None of us are perfect, and day after day we make mistakes. A lot of our mistakes don’t really impact us or have any long-term repercussions. We shrug, maybe give our heads a shake and move on.
Then there are those other mistakes. Crippling mistakes that will haunt us for a long time—often because we’re paying for them for a long time. Maybe emotionally, but definitely monetarily.
Here are 50 examples of extremely expensive mistakes people have made. Some are out of sheer stupidity, and the cost is well deserved. Others are just people who made the wrong choice at the wrong time.
Source:
NeedPix
1. So you bought your dream home.
Only to find out the developer built on an undisclosed abandoned gypsum mine. Now sinkholes are popping up and your property value is useless.
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Reddit
2. I bet somebody lost their job.
What you’re looking at is the remains of an F-16 fighter jet. It was hit by friendly fire at the Florennes Air Base in Belgium and when a maintenance worker accidentally activated a cannon.
Source:
War History Online
3. Yet another reason to stay away from snakes.
This is your financial responsibility and payable upon receipt. Um, sure. So if you live in the United States and get bitten by a rattlesnake, this is what you’re hospital bill for antivenom will cost you.
Source:
Imgur
4. Wind meets silo.
This was a grain silo in Iowa. Apparently it wasn’t built to withstand any wind, because 80 mph winds did this.
Source:
Reddit
5. All gone.
And probably not documented sufficiently in terms of insurance. This is the results of a house fire and a broom that contained over 2000 collectors’ games and 20 gaming systems.
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Reddit
6. At least it isn’t his fault.
Crashing into a car dealership would be bad at any time. Crashing into a McLaren dealership is a nightmare. But this BMW was sideswiped, causing the driver to lose control. So at least it wasn’t his fault, and someone else is paying for this.
Source:
Imgur
7. They say karma is a bitch.
They were mean to a pizza delivery guy and refused to give him a tip. And thought it would be funny to post video of it. The internet didn’t think it was funny, and now this car dealership is out of business.
Source:
WorchesterWonderland
8. Learn to control your children.
Two children running around the Shanghai Museum of Glass shattered a replica of Cinderella’s Castle. The piece weighed about 132 pounds and was valued at about $66,000.
Source:
The Mirror
9. Accidents do happen.
This is an Aston Martin and it’s worth close to $2 million. And just like any old junker, it crumbles when you hit a light pole.
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Reddit
10. Insurance will cover it.
If a mechanic does something dumb like this, it is covered by insurance. But they have to live with being an idiot for the rest of their lives.
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Reddit
11. What a heartbreaker
In two weeks, they probably just finished setting things up. And now this. I bet they regret this decision for a long time, even if insurance does cover everything.
Closed on a condo two weeks ago. Today the supply line to the fire sprinklers broke in the attic… from r/ThatLookedExpensive
12. What a waste!
If he hired a contractor to build his wine cellar and consume them. If he built it himself, his insurance company will do the best they can to find a way not to pay him.
13. Taking on water.
So this is a not that capsized in Greece. The original cost of this was $80 million but it’s now worth significantly less.
Source:
Reddit
14. Following too close.
There’s no getting out of who’s at fault here. It doesn’t even matter that one of you was driving a Porsche and the other one is driving a Tesla.
Source:
Imgur
15. Don’t rock the boat.
So I guess the top picture is when they set out on their destination. In the bottom picture is when they came home drunk.
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Reddit
16. Dog meets car.
The owner of this Porsche made a mistake. He locked his dog in the garage with the car. Only for a short time, but a short time was all it took to do this.
Source:
Reddit
17. What is going on here?
From what I understand his boat was thinking. He then proceeded to sink a whole lot of other things trying to save about.
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Reddit
18. It’s 20 minutes old.
When you pick up your brand-new Lamborghini and have mechanical difficulties on the road. And then you get rear-ended.
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Reddit
19. It’s a cool idea.
These self-hiding garages I mean. Your very own underground parking. Until somebody parks on top of it, and this happens.
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Reddit
20. Wondering what you’re looking at?
This is the emergency slide that planes have. Somehow it’s managed to inflate inside the plane.
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Reddit
21. The cost of inattention
The truck in front was clearly stopped. The truck driving up behind it didn’t even try to change lanes, it just drove right into it.
22. This flight is delayed.
And it’s probably delayed indefinitely. And there’s a very good chance that the operator who did this lost his job.
Source:
Reddit
23. Maximum load.
There’s a very good reason why things like trucks, elevators, balconies, and a variety of other things have maximum load capacities. And when you disobey things like this happen.
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Reddit
24. When you suddenly own duplex.
At least there’s no question as to who’s at fault. The crane is being operated on behalf of the roofing company. And there goes the roof.
Source:
Reddit
25. When the movers destroy your things.
I’m guessing regular movers were not involved here. But it doesn’t seem to matter, because this rare grand piano costing just under $200,000 was dropped by movers when they were taking it out of a recording studio.
Source:
CNN
26. Finders keepers.
How loud do you have to be playing your car stereo for this to happen? Or how oblivious you have to be to have your boat fall off the back of your vehicle and not realize?
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Reddit
27. The sudden silence is delightful.
Here you have two Mustangs in an empty parking. And the person that was about to film the silver Mustang got some great footage of the idiot in the red Mustang.
28. This!
This is a manhole cover that pops up in seriously damages the vehicle that drives over it. And this is why I do not like stepping on these things.
Source:
Imgur
29. Impatience will cost you.
Just let your garage door. It’s always a good idea to make sure it’s fully before you pull through.
Source:
Reddit
30. A comedy of errors.
That I’m sure wasn’t very funny for her. For she has the car beside her by turning to soon as she pulls out, and then presumably in a panic she gets out of the car and forgets to put it in park first.
31. When you don’t moor your boat properly.
I wonder if he’ll just show up at the marina one day and realize that his boat has been destroyed. It’s clearly been smashing up against dock.
32. How long was it sitting there?
This does not happen immediately—at least I don’t think it does. I’ve never parked on the beach. And how do they get it out?
Source:
Reddit
33. Yeah, that didn’t work.
So the driver of this BMW tried to pull something of a stunt maneuver, and drift around that corner. Clearly it didn’t work.
34. At least the garbage got incinerated.
But the poor people that live in this house. They have that thing stuck at the end of their driveway for who knows how long.
35. It was dark, officer.
In looking at the aftermath of someone jumping the curb in front of the Chevrolet dealership. And taking out a line of brand new cars.
Source:
Reddit
36. Tighten those lug nuts.
This is what happens when you try to do a job yourself. And there’s no problem with doing the job yourself, as long as you know what you’re doing.
Oof from r/ThatLookedExpensive
37. Honestly, he deserves this.
When you think you’re being cool, and you’re just being an idiot. But hey, he has a friend who was willing to pour his beer on fire to help put it out. Which indicates the collective intelligence of these guys.
38. Tip over.
The trailer that was pulling a load of brand-new cars tipped over in Detroit. And not cheap cars. The base model of this car is about $75,000, and the top of the line is just under $100,000.
Source:
Reddit
39. And there is an alarm.
Apparently dump trucks have some sort of signal to make you aware that the dump is up. And yet this person clearly forgot to lower the dump before driving through some kind of door.
Source:
Imgur
40. I see a green light.
Do you see a green light? That means the SUV was clearly making a left-hand turn on a red light.
41. An all-around view.
How often do you get to see the front and the back of a car at the same time so using a mirror? Or anything for that matter?
Source:
Imgur
42. Someone has good aim.
And since this video is more than a year old, we won’t take this person to task for wasting for the paper. And was this deliberate or was this a coincidence?
43. This is actually very cool.
There’s a whole scientific reason for why this can happen. Something to do with transferring liquid into another tank without a vapor connection, which causes a vacuum buildup and then an implosion.
44. That’s not supposed to happen.
You hear stories about inspectors being paid off, and corners getting cut in construction. Is this what we are seeing?
45. Will that wasn’t a good idea.
And clearly this driver never suspected that something like this could happen. As if he didn’t understand the laws of nature.
46. Is that normal?
I’ve never seen anything like this before. I never imagined that the bed of a pickup could just break off like that.
47. You’re so cool.
Doing wheelies and burning rubber in the parking lot. Until you hit a light post and smash your car. Not so cool anymore.
48. Now you see it, now you.
That building just got obliterated. And can you even imagine how fortunate that person feels at that very moment.
49. Turn! Turn now!
Apparently when you’re rally driving, you have a copilot. And your copilot is supposed to navigate and tell you what to do. Either the copilot did their job and wasn’t listened to, or they failed to do their job.
50. This will do the job.
Here’s a tip. If you ever find yourself working in a cotton warehouse and there is a plastic bag you can get open, opening it with your later is a really bad idea.
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