Ah, Reddit. The glorious, chaotic corner of the internet where you can find heated debates about pineapple on pizza right next to surprisingly profound life advice. It's also, apparently, a goldmine for practical tips, especially when it comes to the metal beasts we rely on daily: our cars.
Owning a vehicle can feel like a constant barrage of weird sounds, expensive upkeep, and confusing dashboard lights. Sometimes, you just need advice from someone who gets it, even if that someone is a stranger hiding behind a quirky username. We dove deep into the forums to pull out some genuinely useful nuggets of wisdom shared by fellow drivers navigating the highways and byways of car ownership.
#1 "In terms of stuff to keep in the car: Ice scraper." - reddit user
Review: "So here it is our snowand we cleaned it with the astro brush ! It's so pleasing and excellent in cleaning so easy to do and very impressed it's so light in weight. We are so happy to purchase this product 💯" - Juan Trevino
Buy Now: amazon.com
#2 "Get a dash cam for safety reasons. Be patient." - reddit user
Review: "Very easy to install and really pleased with the quality image of front and back view. Although my vehicle is not equipped with built-in WiFi, I can connect the camera to my phone to have access to GPS and app sync features." - Lisa S
Buy Now: amazon.com
#3 "Get yourself an emergency roadside kit. You can get premade ones in most hardware and car parts stores." - VulpesIncendium
Review: "Good product; has all the emergency items I wanted." - Pearl B. Bladek
Buy Now: amazon.com
#4 "Air filters can be changed at your discretion just make sure you check it once ever 6 months." - reddit user
Review: "Perfect fit and easy to install-delivered promptly. All at a great price. Much more reasonable than dealer installed." - Amazon Customer
Buy Now: amazon.com
#5 "Keep some necessary items in your car: power bank for my phone." - BigRigs63
Review: "What a great portable charger! It’s is black in color and the paw that shows you when it’s fully charged is very bright. It is the perfect size to fit in the pocket of my suitcase or my smaller purse when traveling. It’s very durable and lasts a long time. I used it to charge my phone and ear pods while traveling. The charger held its power for a couple days before needing recharged." - Shawn
Buy Now: amazon.com
#6 "Check all your fluids under the hood about once a month. That is: power steering fluid, windshield washer fluid, brake fluid, engine oil, and also use the sight icon on the radiator reservoir." - codyrussel
Review: "I was skeptical ordering because brake fluid doesn’t do good on the shelf but it was very good quality came sealed." - JonBoi
Buy Now: amazon.com
#7 "Cleaning is up to you, but generally more in winter when the roads are salted." - Lozzatron47
Review: "I like a clean car. This package is much cheaper than getting the individual items, just make sure you need all the items. Makes the cars really shiny." - Helder F. Jacinto
Buy Now: amazon.com
So, we've covered some of the baseline knowledge and quick fixes that Redditors recommend keeping in your back pocket. But car ownership isn't just about knowing how to check your tire pressure (though seriously, do that). It's also about dealing with the less frequent, but often more stressful, stuff – think navigating repairs without getting ripped off, understanding what those really weird noises might mean, or just keeping your ride from looking like a mobile trash can. Let's get into some of the slightly deeper cuts from the Reddit auto gurus.
#8 "Learn how to change a tire and how to use emergency roadside tire patch kits." - VulpesIncendium
Review: "I wasn’t looking forward to patching my truck’s flat tire. Once I started using this though I got happy real quick. The whole process took maybe 30 seconds. This was a day after I tried a patch kit from a convenience store that was maybe 5 bucks cheaper than this. With the other cheap kit I struggled for about 45 min trying to make the patch fit in the tool and then it just broke off. With this kit it literally took 30 seconds. This is by far the best tire patch kit I’ve tried and I’ve had my share of crappy cars." - Will Strickland
Buy Now: amazon.com
#9 "Generally speaking: oil, antifreeze/water jug, decent jack, emergency cash stash, something to drink." - Nero-Danteson
Review: "Good anti-freeze, good price." - Kevin Wicki
Buy Now: amazon.com
#10 "Servicing, oil change every 10k." - pompino
Review: "What a bonus! The jug that amazon delivered has an offer from Valvoline to get $5 back. Super easy to do to. Just upload a copy of your amazon invoice and Valvoline will send the cash directly to your Venmo account. Nice! About the oil - I have no idea how good the oil is. It's full synthetic and the viscosity is correct for my car. I'm sure it will be fine and will last 4000 miles until my next oil change." - King George
Buy Now: amazon.com
#11 "I’d also suggest carrying jumper cables or a jump start battery." - AskThis7790
Review: "Easy to use and it works great! It holds a charge so it can be stored for a while and when you need it, it’s ready." - B Kay
Buy Now: amazon.com
#12 "Get a fire extinguisher and mount it somewhere where you can get to it quickly." - Clapbakatyerblakcat
Review: "Good size that I'll be able to handle much better than a big heavy fire extinguisher." - gerry k
Buy Now: amazon.com
#13 "In terms of stuff to keep in the car: a bottle of windscreen washer fluid." - reddit user
Review: "It was easy to make, and my window washed well enough." - Allen Hong
Buy Now: amazon.com
#14 "Check your tire pressures once a month at least." - rudbri93
Review: "This product totally surprised my expectations. It does take time to inflate tire. But for it's size and convenience, it works extremely well." - Steven S Rice
Buy Now: amazon.com
