The best funnels for your car: don’t get caught in a spill

Why do we need funnels? When performing some essential maintenance on a car, we hate spills of liquid, whether it's due to having to awkwardly reach for brake fluid or being overzealous with the oil. Creating more tidying up and cleaning is easily avoided with the correct type of funnel. Yes, we, too have used empty engine oil containers and cut them in half, but sometimes that doesn't work.

Having the correct funnel is more than just convenience for the job at hand, saving you from wasting precious and expensive automotive fluids. It'll help you keep any spills from your clothes - if it's too late for you and you've already spilt, we have a handy article that will help you get it back out again. If you wanted to keep your hands clean while you're doing it, then we have also looked at what the best garage gloves are for you.

It's probably a good idea to have a different funnel for each liquid - one for washer fluid, oil, brake fluid and so on. This way it will stop any cross-contamination into unwanted containers. You can wash a funnel out, but most of the time, oil is a very difficult thing to truly get rid of. If that get's into your wiper wash, for example, that could end up being a very streaky windscreen.

So, let's take a look at the best funnels on the market today.

Best funnels for your car

Respected brand Draper has this option – a flexible necked funnel. Perfect for when the container you wish to fill is at an awkward angle. Happily, there is a handle on the funnel itself so that you can hold it securely while you fill it with fluid.

Pros
Handle
Flexible nozzle

Cons
The detachable nozzle could leak if not secured correctly

With this handy little set, you can get everything you need in one place – the different funnels here are suitable for different needs and containers. Flexible nozzles can be attached to the funnels, giving you greater dexterity.

Pros
A nice set
Low cost

Cons
Questions around durability

When you need to be precise and not waste a single millimetre of fluid, this no-spill funnel with a valve switch is what you need.

You can see exactly how much you’re adding to your chosen container, and anything left in the funnel can be put back from where it came. As an extra feature, you can create a nice line to get to those hard-to-reach areas.

Pros
Precision
Able to get to hard-to-reach areas

Cons
Higher price

The beauty of this funnel is that you can automatically adjust the width of the clamp to make it fit most orifices to avoid any leaking of fluids. With a clear bottom section, you can see if there are any blockages in the piping, maintaining a regular flow of fluids.

Pros
It fits snugly to most orifices

Cons
No way of getting to hard-to-reach areas

These are perfect to have handy; while yes, they can handle things like brake fluid and oil changes, it’s not their primary purpose. They’re great for decanting snow foam from one container to another or syphoning off car shampoo, so you don’t have any unwanted spillages.

Pros
Pocket-sized
Collapsible

Cons
Not great for large quantity funnelling

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