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75 Expensive Mistakes People Made That Might Make You Say “Ouch” Just Looking At Them (New Pics)
We’re all human, and we all make mistakes. It’s what we tell ourselves when things go wrong, and for the most part, it’s true. But here’s the thing: not every slip-up is created equal. Breaking a plate during dinner is unfortunate. Backing your car through the garage door? That’s going to sting a lot more. Both are accidents, sure, but the consequences couldn’t be more different.
Below, we’ve gathered a collection of painfully expensive mistakes people have shared online, the kind that make you wince and instinctively check your bank account just looking at them. Scroll down to see the photos, and maybe send some sympathy to the folks behind them. They could definitely use some.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
If You’re Having A Bad Day, Just Know That At Least You Didn’t Shatter A 16,000$ Bottle Of Victory In Europe, 1945 Château Mouton Rothschild
In all seriousness it was maybe the most beautiful thing I have ever smelled in my entire life. I only have a level 2 cert so I’m not super qualified to speak on the smelling notes BUT it smelled like walking through a Plum orchard after it rains in the midst of Autumn.
RELATED:
#2
Wife Left The Door Open To The Pool Area. Expensive Robot Vacuum (Bottom And Upside Down) Decides It Wants To Meet The Pool Vacuum
#3
Meet Bonnie, Our 3-Month-Old Collie. During The Night She Discovered A Can Of Blue Paint With A Loose Lid
We call this her 'blue period' since she is obviously going through some artistic phase. The Chinese rug cost nearly $6,000.
#4
A Train Car In Minnesota Carrying Corn Had A Leak
#5
When The Fire Suppression Foam Is Accidentally Released
#7
Meanwhile At The Mercedes Dealership... And A Brand New G Wagon
#8
What Could Go Wrong If I Drive My Expensive GMC Pickup And Trailer Across Ice That Is Too Thin To Support The Weight. Little Bay De Noc, MI
#9
Car At The Bottom Is Flooded. Car At The Top Has Been Totalled
Due to the flooding, water got into the mechanism and short-circuited it. It raised the platform, and this was the result.
Upstaged75 9 months ago
These never seemed like a good idea in the first place. Too easy for something to go wrong.
#10
Someone At Porsche Is Getting Fired Today
#11
Scored $320 Of Lumber For $90. Now I Get To Pay $500 For A New Windshield
Follow me for more money saving tips.
I honestly thought that everyone else that this happened to just wasn’t being careful enough. Send the judgement. I deserve it.
UnclePanda 9 months ago (edited)
I've done it, except it was the windshield that popped. I'd been using an 8' length of ABS pipe to bring bundles of rebar home and the bare pipe fit in the car for the drive into town. Then one day I had the bright idea of adding an ABS collar to each end to make them stronger, which used up 1/2" of the 1/4" safety margin I'd been working with. "SLAM-CRACK-'CK-ME!"
#12
Who Needs Outriggers?
#13
$5000 Canadian After Someone Using The Microwave To Disinfect It
#14
Residential Homes Built In South Dakota Over Undisclosed Abandoned Gypsum Mine... Sinkhole Renders Entire Neighborhood’s Property Values Now Worthless
#15
Cement Truck Mishap
#16
From One Of Our Customers In Cedar Lake, Indiana. Someone Sunk Their $300k+ Pavati Wake Boat, Then Swamped His Jeep And Raptor While Trying To Drag It Out
#17
$65,000 Medication... Most Expensive Thing I Have Ever Had To Throw Away
The patient didn’t show up for their appointment. Once mixed, it expires in less than 24 hours. No one else was scheduled for it, unfortunately.
We currently don’t have mixing capability at our location. We have to mix it at a different location and have it delivered on the day of the appointment. 1st time this had happened with such an expensive medication.
#18
Big Oof
#19
My Neighbor Parks This Expensive Car On The Street
#20
Delicate Evening Operation On The A4 Highway At The Valmy Rest Area. A Heavy Truck Transporting Utility Vehicles Crashes Under The Canopy Of A Gas Station
Upstaged75 9 months ago
Honestly that's kind of impressive! How do you even make that happen??
#21
Got Gucci Sunglasses For My Wife. Dog Ate Them Before She Had A Chance To Wear Them
Ordered for Valentine’s Day. Shipping was delayed. Got them yesterday. Had them for 2 hours before finding them like this in the dog’s bed. My fault, though. I set them on the floor at the top of the stairs so wife wouldn’t forget them when she went out.
#22
Broke My Leg By Standing Too Fast And Falling Onto Myself
#23
That Can’t Be Cheap
#24
$300k Video Wall Came Down Today In Vegas
#25
I Installed My Own Microwave Today And Saved $150 In Installation Fees
#26
I Didn't Know This Was Possible
#27
NOAA-N' Accident
Designated NOAA-N' (NOAA-N Prime) prior to launch, is the last of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's POES series of weather satellites. The satellite suffered an accident prior to launch, which resulted in it falling off its clean room mounting, resulting in significant damage.
#28
Absolutely Shattered
#29
Well
#30
Boss Isn’t Gonna Be Happy With That One
#31
Something Scared My Wife And I At 2 AM
This mirror was like 10 ft and came with the house when we bought it. I thought someone shattered our window in the bathroom and was breaking in, or the shower glass shattered. 2 hours later, I’m still cleaning glass off the floor.
#32
We Always Knew It Would End Like This Some Day
My wife and daughter have been telling me for years that the tempered glass floor protector in my office was a ticking time explosive. Today, when I accidentally knocked my favorite hand-etched glass tumbler off the desk, the floor protector saved it by shattering first into thousands of tiny shards. Well done by the floor protector.
Upstaged75 9 months ago
I've never understood putting glass under a chair that rolls around while someone sits in it. 🤷♀️
#33
I Work In Pharmaceuticals, This Was A Very Expensive Mistake
I should clarify, this is for iron deficiency, if I’m not mistaken it’s called Sytron! Not blood, that would have been much worse!
#34
Son Decided To Swallow A Nickel And Turn $.05 Into $4400.00
#35
Saw This House-On-Stilts Fail On My Morning Run Today
#36
My Car Exploded On My Way To Work
I texted my coworker, he's the only coworker's number I have and called him asked if he was at the restaurant and explained what happened. I told him I'll send a couple pics and then he replied they want a selfie with the car "to make sure".
#37
Rag Left In Engine After Repairs Turned To Shreds
#38
Paint Store Guy Didn't Close The Can Properly
Bought a car one week ago, more expensive than I could really afford but so beautiful. Picked up paint while on vacation to paint my mom's house. Teenager working at paint store apparently didn't close the can properly. That's 1 gallon of slightly greenish gray wall paint on the floor of my new car. Paint store guy's response was to apologize profusely, give me another gallon of paint, and throw in a free tub of miracle wipes. Lovely.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 9 months ago
I love how it's the paint guy's fault. It's your car, your paint, and your responsibility to ensure everything is secured for transit.
#39
Second Time My Girlfriends Mom Backed Into My Car Today
First pic is of my old car, which gfs mom backed into of October 2024. Today August 2025, she did it again to my new car. Girlfriends mom takes no responsibility both times saying it was my fault because both times it happened I was working a different shift at work, and that I should have stuck to my normal shift. Me and girly's relationship is at an all time strain level.
NightOwlPanda 9 months ago
This is her subtle way of saying she does not see you as son-in-law material.
#40
I Accidentally Burned Down My Parent's Outdoor Kitchen By Placing A Still Burning Fire Log On Top Of The Rest Of The Firewood
#41
Neighbors Removed Their Retaining Wall Without Realizing It Was Providing Support For This Other Wall, Ultimately Leading To Its Failure
#42
Apparently D And R Look The Same When You're Tired
detective miller's hat 9 months ago
My poor brother did this the day he got his driver's permit, with Mom in the car.
#43
You Can't Park There Sir
It looks like the bottom of the tree rotted out causing it to fall over, it didn't even rip the roots out of the ground. I think the cuts are from the fire department/public works cutting it to clear the roadway. There was a pile of cut pieces out of view of the picture.
Laszlo Larthlanc 9 months ago
"Act of God", at least as far as US insurance companies are concerned. You won't get a penny from them. (I suppose you can always go to a church and ask the Pastor why God hated your car.)
#44
Started The Weekend By Popping Off My Crown While Flossing
#45
Shower Door Spontaneously Shattered Behind Me
Upstaged75 9 months ago
That happened to the rear window of my car once. I slammed the door and a million little pieces of glass fell inside the back seat. It sounded like ice shattering.
#46
Took This On My Way To Work, Guy Forgot To Secure His Boat To His Trailer And Stomped On The Breaks To Stop
#47
An Expensive Mistake... Scout 380 LXF... I Assume Pushing Seven Figures. Maybe Over
#48
Merry Christmas! I Got An Extremely Expensive Drone And My Sister's Dog Broke It When Nobody Was Watching
#49
I Baked My AirPods Along With My Choc Chip Cookies
I turned the oven on to preheat it. 3 min later I removed the oven tray to put it into the kitchen island so I could line it with cookie dough. It didn’t feel very hot, yet the AirPods that were on the kitchen island were presumably attached to it. When I opened the oven after baking for 10 min, there was an abnormal cookie.
#50
Phone Purchased At 10:20 AM, Black Ice Got Me At 1:30 PM
I purchased it same day, currently out at school and there’s isn’t a repair place around here so I’m waiting until I go home in a couple weeks to fix it up.
Zig Zag Wanderer 9 months ago
Let's put a glass back on these ridiculously expensive devices people carry around all day! What could possibly go wrong?
#51
Mistakes Were Made
#52
My Shower Was Leaking So I Tried To See If I Could Fix It. I Broke It Instead
#53
Guy Who Mows My Lawn Somehow Did This While Mowing
Upstaged75 9 months ago
That happened to us too once. The lawn service accidentally ran over a rock and it got catapulted right through the dining room window. They paid to get it replaced.
#54
Took My Expensive Knife To A Local Sharpener. This Is How It Came Back
Mac Mighty Slicer. The first photo is how it is supposed to be. Last photos are what it looks like now…
#55
Dump Truck Thinks Its Kool-Aid Man And Damages River Spirit Expo Center At Tulsa Fairgrounds
#56
Jet Airways Bus Accidently Hit The Belly Of Air India Flight After The Driver Reportedly Lost Control At The Wheels
Stardust she/her 9 months ago
This post must be nearly a decade old as Jet Airways doesn’t exist anymore (at least in my country).
#57
That's An Expensive Way To Start A Vacation In The Vacationland State
#58
Today At Work, A Coworker Crashed A Trolley Full Of Plates Needed For A Function
#59
My Friend Went To The Apple Store Today Because He Broke Both The Front And Back Of His iPhone XS
They told him that because of Corona, the repair service was temporarily closed. He then chose to buy the 11 Pro, which he then dropped when opening the box.
#60
Smashed A Panel Of Pre-War Glass In A Grade 2 Listed Building. I’m Doing A Job Tidying Up These Very, Very Old Sash Windows. Managed To Smash A Panel. Costly Mistake
Did I say that out loud? 9 months ago
Even if it's Grade 2 listed, you can still replace the glass. Its not difficult.
#61
Moved Into The New House And Found Out Our Toddler Broke Our 65” TV
#62
I Just Broke A $5,000.00 Bottle Of Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac At Work
#63
Mistakes Were Made. So Yeah. Apparently You Shouldn't Put Vanish On All The Stains
#64
This Is What An Expensive Mistake Looks Like. Quarter Inch Hole In Inaccessible 20 Conductor Cable
WindySwede 9 months ago
More info from OP (dots exchanged to not get hidden) "Yeah that’s about it_ I was drilling through a floor down through the ceiling of the room below it_ I was pretty sure it was just 13 inches of empty space but turns out it was really not_ This cable contained 20 smaller wires_"
#65
I Dropped My AirPods
#66
I Was About To Go To Bed
WindySwede 9 months ago
op "I used my dust pan to squeegee(?) it into a bunch of paper towels and tossed them in a trash bag, with my child's help_ The majority of it is cleaned, but I have a lot of details I have to deal with tomorrow_" (_ replaced to not get hidden)
#67
Cat Jumped Off The Samsung Serif TV And It Fell. Replacing The Frame Costs $1500
Chewie Baron 9 months ago
I’ve got one of these! It comes with legs, which is the only reason I bought it.
#68
Made The Mistake Of Not Asking Market Price… $53 Per Shrimp
#69
Sold My iPad In Public Space At Night In Minnesotan -10 F Temperature, Turned Out It's Fake
AtMostAFabulist 9 months ago (edited)
I think the word replica on the top left should have been a hint there would be a problem
#70
Cutting Board Exploded
Turned around after washing my hands and heard a huge crashing noise. It was my cutting board obliterating itself. I assume I cut the food too close to the burner and it got hot, then when I washed my hands with cold water it cooled down too fast. Either that or there’s a ghost that hates cutting boards.
LillieMean 9 months ago
A glass cutting board is the fastest way to dull knives. I wonder why they even exist.
#71
Chinese Mining Farm - Flood Damage
#72
My Tesla's Horn Went Off At 4 Am For Over 20 Minutes Uncontrollably, $2000 Fix From Tesla
#73
$8k Mistake. Let’s Hope I’m Not Fired
#74
My Wife Bought Me A Ceramic Oura Ring For Christmas. It Slipped Off Of My Finger In The Shower And A Huge Chunk Chipped Off On Day 1
WindySwede 9 months ago
sort of reminds me of the collars in Battle Royale (2000), these are packed with lithium instead of explosions though
#75
Mistakes Were Made
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What do you think ?
David Paterson 9 months ago
Which of these is the most expensive? The dropped satellite, the flooded fighter aircraft, the medical bill?
CD Mills 9 months ago
I would figure the satellite but, in this day, and age, it's probably the medical bill or groceries!
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Ryan Mercer 9 months ago
Our city transit authority just added double decker busses to a couple of routes. We have low rail bridges downtown, so they have to stay to their route to fit under the taller ones. A couple days ago one had to detour and picked the wrong underpass. It's a one and a half decker now.
Kylie 9 months ago (edited)
Tbf the driver was just following the automated instructions. They told all the drivers to ignore them and then pulled all the double decker buses from service.
Load More Replies... David Paterson 9 months ago
Which of these is the most expensive? The dropped satellite, the flooded fighter aircraft, the medical bill?
CD Mills 9 months ago
I would figure the satellite but, in this day, and age, it's probably the medical bill or groceries!
Load More Replies... Ryan Mercer 9 months ago
Our city transit authority just added double decker busses to a couple of routes. We have low rail bridges downtown, so they have to stay to their route to fit under the taller ones. A couple days ago one had to detour and picked the wrong underpass. It's a one and a half decker now.
Kylie 9 months ago (edited)
Tbf the driver was just following the automated instructions. They told all the drivers to ignore them and then pulled all the double decker buses from service.
Load More Replies...
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