What UK drivers hate most when it comes to car accessories

What UK drivers hate most when it comes to car accessories

When it comes to car pet-hates, it probably doesn't come as much surprise that noisy exhausts and novelty car stickers have been hailed as some of the most annoying car accessories. But used car retailer, CarShop.co.uk, conducted a survey to discover just what car accessories us drivers hate most, and have produced their top ten most hated car fittings and fixtures.

The survey of 2,000 UK drivers aimed to discover what we hate most when it comes to car accessories, revealing that a whopping 72% of us truly despise headlight eyelashes! This was closely followed by fluffy dice with 66% and noisy exhausts typically adopted by 'boy-racers', with 64% claiming their hatred.

The top ten most hated car accessories included headlight eyelashes (72%) in the top spot, fluffy dice (66%), noisy exhausts (64%), novelty horns (58%), "Powered by Fairy Dust" stickers or similar (58%), lights under the car (51%), nodding dogs (47%), flags (46%), subwoofers (40%) and steering wheel covers (39%).

The survey asked drivers to define what made a 'bad taste' car accessory, with respondents highlighting spoilers, subwoofers and steering wheel covers, along with lights under cars, nodding dogs and flags. 9 out of 10 respondents said they have purchased a car with one or more 'bad taste' accessory, and 75% of drivers surveyed believed people only use accessories because they think it improves the look of their car. However, an expert at CarShop said accessories can massively impact the value of a car, and car depreciation is often a result of badly-fitted or unattractive car accessories, making it harder to sell your car.

Alloy wheels are the most popular car accessory, with 30% of respondents saying their family or friends had modified alloys on their current car, even though ill-fitting alloy rims or wheels can decrease the value of a car if they're inappropriately sized. Overpowered stereos and large speakers are also popular additions when modifying cars; however these are likely to decrease the value as it often implies to the potential buyer that the car has been previously driven by a 'boy-racer'. Similarly, superchargers or turbochargers can also put off potential buyers. There are however accessories which can help to increase the value of a car when selling, such as navigation systems and appropriate body kits such as step bars or fog lights.

CarShop.co.uk is one of the UK's leading used car retailers which provides advice for buyers looking to purchase a used car, as well as offering expert advice to sellers on how to ensure they understand how they can maximise the value of the car they are looking to sell.

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