What items do you deem essential to carry in your car?

[XJSJohn]

996TT02 said:

Snollygoster said:

The Moose said:

Shaoxter said:

When I get in other people's cars I'm surprised at how many don't carry any water. Could be a lifesaver if you were to get stuck somewhere.

Where is one getting stuck in the UK where they can't go get a drink?

Aye, drivers are dying of dehydration all over the UK outback, they are...

in defense of my list at least, i don't drive in the UK, and drinking from a tap / hose pipe in the country can very quickly lead to you wishing you had packed the bog roll .... lots of it !!!

[Dapster]

Wallet, phone and keys which are on me always anyway. In the car:

- iPhone charger
- sunnies
- spare pair of disposable contact lenses
- little bottle of eye drops
- tube of hand cream
- when I fill up I generally replenish confectionery corner with a tube of wine gums or softmints

My wife on the other hand drives a branch of Mothercare with wheels on it and seems to be oblivious to the 400 half drunk bottles of water strewn around the place. However late I am for anything, whenever I get into her car, I have to clear all the st out first.

[JackReacher]

I will always carry water too, not because it's hard to get hold of, but good if you get stuck in traffic it's handy, and also saves paying the stupid prices at service stations.

I've also used it in emergancy to top up coolant.

[ManOpener]

In the boot:
Bottle of tyre sealant
12V compressor
High-visibility jacket
One of each of the major head/tail/brake light bulbs
Cheap socket set
Cheap driver set
De-icer
Workboots

In the actual car:
Cable for charging phone
Windscreen-mounted phone cradle
Bottle of water

[panholio]

As little as possible. Can't stand loads of crap in my car.

[rustyabarth]

In the Golf a litre of oil, breaker bar for when the garage over tighten wheel bolts and stupid foot long tool isn't good enough, shades, and music.

Cinquecento on the other hand. Oil, coolant, clutch cable, zip ties, few basic spanners etc to change said clutch cable, shades, music, paracetamol and earplugs for longer journeys

Breaker bar has saved me and other before now along with paracetamol
Oh and the RAC card

[anonymous-user]

Christ some of the people on here remind me of my tt of an ex father in law. He had a giant fk off box taking up a third of the boot in his Frontera that had an emergency tent and stove in it, to give you an indication of the amount of st he felt it essential to keep in the car. The biggest joke is that he bought the car new in '97 and has only just scrapped it, and I don't know if it ever reached 100k. He never drives anywhere more adventurous than the local Tesco or the 15 minute drive to work.

I keep my sunglasses in the car, and in winter there will be a scraper kicking about. I don't spontaneously decide to drive to Cape Town so don't feel the need to lug a lot of ridiculous crap with me "just in case". If my car at the time burns oil there will be a bottle of oil in the boot too.

[Ennoch]

If you live in the city then fair enough, I can see why some of these lists seem unnecessary. But in rural Wales, or Scotland, there can be both a lack of phone signal and passing traffic. That then means you either have a walk, or a wait before you get assistance. I would far rather carry a small toolbox in the back and some essentials to get either myself or another driver going again.

1/2" Socket set
Snap-on buzz gun
Standard jack with wheelnut welded to the handle end so buzz gun can be used
Tow rope (3.5t)
LED strip & LED torch
Tyre weld
Pump (high volume)
Numerous 5mm and 10mm zip-ties
Steel putty (multiple blister pack)
First aid kit
Several small multi-tools
Metal snow shovel (winter only)
Scraper (winter only)
Water
1L relevant oil.
WD40/GT85
Duck Tape

All of that fits in the car in the various cubby holes and doesn't really take up much space. The number of times I've used it either to either help myself or someone else confirms to me that it's worth carrying! The snow shovel and rope in winter are incredibly useful when you're out in the sticks.

Edited by Ennoch on Thursday 18th September 15:04

[Riley Blue]

I just spent a weekend in northern France driving my 51 year old Riley - forgot my spares box, only took a small tool roll, left the jump leads at home and the bottle of oil was only half full. I didn't open the bonnet at all or have to change a wheel (just as well, not sure if the jack works). After reading some of the comments here, I feel I ought to send a van full of parts on ahead with a trained mechanic before my next trip.

[Foliage]

Things that i carry that i dont think have already been mentioned,

Oil with funnel
leather gloves
leather seat wipes
seat covers (in case i get blathered in mud & dont have a change of clothes)
tyre pressure gauge
waterproof jacket

[RizzoTheRat]

For those saying carrying loads of stuff in the car is unnecessary, how many of thos things people are carrying actually get used and how often? So from my list earlier:

The jack/wrench kit that came with the car is pretty good so no extras - Had a screw in the tyre a couple of weeks ago in the New Forest, 10 minutes to change the wheel rather than wait hours for the RAC

12v compressor - Prior to the screw I had a slow puncture a few months back so topped it up several times before getting it sorted out

Cargo net - Useful to stop stuff sliding around the boot, last used it a couple of weeks ago when I had coolbox in the boot on the way to an airshow

Small change - Dug out a pound to buy some milk o the way home yesterday

Phone charger - Camping in the new forest the other week so kept both our phones topped up whenever using the car

Work pass - Got me in to the car park this morning

Water - Met some mates for a run on the way home last night, drank half the bottle when I got back to the car

Sun glasses - Should get a few more weeks use out of them this year

Waterproof - I'll admit it's a backup, not been used in a while as if it's raining when I leave home I'll usually put in a better one

Umbrella - 3 weeks ago

Satnav - Used to find the parents new house last weekend

iPod and cable or SD card of music - SD card every day, iPod for longer trips so 2 or 3 weeks ago

Jump leads - Had to jump the wife bike 2 weekends ago

Latex gloves - Used when changing the tyre a couple of weeks back

Hankies - Yesterday driving home (I've got a cold!)

Lip balm - This morning

Pen - I'm one of those anal sorts that keeps track of my mileage so when I filled up with fuel on Tuesday

Ice scraper - Not been used in a while but makes more sense to leave it in the car when I don't need to it than have it in the house when I do

Edited by RizzoTheRat on Thursday 18th September 15:02

[HashlakGTR]

-Water
-Lighter
-Phone charger
-Ipod
-Walkie talkie + Charger
-Helmet

[vexed]

Good God people carry a lot of junk around!
If it is snowing: coat in case I get stuck.
Decent journeys: phone.
Apart from that we live in the UK not in the Congo, as long as you can walk a few miles in the absolute worst case scenario, nothing terrible is going to happen.

I do actually tend to leave a paraglider in the boot of the MX5 when the weather is good in case I finsh work early and urgently need to go flying...

Edited by vexed on Thursday 18th September 15:25

[corvus]

dazwalsh said:

as well as all the tools for changing wheel that already came with car-

Umbrella
Water
High vis jackets x4
Warning triangle
First aid kit
tow rope
2 Blankets
My golf waterproofs
Spare phone charger
Sometimes try and store snacks but then i realise they are there and eat them
Walking boots
Snow socks although never had to use them so might be utterly useless.

Think thats it. Amazing amount of storage holes in a ford Kuga, underneath the rear seats and rear seat footwell compartments hold all of that stuff.

I went a bit mad with putting "survival" st in my car after some dhead crashed into me in the snow a few years back and i had to get out and walk 3 miles home. Didn't even have a coat with me that day

I think the idea is that you only carry that stuff in winter though

[GeordieInExile]

Bottle of water
Jump leads (battery was dead when I bought the car, haven't bothered replacing it)
Small change

That's about it, really.

[BGarside]

Tyre pressure gauge and foot pump.
Hazard warning triangle.
Hi-vis vest.
Locking wheelnut remover and wheelnut spanner.
Jack & spare wheel.
Window sponge and squeegee.
Sat nav.

Maybe some warm clothes, food/water, snow shovel and traction strips in winter (I live in Scotland).

Don't carry any tools as I don't think I'd be able to fix any mechanical faults by the roadside.

[lel]

bottle of RainX for when my wiper blade flys off
oil rag
Lynx
bird st remover
clean microfibre
aux cable
baby wipes
80's rewind CD
autoglym fast glass
tub of extra chewys
flat head screwdriver
ice scraper
tow rope
on tow sign
duct tape
cable ties
phone charger
usb lighter adapter
a torch
spare change

[andy-xr]

Silverbullet767 said:

Always carry bog roll. As I found out to my detriment one day travelling on the M8 and it was standstill for hours. One trip up the embankment to drop a few amendments facing a row of houses with nothing but a chamois to polish with.

Me too, except I drove home without socks on that night. Always keep some good stwipe in the boot now

[vikingaero]

andy-xr said:

Silverbullet767 said:

Always carry bog roll. As I found out to my detriment one day travelling on the M8 and it was standstill for hours. One trip up the embankment to drop a few amendments facing a row of houses with nothing but a chamois to polish with.

Me too, except I drove home without socks on that night. Always keep some good stwipe in the boot now

Petrol station roulette is childs play compared to Service Station Roulette.... you see the signs for the next services 1 mile ahead. Do you need to poo? No let's wait. Then you pass the service station and the next sign says "Services 25 miles". Oh crap. Literally. At 70 mph you're a good 20 minutes away. You shift uncomfortably in your seat as you battle the poo sweats...

[andy-xr]

vikingaero said:

Petrol station roulette is childs play compared to Service Station Roulette.... you see the signs for the next services 1 mile ahead. Do you need to poo? No let's wait. Then you pass the service station and the next sign says "Services 25 miles". Oh crap. Literally. At 70 mph you're a good 20 minutes away. You shift uncomfortably in your seat as you battle the poo sweats...

The thing that I've never quite understood is, when you know you're going to have to drop in a services, there's a direct correlation to how badly you have Turtle's Head compared to how close you are to arse on seat.

Like walking from the car, you know it's at the departure lounge, maybe there's a drip of perspiration on the brow, but the closer you get to walking in the services, past the Costa and the weird AA membership guy the more it's knocking on the door desperate to get out. By the time you get to a cubicle you're walking funny and it's a full on gurn with sweat dripping from your face while the temple vein is pulsing from the amount of hold that's being applied on the old starfish