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28 Bizarre Things Car Mechanics Saw On The Job

Cameron Eittreim March 5, 2021

Automotive mechanics have a rewarding career path, especially if you love automobiles and motorcycles. The job of an auto mechanic takes a lot of training and knowledge of what goes on under the hood of a vehicle. But sometimes the job can take unexpected twists and turns, and some pretty wild stories have gone on in automotive shops.

You never expect to have the same day as an automotive mechanic, and that’s alright because that makes the job a bit more interesting. We are going to be taking a look at some of the unique stories that are unlike these additions to cars that automotive mechanics have encountered on the job. Read on below.

28: The Cat In The Car

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A driver once found a cat in his engine compartment when his vehicle was being worked on. Here’s the quote: “When Reddit contributor, JDela13, saw the mechanic working on his truck jump back about a foot in surprise, he went over to investigate. The last thing he expected to see was a small pair of eyes staring back at him. A tiny kitten was hiding out in the groove of the engine block. Luckily, the animal was unharmed.” – via Readers Digest

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It’s not unlikely to find small animals inside of your wheel well and other compartments of your vehicle if it has been sitting outside. Most notably, if you park your car out in a field or you live in a rural area, your vehicle is more susceptible to risk. Many problems can arise from small animals being inside of your vehicle, and it’s not always the cute or adorable thing you might assume.

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27: The Problem With The Cat In The Car

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Even a tiny kitten car causes unwanted damage to your vehicle. The engine block is home not only to the engine block but also droves of different wiring and accessories. Because most cars are controlled by an ECM this is extremely risky to have any sort of a living thing under there. Once the wires under the hood are cut or tampered with it can be almost impossible to ever get your car to run right again. From the lights not working properly to your battery being drained for no reason, there is just an abundance of issues that can arise from this.

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A lot of times owners of cars that are parked in fields or barns will notice that most of the wiring has been chewed up over time. You can prevent this by spraying periodically with pesticides and setting traps but ultimately you need to drive the car. Driving the car every so often and giving the engine bay a good cleaning will prevent the problem altogether. The worst thing that you can experience is to find that the wiring in your car has been chewed to bits.

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26: Animals Can Get Into All Of The Crevasses

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The story of the kitten under the hood is just one of thousands of instances mechanics have seen. Animals chewing up the wiring is a mainstream problem in the automotive industry and according to Allstate Insurance, it can be a serious problem. “When you think of animals that can damage your car, squirrels might not be the first critters you think of. But, squirrels and other rodents have been known to chew on car wiring, causing damage to a vehicle’s electrical systems.” – via Allstate Insurance.

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Needless to say, this is something that drivers should take seriously. While it can be convenient to have old cars parked close to home, if you aren’t protecting them you’ll pay for it. A garage with adequate insulation and ventilation is the best way to keep your collection. People like Jay Leno and George Foreman spend thousands a month on their car care, and you can only imagine what larger collections cost to protect.

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25: Nissan Mechanic Finds A Snake

Snake in car engine — Photo Credit: Insider Online

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Meanwhile, in Arizona, there was a mechanic at a Nissan Dealership who found a snake under the hood. With the hot temperatures and desert climate in Arizona, it is no wonder that the man found a snake. “Quora contributor Mark Shaggy Wertheim probably wishes it was a kitten he found under the hood of the late model Nissan he was working on at a dealership in Arizona. Instead, he was treated to the sight of a Western diamondback rattlesnake giving birth to six babies. The customer, who blamed herself for having left her car parked for several weeks while she was away on business, tipped Wertheim generously.” – via Readers Digest

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Copperheads are the most common rattlesnake that you’ll find but the Diamondback can be quite deadly. If you are close to the desert or live in an area like this you need to watch out. These snakes are always on the lookout for somewhere to hatch their eggs. The rattlesnakes will come out of nowhere and can strike very fast.

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24: Prevent Snakes From Entering Your Car

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You’re probably thinking to yourself that you don’t want a snake under the hood. Unfortunately, if you live in Arizona or somewhere similar there is always a risk. Especially in older vehicles where there is a lot of exposed space under the hood. But don’t fret, because there are a few things that you can do to protect yourself. It should be without question that parking your car out in a field or away from your house will put it at risk. If you must park it away from the residence and out in the open you can surround the car with snake repellent pellets. These will ensure that you don’t have any unwanted visitors under your hood.

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Keeping the car operating is also important because when an engine is constantly warm or being moved the snake won’t feel comfortable setting up a nest. Giving your engine a good spray down once a month can help things out, as well as the undercarriage of the car or truck. Just because you don’t look down there doesn’t mean that dirt and debris don’t build up.

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23: Snakes Aren’t The Only Pests In Arizona

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Just because you’ve prevented the snake problem you have to face the other pests that can attract your car as well. Scorpions are also a major factor in this area, and with a deadly sting, there is nothing worse than finding one of these under your hood. Now, if you have detracted from the scorpion problem some rats and mice tend to chew up the wiring. You can protect your vehicle’s wiring with plastic covering that you can get at the auto parts store.

local publication featuring local art and music — Photo Credit: Pexel

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Taking preventative steps to make sure that you are protecting the engine compartment of your vehicle will ensure that it lasts a lot longer. Plus, who wants to find a snake or a scorpion under the hood of their car? It would be a life-altering experience and something that you will never forget.

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22: She Also Pranked The Mechanic

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According to Readers Digest, the mechanic got a visit from his faithful customer a few months after the snake incident. But what happened next was a shock. “Wertheim’s customer turned out to be a real card: “The next time she came in, she requested me. When I popped the hood, I was greeted by ANOTHER SNAKE!!” This one was rubber, thank goodness. And it had a $20 bill taped to it along with a note: “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself!” – via Readers Digest. Imagine opening up your hood to find yet another snake from the same customer.

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While humor is something that we all need, you still don’t want to play around with finding a snake under the hood. It only takes a second for a snake bite to fatally injure you so taking the time to make sure that your engine compartment is protected is important. Plus, not all of us like poisonous reptiles.

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21: That Fishy Smell

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According to Readers Digest, a Tesla worker found a rather nasty surprise in the backseat of a new Tesla vehicle. “Quora contributor, Brian Glastetter, who works for Tesla Motors, recalls facing the “most horrendous punch-you-in-the-face smell you could ever imagine” while performing a transmission repair. “I rolled every window down with little relief,” he says. Turns out the source was a “large pile of fish heads in the back seat baking in the 100-degree summer heat.” Glastetter never found out why they were there.” – via Readers Digest.

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Could you imagine working at a dealership and finding this in the backseat? Well, there are a lot of oddities that happen at the dealership. With so many cars going and out daily there is a chance that an owner could forget something in the backseat. Given that the majority of Tesla owners are in California this could have been some sort of seafood purchase.

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20: Removing The Fish Smell

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Once the fish heads were extracted from the vehicle then comes the process of getting rid of the smell. Air fresheners are not the most ideal for this process because they just mask the smell. Instead, the first method is to let the car fully air out, which can be difficult if the weather doesn’t agree with you. But what you don’t want to happen is to create mildew in the cabin, and so air is an important aspect. Aside from that, you can wipe down the surfaces with a protectant, this will get rid of the smell and protect you from future damage.

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While you might not think that you can get the horrendous smell out of your vehicle it is possible. But the main lesson here is to just keep rotten fish out of your car’s interior. The result isn’t very pleasant and you are just better off without it. You’ll notice in the long run that you will enjoy your car a lot better when you don’t have to clean out the horrible smell.

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19: Tesla Has Seen Worse

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Of course, he has seen a lot worse in his time in the automotive industry than a pile of fish. “That honor might go to the corpse he discovered in the trunk of a car that had been dropped off for service. “Oops, meant to take that out?” Glastetter wondered. In other cars, he’s also found a brick of drugs, several adult “toys,” an arsenal of guns and ammo, bottles of liquor, dirty diapers, and a live snake.” – via Readers Digest. We’re not sure if most owners think about what they are leaving behind when it comes time to service.

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You want to make sure that any personal effects are removed from the vehicle, especially if they are “personal” indeed. Not only will it save you from embarrassment, but it will also save the technician from a not-so-ordinary day at the job. Most people who get their vehicles serviced wouldn’t think twice but hopefully, this story will make you.

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18: Finding A Corpse In The Car

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It’s not unfathomable in today’s off-the-wall world that an automotive tech could come across the extreme. But what happens next? Well, it comes time to tell the authorities first and foremost and not interfere with the crime scene. Experiences like this happen once in a lifetime and they can be both traumatic and terrifying. You don’t know where the car came from or who the owner is, you just know that something isn’t right. Working the automotive field technicians have pretty much seen it all and most used cars have seen a thing or two as well.

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This probably won’t happen to the vast majority of us but it is still worth it to take heed. You never know what kind of strange things will happen and influence your life. At the end of the day, you’ll need to be prepared for anything as an automotive technician. On the plus side, you get to learn a lot about life and cars in the long run.

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17: The Mechanic Could Have Been Greedy

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This same mechanic had another interesting story that he told Readers Digest. He had found a large sum of money stuffed in the dashboard of a car, nevertheless, he turned it over to the owner. Talk about an honest driver. “Glastetter also recalls the time that a brown paper bag with $60,000 turned up wedged behind the glove box of a car that was in for service. He returned it to the customer—no questions asked.” – via Readers Digest. It is hard to find an honest person that will not keep that amount of money to themselves.

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Nevertheless, this story goes to show that there are still honest people that won’t steal. The vast amount of situations just like this don’t turn out well. Leave change in your cup holder at the car wash? Chances are it will be gone by the time you come back, and that is just a fact of life. This was one time when honesty paid off for sure.

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16: What You Can Do To Protect Yourself

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Drivers won’t want to leave loose change or cash in your vehicle, this leaves you susceptible to theft. We all tend to throw loose change around in our vehicles but this is the first way that you will end up being taken from. You also want to negate leaving important documents in the car like the Title or anything important. If the title is stolen your vehicle can be registered by someone else and stolen. These are worst-case scenarios but naturally, it is better to be prepared for the worst.

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By making sure that you are prepared you won’t end up taking a loss that you don’t have to. Smash and grab thefts are some of the most common in the automotive industry, and thus you are constantly a potential victim.

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15: The Story Of The Mysterious Shrunken Car

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Obesity is a major topic of conversation in America, and obese drivers find it extremely hard to get a comfortable vehicle. This story was shared with Readers Digest about a driver who thought that her car had been shrunk on purpose. “Glastetter’s strangest story, in his opinion, was the time when an extremely overweight woman picked up her car after having it serviced. She was there with her daughter, who was also extremely overweight. After the women squeezed into the car, Glastetter began to hear a commotion. A minute later, he says, they stomped out of the car, fists clenched and red-faced. “You shrunk my car,” the woman insisted. “Now put it back to the size it was when we dropped it off, or you’ll hear from my lawyer.” – via Readers Digest.

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This story just goes to show you that anyone can be affected by something like this. She thought that her car shrunk when in reality it was probably that the seat was adjusted. Small cars such as the Chevy Citation or Ford Focus are extremely difficult to get into, especially if you are a larger person.

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14: The Rise In Crossovers

1991 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer — Photo Credit: GM

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Part of the reason for the massive popularity of crossover vehicles is the fact that the consumer base is getting larger. This isn’t a joke, but one of the driving factors in which compact cars are being pushed to the wayside. Crossover vehicles are a lot larger and the interior dimensions are friendlier for accommodating a larger load. This has created a massive new market with plenty of profits for automakers to enjoy, whereas the sedan and compact car market has declined steadily every year.

1991 Jeep Wagoneer — Photo Credit: Bring a Trailer

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Stories like this can be painful and enlightening at the same time. Rather than make fun of the driver’s insane reaction we can look at the bigger problem. And what it might take to fix this in the automotive industry. Larger cars might not be the only solution to a problem that has been brewing for decades.

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13: Protecting The Car From The Tax Man

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We’ve all heard the stories about the people who wear a tinfoil hat. The thinking is that the government is using cellular towers to surveil information, and foil stops the signals from making it through. This couldn’t be further from the truth, nevertheless, there was a customer who tried on his car anyway. “Reddit user Yellow Toad had heard of stories of people wearing tinfoil hats, but he never thought he’d see a car whose engine, wires, battery, and hoses were wrapped completely in foil. Turned out the customer owed a lot in back taxes and was certain the government was attempting to track her via her car. She figured since tinfoil works to keep the government from tapping into your brain, it must work with cars equally as well.” – via Readers Digest.

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Would the tinfoil work? Well, no, but the driver was trying anyway. We’re not sure what the driving factor behind this rationale was. Foil won’t protect your car from signals or surveillance, and you can expect that it will be signaled out as an oddity. Owe the taxman? Just get them paid, it’s the only way.

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12: Cars Are More Connected Than Ever

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The cars that we drive nowadays are connected to the outer world more than ever before. It used to be that you had an AM/FM radio, but now cars are connected to Satellite GPS, remote service diagnostics, wireless internet, and more. With the advent of self-driving cars, they will only get more advanced because of the push for new technology. There is no way to simply take your car “off the grid” anymore, you just have to buy an older model car. This is why off-road enthusiasts have been flocking toward old-fashioned SUV models.

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The simplistic design and lack of a computer make maintenance simple and finding the problem another easy task. You can expect that the classic SUV model will continue to rise in price as the technological aspects of modern cars continue to rise. Thus, the foil method will not work in stopping your vehicle from being tracked.

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11: When Drivers Don’t Just Understand

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Every so often as a mechanic you’ll come across something so stupid that it has no foundation. That is the story that one mechanic experienced according to Readers Digest. “A lady came in and said that her car would pull to the right, recalls mechanic, Cheima15. After driving it for 10 minutes, he could find nothing wrong with it. Perhaps, the lady suggested, if Cheima came for a ride with her, he’d see it with his own two eyes. Sure enough, the car did pull dramatically to the right—anytime the driver reached over to open the glove box. The mechanic saved his customer some money by recommending she not open the glove box while steering.” – via Readers Digest.

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As you can see here the driver failed to understand that she was the reason that the car was swaying. Even with the new lane departure systems that cars have there is still going to be that selection of drivers that won’t learn. You’ll still have distractions and sadly there will still be crashes.

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10: How Couldn’t The Driver Tell

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Look, as a mechanic you’ve been there. When a customer swears that the car is going the wrong way or not responding correctly. The driver was obviously in her zone instead of focusing on the road and the way that her car was acting. Most drivers fail to realize things that are going on with their vehicles right under their noses. As such this is a common tail of something that happens to a lot of people in their vehicles.

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The mechanic was able to diagnose the problem from the driver’s perspective. He was able to zone in on the fact that the driver just wasn’t in tune with her vehicle. This is not something new and you’ll see this more and more as cars become more computerized. The days of being able to diagnose your car are far behind us.

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9: Mystery Noise In The Trunk

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Chances are that we’ve all had a moment where we hear a weird sound coming from our vehicle. Whether it be clunking under the hood, suspension, or in the trunk. Nevertheless, identifying what sound is coming from was was important. This driver happened to have a bowling ball rolling around in the trunk. “Reddit user FartKilometre tells a story of a customer who came in complaining of hearing a heavy clunking noise whenever he stopped his car and a similar heavy clunking whenever he was pulling away from a stop. The problem, FK discovered, was the loose bowling ball rolling around in the trunk.” – via Readers Digest.

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How you would forget that a bowling ball was in the trunk? Well, a lot of us throw extra stuff in our trunks and forget about it. More so if you have a pickup truck with a large-sized truck bed. You’ll find yourself throwing everything from beer cans to bowling balls back there if you are in a hurry, and all of this extra stuff will cause road noise.

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8: Teaches Us To Secure Cargo

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What the story about the bowling ball in the trunk tells us is that we need to properly secure cargo. You can transport a bowling ball but would you want it rolling around the trunk and damaging everything? Probably not, thus it is important to make sure that all cargo is secured. A lot of automakers sell accessories like a cargo net or a tonneau cover for truckbeds. Securing cargo will make sure that you don’t have any flying debris in a crash either.

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Perhaps the bowling ball person learned that those Friday night bowling sessions are not as important as securing cargo. Because the diagnostic for a mechanic is not generally free, and the diagnostic was a bowling ball. Talk about a waste of time and money and money for a simple error in judgment.

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7: Understanding Child Safety Locks

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During the ’90s, cars were being designed with new child safety locks that would prevent the passenger doors from opening. A lot of drivers are still baffled by this and here is one such case that happened. “Mechanic Rebel_County recalls a customer coming to him, complaining that he couldn’t open the rear doors of his car. Sure enough, the doors would not open, and Rebel County was as baffled as to his customer. It finally occurred to him that… no, could it be something as simple as the child safety lock is on? And so it was. It was just too bad that this occurred to him only after he had pretty much taken the door apart.” – via Readers Digest.

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For older cars especially those that were designed in the nineties the child safety lock is a manual switch. Thus, if this switch is engaged the doors will not open from the inside and it can create confusion for the consumer.

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6: Pay Attention To Safety Features

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The story about the child safety locks just shows us that we need to know about everything that is built into our car. If you are just driving around for no reason and not understanding your car then you will never experience all of the features. There are all kinds of locking mechanisms that are built into modern cars such as a sunroof lock, door locks, and of course safety. There is even an emergency trunk release in most modern sedans.

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You should take the time to read the manual thoroughly and learn about all of your car’s safety features. You will have a better driving experience overall and enjoy your car a lot more. Most people don’t take the time to examine their new vehicle thoroughly and a lot of the features go untouched for the car’s life.

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5: Antifreeze Is Sweet And Deadly

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Cars and trucks no longer run on straight water to stay cool, and as such you’ve probably bought a jug of coolant at one time or another. Well, the antifreeze of today has a sweet taste to it which makes it deadly for animals that are attracted to a taste. Here is a story about a thirsty mouse “Upon opening the hood of a customer’s car, mechanic Val M. Smith was startled to see a mouse holding the upper radiator hose in a death grip. It was a death grip—the mouse was dead. “Only thing we could figure was it had acquired a taste for the antifreeze leaking from the hose and died gripping the hose when drinking. Strangest thing I have seen!” – via Readers Digest.

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So this should teach us that antifreeze is a deadly thing to have around the garage. When you do a radiator flush you don’t want to do it near animals or where the coolant can leak. Your dogs or cats could be killed from drinking even a little bit of the coolant, same for children.

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4: Keep All Fluids Safe

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Automotive fluids whether it be engine oil, coolant, or even accessories need to be put up and out of reach of children and animals. The story about the mouse and the coolant is unique but it isn’t something that we want to see often. If you have a pooch that roams around the garage or a child that has a knack for curiosity then you should probably put your antifreeze. No matter what kind of antifreeze you are using they are all equally poisonous.

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The fact that there are more do-it-yourself mechanics than ever before means that you are bound to have some coolant laying around. But the key is to keep it put away and safe from any kind of risk.

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3: The Flat Tire

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If you have a car that has sat for years on end the tire can become damaged and unusable, sadly this person didn’t understand. “You need a new tire,” replied the mechanic. “No, it’s just the bottom that’s flat.” The customer pointed out that the rest of the tire looked fine. The mechanic had to give a brief physics lesson to help the customer understand that when the bottom of a tire is flat, the tire is flat.” – via Readers Digest.

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The flat tire is an indication that the car sat for a very long time without having air. Or the tire was flat when the car was parked and the owner just decided against fixing it. Nevertheless, the flat fire is unusable and this happens quite often.

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2: Customer Didn’t Understand The Speedometer

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Every once in a while you’ll have a story that is so dumb that you don’t believe it. This is one of those stories “Reddit contributor Delmer Dueck, who owned an automotive repair shop for a few years, recalls the time a customer brought in his car, thinking the speedometer was broken: It didn’t work when the car wasn’t moving.” – via Readers Digest.

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This is a prime example of a driver not understanding what the actual automobile is. What we don’t understand is how this person became licensed in the first place. Nevertheless, there are sure to be countless more drivers like this. Especially as cars become more and more advanced in the future.

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1: Weird Sound From The Air Conditioning

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Drivers often notice all kinds of weird sounds coming out of their AC unit, especially as the vehicle gets older. This specific driver thought that he heard laughing coming out of the vents “Reddit user and mechanic fatalalala recalls the time a customer complained he heard a man laughing whenever he started the car. After some digging, the mechanic discovered it was a flapping business card that was stuck in the passenger side AC vent.” – via Readers Digest.

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This is not uncommon for us to stick stuff in certain areas of our and forget about it. Nevertheless, to think that you are hearing laughter takes a certain type of sound. This mechanic will probably not forget the encounter with this specific car owner for a while.

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Home Cars 30 Expensive Car Mods That Are Completely Useless

Cars

30 Expensive Car Mods That Are Completely Useless

Cameron Eittreim January 29, 2021

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The market for automotive customization has grown exponentially since the earlier days of the automotive industry. Automotive accessories account for a major part of the market and what we spend customizing our vehicles. Some of these accessories can improve performance and exterior appearance while others are expensive but still downright useless.

The feeling and joy of owning a new vehicle can make it addicting to start personalizing. However, many mods are illegal or simply a waste of money. We took a look at 30 expensive mods that are still somehow useless via Goliath below.

30: Oversized Spoilers

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From the advent of the original “Fast and the Furious” movie, too many drivers wanted to “rice” out their Honda Civic or Acura Integra. One of the most obvious ways to do this was with a giant spoiler. There is no real benefit in slapping an oversized spoiler onto the decklid of your car. You are going to have to drill holes into it and eventually remove the spoiler at some point. An oversized spoiler won’t give you better gas mileage either.

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Although the tuner’s look and feel can be addictive, don’t take it overboard. Nothing is worse than seeing a car that looks like it was pieced together on the road. You aren’t going to increase your speed by turning your car into a life-size Hot Wheel.

29: Fake Performance Badges

2014 SRT Viper TA (Time Attack) — Photo Credit: MOPAR

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Badge engineering is a common practice in the automotive world on the business side. You take a great model and slap a different product name on it for the same result. But another common practice with consumers is to falsely badge a performance vehicle. Sticking an AMG sticker on your friend’s C-Class doesn’t make it an AMG. Many of these performance badges are expensive to get, as are the modifications.

Dodge Viper SRT-12 — Photo Credit: Mopar

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Mimicking the look and feel of a performance car isn’t cheap, many aftermarket bumpers, wheels, and more can cost quite a bit. You’re not going to build an AMG by hand, so why waste the money on trying to put on a fake front? Fake performance badges are an extreme waste of money.

28: Radar Detector

Ford Explorer Police — Photo Credit: Ford

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As with any act of lawlessness, there is a sense of victory that comes with it. A radar detector is a way that most speeders can try and avoid costly tickets, but they are a waste of money. Most items you are still going to get hooked up by the highway patrol. It doesn’t matter if you have a radar detector or not. Trying to defeat a speed trap generally won’t yield positive results.

2014 Dodge Charger - 2012 Dodge Charger — Photo Credit: Mopar

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On the other end of the spectrum, you have the fact that no matter what you do there is no real way to avoid a speeding ticket. Yet thousands of these radar detectors are thrown onto the dashboards of new vehicles every year.

27: Fake Velocity Stacks

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The new C8 Corvette has done a lot to reinvigorate the brand, and with that being said, there’s a unique new item circling the community. This set of fake velocity stacks will set you back a whopping $1495. With that being said the accessory is just that, an accessory. The fake velocity stacks do nothing to increase the performance of the C8, instead only replacing the stock engine cover which is plastic.

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The fake velocity stacks that we’re seeing for the C8 Corvette are only an inclination of what’s to come. As electric drivetrains start to dominate the market, the need for faux performance modifications will increase. Yes, that means even more fake velocity stacks are going to be making an appearance.

26: Carbon Fiber Wraps

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Something about the tuner crowd and carbon fiber makes for a winning combination. The thing is that you can spend quite a bit on carbon fiber inserts, only to miss out dramatically on any performance increases. Wrapping your car can be quite fashionable and it beats having to pay for an entire paint job. Nevertheless, using a carbon fiber wrap does nothing for the performance of a vehicle.

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This is a fad that has become all too common in the past decade. Sure, you can wrap your vehicle with carbon fiber or add inserts. But all you are doing is putting on a front of false performance, and this isn’t what most true enthusiasts are looking for.

25: The “Bro-Dozer Lift”

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Time and time again you see obscenely high pickup trucks driving around town, and the common misconception is that these vehicles can go anywhere. That couldn’t be further from the truth, just because a truck has a high ground clearance doesn’t guarantee offroad capability.

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The Bro-Dozer fad has taken the pickup truck market by storm, unfortunately from a performance standpoint, nothing has changed. Bro-dozers are a fad in the automotive community that has been around for decades. Nowadays, lifted trucks are more or less concrete princesses instead of actual offroad vehicles.

24: Performance Coilovers

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Have you ever seen a sports car that was slammed to the ground? Well, nowadays it seems like anyone who has a sports car is trying to slam it to the ground. Does this do anything for the performance? No, but it looks cool. Nevertheless, doing a suspension job can be a costly investment and the result isn’t that promising. You are going to spend more replacing tires and getting alignments than enjoying your car.

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The market for these accessories is huge and growing. But unless you are set on owning a lowered or stanced vehicle, there just aren’t any benefits. The lowered vehicles are an enthusiast item that a certain sort of driver mindset enjoys.

23: Booming Stereo System

Bentley interior — Photo Credit: Bentley

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We’ve all heard that car that drives down the road rumbling the walls. We wonder how the change in automotive technology will affect the future of aftermarket sound systems. The overdone sound systems are as old as the car culture itself. There’s just something about driving down the boulevard where everyone can hear you. But oftentimes these sound systems are taken far overboard.

Porsche Cayenne via Motor Trend — Photo Credit: Motor Trend

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Enthusiasts will spend thousands on a competition sound system just to make themselves deaf. Even the best sound system in the world will not improve the performance of your vehicle, and will just in fact end up adding more weight to it.

22: Xenon Blue Headlights

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You’ve probably seen these lights creeping up everywhere over the past couple of years. What used to be relegated to the tuner community has now been implemented by many more drivers. Nevertheless, the fact is that the blue headlights are a true fashion statement. These annoying, ultra-bright headlights do nothing to improve your car’s performance. Most of the time the owners are just looking for a way to stand out.

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Xenon headlights are just an expensive mod that has no real purpose on your vehicle. Well, no real purpose other than blinding the drivers who are in front of you, which is quite annoying to say the least. These headlights will remain popular for quite some time.

21: Brand Sticker Decals

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Another mod that has gained popularity since the 2000s is to slap a collection of brand stickers all over your car. We’re not sure what the Nike Swoosh is going to do for performance but people still do this. Brand stickers can be expensive to order, especially in the larger sizes that are needed to coat these car windows. In addition to that, the stickers do nothing to give your car a real boost in performance.

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The fact that you’d flaunt how much money you have only made your car a lot more susceptible to theft. In the long run, this isn’t something that you should push for. Especially if you are in one of the most stolen vehicles such as a Honda Civic.

20: Polyurethane Steering Rack Bushings

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The steering system in your vehicle is one of the most costly aspects to maintain. As the vehicle gets older, these parts tend to wear and eventually fall apart. With the rack and pinion, the bushings are generally rubber and very fragile. You’ll notice as you are doing brake changes that these bushings tend to disintegrate altogether. Replacement can be costly and time-consuming, which is why you would think that Polyurethane Steering Rack Bushings are worth the cost.

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Sadly, that is not the case though, as these bushings wear out just as bad. If you are rough driving or taking your vehicle off-road you are going to blow through suspension pieces no matter what you do. While parts manufacturers would like you to think otherwise, you’ll be greatly disappointed.

19: Winter Tires

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Some areas of the country have it pretty rough in the winter season. So logically speaking, a winter set of tires would make sense. But what do you do in the summertime? Well, a lot of drivers don’t think that through and they lose mileage in the long run. A good all-season tire is an excellent alternative because you’ll get durable traction in all weather conditions.

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With all of the hoopla surrounding offroad lift kits and wheels, you’d think that winter tires would be the way to go. But unfortunately, this is not the case in any sense of the word. You’ll end up spending a lot more on a set of winter radials than you would by just getting some all-season rubber for your vehicle.

18: Cold Air Intake

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The most common modification for any newbie to their vehicle is a whopping cold air intake. But just adding a giant air hose to your intake isn’t always the best option. When a vehicle comes from the factory, it’s programmed to operate at a certain degree of air and fuel mixture. By circumventing this, you are going to cause a lot of unwanted issues if the vehicle is not properly returned.

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To simply just throw an air intake on and think that you are going to get massive gains in performance is just a downright stupid idea. Yet a lot of drivers go ahead and do just that, at the same time negatively impacting the vehicle.

17: Harness

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So you’ve got the boy racer in chains look going on huh? Well, a racing harness seems like the logical next step. Unfortunately for the random everyday driver, this is not something that you need to invest your hard-earned money into. Having a racing harness in your car can seem like a cool thing to do, but in reality, you’ll never use it.

500X Via Car And Driver — Photo Credit: Car and Driver

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Unless you are going around a track at 200 mph, the racing harness is only going to be uncomfortable. On top of that, you are going to have to contend with the maintenance and upkeep such as getting the harness tightened and inspected.

16: Racing Seats

Interior racing seats — Photo Credit: SVT

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Some cars come with racing seats right from the factory. These are great and you’d probably spend a good deal of money on that option. But to throw racing seats in your Ford Explorer just doesn’t make sense. You’re going to spend more time dreaming of being on the road than actually enjoying the seating.

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Racing seats are very stiff and not suitable for a long drive. Thus, many drivers end up making the switch to racing seats after a short while. In addition to that, the racing seats are generally very expensive to get, and if you want quality it will cost you even more.

15: Limited Slip Differential

Ultima Evolution — Photo Credit: Car and Driver

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Do you ever notice when you do a donut that only one of the wheels is spinning? Probably not, but for those of us in the car business that your differential. Thus, a lot of people are opting to purchase a limited-slip differential. The thing is that for the average driver you aren’t going to need this often heinously expensive upgrade. Most anything that has to do with the rear end of the vehicle is going to cost a great bit of money.

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Getting the performance from this aspect of the vehicle is just useless and expensive. You aren’t going to be taking most vehicles out on the track, and naturally, that means that you aren’t going to get a whole lot of performance increases.

14: Car Bras

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This isn’t a joke because there are bras for your car. These are generally used for longer trips where you’ll acquire a lot of paint damage. Freeway driving especially is tough on a new vehicle’s paint job, and having a bra can be a great way to protect it. But for most of us, we will only do a trip like this every once in a while, and thus the use of a car bra is minuscule at best.

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Although most people think that a car bra can improve the exterior appearance of a vehicle, that is not generally the case. There are variations of car bra that you can choose from, but the most commonplace selections can be quite expensive.

13: Trunk Organizer

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Another popular type of modification for vehicles is the trunk organizer. While most commonly purchased for SUVs or minivans these are practically useless. How often will be packing the actual cargo area? Not too often, which is why many consumers just steer clear of these altogether. But you have that portion of the market that will dump larger amounts of money into a specific trunk organizer.

2017 Ford Explorer - 2020 Ford Explorer — Photo Credit: Ford

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Sure, there are plenty of choices on the market, but if you think about it this is an accessory that will seldom be used. Trunk organizers are one of the more useless accessories you can get for your vehicle.

12: Bluetooth Tire Pressure Monitoring System

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Perhaps one of the more unique items to come out is the Bluetooth Tire Pressure Monitoring System. When you start modifying a vehicle, you want the wheels to be a focal point of the design. But keeping an eye on the tire pressure is not always the priority, so a Bluetooth TPMS might seem like an ideal solution. Sadly though, this is something that doesn’t always work exactly how it should.

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Most of these Bluetooth systems are still in their infancy and the results are generally sporadic. The use of a tire pressure monitor means that you can keep a greater eye on the safety of your vehicle, but these Bluetooth models are just not effective enough.

11: Extreme Seat Covers

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Tricking out the interior of your car can be an expensive and fun thing to do. But we don’t always have the funds to do a full interior overhaul. The most common type of seat cover that seems to be selling extremely well is the real tree camouflage sets. Does a seat cover benefit the interior in any intrinsic way? No, and you’ll spend more time trying to get the right fit on your seats.

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For some getting a new set of seat covers can be an exhilarating experience. Nevertheless, you can do a lot better by just saving up and redoing your interior upholstery. Seat covers are a definite waste of money for the most part.

10: Diesel Smoke Chips

991-dodge-ram-w250-cummins-turbo-diesel-4x4 — Photo Credit: Hot Rod

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We’ve all been at the red light and had a “bro-dozer” blow a plume of black smoke in our face. This is not a common occurrence from most diesel engines; in fact, these are customized performance chips that are purchased. The problem is that the black plume of smoke doesn’t increase the performance at all, and in the long run it just negatively affects the environment.

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In some municipalities, these chips are downright illegal although many still opt for them. It is cool that you can tweak your exhaust to make different colors and smells, but in the long run, there is no point to this. Most people who own a diesel truck are going to be using it for hauling and not the other way around.

9: High-End Tunes

370Z Via Motor Trend — Photo Credit: Motor Trend

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Tuning the engine is something that a lot of people in the performance community will do. Tuning can be a great way to unlock the hidden potential of your engine if you are running on the track. But for the average driver, a full tune is not going to unlock any intrinsic benefits and for the most part, your car will be the same. Nevertheless, the popularity of tunes has skyrocketed with more affordable technology.

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Pretty much anyone can buy a tuner kit off of the Internet now, but if you aren’t trained on how to use it you can seriously impact your vehicle’s computer system. Once this happens it can cost thousands of dollars to repair the damage.

8: Engine Swaps

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For the mechanically inclined person doing an engine, the swap can make a lot of sense. You can upgrade to a more powerful core, such as the GM LS family of engines. This is great if you are in the market for increased performance on the racetrack. Not so much so if you are just the average driver commuting to work though.

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Most consumers who invest in an engine swap are looking to redo their entire vehicles. The fact remains that you won’t have to do this, instead, you can focus on improving the performance with the engine you already have.

7: Supercharger

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Bolt-on superchargers are another seemingly harmless option for increasing performance. The addition can be quite expensive though, and you can look forward to spending quite a bit on the labor. Even with all of that in place, the actual improvements of the supercharger are minimalistic at best.

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You need to beef up the other aspects of the engine and most consumers aren’t going to do this. Most supercharger setups are extremely expensive to get going, and the rest of your setup will need to be upgraded as well.

6: Transmission Swaps

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Moving onto more detailed performance modifications can cost a fair bit of money. Because most cars don’t come from the factory with a performance transmission, this is another common modification to do. The problem is that the transmission can be very expensive to replace, sometimes over $3,000 or more.

Silverado Via Motor Trend — Photo Credit: Motor Trend

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You’ll get a better shifting experience but the overall cost isn’t worth it. Unless you are going to be driving on the track or drag racing the difference in a performance transmission is subtle at best. The overall cost of these transmissions is much more than doing the upgrade will be worth for the mainstream.

5: Interior Reupholstering

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You’ve probably watched Pimp My Ride, and as such you see the various custom interiors that can go into vehicles. Nevertheless, the majority of us are not going to put this kind of work into redoing an interior. The most popular form of interior reupholstering is generally in the lowrider community. The vast majority of these owners will spend thousands on a new interior.

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But for the rest of us, this just isn’t something that we need to do, instead, you can focus funds on other aspects of your vehicle. The aspect of a new interior could be a nice comfortable thing to enjoy, but you’re not going to get your money’s worth in the long run.

4: Run Flat Tires

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One of the more expensive automotive accessories that you can get is run-flat tires. The thought of having a run-flat tire is appealing because you wouldn’t have to stress about having a blow out on the road. Nevertheless, the actual effectiveness of run-flat tires for the causal driver is debatable. You’ll probably never end up needing a run-flat tire in the long run and for the most part, this is a waste.

850 Gran Coupe Shifter — Photo Credit: BMW

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When you couple the long travel times that you’ll likely never take with the cost ratio these tires just don’t make sense. The ability to upgrade the rubber on your vehicle is one of the most expensive habits that we can do.

3: Quick-Ratio Steering Rack

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The steering column of your vehicle could affect how the overall performance is on a race track. Fortunately for most drivers, you aren’t going to need this type of response. The average driver will seldom pilot a vehicle with this kind of feedback, and thus modifying the steering rack is just an expensive waste of time. Similarly to standing a vehicle, there is just no point for the average driver.

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Performance can be delivered in a lot of different ways and the steering rack is not that important. Few performance modifications should be done by the average consumer, and the quick-ratio steering rack is just not that important.

2: Performance Rubber Pieces

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Throughout the suspension, you’ll notice that the vast majority is made of rubber. The various rubber piece includes parts of the bushing system, the rack and pinion and the rest of the suspension system. While durability is a promising aspect, the cost to value ratio just doesn’t add up. Oftentimes drivers will upgrade these rubber accessories to no avail.

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While you can enjoy upgrading every aspect of your car the rubber pieces are probably the least important to change. Most automotive enthusiasts take full advantage of what their cars can do and what upgrading certain parts will do.

1: Chrome Pieces

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One of the most popular trends of the new millennium was adding chrome to the exterior of a vehicle. Most drivers find this to enhance the exterior appearance of their vehicle, but for the most part, there is no benefit. These chrome pieces can be expensive, especially if you are upgrading to factory OEM pieces.

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While you can enhance the look of your car with chrome accents, the cost that is associated with getting it done professionally just isn’t worth it. You’ll notice that the look of chrome accents on most cars just doesn’t look right.

28 Bizarre Things Car Mechanics Saw On The Job

28: The Cat In The Car

27: The Problem With The Cat In The Car

26: Animals Can Get Into All Of The Crevasses

25: Nissan Mechanic Finds A Snake

24: Prevent Snakes From Entering Your Car

23: Snakes Aren’t The Only Pests In Arizona

22: She Also Pranked The Mechanic

21: That Fishy Smell

20: Removing The Fish Smell

19: Tesla Has Seen Worse

18: Finding A Corpse In The Car

17: The Mechanic Could Have Been Greedy

16: What You Can Do To Protect Yourself

15: The Story Of The Mysterious Shrunken Car

14: The Rise In Crossovers

13: Protecting The Car From The Tax Man

12: Cars Are More Connected Than Ever

11: When Drivers Don’t Just Understand

10: How Couldn’t The Driver Tell

9: Mystery Noise In The Trunk

8: Teaches Us To Secure Cargo

7: Understanding Child Safety Locks

6: Pay Attention To Safety Features

5: Antifreeze Is Sweet And Deadly

4: Keep All Fluids Safe

3: The Flat Tire

2: Customer Didn’t Understand The Speedometer

1: Weird Sound From The Air Conditioning

30 Expensive Car Mods That Are Completely Useless

30: Oversized Spoilers

29: Fake Performance Badges

28: Radar Detector

27: Fake Velocity Stacks

26: Carbon Fiber Wraps

25: The “Bro-Dozer Lift”

24: Performance Coilovers

23: Booming Stereo System

22: Xenon Blue Headlights

21: Brand Sticker Decals

20: Polyurethane Steering Rack Bushings

19: Winter Tires

18: Cold Air Intake

17: Harness

16: Racing Seats

15: Limited Slip Differential

14: Car Bras

13: Trunk Organizer

12: Bluetooth Tire Pressure Monitoring System

11: Extreme Seat Covers

10: Diesel Smoke Chips

9: High-End Tunes

8: Engine Swaps

7: Supercharger

6: Transmission Swaps

5: Interior Reupholstering

4: Run Flat Tires

3: Quick-Ratio Steering Rack

2: Performance Rubber Pieces

1: Chrome Pieces

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