It's okay, we get it: There are plenty of people for whom the car is simply a conveyance of necessity--a vessel, not a ride. Yours will not be pimped (and only begrudgingly washed), and the car-parts store is terra incognita.

But cars are expensive pieces of equipment--a constant drain on your wallet. And precisely because you don't dote on your car, you don't want to spend any more than is necessary.

So why buy these six items that everybody should have? Because they'll save you a heap of money in the long run.

License-Plate Frame

Kiplinger

Unless you've got vanity tags, you probably don't give a darn about the condition of your license plate. It's just a piece of aluminum, made by a convict, for