Best and Worst Family Car Updates

We all look for cars that provide a pleasant driving experience with minimum hassle — whether it’s for having reliable transportation or for reliving our youth. Affordable and highly functioning auto aftermarket items can help keep your car clean, safe, and convenient to drive — yet some should never be recommended by manufacturers.

Here are beneficial options to consider if you intend to sell, trade in or increase the lifetime of your car — and some items you may want to avoid.

GOOD
A Clean Machine
It’s one thing to suck up cracker crumbs; it’s quite another to remove ice-cream scoops from the back seat. The $20 ArmorAll 12V Wet/Dry Bagless Car Vacuum package includes a crevice tool, squeegee nozzle, and detail brush. A built-in LED light and a washable filter are optional features.

One caveat: A car’s 12-volt cigarette lighter doesn’t supply as much power as you’d get from an AC outlet at home. But you can run the vacuum off your vehicle’s cigarette lighter while you’re far from AC power.

No More ‘Killing Zone’
The blind spot immediately behind a vehicle has long been a concern for industry, safety groups, and the government. It’s impossible for a driver to spot a small child or pet back there before going in reverse — particularly driving a minivan or SUV.

Most new cars come with a rear-view camera, typically mounted in the dashboard, that alerts the driver to anyone or anything (such as another vehicle backing up) in the so-called “killing zone.” By 2018, all new cars should have one.

If your car didn’t come with a rear-view camera, it’s a lifesaving add-on that should cost $400 for a name-brand system. If your vehicle came with a dashboard display screen, it might even be a do-it-yourself project.

Related: That Child Behind the Wheel

Free Speech
Even technophobes can appreciate how a hands-free Bluetooth device allows a driver to take calls from friends without touching the cellphone. But Bluetooth is so well-integrated in today’s cars that you don’t even need friends. Whatever your phone can access via the internet is accessible hands-free.

With a Bluetooth-enabled car stereo and GPS, talk to your devices when you need to find a nearby restaurant, coffee shop — you name it. For less than $100, you can install a vehicle-specific Bluetooth adapter, microphone included, which allows you to hear callers through your car’s speakers. Aftermarket stereos with built-in Bluetooth communication start at less than $50.

Hot and Cold
Not only have heated and even cooled seats become fairly common in new vehicles (sometimes even for the rear seats), but adding them is relatively inexpensive. For as little as $20, you can buy a heated seat cover that plugs into the cigarette lighter. More elaborate heaters are professionally installed in the seat, especially if you have side airbags, for about $100 to $150 per seat. All types typically have a timer — since “toasted skin syndrome” is a real malady.

People do all sorts of things while driving and they don’t need encouragement to do even more.

Remote Control
Whatever remote device came with your car can probably lock and unlock the car door, open the trunk, and start the horn honking — but don’t settle for these capabilities alone. The higher-quality remote car starters, beginning at $150, can turn on your professionally installed heated seats and rear defroster. Some add shock-sensing to supplement a factory-installed security system. Many can also accept notification back from your car after you’ve issued your commands.

BAD
An Office on Wheels
Do you occasionally have to pull over to handle some work issues from the car? The $24 AutoExec Wheelmate Steering Wheel Attachable Work Surface Tray is the ticket. It mounts on the steering wheel and provides a work surface that is easy to write on, and it’s small enough to fit between the seats when you’re not using it.

The problem? People do all sorts of things while driving and they don’t need encouragement to do even more. Distracted driving is frightening enough without this form of a mobile office.

All Scratched Up 
Who needs to worry about scratches on your minivan when you can pay a mere $15 for the Turtle Wax Scratch Removal Kit? The many buyers of the products who complained about it online, that’s who!

A few customers claimed satisfactory and even impressive results from following instructions and taking it slow. But most voiced regret and complained that the area of the scratch looked worse after using the kit because the paint’s sheen dissolved in the vicinity of the scratch.

Sticker Shock
Even if you love to express your opinions, having bumper stickers all over minivan is not prudent. Drivers may drive aggressively to show their disagreement with your opinion. When it’s time to sell that vehicle, you’ll also find they are awfully hard to remove.

But what about the family stick-figure window stickers? It depends on whether you want every potential burglar scouting your neighborhood to quickly learn the makeup of your household.