As well as carrying people from A to B, cars are also used to transport all manner of things. And from time to time, some of these objects are lost into the many cupboards, cubbyholes and creases you find throughout your car.
So we asked you for some of the strangest things you’ve found lurking in your cars over the years. Here are some of the weirdest replies we received.
“My first job was detailing dealer trade-ins for a few years. I always took out the back seat looking for change, I’ve found everything, guns, knives, drugs, pipes, maggots, used condoms. Always change though, best I ever found was $100 in an envelope in a Buick Roadmaster under the rear seat.”
The first of many suggestions we had for a big fat stack of cash. We’ll take the money over everything else this poster has unearthed over the years.
Suggested by: Joe Elbor (Facebook)
“Not necessarily ‘weird’, but back in days of yore (like 2002) when I was but a young lad, I received a happy meal toy that was a little saucer with a metal ball inside that you would guide through a maze by tilting the saucer. After being entertained by this for 6 seconds, I realized the saucer was about the same diameter as the 3rd row cupholder in the family Tahoe. Of course I just jammed it in there.
“10ish years later, I’m in high school, the Tahoe is mine, and the little saucer is still in there, and people riding in the back would always ask what the hell it is and why it’s there. The rattling of the little metal ball would drive them nuts. It remained there until I traded it at the end of college for a lease on a Tacoma.
“So, uh, if anyone finds an ‘01 Tahoe in the midwest in working order with a happy meal toy shoved into one of the back seat cupholders, please let me know. I miss it so much and want it back.”
Honestly, this one is kinda cute. And if you’re now the proud owner of this 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe, let us know!
Suggested by: mosko13
“My very first car (1978 Trans Am) had a bag of pot stuffed under the console. Later I had a 1979 Trans Am with a rattling passenger door. Inside I found a big piece of Fisher logo paper wrapping up a dead rat.”
Finding a half-mauled rat festering in my garden on the hottest day of the year is honestly one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. I. Do. Not. Like. Rats.
Suggested by: Robert Rex Jackson (Facebook)
“I once bought a 1965 Corvair convertible for $35, with a structure so rusty the doors wouldn’t close. Beneath the passenger seat was a book of AA guidance, several empty vodka bottles and a thermos filled with vomit.”
I think we have a winner for the most disgusting find here. Still, $35 for a new car, self-help guide and flask isn’t bad.
Suggested by: KentWynne
“A live mouse once fell out from under the dash of my ‘68 Mustang while I was driving home from college late at night. Flopped onto my feet and I almost crashed. I managed to pull over, open the door and the little dude took off into the night.”
It’s like the budget version of that scene in The Hangover where a tiger appears in the back of the car.
Suggested by: Cheri Embree (Facebook)
“Not sure if it counts since it wasn’t ours, but a friend and I went for a test drive in a Mod X performance that they wanted $80k for AT A DEALER and there was a lone pita chip in the center console.”
The pita chip is a top-tier snack and, if anything, its presence only improved the Model X you were driving.
Suggested by: @VideDoesArt (Twitter)
“I bought a primer maroon ‘79 Monte Carlo for $75 in the 90s. Under the seat, I found a dime bag.
“Before you get excited, by dime bag, I mean a literally ziplock bag full of dimes.
“Then get excited again, because they were all silver dimes.
“Then get positively stoked, because behind the bag of dimes was a pair of rainbow mirrored Ray-Bans and a quality kitchen knife that stayed in the family for 20 years.
“Pretty sure the total value of what was under the seats exceeded the value of the car.”
This is like that one episode of Storage Wars where it all pays off. Nice work, Mcobigben.
Suggested by: mcobigben
“My parents were selling their F-250 after having it for 20+ years. While I was cleaning it out for them, I found a petrified banana peel under the bench. Apparently my mom hid it under the seat when the truck was rather new and forgotten to take it out. That has now been another 20+ years since I found it and my dad still gives her grief over it.”
What does a petrified banana peel look like? And why was a banana peel hidden under the seat in the first place?
Suggested by: Adrian Gimenez (Facebook)
“I bought a 1967 Triumph Spitfire that came with a cashier’s check for about $100 made out to ‘cash’ under some debris in the trunk. It still was not enough of a discount on the $600 purchase price to make that car worthwhile.”
If it’s not wads of cash, then a blank check is another great find in your car. I bet those few extra dollars all went on maintenance costs for this little nugget of Britishness.
Suggested by: Scott Harris (Facebook)
“There was a 10mm socket from the factory lodged into a plastic tray behind the front bumper in my 2009 Pontiac G8. This was the first time the car had ever been worked on outside of the factory. So basically, my car was a smuggler of Australian tools.”
What is a car, if not just a means of carrying things from A to B? in this case, “things” means obsolete tools, and the distance was quite a long way.
Suggested by: stalephish
“Someone left a squeak toy in my car, a toy bat. I can’t drink so I always drove everyone home after going out, and it was so funny when my drunk friends stepped on it and either got scared or laughed uncontrollably that I left it in there rolling around in the rear footwell for years.”
I’m not sure if I’d be frightened or amused if I stood on something soft that squeaked. Either way, it’s good to hear that this provided you all with a good chuckle.
Suggested by: Andrew B. Radcliffe (Facebook)
“Not me but a friend / coworker of mine.
“New Years Eve he was driving from Vancouver to Whistler. Along the highway near Squamish (a town half-way to Whistler) – there was a couple hitchhikers. It’s pretty common for snowboarders to be hitching rides on this route and he figured - why not? It’s New Years Eve, they’re harmless – do a good deed.
“So they get in his car – as he starts to pull away – he is immediately surrounded by a bunch of cop cars who pull these guys out & search his car and arrest these guys for whatever. The cops found a taser and hunting knife on the hitchhikers.
“The next week when he was cleaning out his car. He found an extendable truncheon in his back seat – no idea if it was the cops or hitchhikers. He kept it in his office – it was a nice fidget toy whenever we were having a meeting. Very satisfying to make it swing out.”
Right, who’s truncheon was it? Hedge your guesses in the comments section.
Suggested by: thisismyid2
“Not really something weird, but I bought a ‘73 Ford truck, and was surprised the original owner’s manual was still in the glovebox. More like a small pamphlet, compared to the encyclopedia that came with our 2019 RAV4.”
This rules, and I’m sure it’s a good sign for the way the previous owner must have taken care of the truck!
Suggested by: Kurt Radelow (Facebook)
“I was driving my car a couple of years before this revealed itself under the driver’s seat: Garth Brooks CD case with an additional Counting Crows disc. Two of my most despised musical acts.”
Oh wow, quite the assortment of road trip bangers you have to choose from there for your next adventure!
Suggested by: @mojonaut (Twitter)
“I found a nice note in my JDM GT4 telling me it had been driven all over Japan and please continue to take care of it.”
This is quite a cute little find! I’m sure it’s nice to find out a little more about your new car’s past life as well.
Suggested by: Abraham Zimroth (Facebook)
“Guy I knew bought a ‘53 Dodge truck to restore. He pulls the seat and a near new Smith Wesson .38 in holster falls out from the crevice.”
There were a few suggestions for guns, magazines and ammunition that had all be found in the crevices and cracks on your cars. Is a gun something that’s really this easy to lose?
Suggested by: Caleb Stevens (Facebook)
“Rainbow-colored sparkly bikini underwear under the seat of the used police car I just bought.”
Huh, rainbow-colored you say? Classy choice.
Suggested by: skwimjim
“Under the plastic trim by the shifter in my 1990 4Runner I found a tape recorder someone had hidden. It was an expensive Sony model that could be set to start recording when it heard noise.
“I’m not sure what it was supposed to record or why but when I played it back I could only hear a very muffled and unfortunately impossible to decipher conversation between 2 men and a woman. Pretty odd.”
Whoever you bought this car off was definitely a spy, private investigator or undercover cop.
Suggested by: Charlie Rouse (Facebook)