There are quite a few accessories on the market to jazz up your car’s look.
Stuff like bodykits, spoilers and larger wheels are all great things which make your ride look like a million dollars.
Some even give you tangible performance benefits.
We’ve even done stories on the best cheap car accessories to get here and here, so check them out and save yourself some money in the process.
But taste isn’t a universal trait, and some people have less of that than others.
Plenty of cars are on the road adorned with the gaudiest accoutrements.
Some run around with so many decals that they look like a child’s sticker book on wheels, while others have so large a wing that it’s a miracle the car hasn’t taken off yet.
Just head onto any e-commerce website, head to the ‘autos’ or ‘cars’ section, and enjoy (or despise) the collection there.
We’ve rounded up a few of the worst car accessories you definitely should think twice about putting on your hard-earned ride.
1.
Fake car badges (or worse, upbadging), are nearly sacrilegious in the automotive world.
Putting fake badges like the one above rank pretty highly on the list of worst car accessories that you definitely shouldn’t adorn your car with.
Fake badges that advertise your car as being more powerful than it actually is (called upbadging) are just…well…not nice things to do.
That’s the easiest way to be frowned upon by fellow motorists who know you’re driving a standard Civic instead of a real Type R.
2.
Fake carbon fibre accents make your car look cheaper than it is
Putting fake carbon-fibre accents on your car is another of those things that makes your car look the exact opposite of expensive.
The thing about genuine carbon-fibre is that it’s glossy, deep and rich.
You can see the weave in the resin, and see the individual strands of woven carbon in the matrix.
Fake carbon-fibre accents have none of those attributes.
What’s worse is that if it starts to peel, the consequences (from fellow motorists) will be hilarious.
3.
Fake hood scoops don’t give your car extra horsepower.
Have you seen hood scoops tacked on to humdrum family cars and wonder why? Yeah, us neither.
Functional hood scoops are a matter of pride to their individual owners.
They provide air to the hungry engine beneath while simultaneously bestowing the driver with extra street cred.
However, your family sedan or SUV doesn’t need these hood scoops.
4.
Fake exhaust tips look bad, and you should feel bad.
The example above isn’t so bad, given that it looks pretty decently integrated into the bumper.
But the fact that it was done by an automaker shouldn’t diminish the horror that is fake exhaust tips.
Next time you see a car that has four exhaust tips, look and think carefully whether they’re real.
For example, this writer has seen an Elantra with quad exhausts.
Unless the driver has managed to shoehorn 500hp from that engine, those are probably fake.
5.
Fake stickers aren’t the most egregious of worst car accessories, but they’re still unnecessary.
Not the worst car accessories, but pretty close. Some drivers fancy themselves as rally drivers when they put a million stickers on their cars.
But we hate to break it to them: putting stickers on your car does not, in fact, give you extra 10hp per sticker.
