The whole "everyone called him a liar and downvoted him to -40" part is exactly why it takes so long to blow up. Tbh when I found something similar, a small local post about a fighter's first amateur loss, I didn't dump it straight into the big subs. I posted it in the city's sub first and let a few people from that gym confirm it in the comments. Once there were like three locals backing it up, I screenshotted that thread and reposted it to the big MMA sub with the proof attached. The first time I posted just the screenshot, same thing as you, got called a farmer and buried. The trick is you need other people vouching before the big subs will bite, one guy alone is always gonna look fake.

Learned that the hard way on oak too, felt like such an idiot.

Cheap stuff first, always, because it takes two minutes and saves you from feeling dumb later. Idk maybe it's just me but chasing big parts when a battery or a switch is the real problem just wastes your whole day. Start small, then go big if you have to.