BUYING a new car can be a difficult and lengthy process right now.
If you aren’t having to wait for an age for your new car to be built thanks to supply chain and semiconductor issues, you’re having to pay the resulting inflated prices for a used car instead.
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So what about modernising the old motor you’ve already got?
Happily, there are plenty of low-cost solutions to bringing your car up to date.
Some will require a professional to fit, but others only need an online purchase and can be fitted by you for use straight away.
And it isn’t just in-car tech that makes the list – there are also cheap ways to make your old car safer and more efficient too.
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12-volt USB charger – £5
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Seemingly every gadget charges via a USB these days, so not having a USB port in your car can be a big problem.
Thankfully there are countless cheap options on the market to adapt the 12-volt cigarette lighter in your car to USB power.
USB-A and USB-C adaptors are available, or even adaptors with both USB formats can be found if you have devices with both types.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – from £150
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Apple CarPlay and Android Auto essentially replicate your phone’s screen inside your car.
That’s handy because most people know their way around their phone, but many struggle with car systems.
Most new cars now come with these systems included, but you can convert older cars by replacing their radio units with a new screen.
We’d strongly recommend getting a professional to fit it for you, but units for some cars start at £150 on Amazon and eBay. Halfords sell Sony and Pioneer units starting from about £270.
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In-car WiFi – free
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If you’re often on the move and work a lot from your car, you might want to consider a stable WiFi connection.
If your car was built before the internet was invented, then you might be wondering how on earth this is possible.
There are dedicated WiFi dongles that can be plugged in, but given most people these days have a smartphone, we’d suggest using this as a hotspot for free instead.
Just make sure your phone and network are able to do it, and that you have enough data for what you need to do.
DAB radio – £50
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Digital radio is the future and every new car on sale now comes with a DAB radio receiver.
However, it’s easy to buy a retrofit DAB radio receiver for your car these days and enjoy clearer radio on the move.
If you’re handy at DIY you can do it yourself or get a professional to do it.
Either way, it opens up hundreds more radio stations that are DAB only.
Headlight bulbs – £20
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Headlight technology is one of the fastest-progressing areas of the car.
Back in the day, you’d be happy to see where you were going.
Now we have OLED lights with hundreds of pixels that can pick out oncoming cars and prevent dazzling them from hundreds of meters away.
You can’t have that on your old banger, sure, but from around £20 you can buy more powerful bulbs that have whiter light to vastly improve what you can see at night.
Aero wipers – £20
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Windscreen wiper technology hasn’t moved on quite so quickly, but the latest wipers will last longer and wipe more effectively than those from back in the day.
They are often more aerodynamically designed, so cut down on wind noise at speed and help drive down fuel costs too.
Buying new wipers and using products like Rain-X on your windscreen to prevent smearing will also mean you can see more and drive more safely on wet days.
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