Whose done dumb sh!t before?

[CALL_911]

We live out in the country, so our mailbox is on a metal pole by the side of the main road (opposite side of the road from our house actually). I normally stop at it on my way home because our house is at least 500 ft from the road. I always watch the mirror because I don't want to knock it off (not again, but the deer incident wasn't my fault), This particular time somehow the mirror was clear but the back of the front fender wasn't. The noise it made was far worse than the damage. In its current state (very dirty) you can't even see the scratch unless you look for it.

The noise always hurts.

[TheIntrepid]

I said mechanical for a reason . I also drove into the mail box the other day (just a light scratch, thank God) and then hit a curb and blew a tire. I am on a roll lately.

You're not a very good driver, are you?

[J86]

We put my buddy's Imprezza through the grassy median yesterday, he did an excellent job threading it between two trees right at the last second

[Champ]

Nothing mechanical, but I am going to change my battery and probably the spark plug wires and spark plugs soon, hopefully I don't screw anything up.

Make sure to change the wires one at a time so they are in the correct spots!

[CALL_911]

We put my buddy's Imprezza through the grassy median yesterday, he did an excellent job threading it between two trees right at the last second

I blew the transmission on my buddy's old 1994 Sentra. Funny thing is, we actually took the car out to try and kill it. 

[dazzleman]

Yep, I just joined the list of eternally dumb things to do.

My battery with this recent cold snap has been needing jumps so I ran down to the dealership to get a new battery.  I ran out to the lot to install it myself because I wasn't going to pay $50 for them to install a battery.

Get it in the car and connect the cables and my engine starts smoking.

Yes folks, I hooked it up backwords.  I feel like a fking retard.  I'm an electrical engineer who knows his way around cars and hooked a battery up backwords.

So I just left it at the dealership they just called and quoted my $560 to do the alternator.  Starter is still good and the car runs, just doesn't charge so it looks like everything else is in tip top shape.


Lesson learned, hooking your battery up backwords can be a $600 mistake!!!!!! 



Anyone else do dumb stuff?  I know R-inge just blew that engine    Don't feel so bad dude I messed up something far simpler!

Dude, I've done a lot of stupid shit.

A few years ago, I got a flat tire.  I changed the tire, but put the jack in the wrong place, and damaged the underpanel of the car.  That cost me hundreds of dollars to fix.

And that's just the thing that immediately comes to mind.  There have been a number of others.

[dazzleman]

I blew the transmission on my buddy's old 1994 Sentra. Funny thing is, we actually took the car out to try and kill it. 

Well, you succeeded....

[J86]

I blew the transmission on my buddy's old 1994 Sentra. Funny thing is, we actually took the car out to try and kill it. 

Yea, this is an '05....we were trying desparately to keep it alive

[Secret Chimp]

Make sure to change the wires one at a time so they are in the correct spots!

True gangstas know their car's firing order, the rotational direction of the distributor and where plug number 1 is on the cap.

[TBR]

You're not a very good driver, are you?

I am a fine driver, I just don't have an eye for the details, I watch for the big things, not the small thing.

[dazzleman]

I am a fine driver, I just don't have an eye for the details, I watch for the big things, not the small thing.

With all due respect, that would make you a shitty driver, dude.  One of those 'details' could be a live person one of these days.

[TBR]

With all due respect, that would make you a shitty driver, dude.  One of those 'details' could be a live person one of these days.

No they couldn't. I am very careful around other cars and people. In fact, I really am quite careful in general, but with as much as I drive crap is going to happen. Hitting a curb is hardly a big deal. And, a slight misjudgement at the mail box (going all of 2 mph) isn't a big deal either.

[TBR]

Shitty drivers are people who slam on the brakes when the light has been red for 30 seconds. Shitty drivers are people who cut off other drivers on a regular basis. Shitty drivers are people who tailgate. Shitty drivers are people who pull out when there isn't enough room. Shitty drivers are people who drift all of their lane, and possibly into other lanes. I do not do any of those things, I have just a made a few slight mistakes. It happens to everybody, to argue otherwise is ridiculous.

[Secret Chimp]

HULK SMASH!

[CALL_911]

Well, you succeeded....

Sure did.

[TBR]

Further thought, the reason I hit curbs and mail boxes is that I don't have a good concept of the size of the car, I think I am clear when in fact I am not. This is not a problem around people because I always give extra room to them and to other cars. I tend to not give extra room to things like curbs simple because they can't really be damaged (not by a 2800 lb sports coupe anyway) nor can they damage a car much (I didn't even realize they could blow a tire). Now I am sure I'll treat curbs with the same respect I treat people.

[Secret Chimp]

(butt-ton of overexplanation)

I seenk you are a beet inzecure, ja?

[TheIntrepid]

No they couldn't. I am very careful around other cars and people. In fact, I really am quite careful in general, but with as much as I drive crap is going to happen. Hitting a curb is hardly a big deal. And, a slight misjudgement at the mail box (going all of 2 mph) isn't a big deal either.

So? I drive ~400km a week. I have yet to hit anything. Things aren't "bound to happen" unless they're someone else's fault. That's something you can't control. I may be overconfident of my driving but I know damn well I'm not going to hit anything on account of my negligence. What I am afraid of is drivers like you who aren't watching and will end up hitting me.

[The Pirate]

One time, I changed the oil in my car, and was driving around later.  I found out the hard way, but I neglected to re-affix the oil filler cap. 

[TBR]

So? I drive ~400km a week. I have yet to hit anything. Things aren't "bound to happen" unless they're someone else's fault. That's something you can't control. I may be overconfident of my driving but I know damn well I'm not going to hit anything on account of my negligence. What I am afraid of is drivers like you who aren't watching and will end up hitting me.

You're bloody hard headed, aren't you? So I hit a curb, that makes me a terrible driver? There is a big difference between hitting a low lying object with the back tire and hitting a car or a person. If you can't see this than then you're an idiot. The mail box was a matter of inches. Yes, I screwed up, but in my defense it was very dark out (when it is overcast out here you can't see a thing at night, no light pollution). I am glad you can finally feel superior about something. And, fyi, 400km is nothing. 400-500 MILES a week for me.

Edit- besides, if you think you're going to make it through a lifetime of driving without any mistakes then you're in for a world of disappointment. Talk to any adult (real adult), I am sure they have hit a curb at some point or another. And, of the 4 incidents I have had, one of them wasn't my fault (what was I supposed to do to stop the damn deer from running into the car?), two were my fault, but very minor, and the other was very much my fault and relatively major (of course there were no other people involved and no damage done to anybody's personal property but mine). And, most importantly, I learned from everyone of these incidents (okay, so the mail box run in wasn't very beneficial, but after hitting the deer I have become much more careful on country roads at night (though I was going the speed limit at the time and was pretty much at a stop when the dumb animal hit me) and since the pole I am much more aware in parking lots)).

[TheIntrepid]

You hit a pole, you've hit a mailbox, you've hit a curb.

You can't call yourself a good driver. There's no point to arguing. At least you're man enough to admit it.

Yeah I hit a curb once. Not hit per se, but turned too tightly and my rear wheel bounced it a little. I was 14 and it was one of my first times on the road in Canada. Whatever, big deal.

[TBR]

Guess what, that is exactly what I did. But somehow this makes me a bad driver? You're being ridiculous. As noted, the mailbox incident happened at very low speed and I normally miss it by 3-4 inches, it has absolutely nothing to do with my ability to pilot a vehicle at speed. The pole, yes, that was a big deal. But, I have learned from it and I am not going to make the same mistakes again (cutting across a parking lot while simultaneously look over my shoulder for traffic).

I am a good driver. A couple of very minor, isolated incidents do not change that fact.

[TBR]

I see that you have read the last post without replying, I'll take that as a concession.

Of note, when I have been in situations that could result in a great amount of carnage I have reacted by the textbook. When I had a left front tire blow I slow applied the brake, checked the left lane for traffic, and then slowly let the 5,000 lb vehicle drift towards the median (why fight it I figured). When I saw a deer at the edge of a blind curve I slammed on the brakes immediately. Of course the deer still hit the car, but I hit the brakes as soon as could be expected.

I really think it is ludicrous that I am having to defend my driving abilities over something as minor as hitting a curb at 10 mph and scratching a mail box pole at under 2 mph.

[Secret Chimp]

I see that you have read the last post without replying, I'll take that as a concession.

Of note, when I have been in situations that could result in a great amount of carnage I have reacted by the textbook. When I had a left front tire blow I slow applied the brake, checked the left lane for traffic, and then slowly let the 5,000 lb vehicle drift towards the median (why fight it I figured). When I saw a deer at the edge of a blind curve I slammed on the brakes immediately. Of course the deer still hit the car, but I hit the brakes as soon as could be expected.

I really think it is ludicrous that I am having to defend my driving abilities over something as minor as hitting a curb at 10 mph and scratching a mail box pole at under 2 mph.

Hitting a curb at 10 mph isn't really minor. The last time I heard somebody do that it was from the previous year's driver's ed class in high school.

[Laconian]

My old Camry was parked in the driveway. The driveway is fairly narrow, and the garage opens up at a 90 degree angle to the direction that cars are parked outside. When there is a car in the driveway, maneuvering the Miata out of the 2nd garage bay requires rowing between 1st and reverse at least three times. One day I thought I got the angle right on the first try, and while I was backing up I noticed the trunk of the Camry moving up. Oh fuck. I drove forward and the trunk dropped again. I got out and surveyed the damage. The mighty plastic bumper of the Camry made a nice gouge on the driver's side fender.

For the next few months I fixated on that scar whenever I approached the Miata. It was shameful.

[Danish]

One time, I changed the oil in my car, and was driving around later.  I found out the hard way, but I neglected to re-affix the oil filler cap. 

That happened to my dad once when he took my old car to get an oil change. The worst part about it was that the padding on the underside of the hood was soaked in oil afterwards

[Eye of the Tiger]

This one time, I drained an entire cooling system onto my garage floor - no, actually I did that twice. I couldn't get it into a bucket.

[280Z Turbo]

This one time, I drained an entire cooling system onto my garage floor - no, actually I did that twice. I couldn't get it into a bucket.

I have that happen a lot now that my petcock is broke. It's either clean up a mess when I change coolant or buy a new radiator.

[Rupert]

Stopcock?

[TheIntrepid]

Cockblock?