Car enthusiasts may not be cowardly, but we sure do seem to be a superstitious lot. From colors to brand to body damage, there are a wealth of things that feel just a bit more important than you’d expect — or that have some deeper connotations under the surface. We asked for your biggest automotive superstitions this morning, and you gave us some great suggestions. Here are our top ten.
Here are some of mine:
1. If the car has dealer plates on it, the driver is more likely to drive like an idiot.
2. A cheap/old BMW is one of the most expensive cars you’ll ever own.
3. New/newer cars are a better bet for reliability, durability and low total cost of ownership that old/older cars... no matter what others who owned those old/older cars say. Most of the time it’s a case of selective memory.
Mind you I’m not sure if these are true superstitions since they are beliefs grounded in what I’ve observed in reality.
Just this morning, I found a 2009 BMW M3 on Facebook Marketplace. It was $13,500, had no side mirrors, and needed two throttle actuators. Reader, I wish I could say I wasn’t tempted. Or that I’m not still tempted.
Submitted by: Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
never own a chrysler product.
is that a superstition or just good judgement?
I’ll make two exceptions here. First, the DSM cars are probably fine. Second, you’re probably safe with any piece of property in the Chrysler Building. Sure, ancient pipes could always leak, but a bit of preventative maintenance is crucial in any old vehicle building, regardless of manufacturer. Beyond that, though, I’m calling good judgment.
Submitted by: Toobs-n-stuff
I try to avoid places where I’ve had accidents if possible. Not sure if it’s purely superstition or if it’s the fact that specific problems with those spots led to the accidents. For example one happened when I was coming up a hill and the line of cars to the intersection was backed up all the way to just after the hill so I could not see how backed up it was in my 05 Sebring until I was already at the top of the hill. so I try to avoid that road if possible as it has line of sight issues.
This could be both a superstition and sound advice, for the exact reason Bigburito mentioned. The one time I ever rear-ended another car was directly due to specific problems with the road — a blind corner that opened into blinding sunlight. The white SUV ahead of me just stopped dead in the road, too close to the turn for my eyes to adjust. I haven’t been back through that intersection since.
Submitted by: Bigburito
I’m superstitious about white cars. I’ve owned two over the years (a 13 BMW 320i and now a 21 GMC Canyon).
They are accident magnets compared to everything I’ve owned in different colors. The BMW got hit 3 times in 3 years. The Canyon got t boned 3 days after I bought it. A few weeks ago, smash and grab. Still can hear glass ratting around in the bottom of the door.
Never buying a white car again. Though I will say, one benefit of a white pickup truck is you can go ANYWHERE because people just think yourre a contractor.
I would bet that having your Canyon a little banged up makes it even more believable as a contractor’s vehicle. All you need is a few different stick-on logos for various invented pest control or electrical repair companies, and you’ve got the perfect heist vehicle.
Submitted by: Jim is one of KFCs secret ingredients
I don’t say negative things about my car (such as features I wish it had, drawbacks, etc) where is could hear me. I don’t want to hurt his feelings.
This one cuts both ways — you can avoid being mean to your car, or you can actively try to hype it up. Try saying “you got this” to your steering wheel just before an autocross run and see if it doesn’t shave half a second off your time. The car listens.
Submitted by: Mehphisto
Don’t fix everything on a car.
When I was a kid, our neighbors had a 5 year old Maverick. Nothing really wrong with it, but they decided to sell it. My dad got it and went full on car proud. He touched up the paint, replaced a gasket, did the brakes, etc. He polished, washed and waxed the car. He replaced the rubber between the rear bumper and trunk (which always got cracked). There was something about that Maverick that made dad super obsessed about making it perfect.
When we were coming back from Sears after a set of tires, we got rear ended by a drunk going over 60. Hit was so hard, it drove the rear bumper into the tires. My mom, dad, and I all ended up with back problems, which eventually lead to surgery a couple decades later for all of us. The passenger of the car that hit us was killed.
So, now, whenever I do a lot to get a vehicle cleaned up and nice, I feel like its going to be hit. I tend to always leave at least one thing not perfect.
This is retroactively my explanation for why my car is always covered in scrapes and road salt. It’s natural camouflage, so drunk drivers (the natural predator of the sports car) can’t see it.
Submitted by: hoser68
That if I’m really observant, keep up with basic at home maintenance, use premium fuel, and baby my 15 year old Audi, my mechanic bill will be less than $1,000 when I take it in for regular service intervals.
I’m fairly sure Audi service department computers can’t actually process a three-digit transaction. If there’s no comma, it simply isn’t recognized as a valid price tag — the system throws all sorts of errors, the receipt printer disconnects, it’s a whole thing.
Submitted by: ItsYourBoyHobbes
I do say a quick prayer to the car gods before I go in to get an emissions test.
I have coming up today - you may all also pray to anything you can to help me along in the cosmic journey of getting a gray market import legal
Even in a bone-stock, late-model car, an emissions test (or safety inspection, depending on the state) is one of the most stressful things you can do on four wheels. Still, it’s preferable to the alternative — imagine the stress of driving near cars that have never been inspected.
Submitted by: the_AUGHT
In the first few months of ownership you will get some kind of damage. I don’t know if this is a superstition or a reflection of the fact that I live somewhere with both errant wildlife and nearly-blind old people in Buicks.
When you buy a new (or new-to-you) car, it makes sense that you’ll constantly look it over for new damage. As the months wear on, though, you may stop nitpicking the fine details of each body panel. The damage never stops accumulating, you just stop noticing it.
Submitted by: Citric
Just the normal night-driving one. While I’m driving at night, I make sure to keep one eye covered with a hand at all times. Which isn’t even a superstition really, more just common sense.
MythBusters proved that a pirate’s eyepatch could, theoretically, improve their low-light vision below decks. I see no reason this shouldn’t translate to the act of driving at night. As for depth perception, well, you can’t have it all.
Submitted by: RatMR2