What's the most expensive thing you broke as a kid and what's the story behind it?
What's the most expensive thing you broke as a kid and what's the story behind it?
Mine was our CRT TV. I would rapidly push the power button on and off because I thought the picture coming and going looked cool but eventually it fell inside of the TV. I think I later stuck a magnet on the TV.
Not looking for Reddit answers like "My parent's marriage"
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A motorcycle back in the late 90s when I was like 9 or 10?
We were at a dealership because my dad was thinking about buying a motorcycle. At one point, they put my younger brother on a motorcycle because it was cute or whatever. After they took him off the bike, and my parents and the salesguy moved onto another motorcycle, I wanted to try. So I did. And I tried to be careful, knowing it could fall over.
Getting on was no issue. And getting off was no problem either. Until I was like a few feet away from the bike..and it fell over. Shattered the windshield.
Even though it was an accident, the dealer tried to get my parent's to pay up. And I think my parents would've been willing to pay something...except the dealer wanted, I believe, $800. The bike was probably only a few thousand bucks -- I actually have no clue how much the bike was, but, as an adult, I know how much bikes are. No way a windshield was a third of the price of the bike. Not in the 90s, not today. So my dad and the dealer got into a shouting match. We left, and the dealer tried to get our license plate number as we drove off.
Nothing ever happened with that. No cops were called or anything, as far as we know. Besides, the dealer should have insurance for these situations. But since I wasn't supposed to be on the bike in the first place...I got in tons of trouble. Got my ass beat by my mom, got grounded, couldn't go to a sleepover I was supposed to go to...
Definitely the most expensive thing I broke. At least based on what the dealer was demanding.
Not sure, but if the windshield shattered there's probably damage to other parts too. If the bike had side farings those would probably crack too and need to be replaced. If not, the engine could have touched the ground, and replacing once of the sides of your engine isn't cheap either.
The handlebars could be damaged, the forks could be out of whack. Everything needs to be checked to make sure it's still safe to drive.
800 dollar may not be the damage that was there, but if you take into account the hours the mechanic has to spent checking and fixing the bike, the bill adds up quickly.
Source: dropped my bike. Around 1200 euro damage. That was not a fun experience.
Oof. Sorry to hear that happened. Vehicle repairs suck.
I do remember my parents talking about $800 for the windshield specifically, but maybe they were just simplifying out of anger. With the dealer, with me, whoever. It very well could've been the estimate for the total damage. I can certainly imagine some dents and scratched paint. And yeah labor is often the highest cost.