If you truly love your car , the itch to spend money on it can be overwhelming – acquire ta make your baby the best it can be , right ? There ’s a percipient distinction , though , between an overpriced , cheesy - as - hellmodification that makes you look like an imbecile , and anactually useful gadgetthat take in your railcar more livable .

Somewhere in the middle are the car accessories you should never , ever grease one’s palms . That ’s for sure the case with the nine accessories below , all of which are sold in eminent enough amount to count as " good sellers " on Amazon . For the love of God , people , stop wasting your money . You do n’t need them . I promise .

The Club, or any other anti-theft steering wheel device

sound like a fresh idea , right ? interlock a long Browning automatic rifle onto your guidance wheel so you could hardly turn it , thereby thwarting stealer . But 30 years after the Club ’s introduction , despite severalnew and improvedversions on the market , there remain just one primal flaw : It does n’t sour . The fact is that if someone want to steal your gondola severely enough , they ’re going to . forward-looking steering wheel are n’t very solid , andcan be cut in seconds , literally . That ’s all it takes .

Back seat hammocks for your pet

I utterly understand wanting to keep your dog ’s pelt and , um , accidentsoff of your railway car ’s buns . That read , I utterly do have something against letting your dog roam free in the back seat of your car . favorite safety in cars is sadly underdeveloped . You would n’t   let your toddler roam around in one of these , would you ? Buckle your dog-iron in with a harness , or do n’t take it with you on your trip . time period .

“Catch caddies” to prevent lost items between the seats

Losing many-sided object between the cushions of one ’s sofa is among the most deep and bothersome aspects of the human condition . And , because so many hoi polloi process their car like their living rooms , it makes sense that someone would formulate an invention tocatch everything you losebetween your behind and the heart and soul cabinet .

But what , exactly , are you hoping to catch with your catch caddy ? Pennies ? mislaid french fries ? You ’re probably better off paying for a car wash than a special accessory for collecting methamphetamine hydrochloride . If it ’s your earpiece you ’re after , you should n’t have your hand on it anyway . gift in a character cell phone mount for your splashboard – there are hundreds out there .

Fancy, “performance” headlight bulbs

Super - burnished headlight replacementssound cracking in theory , and the problem is n’t with the medulla oblongata themselves but with the cars in which they ’re instal . If headlights are n’t aimed properly , they can easily blind oncoming traffic , which is something almost everyone who ’s driven at dark can understand .

Just as big , and far more rough-cut , are headlight covers that are scuff from twelvemonth of debris getting kicked up along the route . Every one of those scuff causes light to scatter , so rather than insure further down the route with your new , brighter headlights , you ’re increasing the glare that mouse into the oncoming dealings ’s phone line of sight .

Instead , get aheadlight lens polishing kit– your result will be much , much right .

Bad Car Accessories

Flickr/Atom (Edited)

Steering wheel knobs that let you turn one-handed

I could go on ad nauseum about how bad an theme driving with one of these attached to your direction bicycle really is . The mounting mechanics is almost guarantee to come loose at some point , and it ’s actually illegal in some states – and justly so . The best way to explain how spoilt of an estimation it is , though ? It ’s really called , and I ’m not stool this up , a " self-destruction thickening " by the merchandising departments of many of the company that make them , specifically because of how get laid you are if you need to take evasive natural action .

Scented air fresheners

Air fresheners are excellent for harbinger to the world that you have either tremendous body olfactory sensation or low sanitation degree in your car . They make your automobile sense of smell somewhere in - between a urinal cake and Yankee Candle , and if you have the classic , attend sort , you ’re putting a dangling distraction in your peripheral vision , which is an actual bonafide danger .

Pro tip : Make one yourselfthat you’re able to cover under your buns , using rocks or coffee bean . Everyone will be none the wiser .

Steering wheel covers

Generally speaking , steering wheel are long-lived aim . They do n’t fall aside unless they ’ve been through many , many years of ill-usage – and even then it ’s an exception to the principle . Why someone would put a padded cover over a perfectly good steering wheel defies system of logic . At best , it ’s an ill - advised statement of personal taste , but depend on how bad your guidance wheel cover is ( and none of them aregood ) , it can be downright unsafe , leading to slippage in important moments .

Edge guards on your doors to prevent damage… to other people’s cars

If you in reality care about the way your fomite look , it ’s perfectly graspable to judge to find some room to mitigate door ding damage stimulate by the hoards of careless people out there . Edge guards like thisdon’t do that , though . They ’re mainly designed not to protect your car from others , butto protect other cars from your carelessness . in earnest , if you ca n’t respect other citizenry ’s property enough   not to hit their elevator car with your door , then please , take a jalopy .

Gimmicky car wash products

Let me get this straightaway . Someone came up with a way ofattaching a can bowl copse to a hose , marketed it as a cleanup product for a railcar , and the great unwashed take up take out out their credit placard as they suddenly think , " Oh , what a slap-up idea ! My tire are pestiferous . My sewer arena is dirty . Therefore this hold perfect sense . " There are some really good , really fancy car cleaning instrument out there – anything that looks like it came from a 90 2d hot pitch onShark Tankisn’t one of them .

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Steering Wheel Locking Device

Flickr/Asim Bharwani

Pet Hammocks are Dangerous

Amazon/BarksBar

Catch Caddy is a pointless accessory

Bed Bath and Beyond/CatchCaddy

Ultra bright headlights aren’t always a smart choice

Amazon/Sylvania

Suicide Knob on a Steering wheel

Amazon/Easy Turn Plus

Air Fresheners don’t do anything

Flickr/Jon Fischer

Steering wheel covers are sill ideas

Flickr/Steve Moses

Door bumpers are a terrible idea

Courtesy of Ford

Gimmicks like this are a terrible idea

Amazon/Brush Hero