Hoot Top Tens Gift ideas for car enthusiastsBuying presents for a car nut can be almost as tricky as fighting your way through the jungle of online car insurance firms. Sure, motorheads always seem to be buying new parts and accessories for their treasured automobiles, but they're remarkably tight-lipped when it comes to gift ideas - particularly if you're not an enthusiast yourself. Fortunately for all you desperate shoppers out there, many people on the Hoot online car insurance team are quite profoundly car-obsessed, and for once, the rest of us have managed to prize a few suggestions out of them. The following top ten features gift ideas to suit every budget, as well as handy tips where necessary on where to look and how much to pay. Short of giftwrap and ribbon - and the presents themselves - you should have everything you need right here to satisfy even the most demanding of car lovers. 10. Window wipers
Like socks at Christmas, window wipers aren't exactly very exciting - but then we could all do with a new pair every now and again. Changing a perishing old set of wiper blades for new ones makes a very satisfying difference when it rains - so while this might be a slightly underwhelming present, you can at least be sure it'll be used and appreciated.
9. Seat and steering wheel covers
These could be the very thing if their interior's looking a bit drab. Every taste is catered for, but tiger print is a safe and classic option if you're spoilt for choice. If elasticised velour strikes you as a little 'clingy' for the summer months, try your local car boot sale for a ready supply of beaded seat covers at discount prices.
8. Car ornaments
Running out of room on top of the telly? Car dashboards are the perfect place to display a little living room overspill - particularly other people's car dashboards. If you must buy something new, then fluffy dice, nodding dogs and little plastic turtle air fresheners all fit the bill perfectly.
7. Remote controlled car
For the car enthusiast who already has every car accessory going (or one who doesn't actually own a car) a remote controlled toy is just the ticket. You can spend as much on one of these as you would on the real thing, but be aware whilst shopping that it's bound to get irreparably stepped-on within a fortnight.
6. Speed camera detector
We can't be quite sure if camera detectors encourage lawlesssness or safer driving, but either way there's a certain futuristic chic to having one of these bleeping monstrosities on your dash. Be warned, however, that the proliferation of cameras on British roads means it'll be going off like a songbird in springtime - making this gift a poor choice of if you and the recipient share a car.
5. In-car DVD
DVD players are everywhere these days, so why not buy a couple more to go in a friend's car? That way, they'll have a handy backup system in case the their DVD-equipped mobile phones, portable playstations, laptops and MP3 players all run out of batteries at the same time. Remember to stress that they mustn't watch DVDs whilst driving, as negotiating junctions, etc. could spoil their enjoyment of the movie (and, we feel obliged to point out, is incredibly dangerous).
4. Hands free kit
Talking on a mobile phone whilst driving is dangerously distracting whichever way you do it, but at least with a hands-free kit it's not illegal. Unobtrusive wireless sets are the preferable, albeit slightly more expensive, gift option as long as their phone is Bluetooth-compatible.
3. Sat nav
Satellite navigation systems are the in thing as far as car accessories go, and if you love someone enough (or a just rich enough) to afford the hefty price tag - the most basic TomTom model costs £200 - they make a gift which is practically guaranteed to delight your chosen car nut. Added to that, a wide range of carry pouches, mounts, new maps and other specially designed accessories means that you won't struggle for gift ideas in future.
2. Breakdown kit
Trust us - it may not light up faces like sat nav, but if someone you know is driving around without an emergency breakdown kit you should really use your next gift-giving opportunity to get them one. Make sure they have a torch, blanket, first aid kit, warning triangle, fire extinguisher and a basic tool set on board, and look forward to the profuse thanks you'll get next time they end up on the hard shoulder.
1. Dream driving experience
The material things in life aren't nearly as important as the experiences; and that's why sending your beloved off go-karting, rally driving or even Ferrari racing makes a much better gift than a sat nav or camera detector for their car. Motoring experience days have become really popular over the past few years and can be tailored to suit the tastes of practically any enthusiast. Just don't ever expect to hear the end of it!
Get a quote from the online car insurance specialists
There's only one downside to finding the perfect present, and that's paying for it!
Keeping your friends happy could make quite a dent in your wallet, so might need to cut back a little elsewhere. The saving you'd make by switching to a cheap online car insurance provider could be just the ticket. Lucky for you, the motor insurance team here at Hoot have got cheap car insurance policies on tap, thanks in large part to the way we fund our advertising. Whereas other online car insurance brands insist on spending millions on flashy TV adverts and radio jingles, here at Hoot we have an advertising budget of zero. That means every penny paid by our customers is spent on them personally - rather than a portion of it being spent attracting new people. That portion - and it can amount to 20 or 30 percent of your motor insurance premium - represents the amount most drivers save when they switch to Hoot. So for a gift of an online car insurance quote, just click below. 
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