that is completely caved in, and he's going to have to come up with a story about why it's caved in. And if he lies about it, he's going to have to gamble that the whole thing isn't recorded on a security camera that his own company put up. Talk about screwed.

[IowaHawkeyeChief]

I've hit 4-5 deer over the last 40 years but nothing caused more damage to a car than when I hit a coyote. It hit the passenger left front and pushed the wheel a foot into the fender. Car was undriveable. I told my body guy I couldn't believe the damage it did and he said it in a very explainable way, a coyotes is all muscle, it's like you hit a 45 pount bowling ball going 70 mile per hour... Then it made sense.

[loochy]

Senior year of high school I hit a turkey one morning on the way to school. It was in some tall grass on the side of the road. As I drove by, it took off with a short turkey flight, right into the windshield on the driver side. The glass exploded everywhere, covering me and my friend that was riding with me.

A turkey...after I just fixed the car from a deer a few months earlier.


I've never met another person that hit a turkey.

[mlyonsd]

Late November my wife hit a deer and totaled her car. After wrangling with the insurance company, in January I took a day of PTO to go start looking for a car for her. On the way I was passing a semi on the interstate and he decided to change lanes and completely side swiped me. Took my breath away. Every piece of body on the right side was damaged including both wheels.

[Fat Elvis]

https://fox4kc.com/news/drivers-say-...ign=socialflow

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by loochy

Senior year of high school I hit a turkey one morning on the way to school. It was in some tall grass on the side of the road. As I drove by, it took off with a short turkey flight, right into the windshield on the driver side. The glass exploded everywhere, covering me and my friend that was riding with me.

A turkey...after I just fixed the car from a deer a few months earlier.


I've never met another person that hit a turkey.

My dad hit a turkey while I was in the passenger seat. He was driving fast as hell as usual somewhere in NE KS and the ****er did the exact same thing you’re talking about. Glass spiderwebbed and went all over us.

It was a good size Tom too. Would have probably killed me if he came all the way through.

[WilliamTheIrish]

This would have been 1994. Driving home from my first X-ray job in a northeast, KS.

Driving on a some extremely dark highway near Effingham, KS I crest a hill see a shadow (of a person it turns out) and in an instant hit some giant ****ing thing. Barely kept the car on the road as there was no shoulder on this two lane state highway. Thought somebody left their transmission in the road. Turns out it was an 800# heifer. It had been hit in the other lane went over this guys truck and plopped down in my lane. The shadow I saw was the truck owner trying to wave to me to slow down.

Never had a chance. Shook me up pretty bad. Got out of the car and stepped on the molars of that bloody carcass. After about 15 minutes the ranch owner shows up with a front loader, picked it up and away he went. Had an area of fence down and several of his herd just wandered out. Range laws… what ya gonna do? Totaled that car. And it was a great car.


Was actually driven home by the Kansas State Trooper who came on the scene.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

This would have been 1994. Driving home from my first X-ray job in a northeast, KS.

Driving on a some extremely dark highway near Effingham, KS I crest a hill see a shadow (of a person it turns out) and in an instant hit some giant ****ing thing. Barely kept the car on the road as there was no shoulder on this two lane state highway. Thought somebody left their transmission in the road. Turns out it was an 800# heifer. It had been hit in the other lane went over this guys truck and plopped down in my lane. The shadow I saw was the truck owner trying to wave to me to slow down.

Never had a chance. Shook me up pretty bad. Got out of the car and stepped on the molars of that bloody carcass. After about 15 minutes the ranch owner shows up with a front loader, picked it up and away he went. Had an area of fence down and several of his herd just wandered out. Range laws… what ya gonna do? Totaled that car. And it was a great car.


Was actually driven home by the Kansas State Trooper who came on the scene.

You are fortunate not to have been injured in that one.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

You are fortunate not to have been injured in that one.

Scared the bejeezus outta me, Ed. Was sore as hell for weeks from the seatbelt snapping me in.

[lcarus]

Only been in one little wreck. I was behind a couple people at a red light. The light turned green and we started moving. I turned to look at a hot blonde walking down the sidewalk and the cars in front of me stopped because the car at the front was one of those people that has to stop, prepare a 4 course meal, eat it, and then make the right turn. It was still totally my fault though.

[mlyonsd]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

This would have been 1994. Driving home from my first X-ray job in a northeast, KS.

Driving on a some extremely dark highway near Effingham, KS I crest a hill see a shadow (of a person it turns out) and in an instant hit some giant ****ing thing. Barely kept the car on the road as there was no shoulder on this two lane state highway. Thought somebody left their transmission in the road. Turns out it was an 800# heifer. It had been hit in the other lane went over this guys truck and plopped down in my lane. The shadow I saw was the truck owner trying to wave to me to slow down.

Never had a chance. Shook me up pretty bad. Got out of the car and stepped on the molars of that bloody carcass. After about 15 minutes the ranch owner shows up with a front loader, picked it up and away he went. Had an area of fence down and several of his herd just wandered out. Range laws… what ya gonna do? Totaled that car. And it was a great car.


Was actually driven home by the Kansas State Trooper who came on the scene.

Oofta. I can see how that would happen. I was driving home on the blacktop one totally dark night and all of a sudden realized there was an Angus cow standing in the middle of the road. I missed it but can't imagine actually running over one.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

Scared the bejeezus outta me, Ed. Was sore as hell for weeks from the seatbelt snapping me in.

I bet! Good thing you had it on! I imagine the shoulder harness was tested and left you a reminder of the incident as well.

[Graystoke]

In 1973 my dad let my brother and I shoot the doors on his 66 Chevelle SS with 22 rifles.
We had spent the afternoon plinking in the woods and when we were wrapping it up he made the suggestion. 10 and 12 year old boys say yes to that kind of suggestion.
We each got two shoots on our selected door, windows rolled up and clearly instructed not to hit.
We felt so cool returning to the neighborhood, showing the bullet holes, bragging a bit.
Wish I had that car now.

[LagunaSWana]

Was getting a blood draw and when I came out, there were people standing around my car. Some lady forgot to put her car in park (left it in neutral) and it gently rolled up against the car in front of her. When that car left, her car rolled about 50 feet, making a slight right turn in the process, to roll into the back of my car. Got the whole thing on video and was even one of the clips on the "Wham Bam Tesla Cam" youtube channel.

Caused about $7,500 in damage, paid by her insurance.

[displacedinMN]

I was drunk. My muffler fell off. I went back to get it and hit the muffler. Left a big dent in my door. Really stupid.

[Frazod]

I guess a blown engine counts as damage. This is from an old post of an even older story.

In December of '85 the ex-wife and I headed back to Missouri from Norfolk in my '77 Monza. The car was on the brink of death, but we were planning on trading it in on a new car when we got back. Driving through the Appalachians in Virginia and West Virginia, the car was going about 40 mph up the mountains and 80 mph down the mountains. Finally we got to Charleston, which is exactly half-way, filled up with gas, got back out on the interstate, and as soon as the car got above 30 mph it started lurching and sputtering. We pulled over at a gas station, but it was the middle of the night and there wouldn't be a mechanic there until the next morning. We had almost no money - we slept in the car that night. The next morning, the mechanic delivered the bad news - blown engine. I remember his exact words - "There's no nice way to put this, you're ****ed." We ended up selling the car (luckily I had the title with me) to a guy that worked there for $100 and a ride to the bus station.

This is where the story gets weird.

While we're waiting (the bus didn't leave until 3:00 p.m.), one my wife's teachers from college just happened to stop at that gas station. They too were on their way back to Missouri from Virginia. The teacher was driving their family car, and her husband was driving a rental truck. They agreed to give us a ride home. So, we get past Lexington KY and the goddamn rental truck broke down. Luckily we had the $100 we'd sold the car for to pay for a hotel room that night. Finally the truck company fixed the truck the next day, and we got back on track. Finally arrived at Kirksville exactly 60 hours after we'd left Norfolk - made the return drive in a new car in 14.