Team-BHP - How often and how much do you spend on car accessories & modifications?

Voted Low

Quite frankly, until I became a member of TBHP earlier this year, I had no idea about what detailing meant or Ceramic coating / PPF etc. All our cars in the family that I have been involved with from date of purchase and driving till 2021 (8 cars in total) were purchased usually one variant below the top end and kept that way until we owned them. For the first time around 2016 or so, when our Skoda Laura in Mumbai started to look dirty on the inside, we got an interior cleaning done and realised the benefit of getting it done once in a while. Since then all our cars have been sent for interior cleaning at least once a year. Apart from this, the usual spends on accessories would be a USB Charger, Aux Cable, Air Freshener etc.

After becoming a member here and having purchased a pre-owned car (Audi A3), I took it to a detailing studio here in Bengaluru to get a cleaning and polish done. The car looked outstanding but the moment I drove it out of the studio, it rained and by the time I got home, the white car again looked dirty. :-) Looking back, all our cars were washed either by drivers at home or the building watchman. I never bothered about swirl marks and our cars were actually quite well kept and always fetched us a good price when sold. So I have now decided to only get a thorough interior cleaning done once a year professionally and for day to day use, wiping with a lint free cloth or even a simple cotton cloth makes the car look tidy.

Another thing we did which I do not regret one bit is to spend a lot of money in overhauling our Skoda Laura from Mumbai and spent money on new upholstery. Ditto with the Honda City we have here which was 7 years old. Both have run close to 100K km and now feel like new cars really. I do have in mind to upgrade my entertainment unit on the A3 to a newer one with Apple Car Play but possibly after 2 years when the warranty runs out.

Voted low.

My 1st Chevrolet beat diesel was the base +1 model and needed a bunch of stuff including an audio system. Got it fitted. Upgraded the headlights wiring and bulbs to higher powered ones as well . I have no qualms of going to an accessory shop as needed.

My Nexon XZA+ was however the top variant and I have literally put zero money for accessories. Still running on crap stock goodyear Assurance tires @43K and need to replace them soon.

On a need basis but an increasing proponent of buying the top model and less add ons .

Voted: Low

I generally keep my vehicle STOCK for first few years. Mods done to my vehicles are bare minimal.

Honda City V AT 2012.
1. Seat Covers.
2. CASKA ICE system, which costed me 60k(stock ICE was bare minimum).
3. Front suspension lift after 5 years.

Toyota Fortuner 2X4 2021
1. 7D floor mats(a must for our usage).
2. Auto closing wing mirrors via remote(looks cool).
3. PPF strips on under door handles to avoid ugly looking nail scratches .
4. Window visors(looks cool).
5. Blaupunkt trumpet horn for highway(felt stock horn was doing its job for our usage).

For cars, I would say low. The 800 which was my family's first car had an aftermarket cassette player, and that is about all the accessories it had. Then came the Dzire which was fairly equipped for its time, and except for leather seat covers, did not have to add anything else. Only a month ago was a 10-inch touchscreen was added to the car, because I needed Android Auto and a reverse camera. So, it has been low levels of car accessory spending for my cars. For then bikes, it is way different, all 3 bikes have some form of accessories attached to them, especially the Enfield.

Would vote for “A Lot”, till now we’ve spent about 10% of Thar’s ex-showroom cost on modifications itself.
Also, no more than a decade back, it would be customary for all our car purchases to get custom seats, bass tube, pioneer/Sony front console, headrest fitted screens for the back, tinted windows, mats, and what not!
However, I second that most top variants (now)come decently equipped (in case of the Koreans and the Chinese I’d say too much equipped lol), and there’s less scope for improvement. :)

Learned a lesson from Team-BHP: buy top-end model so that you do not miss any features later. The corollary to that is, you do not need to accessorize later!

Accessories are broadly of two types: functional and cosmetic. I prefer functional accessories and have absolutely no interest in cosmetic ones!

Thus, my car has a car tyre pump, 3D rubber mats, magnetic sun shades, leather wrapping for the steering wheel and recently I installed an arm rest with storage (the top end version of my car unfortunately did not have it). I am presently planning for an air purifier unit. All these in 3 years of owning the car.

Now, one may argue that leather wrapping is cosmetic; but to me it is functional. It saves the steering wheel from getting stained and actually helps get a better grip.

Other than these, I usually refrain from having any other accessories in the car. I absolutely hate anything dangling from the IRVM or any 'unnecessary' items on the dashboard, so that rules out many accessories from even considerations.

I recently bought Nexon XZ which comes equipped with most of the items I need. After buying, I have only added 7D Floor Mats, Door Visor & Mud Flaps which are basically the necessities (not accessories)

Further I donot intend to add any accessory in my car.

So, precisely speaking I do not spend anything on the car accessories (Apart from a car air freshener, may be once in Three months).

Voted Low

1. Omni- Bought from uncle. Dad just did a comprehenisve service. Removed the metal bullbar as the front was sagging. Changed the seat upholstery. Put the low profile radial tyres instead of the trcuk like cross plys.

2. Indicab- For taxi purposes. Did an underbody coating and installed a roof carrier at the dealer itself before delivery. Dark tints and A/C stickers/contact details on the rear windshield. Music system with an LCD screen installed.

3. WagonR- Seat covers, Pioneer music system, floor lamination, 12v cigarette lighter socket at the dealer itself before taking delivery. Half a decade later, one fine afternoon. My dad, brother and myself took some leftover chrome beadings(furniture) and proceeded to turn our black F10D into a bling mobile.

4. Etios- Don't remember whether the floor mats and mudflaps were free or we paid for them. Though the rear armrest and luggage mat in the boot was definitely bought by us from the dealer from the official accessory list. Six months after delivery, just before the monsoon arrived. Went to our neighbourhoold accessory shop. Artificial leather seats of the same interior colour and floor lamination. Hate the floor lamination, but it had to be done due to our usage and conditions. Rest all stock.

Voted Medium -
Alto 2007 non power steering model - Painted bumpers to body colour, wheel caps, audio system, seat covers, floor lamination & horn changed.

i10 2009 Era - Pretty much bare bone model. Added audio system +parcel tray, painted rims in black and put wheel caps, mud flaps, rear spoiler (removed later), changed ORVMs to Magna variant type, fog lamps just for looks (non functional) & a red and black sticker at back which gels well with the car.

Altroz 2021 XM - Added mud flaps, front sensors, rear speakers, reverse camera, 5D mats and alloy wheels

Voted Low

I have this fascination towards metal valve caps with the logo of the car's make and am still seeking that elusive OEM part. Besides that, I had upgraded to better (one size wider) silent running tyres and recently better bulbs (of the same make/spec as OEM). Experimented with many phone holders given my stock RCD320 HU in my 2014 GT TSI and finally had this working to my satisfaction

Otherwise, prefer things bone stock

Spending on Car comfort turned out to be a hobby for me in last 5+ years. Owing a Ford Figo Aspire (Petrol MT), was adamant to upgrade the stock Headlamps (for obvious reasons) but did not act due to warranty issues.

I keep on changing floor mats, steering wheel covers, Polishes, Cleaners and perfumes. Have tried different brands and my satisfaction level drops after a few months. However let me be honest and tell you that I try to not overspend on decors. Seat cover is now what is bothering me as I have never liked anything else apart from fabric and getting the same here in kolkata at cheaper rates is a big challenge (especially after spending on cars in delhi and rajasthan where all these are damn cheap with good craftsmanship. And finally since now its out of warranty, I am geared up to change the stock headlights to anything legal and sensible and with a yellow tint and not the white ones :). also no more of ASC default barrel engine oils and shifted to Mobil. Have plans to add a subwoofer under the seat (though not fond of loud music show off) but to enjoy the beats affecting the heart more that the ear-drums. And yes, my search for floor-mats and seat cover is still on.

Voted - None

While I do spend on accessories for my car, they're not modifications and we can't count them as car accesorization. I prefer accessories that are easily swappable. E.g. my Beat has done 1L km in 7 yrs and it still doesn't have a music system. I used a magnetic phone mount with a Bluetooth speaker (music/nav) and a separate Plantronics speakerphone for calls. Both of these things I can remove from the car and even use at home. It also has external TPMS sensors.

The Beat doesn't have alloys, seat covers, speakers, wrap, nothing. Only headlamps upgraded to 100/90 and mats changed due to wear and tear but they hardly qualify as modifications. I can get the car interiors drycleaned 3-4 times for the price of 1 set of decent seat covers.

Moreover, accessories don't add to the resale price. When parting ways with the car, we have to donate these to the new owner.

The Nano has only window visors and a lume strip on the window line for contrast. Nothing else.

I never have any such hard and fast rules regarding such spends on accessories on my cars and two wheelers. The cars apart from playing their roles for transportation are also family members and form an integral part of an enthusiast's hobby.

Modifications are a strict no for me. I am rigid here. Maintaining originality with factory specs has always been my motto and I go out of the way to import spares and accessories when needed. The automobiles need to be in stock condition.

I am very liberal when it comes to spending on essential accessories though. The oldest car in my garage is 66 years young and the second oldest, a two wheeler is 58 years young. The youngest of all, is a SUV aged 12. Accessories have a shelf life and need replacements and maybe repairs too.

Neither am I too liberal, buying anything and everything that catches my attention.

So it is essentially need based for me and with such an approach, maybe I spend sometimes four or five or even in six digit amounts if required, going by the need of the time.

And the assertion that with the heralding changeover and new era of EV's, such needs for modifications and accessories will fade may not come true. Rather, we could get battery power boosters, battery range enhancers, circuit fire preventive devices and many, many more such products could emerge.