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Don't tick that box - extras to avoid

  • Eight options that are best avoided
  • Don't go for extras that'll hurt resale values 
  • Resist the temptation to tick boxes for stuff you don't need

Written by Parkers Published: 15 December 2010 Updated: 1 February 2017

Ceramic brakes

Probably only appropriate on expensive supercars but in the main, it's difficult to justify the outlay, unless you are a regular track dayer. Let's take the Audi RS5 as an example. Ceramic brakes will cost £6,000 and if you are not planning to take it on any race circuits, there's little point. They aren't much of an investment and won't add much value to the car at resale.

CD changer

Most cars come with aux-in socket for MP3 players so there's little need for a CD changer. Besides, a CD changer sounds a little old hat now.

Stickers

Vinyl stickers are the devil's work. First of all, you'll look like a right plonker with a load of decals over your car and secondly, there's every chance you'll alienate your potential customers at resale.

Interior trim

Lime green piping is also the work of satan. You might think it's cool and individual, but after your tenth customer has done an about-turn as soon he/she has seen the interior horror, you'll regret that you ever ticked that infernal options box. Keep things conservative and tasteful.

Sat nav

In-built sat navs are nice things to have but if you are planning to fit one in your Citroen C3, it's time to get your head examined. You'll shell out £950 and if you expect that to bump up the price of your C3 at resale then you'll be sorely disappointed. Just buy a £100 portable unit that you can transfer to any car.

Xenon/ bi-xenon headlights

The wisdom of fitting bi-xenon lights does depend on the car you're buying plus where you live. If it's a small, low-cost car forget it because you can expect to pay around £1,000 extra and there's little chance of getting your money back when you come to sell. However, if you do spend a lot of time on poorly lit country lanes fitting bi-xenons to a mid-range vehicle is a bright idea.

Rear seat entertainment

If you are desperate to keep your kids entertained a Nintendo DS or a couple of Action Man models could well do the job at a fraction of the cost. Of course, rear-seat DVD screens are only available on premium models but with some systems costing up to £1,300 investing in a few portable devices makes more sense.

TV reception

Are you regularly stuck in traffic long enough to watch a complete episode of Cash in the Attic? We would suggest not and therefore it's hard to justify such a huge expense. It may be a mod-con that you think you need, but our view is that it's a completely unnecessary gizmo that will do little to increase the value of your car when you come to sell or trade in.