c/wrecked-car-pics

PSA: my worst week on the highway totaled three cars in six days

Last May I was driving home on I-85 near Atlanta and got rear-ended by a distracted teen on a Tuesday. Then Thursday morning a deer jumped right over the median and smashed into my rental's front end. By Sunday I was driving a loaner from my buddy's lot and some guy ran a red light at the intersection of Piedmont and Monroe. Three wrecks in one week. Each time I walked away without a scratch but my insurance premium jumped $400. Has anyone else had a stretch of bad luck like that where you just wanted to stop driving for a month?

Everyone loves those clean snap-together wrecks, but I think the real story is in the beat-up daily drivers

I keep seeing people post photos of cars that were clearly totaled in one big crash, all shiny and new before. But my neighbor's 1998 Ford Ranger has been hit three times in our parking lot over the last five years, and he still drives it with a dented door and a missing side mirror. To me, that truck has more character than any single-collision write-off. Those scars tell a real story of surviving city driving and bad luck. Am I the only one who prefers a car that's been slowly thrashed over months instead of wrecked in one dramatic moment?

Guy tried to sell me a "barely driven" car with 4 different colored doors at a gas station

That Harbor Freight torque wrench was off by 20 ft-lbs

Snapped a lug stud on my Subaru after torquing to spec. Cheap tool cost me a hub replacement. Anyone else had a calibration fail ruin their day?

I finally saw why you don't cheap out on brake pads the hard way

It was about 6 months ago on I-35 outside Austin, traffic suddenly stopped and I hit the brakes at 65 mph. The pedal went almost to the floor and the car just kept sliding forward, I barely stopped in time by swerving onto the shoulder. Turns out those $20 Autozone special pads had glazed over after just 3 months of daily driving. Has anyone else had cheap pads turn into hockey pucks at the worst possible moment?

Vent: That $200 water pump I installed last month just grenaded on the highway near Tucson

Ngl, I replaced the water pump on my 2002 Subaru Forester about 5 weeks ago, got it from a local parts store in Mesa. Yesterday I was driving back from a hike near Tucson when the temp gauge shot up and I heard this grinding noise. Pulled over and saw coolant everywhere and the pulley was wobbling like crazy. Had to get it towed 40 miles to a shop for $180. The mechanic said it was a bad casting on the pump hub, not even my install fault. Has anyone else had a brand new part fail that quick? I'm thinking about just getting a used OEM pump from a junkyard instead.

Just watched a minivan get T-boned at 4 way stop and the driver just shrugged it off

I was sitting at the intersection of Main and Oak in my buddy's truck last Tuesday, saw this old minivan blow through a stop sign and get clipped by a sedan. The guy gets out, looks at his crumpled sliding door, then just says 'well that's my sign to finally get a new car' and starts laughing. Has anyone else seen someone take a wreck that casually?

PSA: The guy who waved me through a stop sign and I ended up in a ditch

I'm still split on this one and want to hear what y'all think. About 2 months ago I was driving my old F-150 through a construction zone near Chattanooga. Some dude in a beaten-up Civic waves me through a four-way stop out of order. I go, he goes, and I swerve to miss him and put my truck into a ditch. Tore up my front bumper and bent a tie rod. Cost me $400 to fix. He took off. But here's the thing. I've been that guy before. Sometimes you're trying to be nice in a tight spot. So is it on me for trusting a stranger's hand signal, or is he the jerk who caused the whole mess? Has anyone else dealt with a situation where being polite on the road backfired big time?

That $200 'waterproof' cover I bought for my Mustang actually trapped moisture and wrecked the paint

Left the car under it for two months in a Seattle winter and the hood looked like a topographic map. Anybody else have a cover do more damage than good?

Realized I've been clueless about salvage titles for years

Was talking to a mechanic named Dave at a shop near Austin last month, he said most rebuilt wrecks have hidden frame damage that never shows up in photos. Made me rethink the car I was about to buy for $5,000. Anyone else been burned buying a salvage car that looked clean?

Paid $150 for a 'certified' mechanic inspection before buying a used truck. Found out later the frame was completely rotted.

Dropped $200 on a dash cam and it paid off in one afternoon

I was on the highway near Austin last Tuesday. Semi truck in front of me dropped a metal ladder right on the road. I swerved but still clipped it with my front bumper. The footage caught everything clear as day. Trucking company tried to blame me at first. Sent them the video and they paid for all $1,200 in repairs within a week. That dash cam cost $200 and it already saved my deductible and my insurance rates. Anyone else had a cheap piece of gear save them big money like that?

Buddy told me his wrecked S10 was 'fixable with a hammer and some duct tape'

Turns out the frame was bent on three sides and the steering column was hanging by a wire. Has anyone else had a friend try to talk you into a repair job that was way worse than they claimed?

Had to pick between keeping my old beater or going full restoration on my uncle's wrecked '89 Camaro

I chose the Camaro because my uncle always talked about fixing it, spent about $4,200 so far and the frame's still bent in a spot I didn't notice until last month. Has anyone else taken on a project car that turned out way worse than you thought?

Hot take: people who call any dented car 'totaled' don't know insurance math

I was at Pull-A-Part in Phoenix last month grabbing a door for my 2002 Civic. Guy next to me points at a wrecked Corolla with a crushed fender and says 'that's totaled for sure.' But the frame was straight and the airbags didn't even pop. Why does everyone think cosmetic damage equals a total loss?

Found out the hard way last week that checking brake fluid can save your car from a crash

I was driving my 2002 Civic near Austin when the pedal went soft, turned out the fluid was low from a tiny leak in the hose that I ignored for months, anyone else ever had a close call from skipping basic checks?

Stripping a wreck for parts versus selling it whole to a scrap yard

I had a 2004 Honda Civic that got rear-ended real bad, frame bent and everything. I spent three weekends pulling out the engine, transmission, and interior bits, storing them in my garage. My buddy kept saying just call the scrap truck and take the $300 and be done with it. But I stuck with stripping it, and after selling the engine for $450 and the transmission for $200 on Craigslist, I came out way ahead. The scrap yard still gave me $120 for the shell and what was left. Only downside was the mess and the time, plus my neighbor complained about the car sitting on jack stands for two weeks. Has anyone else found a certain model that's always worth pulling parts from?

That $60 tow strap I bought off Amazon snapped on me yesterday

I was trying to pull my buddy's F-150 out of a ditch near Austin after it rained and that cheap strap gave way at the first real tug. Metal hook flew past my windshield and put a nice dent in the hood. Anyone else had those bargain recovery straps let go on them?

Hot take: That cracked frame on my '97 F-150 wasn't a total loss

Everyone in the forums told me to scrap it when I found a hairline crack near the rear leaf spring mount. I spent about 6 weekends learning to weld with a $120 Harbor Freight flux core unit instead. Ended up reinforcing the whole section with 3/16 steel plate and it's been solid for 8 months now. Sure, a professional would've done it cleaner, but the truck still hauls firewood every weekend. Anyone else ever fixed something 'unfixable' just to prove the internet wrong?

Had to pick between a salvage yard frame pull or a driveway hack job on my 97 Civic

My front end got crunched backing into a pole last month. The local shop quoted me 400 bucks just to pull the frame straight. I ended up renting a come-along from Home Depot for 30 bucks and strapping it to a tree in my yard. Took me three weekends but I got it close enough to slap a junkyard hood on. Still drives straight. Has anyone else gone the sketchy route on a beater car and regretted it later?

Still not sold on those 'safety cell' cars being safer after seeing this crash

I saw a 2023 sedan with that fancy reinforced passenger cage crumpled into a ball after hitting a guardrail on I-5 near Sacramento last week, and the driver walked away without a scratch. Everyone online says those designs save lives, but I keep thinking about how my old 90s truck absorbed a similar hit with just a bent bumper and I was fine too. Has anyone else noticed these new cars seem to total out from minor fender benders compared to older metal?