When going through your recently purchased used car you’re bound to find some signs of the previous owner’s mess. Here are the ten weirdest things Jalopnik readers have found in used cars.
10.) Cash
My current car may have come with a few pennies and nickels stashed in the center console but I didn’t have the FBI tracking me down for that. Well, at least not yet. Reader GordonBombay tells his story:
When I was working at a dealership we bought a used car at auction that we were then shortly contacted about by the FBI. They had been chasing the car for a while and when the arrived they pulled the dome light cover out and started pulling out hundred dollar bills. Shortly after they removed the headliner to reveal that the entire thing had been lined with stacks of counterfeit cash.
Suggested By: GordonBombay
9.) “32oz Of Swiss Silver Ingots”
After dealing with a less than honest seller, this reader was more than happy to keep the surprise he found in his car.
Bought an old Mercedes 350SDL oil burner from an elderly jewish man. It was obvious he was lying about some of the maintenance and mechanical issues, but the price was right. A few weeks later, one of the tires went flat, and I went to retrieve the full sized spare from the trunk. That’s where I found 32oz of swiss silver ingots. Sold them during the Obama-gonna-take-out-everything panic in Texas and they very well covered the cost of the car and a new paint job. I have no guilt.
Suggested By: Jack
8.) Kilo O’ Blow
What else would you expect from a government auction sold Porsche?
A friend of mine who bought a government auction Porsche started having electrical problems under the dash and decided to diagnose it himself. He found a kilo of blow.
Suggested By: SidewaysOnDirt
7.) “38 Revolver Jammed Up In The Seat Springs”
I can’t help but think this happens to at least half the people that decide to buy ‘70s Trans-Ams.
In 1983 my dad bought a used 78 Trans Am from a guy who was deploying to Korea from Fort Hood. I thought it was the coolest thing 1t 13. When I turned 16 he let me drive it as my first car in 1986 and I could not have been more ecstatic. My friend and I were installing a new cassette deck (yes kids we had to listen to music on plastic boxes with magnetic tape spooled up in them) and I had to remove the seat to run some wires to the kicker box in the trunk when we found a 38 revolver jammed up in the driver’s seat springs. I asked my dad about it and it was not his. My dad took it to the MP on base and they determined it was tied to a cold case on Fort Hood. Turns out the guy dad bought the car from was apparently involved in a shooting and used his seniority to get transferred to Korea to run from the crime. Never heard if they got him as we moved to VA in 87. Oh and I destroyed the car as my 17 year old Dukes of Hazzard / Smokey and the Bandit / A Team self was want to do. I miss that car.
Suggested By: Rickster3rd
6.) Ermine
What the heck is an ermine and how did it find its way into this car’s engine bay?
An ermine living in the engine bay.
Suggested By: 472CID
5.) The Best Taco Soup Recipe
Probably one of the better and weirder things that someone has found in their used car. What is taco soup? Does it taste good? Why would someone would write a taco soup recipe down and leave it in their car? I guess some questions are probably best left unanswered.
My first truck had a recipe for taco soup that I still use to this day. Recipe was the best thing in that deal.
Suggested By: Lumpy44
4.) Sword And Multiple Pipe Fittings
Maybe for self protection..?
On my college roommate’s car we found a crack pipe under the back seat, a sword in the truck and multiple pipe fittings.
Suggested By: Canut
3.) Missing Cat
It’s not incredibly uncommon for animals to find their way into crevices on cars, but this reader’s unique story takes that up a notch.
I recently bought a mint condition ‘08 Audi A6 wagon from a close friend of the family. Its in mint condition, black with brown leather interior and its a wagon.
The previous owner was also fastidious about the maintenance on the car. Regularly had it serviced, detailed and inspected by the dealer. So I was pretty confident in the purchase and had no concerns when it was getting safety inspected after I bought it.
Mechanically everything was great, however they did happen to find the carcass of what “appeared to be a cat” inside the engine bay.
I informed the prior owner about the sad fate of the cat, hoping he’d chip in for the cost of the clean up. However, instead I learned that their cat had gone “missing” over a year before.
Suggested By: robthebod
2.) A Tooth
Weird, gross and disturbing! What more could you ask for your recently purchased E30? Reliability?
A tooth (molar) with silver filling when I was removing the dashboard.
The text to my girlfriend read “found a tooth in my e30 :(“
Suggested By: BlythBros.
1.) Suitcase Full Of “Memories”
Some memories are best left in the trunk, of that car you just sold.
Not me, a friend of mine.... How about a suitcase full of porn and sex toys? as well as tax and divorce documents.
Suggested By: timgray
Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day’s Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It’s by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
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