Owning a car is expensive, and plenty of factors—many beyond your control—can make it even costlier. That’s why we’ve put together a list of essential items that can save you money, time, and even your life.
Many people opt for a pre-packed emergency car starter set, which isn’t a bad place to start. However, these kits often contain low-quality components and only cover the bare minimum. Instead, we’d recommend hand-picking these higher-quality essentials and keeping them organised in one of these car storage organisers.
Must Haves:
- A Dash Camera – Without a doubt one of the best things you can buy – Buy ➜ Premium | Budget | Others
- Apple AirTags (with the speakers removed use this guide) or Samsung / Tile – Ease to hide within the car for some added peace of mind, not the best in the world but cheap, if you want something more intensive/accurate you can find plenty of other DIY trackers or pay a proper company to install a decent system for a few hundred pounds. We personally would go with a mix of multiple options here, for the cost of a few batteries every year and a couple hundred pounds it’s peanuts compared with having nothing at all.
- Polarised Sunglasses Budget | Kids – the risk of a life-threatening crash is 16% higher during bright sunlight compared to normal weather…
- Tyre Repair Kit | Buy: Budget | Premium
- Tyre Inflator (cheap one or get one that uses the same batteries as your drill/screwdriver Makita | Bosch | Ryobi | Dewalt | Einhell for the ultimate wireless setup)
- Tyre Pressure Gauge -If your car’s tyres are under-inflated by 15 PSI (or 1 Bar), you could be spending around 6% more on fuel each year. At today’s prices, that’s an extra £150 on a £2,500 annual fuel bill—all for something as simple as low tyre pressure!
- Reflective Warning Triangle &/or Road Flares – nobody wants a secondary crash after an accident or breakdown, be seen.
- Seatbelt Cutter & Window Breaker Tool – understand how it works and keep this in an area by the drivers seat, these save lives.
- Fluorescent Hi Viz Jacket – Might save you getting mowed down by traffic after an accident
- Battery Bank – Ideal if you breakdown and have low battery on your phone/dead car battery.
- Some bottles of water – So obvious but so often people don’t have these, especially important for summer months and as emergency screenwash
- Emergency LED Lights &/or head torch
- Multi Tool – So many uses
- A waterproof picnic blanket (for the floor) + some decent fleece blankets (for your body + nice to have in the car) + some foil blankets (for true emergencies)
- Washer Fluid – We always use this stuff
- Car Jump Cables / Battery Booster (only applies to Petrol/Diesel cars) but can save you waiting for several hours for the AA to come out or a member of the public to stop who also has the cables.
- First aid kit (check what your car already has in it) + ensure it gets filled with cheap Paracetamol, Ibuprofen & Allergy tablets this will save you a fortune compared with needing one whilst away from a major supermarket.
- Understand how Key Relay Attacks work and if your car is susceptible buy a Faraday Pouch
Nice to haves:
The following items will depend on several factors, including how far away from civilisation you will be / weather conditions, etc, for many people, they won’t be needed but might be nice to have for others.
- Car storage organiser
- Demister
- Sick Bags – Don’t cheap out on these, we’ve tried and tested these they work well
- 1KG Fire Extinguisher Multi Purpose – Obviously ring 999 if there is a fire but this might just help you save someone’s life if they’re stuck in a fire, learn how to safely use it as it’s extremely risky and not recommended that you attempt to tackle a car fire as it’s extremely dangerous.
- Some decent high protein food bars with long shelf life – You know those horror stories of motorways being shutdown for hours, these could save you from hunger, longs walk and/or upset family/friends.
- Snow Shovel – Not needed for most of the year but useful to have in peak winter / when away from major roads
- A set of decent gloves can be extremely useful in an emergency, breakdown
- A couple of jackets or some Rain Ponchos
- Tow Rope – Could save you from an expensive tow or get you out of a pickle (e.g. you spin off the road into mud)
- Set of replacement bulbs – Might save an accident from happening/having to buy expensive bulbs on a trip
- Basic Tool Kit (Sockets, Screwdrivers, etc.) – Potentially essential for minor roadside repairs or securing loose parts.
- Some gorilla tape / Duct Tape / Cable Ties
- Gloves: A pair of heavy-duty work gloves for handling dirty/oily components
- De-Icer & Ice Scraper (for winter).
- Spare Fuses – A blown fuse can cause major headaches, especially for headlights or essential electronics.
- Paper Map / Offline Navigation – If your phone dies or GPS fails, having a physical road atlas can be a lifesaver.
- Motion Activated Lights near your car (if off street parking) or near to lights if it’s on-street
Good practice:
- Avoid car vandalism by taking your belongings with you when you park or hiding them out of sight
- Keeping important car documents away from the car, a stolen car with these documents makes it easier for someone to sell on / commit identity theft
- Ensuring the car is unlocked, we know of several friends who have accidentally left their car unlocked and had things like satnavs stolen
- Keep your doors locked in slow moving traffic
- Don’t leave your car running and get out of it (e.g. to heat it up in winter)