Today I did something stupid/ learned a valuable lesson.

Chuck_Norris

Dunno if this one will have legs, but I'll start off with my one.

Left the office to discover a flat tyre on the car. Went to change said flat, only to remember that the studs on my new alloys, would be too long for the spare wheel. Cue head scratching.....

Had to take wheel off (involving alot of swearing at the stupid wheel brace provided with the car), grab one of the work vans, bail down to local village, park obnoxiously (double park), get puncture repaired, and do the reverse of the above.

Lesson learned....make sure you have all relevant equipment to change a flat.

I'd have been totally screwed if this happened anywhere other than straight outside the office.

dar83

Pulled into my driveway this evening, reversed in as always. Turned off the lights, turned down the radio, off with the ignition and took my foot off the brake as I reached over to pick up my gym bag...

Just managed to put my foot back on the brake in time before the car had rolled into the tree at the front of my garden. Forgot the handbrake!

aido76

Chuck_Norris wrote: »

Dunno if this one will have legs, but I'll start off with my one.

Left the office to discover a flat tyre on the car. Went to change said flat, only to remember that the studs on my new alloys, would be too long for the spare wheel. Cue head scratching.....

Had to take wheel off (involving alot of swearing at the stupid wheel brace provided with the car), grab one of the work vans, bail down to local village, park obnoxiously (double park), get puncture repaired, and do the reverse of the above.

Lesson learned....make sure you have all relevant equipment to change a flat.

I'd have been totally screwed if this happened anywhere other than straight outside the office.

Chuck Norris doesn't get flat tires, the air stays in the tire out of fear of death if it comes out.:D

dar83

dar83 wrote: »

Pulled into my driveway this evening, reversed in as always. Turned off the lights, turned down the radio, off with the ignition and took my foot off the brake as I reached over to pick up my gym bag...

Just managed to put my foot back on the brake in time before the car had rolled into the tree at the front of my garden. Forgot the handbrake!

Don't you leave it in gear ?

Anan1

I had a bad one outside my mothers house in the snow last year. Pulled up outside, stopped in D, was chatting with her through the open window for a bit. At some point I must have taken my foot off the brake, but the snow kept the car in position. A few minutes later I got out, shut the door, was standing beside the car talking when the car finally overcame its snow chocks and took off. Miraculously I managed to catch it, jump in and hit the brakes before it hit anything. Felt like a complete and utter clown.

Voodoomelon

I always reverse into my parking spot (converted section of garden to gravel) so I just stick the car in Drive in the mornings and pull off.

The very, very odd time I drive straight into the driveway itself and park, whenever I go to leave again I nearly always stick the car in Drive out of habit "because i'm at home" and the car rolls forwards until I jam on the brakes. Dope.

dr.fuzzenstein

Pulled up at her mum's house, pulled the handbrake, jumped out and went in.
This is a 30 meter long drive with trees on one side and a fence with concrete bollards on the other.
As I came back out, my car had GONE!
Ran down into the yard, only to find my car parked diagonally across it.
I had not pulled the handbrake hard enough, as soon as the brakes cooled down and the metal contracted it rolled all the way down the drive, missing the trees, missing the bollards and coming to a stop 2 meters from a concrete shed.
At first I thought someone had pulled a joke, but the car rolled down on it's own accord and managed to miss every single obstacle and parked itself obnoxiously across the yard.
And the exit into the yard is quite narrow, you have to be careful reversing there as there's not much clearance.
Still can't believe it. My car can reverse better than me, but it can't park for toffee!

no1beemerfan

I was servicing my then GF's car at the parents place when my father came out to ask me something. As we were talking I opened the 5 litre can of oil and started putting in the oil. I'd about 3 litres in when I noticed oil coming around my shoes!!

With all the talking I completely forgot to but the drain plug back on the oil sump. Was a valuable lesson and now I double check everything before the oil goes in

Dublinstiofán

I was making cocktails at one of my awesome parties and had a blonde moment.

Before making the first one i though i better clean the cocktail shaker.
Poured some hot water in and swirled it around a bit.
Mmm better clean the lid too.
I know, i'll just put the lid on and shake it a bit.

Hot Water, Steam, Expansion . . . . . Burnie hot hot hot! Lesson Learned!

TestTransmission

Dublinstiofán wrote: »

I was making cocktails at one of my awesome parties and had a blonde moment.

Before making the first one i though i better clean the cocktail shaker.
Poured some hot water in and swirled it around a bit.
Mmm better clean the lid too.
I know, i'll just put the lid on and shake it a bit.

Hot Water, Steam, Expansion . . . . . Burnie hot hot hot! Lesson Learned!

ehhh, this is the motors forum?

Dublinstiofán

TestTransmission wrote: »

ehhh, this is the motors forum?

This one time i read this thread about something stupid i did,

I wrote this random story about cocktails in the motors forum.

Its late (thats my only defense)


-> Straight to bed.

166man

Back in school one of the teachers one day had left their car in neutral and no handbrake on for whatever reason, during lunch about 7 of us rolled said car all the way down the carpark onto the grass lawn at the front of the school and onto the cricket crease. The car then sat there for next three hours until he finally went out to find his car gone. Gave us all a good laugh anyway

..... what's a cricket crease?

TestTransmission

RoverJames wrote: »

..... what's a cricket crease?

He went to a very very posh school (obviously in the Pale)

166man

RoverJames wrote: »

..... what's a cricket crease?

It's the long section of astroturf material used to play cricket. Bowler bowls down the cricket crease to the batter at the other end. T'was hilarious at the time though.

TestTransmission

TestTransmission wrote: »

He went to a very very posh school (obviously in the Pale)

.... there's a cricket club or two in Cork too, dunno is it played in any of the schools though
CHeers 166man, for some reason I was thinking it was a sandy thing like a golf bunker.

EPM

We used do that with a teacher in our school. She used drive an old k10 micra, get a few lads around the car and easy to lift. The school car park was out the front of the building.

Every lunchtime we'd pick the car up and either turn it around or move it from one end of the car park to the other. All the other teachers knew what was going on, often helped us too. She on the otherhand thought she was going insane:D

166man

RoverJames wrote: »

.... there's a cricket club or two in Cork too, dunno is it played in any of the schools though
CHeers 166man.

I think now don't quote me but I think they play it in Pres but I'm not 100% on that. As for TT's comment, well playing cricket in no way means that it's a posh school.

166man

EPM wrote: »

We used do that with a teacher in our school. She used drive an old k10 micra, get a few lads around the car and easy to lift. The school car park was out the front of the building.

Every lunchtime we'd pick the car up and either turn it around or move it from one end of the car park to the other. All the other teachers knew what was going on, often helped us too. She on the otherhand thought she was going insane:D

Funnily enough that happened once with us too!Playing GAA on a sunday morning and parking in the church carpark opposite the playing field we came out to find the car blocked in by a 2001( I think) red Micra, one of the smarter players suggested that we lift up the back and roll it gently out of the way, which we did.

Didn't put the car back though so some old dear must have gotten a bit of a shock after mass!:pac:

Gary ITR

I 'drifted' my aul lads E200 round a corner in an empty industrial estate. New tie rod end and wheels aren't the cheapest for Mercedes

bazz26

During the very cold winter last year I borrowed a Honda Civic from a friend while I was between cars. One morning when it was still below -10c, I went out to defrost the car. Left the key in the ignition with the heater on full blast, went in to get the half filled kettle with look warm water to help defrost the windows.

Anyhow after the car was defrosted I went to drive off on my merry way but somehow the cold weather must have drove the central locking mad as all doors were locked with the key still in the ignition, car running with an almost full tank of petrol and heater on full blast. So I had to ring and wake the owner who lived about 15 miles away, get them to send the spare key out to me by taxi. So €20 for a taxi fare and an hour later I finally got into the car and had to leave the windows down for about 10 mins due to the sauna like temperature inside the car.

corktina

whats a batter?

red menace

corktina wrote: »

whats a batter?

Either a lad with a bat and mattress strapped to each leg or the slope back from vertical given to a ditch side or trench face in order to increase its stability in this case I am going to go with guy with bat.

I learned this week that pushing a car when it's -29 with no gloves will lead to your hand being stuck to the back of the car and that cold burns hurt as much as heat burns

vetstu

We were out one night and decided to lift a friend's fiesta. We shifted the back of it round and blocked in another car. Then an hour later we came out to head home and found a real sour one sitting in her car and he got an earful for parking arseways as we rolled round laughing making her even more sour. We didn't get a lift home. :-(

Mr Benevolent

I can't list mine or I'd be typing all day. They include:

- Getting lost enough to find myself on a muddy riverbank with the wheels 6" from the edge.

- Reaching (redacted)mph on a strip of open isolated road with no traffic fairly regularly.

- Forgetting to lock the car etc etc.

EPM

You forgot ignoring an overdue cambelt on the Alfa. That's the biggest by a country mile.

padd b1975

166man wrote: »

It's the long section of astroturf material used to play cricket. Bowler bowls down the cricket crease to the batter at the other end. T'was hilarious at the time though.

What you have described is the wicket, the cricket crease is generally called the batting crease and is where the batsman stands.

Mr Benevolent

EPM wrote: »

You forgot ignoring an overdue cambelt on the Alfa. That's the biggest by a country mile.

I forgot about that one.

corktina

corktina wrote: »

whats a batter?

It's what they put fish and sausages in, flour is one of the main ingredients I believe.

On Wednesday I nearly nearly rear ended someone because of my own utter stupidity.

Coming up to a roundabout - small one lane one. It's a roundabout I pass through every day and a few times a day at weekends (at cromlech fields, ballybrack for those who know it). I was looking at the roundabout - to the right for traffic. I assumed the car in front of me had already gone onto the roundabout and only that I spotted an an post van coming from the right, I managed to see the car was still waiting just in front of me and I screached to a halt. So lucky and so so stupid. :mad:

Lesson learnt: Don't become complacent just because you think you know a route like the back of your hand. Idiot.

dar83

RoverJames wrote: »

Don't you leave it in gear ?

Strangely enough, no. Not when I'm parking in the driveway. I pull the car quite close to a wall at the side of my garden (whole driveway is paved apart from two small sections of or gravel) and lock the steering pointing gently towards the wall.

I think I got out of that habit there after a few dopey morning lurch forwards on ignition in my old car. Never did hit the wall, but it was one way to wake right up in the morning...

dr.fuzzenstein

RoverJames wrote: »

It's what they put fish and sausages in, flour is one of the main ingredients I believe.

My local chipper will also now batter and deep fry any choccy bar of your choosing, mmmhh!
Once changed the oil on her MX5, topped it up as required, sat in the car to crank it over till I get oil pressure.
Started the engine, oil pressure zero. leave it idle for a little bit longer, still nothing, rev it a tiny little bit, nada.
Turned off engine, got out of the car and stepped into large oil puddle.
After taking the old oil filter off, forgot to screw the new one on.
That was a fun afternoon cleaning, fortunately we have cats and therefore plenty of kitty litter in the house...
After that it would be taking a 5 litre container of scrap oil and throwing it away, it was new oil I had just decanted from a barrel, mad as hell.