Today, I broke a bolt on my minivan trying to fix the timing belt myself to save money. I spent about 300 dollars in parts. I took the van to the shop and the total to fix it is going to be 1200 dollars. FML
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Autumn: Leaves and Laughter
When the leaves fall, the laughter rises. Discover autumn stories as crisp as dried leaves!
Today, I paid $2300 to a mechanic for fixing my car. It's also the day I got into an accident and totalled said car. FML
Today, my car broke down. My dad insisted he could fix it, but screwed up in the process. After finally getting the car towed to a mechanic, I was told that I'd only needed a new water pump, but thanks to the damage my dad did, fixing it all will cost me a small fortune. FML
Today, I paid over $500 to pick up my car from the mechanic, after it'd spent almost a month there. It broke down again on the way home. FML
Today, on Christmas Eve, as I was getting my car loaded for the holiday rounds to the in-laws and parents, my car decided now was the time to break down. I recently put in over $1000 fixing it. FML
Today, I spent 600 dollars to have my brakes fixed on my car, they weren't squeaking. I got my car back and now the brakes squeal and my air conditioning won't work. I just spent 600 dollars to break my car even more. FML
Today, I finally got my paycheck from working at my minimum wage job for the last three months. I was delighted when I saw it was worth $846. On my way to cash it, I destroyed my car's suspension. It's going to cost almost $800 to fix. FML
Today, I waited 3 hours and paid $360 to have a routine tuneup done on my old car. As I pulled into my driveway, about to turn off the engine, one of my headlights blew. FML
Today, I’ve realized I have paid $1700 on repairs for a vehicle that I’ve only have had for six months. I traded in my previous vehicle to avoid this problem. FML
Today, my car broke down. The good news is I can afford to have it fixed. The bad news is paying for the fix will wipe out my savings, which I need to get certified for a non-minimum-wage job. FML
Today, someone was sent to our house to fix our broken garage door. Mom asked me to pay for it, telling me she'd pay me back this weekend. It was supposed to be about $300 and some change. The door was so broken, it ended up costing $1000, cleaning out my whole savings account. FML
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Top comments
RichardPencil 30
He probably sheared the head off the bolt leaving the remainder in the hole. It’s a difficult job to drill it out.
marc hillyer 2
well cuz boats are expensive
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Comments (16)
ajh1800 25
Why can't you just replace the bolt? If thats really the only thing you broke, it seems like it would be a lot easier, cheaper, and less time consuming than taking it to a mechanic...
RichardPencil 30
He probably sheared the head off the bolt leaving the remainder in the hole. It’s a difficult job to drill it out.
RichardPencil 30
Don’t try major repairs without the right tools. You need a torque wrench, He-Man.
Nico711 17
1. Why didn’t you use a torque wrench? 2. Get a new bolt 3. Why would a boat cost $1200
marc hillyer 2
well cuz boats are expensive
jbuckets_404 38
And $1200 (US) for a boat is cheap! Unless it's a used aluminum rowboat (esp. without its trailer).
HCL Burn 1
torque wrench is for installing bolts Einstein.
jbuckets_404 38
Ever hear of rust or corrosion? Or subsequently sheared-off bolt heads? You DON'T use a torque wrench to REMOVE a bolt or nut, only to tighten it at the last iota of movement - but it's only really needed for precision applications, not the 99.99% plethora of simple, typical tighten-until-good-and-snug securing of metal automotive objects to each other. Sheesh! OP, I feel your pain! Been there, done that.... :-(
RichardPencil 30
He could have sheared off the bolt over-tightening it. Without knowing which bolt it was, it’s not possible to say whether it was one requiring tightening in a narrow torque range.
Dodge4x4Ram 46
Today I added 3 gauges and changed the drive belt to my truck.
Taurus_ChicKa 36
Unless you knew what you were doing, you probably should have taken it to professionals to begin with. You probably did even more damage, resulting in the higher price tag.
rickAUS 22
Reminds me of when I almost sheered a spark plug off because the moron who last did them put lock tight on the threads and they were over-torqued. Thankfully not my vehicle.
fde2blknimout 18
Shoulda bought another bolt first
CurmudgeonCrunch 7
Whenever you try to save money working on a car, you always end up spending more in the long run. Like me, I was changing the Mass O2 censor in my Kia and ended up spending $30k on a new car.
HCL Burn 1
As a mechanic I think this is great and they also probably charged you something called DAT. Dumb Ass Tax. that bolt probably saved you on you ******* up the timing and eating valves which would have cost you even more.