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Individualizing a new car to your liking can be challenging, especially when the factory color palette and trim levels become limited. Car decals and stickers are a fun way to express yourself and spice up your ride’s exterior with visual or decorative flair.
They are available in all sizes, shapes, colors and can even read out full sentences or commentary, allowing you to customize the appearance of your vehicle or even reveal a little (or a lot) about yourself to other fellow motorists. They can also be practical and informative, depending on their use.
Stickers and decals are easy to make or fabricate. And if you decide to change it up, many of them are temporary and can be easily removed without damaging your vehicle’s expensive paint. We’ve created a very short list of the most popular lighthearted and decorative car decals on sale today.
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- Leasinder Car Hood Stripe Sticker: Best For Racy Looks
- Tomall Strong Reflective Stripe Stickers: Best For Extra Visbility
- Student Driver Sticker Sign: Best For New Drivers
- ZLTFashion 3D Prank Baseball: Best For Baseball Fans
- Decals by Haley 4X Band Aid Cover: Best For Dings and Dents
Best For Racy Looks
Why We Picked It
Looking for a way to spice up the exterior of your car with some racing stripes? Leasinder has you covered with its 49×8.7-inch vinyl stripe decals. Available in six different colors—black, red, white, gray and blue—and even in a finishing line pattern, Leasinder’s vinyl decal has all the options to make sure those racing stripes match your car’s color. The best part: The decal comes in one giant piece, so it can be cut and shaped for any placement of your liking. Users report that it’s incredibly easy to remove without damaging the car’s paint with a hairdryer or heat gun.
Pros & Cons
- Different color options
- Adds a performance look to any vehicle
- Easy installation and removal without any risk of damage
- Only one pattern available
- Some customers report that it isn’t very durable
Best For Extra Visbility
Why We Picked It
Need some extra visibility on the exterior of your vehicle? Tomall’s five-pack of 35.4-inch-long reflective stripe stickers are the ones to buy. Available as one long generic strip, it can be cut and fitted to your desired and size according to your liking and application. It’s visible from nearly 1000 feet away and can reflect light from up to 180 degrees, making them perfect for those who park on dark streets. Offered in a range of colors—blue, red, yellow, orange and white—it can match your vehicle’s exterior or according to the color needed for that extra visibility.
Pros & Cons
- High visibility reflective properties
- Extremely useful for street parking in poorly lit areas
- Flexible applications
- Not much daytime benefit use
Why We Picked It
Have some new drivers in the family? This is one way to alert other fellow motorists of your beloved beginner so that they could be extra considerate and patient. Thanks to its perforated design, the sticker can be placed on either the body or the liftgate window of a vehicle without inhibiting any rearward visibility. And thanks to its 12-inch width, there’s no chance that other drivers can miss it.
Pros & Cons
- Alerts other motorists
- Provides a little extra safety
- Perforated see-through design means it can be placed on rear windows
- Can’t be applied from inside the vehicle
Best For Baseball Fans
Why We Picked It
If you’re a fan and love showing off your sense of humor, ZLTFashion’s 3D Broken Window Baseball Prank sticker is one of the best ways to express both. It combines a piece of durable PVC shaped into half a baseball which is glued to a sticker that mimics the look of broken glass, so you can mount it on the rear window of your vehicle. This will surely catch a few looks and laughs, particularly with the family. Best of all, it’s easily removable and can be reused. It is fairly large, so you’ll need to be extra cautious about its placement so it doesn’t inhibit outward visibility.
Pros & Cons
- Funny and clever design
- Easily removable and reusable
- Available with other types of sports balls
- Takes up a lot of space on a window
- Ultimately, it’s silly
Why We Picked It
Has your car been a bit roughed up from a scratch, ding or dent, and you just want to roll with it? Slap the 4X Band Aid Cover Decal on your car’s booboo. Made of 3M vinyl, you get a total of four pieces in a variety of sizes in this pack. You should be making repairs, but instead you can humorously hide those exterior car body imperfections with some clever gags.
Pros & Cons
- Made from 3M vinyl that’s easily appliable and removable
- Leaves no residue when removed
- Four-piece pack
- Doesn’t actually aid with healing dents, dings and scratches
METHODOLOGY
Because of how easy it is to make stickers and decals, there’s no shortage of different types for all kinds of stylistic upgrades, varying expressions or even political views. But to keep it simple and neutral, we chose some of the most popular, bestselling and trending stickers and decals that add a little bit of visual flair or give fellow motorists a little lighthearted chuckle or polite heads-up.
FAQ
What are car decals and stickers made of?
Most of these decals and stickers are often made of vinyl, plastic and sometimes durable paper and are produced or finished in a way to withstand the outdoor elements. That makes them cheap, easy to place and easy to remove, as long as you don’t leave them on for too long (years).
Are car decals and stickers permanent?
Most decals and stickers are temporary as they often use a light-grade adhesive or sometimes magnets to adhere to your vehicle’s body. The majority of them are not permanent. However, there are some different kinds of decals and stickers designed for rougher environments or for more long-lasting durability. Those are the kinds you see on commercial or police or civic service vehicles and typically cost considerably more than your average consumer happy-face sticker or aftermarket racing stripe decals.
Do I need to do anything before placing decals or stickers?
Most decals and stickers best adhere to a clean, dirt-free surface. Car exteriors often get roughed up, so it’s recommended to thoroughly clean the area where the desired sticker or decal will be placed. Some of these cleaning processes are a little bit more intensive than just soap and water, especially for longer lasting results. It’s best to read the instructions or to consult the seller or manufacturer to learn more about these thorough preparatory processes.
Are there any downsides to using decals or stickers?
There are no glaring downsides to decals or stickers. Though it is very important to be conscientious about which ones you choose to express yourself, especially if they involve political or cultural views, in order to avoid unsavory and controversial interactions with other members of the public.
Can decals and stickers damage your paint?
Most decals and stickers adhere to exterior car surfaces by way of a light adhesive, or sometimes magnets, which typically do not damage vehicle paint. However, if left on for too long (years), especially if left in the sun, decals and stickers can cause uneven paint wear and blotchy spots as the sun’s UV rays shine on the exterior with regularity.
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Chris Chin Contributor
Since picking up my first set of MicroMachine toy cars as a toddler, I knew I had a passion for automobiles embedded in my soul. After graduating from Rutgers University in journalism, I’ve devoted my career to becoming a professional photographer and emerging voice in the car industry with columns at Automobile Magazine, MotorTrend, Hagerty, DigitalTrends.com/Cars, GearPatrol, and beyond.
