6 DIY ideas with old car parts

Picture this: You’ve driven your car for the past 10-20 years and you have the misfortune of being in an accident, or your loving beast has died on you, and it is not fixable or costs too much to fix; you have to throw it out, like your favourite white Metallica shirt with one too many red wine stains, or that mattress you’ve been sleeping on since your childhood.

There are many car insurance companies out there, so make sure that you choose the right one, and don’t drink and drive folks. Not only could your insurance claim be denied, but you could actually kill someone and end up being charged with manslaughter (and you do NOT want to end up in jail).

But accidents do happen—what do you do with your beloved beast? Do you take it to a scrapyard or do you make an actual effort and get creative? For those of you who would choose to do the latter, here are six DIY ideas for old car parts. These useful tips should steer you in the right direction.

1. Make a headboard out of your car’s hood: It depends on the size and shape of your car’s hood but, if it’s slightly arched, you could actually convert it into a headboard for your bed. You could even mount wooden slabs under the sides of the hood’s arch, adding makeshift shelves, just like in the photo below:

2. Build a bird house and use your licence plate as the roof: Bird houses are still quite common in gardens around the world, so why not use your old licence plate as the roof of your DIY bird house. To get an idea of what’s possible, check out the photo below:

3. Turn your car’s hubcaps into flowers: Don’t throw your beast’s hubcaps away. Spray paint them different colours, weld or mount them to your broken shovel handles and stick them in your gardens beds. They may just give your garden the extra colour it deserves and that retro look. Check out some examples below:

4. Turn your car wheel / rim into a fire pit: If your car has recycled steel car wheels, turn it into a crafty backyard grill. It’s the perfect size for having a nice braai with your friends. I’m pretty sure Braaiboy would be proud of you if you do.

5. Turn your seat belt buckle into a key ring: It turns out that seat belts are actually nifty items when it comes to DIY and you should really not throw them away. Why not turn the seatbelt buckle into a key ring and mount or glue the old socket against the wall? Check out an example below to get those creative juices flowing.

6. Tyre Rim Hose Reel: Tyre Rims are also not useless items when it comes to DIY. Instead of forking out a few hundred rand on a hose reel, why don’t you just spray paint the rim and use it as a makeshift hose reel instead? It will most likely give your garden more character too.

Well, there you go, six DIY ideas with old car parts. There’s actually a lot more you can do with them. Just do an online search and check out what people are pinning on Pinterest to get more ideas.

You can turn car parts into bar stools, office desks, bed frames, sofas, bookshelves, garden chairs, coffee tables, wall units, wall decor items and so much more. The possibilities are endless.

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