8 Car Dashboard Accessories That Are Actually Useful

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

While most new cars today come with capable infotainment systems and are designed to work in tandem with smartphones, the same is not the case for older cars. However, just because you drive an older car, there's no need to miss out on contemporary tech. A huge range of car gadgets and accessories are available to upgrade your car's capabilities, either by utilizing the existing talents of your smartphone or by adding cameras, sensors, or displays to make your old car feel that bit newer.

There are so many accessories to pick from on retail platforms like Amazon that narrowing down your choices can be tricky. Dozens of similar-sounding products can compete for your attention, all offering what seems like impressive levels of functionality at bargain prices. Inevitably, not all of these supposed bargains actually deliver what they claim, but if you know where to look, there are still plenty of keenly priced accessories that do live up to their makers' claims.

Sifting them out from the rest isn't always easy, but we've picked out eight recommended products that have all been reviewed either by ourselves at SlashGear or by other trusted reviewers. Each accessory has proven to be actually useful in the real world, and some can be picked up for a little more than the price of fast food.

Anyone who has an iPhone with MagSafe is arguably missing out if they don't make use of its capabilities. A wide variety of gadget manufacturers have produced unique and useful MagSafe accessories that enable users to charge phones on the go or attach them to places they couldn't otherwise be mounted. One such useful gadget is the Anker 613 MagGo Car Charger, which retails on Amazon for $39.99. It gets high marks from reviewers thanks to its secure hold and design, and it can also charge a connected phone with up to 7.5W of power, depending on the model.

The 613 can rotate up to 134 degrees, which helps drivers ensure that their phone always remains readable even in tricky lighting conditions. In addition to the charger, mount, and adhesive pad, the kit also ships with a 5-foot charging cable and a charger adapter, which will need to be connected to a USB port in your car.

It's not perfect, with a number of reviewers on Amazon noting that the adhesive of the phone mount won't always stay secure over rougher roads. Unless you live somewhere where the condition of the roads is particularly inconsistent, it might be worth giving the Anker charger a shot. The device generally impresses reviewers and buyers, and might well be worth considering if you want a handy all-in-one solution to viewing and charging your phone on the go.

If you're not careful, you can end up with too many dashboard accessories. A GPS system, a dashcam, and perhaps a smartphone can all come in handy for keeping tabs on traffic, but they add clutter to your setup. The Garmin DriveCam 76 is a good way to benefit from all of those things in one package, since it offers up to 256 GB of footage storage from its onboard camera, plus navigation via its 7-inch screen. However, it doesn't come cheap, with the DriveCam 76 retailing on Amazon for $439.99.

It comes with a 16 GB SD card to store footage, although during an interstate trip, our reviewer found that the storage quickly filled up and was subsequently overwritten. Drivers looking to keep more dashcam footage could invest in a larger capacity SD card, or alternatively, opt for Garmin's cloud-connected Vault service for an additional monthly fee.

Aside from the cost and a few hiccups with speed sign recognition on the highway, we didn't find much to dislike about the DriveCam 76. Particularly for drivers of older cars, the device is a great way to upgrade to modern tech without filling your dashboard with individual devices or relying on your smartphone's signal to get you where you need to go.

The Amazon Echo Auto won't be for everyone, but if you already use Alexa to power a smart home, it might well be worthwhile. Either that, or you want to add some hands-free smart capability to an older car without breaking the bank. We put the current-generation Echo Auto through its paces in 2023 and came away with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it's a compact, discreet-looking piece of kit, with styling similar to that of the Echo Dot. Like the Echo Dot, it's also inexpensive and integrates easily into an existing smart home system.

However, unlike these in-car integrations, the Echo Auto needs a smartphone to function properly. It's also largely redundant for anyone who uses Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Nonetheless, if you don't use Apple or Google's in-car assistant, and you want hands-free control of your music, podcasts, or smart home devices on the go, the Echo Auto should be a useful addition to your car. Many leading car manufacturers integrate Alexa as standard into their new cars, and the Echo Auto is a cost-effective way to benefit from the same tech.

A high-end dash cam can be useful if it offers higher video quality or additional features, but it isn't always a worthwhile purchase. Likewise, the cheapest dash cams might not have good enough video quality or be limited in the amount of footage they can store. The Nexar Beam GPS Dash Cam is a good middle ground between the two extremes of the market, offering few non-essential features but with crisp, clear footage and generally hassle-free video storage.

The Beam GPS Dash Cam retails for $129.99, although it can sometimes be found on sale for under $100. At that price, its 1080p resolution is competitive with its rivals, and a few caveats can potentially be overlooked. The biggest caveat that we found during our test of the device is that the camera required a connection to a smartphone in order to transfer footage to the cloud, and when it was connected, it could interfere with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connections. If you have built-in navigation or an older car that doesn't have either connectivity option, this won't be an issue. However, for those who do use one of the platforms, it's a significant drawback to an otherwise appealing, affordable dash cam.

Whether you're stuck in heavy traffic or cruising past fields of pollen-generating crops, keeping a steady flow of clean air in your car isn't always easy. To reduce airborne pollutants, it might be worth investing in an air purifier. The Westinghouse 1804 Air Purifier isn't just for cars — in fact, its small size and light weight mean it can be used around the house or in a hotel when you arrive at your destination. While you're getting there, it's small enough that it can be placed below the dash in some cars.

At its core is a HEPA filter and a patented reactor to convert polluting gases into less harmful molecules, as well as trap bacteria and viruses. The brand claims it can trap up to 99.97% of pollutants. As well as being effective, it's one of the better-looking air purifiers on the market, with a leather strap and multiple colorways available to better match your car's interior. The purifier retails for $129.99, although it can frequently be found on sale for less.

Alongside built-in dash cams, another increasingly common feature in new cars is a built-in head-up display. These displays let you see certain basic information, such as speed and any warning lights, without needing to take your eyes off the road. They project information onto the windshield and can adjust brightness levels for operation in both daylight and nighttime conditions. While they remain a fairly high-end option in many cars, there are standalone head-up display units that can be bought for far less. One of the cheapest options is the AceCar Head Up Display, which retails for $32.99.

It's a basic display and will need to be plugged into your car's OBD-II port in order to function. However, reviewers report that it's bright enough for both day and night use and is straightforward to set up. It won't look quite as sleek as an OEM head-up display, and its range of displayed data is relatively limited, but for the price, it's still worth considering. However, like any cheap car accessory, it isn't without its flaws, with one common complaint being that it can drain a car's battery if it's left connected.

Other buyers also note that its speed and rev readings can be inaccurate in some vehicles, so it's worth keeping in mind that this isn't a catch-all solution. For a higher-priced product, that might be a dealbreaker, but with the AceCar display, it's cheap enough that it's still worth considering.

The cheapest way to add extra functionality to your car's dash is to fit a phone holder like the Loncaster Car Phone Holder. The $19.99 accessory is a cost-effective way to take advantage of the most capable piece of technology that most of us keep on hand at all times. Whether it's navigation, controlling music and media, or getting traffic updates, a modern smartphone offers much of the same functionality as a good infotainment system. Making the most of that capability is particularly important if you have an older, cheaper car that has few of those capabilities built in.

In cheaper cars, the Loncaster phone holder's biggest drawback might also be less obvious. While reviewers and buyers agree that the holder will keep a phone secure when you're on the road, the holder itself appears cheap and may look out of place on the dashboard of premium cars. It's available in multiple colors, including pink and red, but black is probably the way to go unless you want the holder to stick out like a sore thumb. Since it's made of silicone, it's also potentially susceptible to gathering dirt. It's not without flaws, but for the price, the Loncaster holder is still worth checking out.

An AI-powered twist on the standard dash cam, the Garmin Dash Cam Live not only records footage but can give you driving alerts while you're on the road. Among other functions, it pings warnings at drivers when the traffic ahead of them starts moving at a stoplight, and when it detects that they're leaving their lane. The latter feature is very similar to the Lane Departure Warning available on virtually all new cars. It also performs all the usual dash cam functions, namely capturing HD footage and offering multiple options for storing or transferring it to a smartphone for future playback.

Our reviewer found the Dash Cam Live, which retails for $399.99, to be a useful addition to their car. However, there were a few irritations, particularly with the camera's ability to capture nighttime footage. Given its price point, buyers might expect that both daytime and nighttime footage comes out clear, but the latter is mostly grainy and won't be much use if you're trying to pick out details like license plates.

In order to determine which dash accessories were actually useful and which were little more than high-tech distractions, we turned to the expertise of our review team and other trusted reviewers. Each of the selected products was put through its paces by a reviewer and proved its worth on the road. To narrow down our selections, we prioritized products that offered a unique set of capabilities or could be had for a uniquely affordable price. We aimed to showcase a variety of accessories at different price points, from high-end gadgets to the most affordable accessories.

Prices for the products listed are correct at the time of writing, but are subject to change. This list is only intended as a general guide and isn't intended to be exhaustive. There will be plenty of other useful dashboard accessories out there, and SlashGear reviews new products constantly, so it's worth checking our reviews section at the top of the page for the very latest from our review team.