Right off the bat: bless your hearts. Those of you thoughtful enough to remember the gearheads on the holiday shopping list really are a special breed to recognize and foster the spirit of giving to the drivers in your group.
Plenty of folks fret that they don’t know what to get someone who seems to have everything, but if they own and drive a vehicle, there’s always a need. Here are some ideas of what to wrap and what to leave on the store shelves.
Floor liners
Floor mats Photo by Getty
Floor liners are always welcome. While they do fall into the trim category, a set of fits-like-a-glove rubber floor liners are a great gift, especially for a newer vehicle that hasn’t yet seen its carpeting trashed by our Canadian winters and road salt. WeatherTech is the leader in this market, but there are others including original factory sources. WeatherTech products can be ordered online, but you’ll need some vehicle details such as year, make, model, and seating configuration to buy the right set. Front and rear sets run just over $300, but be sure to shop around; the same OEM set for a RAM, for instance, can come in at 20% less on average.
Consumables
You can’t go wrong with consumables. If the gearhead on your list washes and cleans their ride at home, you can be a hero with a basket of clean-up supplies. Stick with higher-end brands such as Mothers, Turtle, or Meguiar’s. Some car-wash soap, waxes (not polishes), a pack of micro-fibre cloths, and an extra wash mitt or brush won’t cost a fortune but will make your gift very memorable. Throw in a can of fabric-guard and they’ll go ga-ga.
If you’re really stuck for ideas, consider a prepaid fuel card; everyone but EV owners will use it. Take a stealthy peek in their cargo area or trunk, and if you don’t see a windshield washer bottle, get a case and the caddy-stand that keeps those jugs from tipping over.
Anti-theft
Anti-Theft Steering Wheel Lock Photo by Getty
Anti-theft items are making an unfortunate comeback. If your gift recipient owns a vehicle on the top-ten most stolen list or who lives in an area plagued by dreaded catalytic-convertor thieves, you might want to give them some protection. Carmakers’ electronic lock and ignition systems don’t always seem to be a match for culprits with some hacking knowledge and technology, so the steering wheel club is coming back into fashion as a low-tech solution to make vehicles a lot less attractive to criminals. And as it’s a one-size-fits-all item, there are no worries about getting it wrong. Catalytic convertor shields, however, are another matter as the good ones are model-specific. If in doubt, a gift card can solve that problem.
Stocking stuffers
Slide-style tire pressure gauge Photo by Getty
Looking for some stocking stuffers? You can’t go wrong with a windshield treatment like Aquapel or Rain-X. These are great for those driving in rainy regions and can make wipers obsolete at speeds over 60 km/h.
Be very cautious with air fresheners. Like trim items, these can be an acquired taste (or smell), and cheap ones may leak their oils and cause a lot of expensive damage to interior plastics.
Everyone likes driving in a clean vehicle, and in the winter, taking care of this at the home driveway can be pretty much impossible. Check out local car-wash and detail shops for gift certificates.
How about a tire-pressure gauge? The best ones are the old-school pencil-style units for around $10.
A good rechargeable LED flash-light is something almost every driver needs. Look for lights with magnetic bases for hands-free work, and if they have a charging point for phones, all the better.
Under the ‘where were these when I needed them’ heading is a Bluetooth key-chain fob to help track down your keys when you’ve misplaced them. Most can be found for less than $40 through online retailers.
Roadside assistance
CAA tow truck Photo by CAA Manitoba
For those with older rides beyond their manufacturers’ warranty limits, how about a CAA membership? These can pay for themselves with just one road-side rescue and offer great value in through members’ discounts for travel-related purchases. They beat a six-pack of tube socks any day!
Trim items to avoid
Headlight eyelashes Photo by Getty
Trim items, whether for an interior or exterior application, are a matter of taste. Unless you know your recipient really wants a set of headlamp eyelashes, cross this category off your list.
Items like hood guards and rain deflectors might have some functional use, but they’re not everyone’s cup of tea. The same goes for neon-coloured floor-mats and any manner of stick-on, glue-on, or clip-on items. And if you’re tempted at the check-out to pick up a set of metal tire valve caps painted some ungodly colour, stop reaching. Those things will corrode and weld themselves to the valve stem in short order, possibly ruining expensive tire-pressure sensors when trying to check air pressures.
You can also scrap the idea of any type of smart-phone holder that mounts on top of the dash. These things take up valuable road-vision real estate and should be banned altogether.
Brian Turner
Brian Harper is the retired deputy editor of National Post’s Post Driving automotive section, with more than 40 years covering various aspects of the automotive business. He is also a founding member of AJAC.
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Keyword: Troubleshooter: Gifts for the gearhead