Some car accessories seem like they’d be wonderful purchases, but turn out to be less spectacular. Commercials often make them seem like life-changing purchases that will bring nothing but joy. But many, we realize just after buying these gadgets, aren’t actually worth having. While they’re nice in theory, the reality doesn’t always live up to the expectation. Some are definitely worth having, but only the cheap and basic models. Here are my top two regrettable car accessory purchases, along with one I refuse to buy.
Satellite Radio
I thought satellite radio would be awesome. I imagined I’d have more control over what I wanted to hear, and that I’d use it all the time. After subscribing, however, I quickly lost interest. I almost never used it after the first month or so, opting instead for the complete control over song choice by connecting my iPod to my car stereo. That’s my idea of custom radio. Satellite radio might be worth the monthly subscription fee to some people, but I decided it wasn’t for me-I like being my own DJ more.
Expensive GPS Systems
When I bought my GPS, I was out of state and lost. This is exactly when one would really benefit from having a navigation system, and until that happened, I wasn’t interested in getting one. There were several types available and they varied in price. Since I don’t travel that much (not nearly enough, to be honest) I could’ve gotten by with the cheapest one available. Instead, I paid quite a bit more for one with extra features. They seemed like they’d be useful as I read the box at some Walmart hundreds of miles from home. To this day, I don’t remember what they were. That’s because I never used them.
Car Televisions and DVD players
I know there are many who’ll disagree with me on this one. I know, because I’ve been distracted numerous times by Spongebob Squarepants playing through the window of the car just ahead of me as I was driving. While they’re usually seen on the rear of the front seat, designed for passengers to watch while riding, I have seen some that were clearly placed so that the driver could watch TV. If there’s anything more dangerous than drunk driving or texting and driving, it has to be watching TV while behind the wheel.
Though many people love tricking their cars out with every gadget imaginable, I like to stick with the basics. Anything that requires a subscription has to be something I use and enjoy on a regular basis in order for me to justify that monthly bill. GPS systems are great when you’re lost, but the basic model would’ve been good enough for my purposes. As for TVs and DVD players in cars, if you’ve ever come close to wrecking because the driver in front of you was watching Footloose, all I can say is-it definitely wasn’t me.