Technology these days is unbelievable. Paired with the latest vehicles available, sometimes it feels like you’re riding down the road in your living room – with all the bells and whistles for comfort, entertainment and convenience that you could ever imagine. Cars are getting more and more expensive to buy because they’re getting more and more expensive to make, and sometimes it’s hard to actually know and understand what features are a waste of money versus what’s actually useful. We’ve done some research for you to help you make the most of your money when you make your purchase.
Heated Rear Seats
It’s a quick, easy sell for dealers because everyone knows what they are, and really everyone can appreciate the luxury and comfort behind heated seats. These days most cars come default with heated front seats, and now the upgrade has turned to heated rear seats. They slap a hefty price tag on the upgrade and expect you to jump all over it, because you hear “Heated seat” and think “Oh, yes, I definitely need that”. Here’s the thing: they’re hardly ever used, so it’s actually just a big waste of money. Kids rarely even know to request heated seats, and how often do you really have adults sitting in the back? Forgo that option and spend your money elsewhere.
Adaptive Cruise Control
It’s a brilliant concept: put your cruise control on and have a detector that will slow your car down if you come too close to a car in front of you. Why not pay for that added safety feature? We’re not saying never do it, we’re just saying hold off a few more years. This feature needs significant research and re-design as it tends to act as more of an unnecessary annoyance at this point in time. Not only that, but complete reliability on it as it is right now can be downright dangerous and scary due to sheer over-performance.
Rotating Head Lights
Rotating headlights are extra headlights that turn on when you’re making a turn. What’s wrong with that? Not a whole lot, just that it takes light off of one part of the road in order to place it on another. In other words, you can’t see what you were seeing before you started making the turn, which is dangerous in turning situations.
Paddle Shift in Basic Cars
Having a flappy paddle gear box behind the steering wheel is something that basic cars, trucks and SUV companies are excited to promote now. Why? It’s a feature that’s been in performance vehicles for years, so what better way to bring performance luxury to even the most basic car, than to introduce paddle shift? Bottom line – paddle shift is for quick shifting. Frankly, basic cars, trucks and SUV’s (not created for performance) won’t shift quickly with or without it. It’s advertised as a method to switch gears more quickly and smoothly, but it really doesn’t make a difference.
Don’t be duped into spending thousands of dollars more in these upgrades- learn from us and place your money elsewhere in a way that you’ll actually notice and appreciate further down the road!
