Way back in the early 1980s, my Dad started making big money–we’re talking a new Toyota Celica, plus enough disposable income for a “fun car.” The first fun car was an MG Midget that barely contained all the parts it needed to run, so there were no previous-owner surprises in its glove compartment or trunk–er, boot. After getting the MG into tip-top shape and selling it, Dad procured fun car number two: a very nice 1977 Datsun 280Z. And here it is, complete with Dad, plus the MG:
The Z arrived much better sorted than the MG had, and only needed a few non-essentials repaired. It also arrived with a few extras in the spare-tire compartment: a twee little pipe that appeared to kid-me like something that might be used by a Leprechaun (this was incorrect, it turns out); a moldering Playboy of which I only saw the cover; and single 10mm wrench, which I still have (the wrench, not the Playboy or pipe).
Other used cars came and went as my sister and I grew into driving age, but the surprises within were few and far between. (Unless expected things like spent cans of starter fluid and dry-gas empties count, which they do not). I did score a very nice Trapjaw action figure (lackey of Skeletor, enemy of He-Man) that was jammed under under the rear seatback of a Dodge Omni, and my sister bought a Corolla with a nice hand mirror and a sandwich-bagged five-dollar stashed in the glovebox. What a win!
How about you? What have you discovered tucked into cars you’ve owned yourself, or in friends’ rides (you little snooper you), or in heaps at the pick-n’-pull? Tell us all about it!
In a wrecked 2013 Subaru STI I found bedazzled panties and multiple documents with names and social security numbers on them. There were also many pairs of shoes and other clothes in the car as well as a uhhh message keyed into the side of the car hiding under plastidip.
Got my 2004 Civic 2-dr back from the body shop after a rear end collision that broke out the back window. Upon hitting the freeway one morning, temp and dewpoint were perfect for instant window fog up. In the rear window a ghostly “In Loving Memory Of” so-and-so with dates appeared. Freaked me out for a minute until I realized body shop put used glass in it.
My dad bought a modified AMC Gremlin V8 back in the early 80’s. He found racing slips in the glove box indicating it had beaten a Corvette and several impressive cars.
One sparkly rainbow colored pair of bikini bottoms wadded up under the passenger seat of a former police cruiser.
A’99 Ford Explorer I bought gave me a weird juxtaposition…
In the CD player, the previous owner left a burned CD they’d titled “Gospel Hits.” However, in the one of the back seat pockets, I found three unopened condoms…
Have you not met the religious types? Like in all other organizations, rules are things for OTHER people.
(I recognize that not all people are hypocrites. … but most are.)
Oh yea. I live in Oklahoma. I’m well versed with those types of folks. Ultimately, I’m still more amused that someone took the time to burn a CD of “Gospel Hits”…
In my first car, a geo prism, the spare tire well was full of some sort of kitty litter like gravelly substance. Not used kitty litter, mind you. When I shoveled it all out it was about two 5 gallon buckets full. Never figured out why.
maybe it rode better with a load? Like a truck?
Mobile litter box?
Probably to throw under wheels in icy conditions when stuck.
Bet the paper sack it was originally in broke, and that was the easiest way to clear it.
Or there was a water leak that pooled in the spare space? So litter kept it dry?
I bought a 95 Ford Bronco from deep into we kinda speak French here Northern Maine. Nice guy who found god, got clean, realized going straight doesn’t pay well. So he had to sell his baby for something better on gas. Didn’t bother cleaning it out. Inside I found; dozens of wintergreen tins, a lot of empty two liters, 8 or so knifes of various uses. Kitchen, buck, steak, butterfly etc. And a loaded Glock 30 .45 ACP.
During my time as a pre-owned vehicle manager I found lots and lots of change, knives, and sex toys in the trunks of vehicles. I am guessing trading in a car was the most convenient way of getting rid of used sexual devices in the early to mid aughts.
In my own personal vehicle I found about 2 boxes of live 22 ammo spilled into the dash, under the seats, and in the carpet that the dealer somehow missed. Could never get them all out of the dash and they made us nervous everytime we hit a bump.
I need that car to be an old GAZ named “Roulette”…
This is really weird. Years ago I bought a used BMW 530, and i found out that this car DID INDEED have working turn signals. Who knew?
My buddy and I once found an entire canister of 5.56 ammo in the back of a squarebody blazer in the junkyard. Not an entire box. A full tuna can of ammo. It was opened, but nearly every shell was there.
We had a Boxster come in a couple months ago for a severe coolant leak. Completely unrelated to that issue, the technician found a very brown banana in the gas door. It was owned by a teenager so we can only assume it was some sort of prank.
The old banana in the Tailpipe trick!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIVc-cH_3j0
Old girlfriend bought an FJ Cruiser and later discovered someone had painstakingly scrawled a heart and a set of initials into the interior plastic in the rear.
It was done by hand, but they took their time She loves speculating what it means & believes the initials belong to a dog (as she and her dog use it for camping now).
4/5 of the vehicles I have purchased in the last 5 years have had some sort of hammer in them (mini sledge, ball or claw). Although hammers are not that odd it is probably a good indicator of the quality of vehicles I buy.
Yes, I eventually had to replace the starter in all of them.
The old FIAT 500’s (1957 – 75) have a small metal slot behind the firewall on the passenger side. In my car, I found an old patch of cloth stuffed into it.
Later I found that FIAT would take leftover patch of cloth from the seat coverings and tuck it into the slot. So when there ever was a question around what the original material and color of the seats were, that patch would be the reference.
Not entirely sure when they started doing this.
This is my favorite so far. And makes sense in a wonderfully functional, of its time way.
Honestly, this seems very Fiat either in the sensible way or in the “fuck it, it’s fine” way
I found a nice, crisp series 1985 $20 bill under the trunk mat in a 1984 Town Car. I originally planned on keeping it, but ended up spending it at a Sonic drive-in. Immediately regretted it though, the waiter and manager were both perplexed by the lack of modern security features and made a couple trips back and forth to my car insisting it was counterfeit. They eventually dropped the issue, but I could tell they still weren’t really sure
For about 20 years from 1995 to 2015 I was a constant international traveler and I would frequently help people out with leftover currency I had from previous trips. Sometime in the 2010s my son needed to go to St. John’s in Newfoundland for an underwater robotics competition. I gladly handed my son about $100 CAD for the trip that had been sitting in my safe since the 1990s.
He went into a sandwich place for lunch and tried to pay cash to a very young cashier who immediately called the manager because she thought the money was counterfeit. Apparently in the time since I had acquired the money they had gone from very American looking notes to very Euro style notes. As my son explained the situation the older manager had a good laugh and told the cashier that no, the bills weren’t counterfeit – just really old.
The big difference is the modern notes are printed on plastic, not paper.
Not the weirdest thing, but I bought a Silverado from a guy not that long ago. He had replaced it with a Dodge Dakota. For some reason, the manual in the glovebox was for a Ford F150. Of the same era as the Silverado, so it seems unlikely to have been his previous pickup (though possible).
He also left one of those OBD port things that lights up and scams you into thinking it improves gas mileage, so that was fun to break open and laugh at.
Do not mock the Fuel Shark! There are forces at play there that you are not prepared to deal with.
Name checks out…
I found an open ended 11mm/13mm wrench in my JDM Mini. Not all that interesting, except for the name – Crab Tool, and the fact that it still had the little paper sales tag with it.
https://www.monotaro.com/p/6514/2377/
I bought a 280Z and under the drivers seat I found a wallet. I assumed it was the previous owners. I let them know, and they said it wasn’t there’s. I went to the address on the DL and they never heard of the person. It only had a few bucks in it, so it didn’t even pay for my gas to check out the address. I just threw it away.
Me!
(Had to be done.)
A magenta Motorola Razor in our now-departed 2000 Merc ML. We contacted the previous owner and they didn’t want it back for some reason.
In our 99 TJ, I found business cards for the original owner in San Francisco — I’m owner No. 3 — but resisted the urge to contact the original owner to learn if they wanted to learn their ride was cared for and used for its intended purpose.
~’68 Buick Wildcat. Parents and Uncle (his car) pulled the rear seat (can’t remember why). Under that seat was a switch-blade, the kind that came straight out. Pretty damn cool to 11yr old me. Even cooler was my uncle slipping it to me when parents weren’t looking.
Every kid needs that uncle. Mine just passed away last week. Among other things, I have him to thank for the very mania that makes me post in comments sections on car websites. And yeah, he slipped me a pocket knife as a kid, too.
Test driving a mid-90s sedan with my dad back in the day. Found a sock stuffed with NFL trading cards. Who puts cards in a sock and hides them in your car?! And who buys NFL cards?!
A couple Nintendo DS games, a Volkswagen jack, and a “Hands Helping Hands” pin in my ‘97 Ranger. Also found out it had no cats as the previous owner cut them off prior to my wife picking it up.
I’ve pulled a 95 f150 out of a field, an 89 Comanche from a field, a 94 Nissan pickup from a field, and a 94 Cherokee bought for $1500. All of them had at least a few live .22 rounds rolling around, the Nissan had like a whole box.
Maybe its an Idaho thing.
Name definitely checks out. Nice catch on the Comanche.
I found 2 Viagra tablets in the passenger seat pouch in a Nissan Cube…
And it was definitely a Cube, not a Homy Super Long?
The stretch version, right?