Give Dad’s Car a Father’s Day Upgrade with These Accessories

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While most new cars these days come with Bluetooth, a rear-view camera, and built-in GPS, if your dad drives anything before 2010, he’s probably pretty envious and a little out of the loop. While it’s nice to have all of these car gadgets pre-installed, it turns out that you don’t have to buy a whole new car to enjoy them as well.

If you want your dad’s ride to look less like a moldy old Corolla and more like a shiny new Mazda, here are some Father’s Day gift ideas that will help bring his car into the 21st century.

What car accessories do you need?

Spare parts

If your dad is a bit of a gearhead who could take apart and look like his car’s engine blindfolded, who’s the pride and joy of an older car he’s kept in good condition? If so, when it comes to replacing parts for his old vehicle, it can be a lot easier said than done.

For Father’s Day, you can save Dad a trip to the junkyard or tow trucks by tracking down specific car parts.

If you head to eBay, you can currently get 15% off a range of authenticated used car parts and accessories from select sellers when you use the code. PLAU15 (eBay Plus members can get 17% off with code PLAU17).

This sale begins today, August 16, and covers select auto parts and accessories products sold by a range of sellers. You’ll want to get in quick as this offer is only available for a limited time. Conditions apply.

A Bluetooth car adapter

Bluetooth is a complete game-changer when it comes to pairing your device wirelessly in a jiffy. We use it to connect our phones to TVs, headphones, game consoles, and even our cars.

If your dad drives an older car, chances are you don’t have that luxury. Or, for some reason, it has to rely on your phone plugged into one of its USB outlets.

Of course, if your phone’s USB charging port is working a little dodgy, you might want to consider buying this Bluetooth transmitter as one of your next car accessories.

This car adapter from Lecent comes in handy as it doubles as a USB charger and Bluetooth transmitter. It includes two USB-A ports, as well as a USB-C port for fast charging, and can transmit your music as an FM signal (with bass boost, if that’s your vibe). It even lets you take calls with its built-in call button, featuring a high-sensitivity microphone and CVC noise cancellation.

Simply plug this Bluetooth car adapter into your cigarette lighter socket (because who uses it these days anyway?) and away you go.

Buy the Lecent Bluetooth Car Adapter here for $39.27. You can also ride with this Bluetooth transmitter for $18.99.

Aerial display

If you want your dad’s car to look like a top model, you might want to try a hanging screen. Overhead displays are used to display your speed limit above your steering wheel. Rather than taking your eyes off the road to check your speed, this heads-up display will make it easier to keep your eyes on the road.

This is especially handy when riding close to a speed camera, as you don’t have to worry about whether you were two kilometers away or more. Because the number on the screen is digitized, you will always know the precise speed at which you are riding.

You can grab this head-up display here for $38.59.

dash cam

Chances are that in his lifetime your dad has witnessed an unpleasant car accident or two. It could even happen to him, but knock on wood for now and pray that it doesn’t. Still, you can never be too careful while driving and even if you are the most responsible driver, there are plenty of terrible ones.

For your dad’s safety (and a potential insurance claim), having a dash cam is one of those car accessories that will give you both peace of mind and hard evidence if you ever need to make a deal.

This dash cam from TOGUARD features easy-to-setup front and rear cameras with 1080p HD resolution and a wide 170-degree viewing angle. Its G-Sensor will also trigger if it detects sudden collisions and locks the video, so you won’t have to worry about deleting something important.

You can pick up the TOGUARD Dual Lens Dash Cam here for $99.99.

car phone holder

If your dad’s car doesn’t have a sophisticated built-in GPS system, navigating on a road trip or in a new city can be extremely difficult (and dangerous) if he’s constantly looking down at his lap to see where he is heading.

Rather than dropping $150 or more on a GPS, just grab a much more affordable car phone holder. Considering his smartphone probably cost him around a grand, we don’t see why you would want to spend more than you need.

You can grab a car air vent phone holder here. Or you can grab this magnetic one here for $13.90.

car vacuum cleaner

If your dad is guilty of bringing half the beach home with him in the car, or maybe he has a messy dog, it’s handy to keep a lightweight vacuum cleaner in the trunk.

There’s nothing we hate more than having to lug the industrial-sized one home in the garage and untangle its cables. It’s even a good idea if you need to clean your van on a road trip or before you catch your hot date.

This portable vacuum will help your dad squeeze through all those dark crevices where a hot flea or two is hiding. It also comes with a few versatile nozzles the right size to slip into your car’s side pockets.

You can grab our top car vacuum pick here for $31.95.

Universal car headrest holder

What if Tesla owners could stream game of thrones in their car? Your dad can do it too, or at least his rear passengers can.

With a headrest tablet holder, his friends or young children can watch a movie in the backseat on a weekend drive. If he’s traveling with someone who gets car sick easily, a headrest support is good for keeping their eyes up, helping them have a better chance of avoiding car sickness.

You can purchase this universal headrest mount here for just $27.95.