With the rise in gas prices, people are looking for a fuel efficient vehicle now more than ever. With family driven vacations, long drives to work, or just your everyday driving, gas prices may leave you spending a great amount of your paycheck on gas. To help reduce the amount of money you’re spending on gas, Mazda has come out with some great fuel efficient vehicles over the past year. Below is a list of the top fuel efficient vehicles to check out today!

1. Mazda3 4-Door – The Mazda3 4-Door averages 22 mpg city and 32 mpg highway.  This car is #1 for Mazda’s most fuel efficient vehicle.  This car starts at just $14,865.
2. Mazda3 5-Door – The Mazda3 5-Door averages 22 mpg city and 29 mpg highway.  This car has a starting price of $18,895.
3. Mazda5 – The Mazda5 averages 21 mpg city and 28 mpg highway.  This car starts out at $18,665.
4. MX-5 Miata – The MX-5 Miata averages 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway.  This car starts out at $21,305.
5. MAZDASPEED3 – The MAZDASPEED3 averages 18 mpg city and 26 mpg highway.  This car has a starting price of $23,310.
6. Mazda6 Sports Sedan – The Mazda6 Sports Sedan averages 17 mpg city and 30 mpg highway.  This car has a starting price of $19,220.
7. Mazda Tribute – The Mazda Tribute averages 17 mpg city and 28 mpg highway.  The starting cost of this vehicle is $19,940.
8. CX-7  – The Mazda CX-7 averages 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway.  The Cx-7 has a starting cost of $24,420.
9. RX-8 – The Mazda’s RX-8 averages 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway.  The RX-8 has a starting cost of $27,105.
10. B-Series Truck - The B-Series Truck averages 14 mpg city and 26 mpg highway.  The starting cost for this vehicle is $16,205.

With these top fuel efficient vehicles you won’t have to feel so guilty about your everyday driving distances. When driving a fuel efficient Mazda vehicle you are saving a great amount of your money.  It’s easy, drive a fuel efficient vehicle and save your self from spending so much money.

To add to the savings of driving a Mazda there is another way to help you save your pennies at the pump, by signing up for a gas credit card. Gas credit cards can save you anywhere from 5% on each gallon. Sign up for a gas credit card today at www.findgascards.com and be amazed with the money you’ve saved!

Car maintenance is a very important factor in how your car runs.  To ensure the best quality of your vehicle, you need to keep up with the proper maintenance.  There are a few things you should always check on your vehicle every so often: Oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and brake fluid.  These should all be tested regularly to prevent any vehicle damage.  To help start you off, follow the steps for checking your break fluid:

Supplies you’ll need:

- Proper brake fluid
- Brake bleeding kit (vacuum pump)
- Rags
- Drip pan

NOTE:  You will know what kind of brake fluid to get by going to an automotive store and asking, or by looking in your owners manual guide for your car.

1. First you will want to park your car, turn it off and pop the hood.
2. Now locate the brake master cylinder.  It is usually found on the driver’s side of the car next to the engine.  (Imagine where your brake pedal is and search in that area.)
3. There will be a cap which is where the brake fluid is kept.  You will want to take off the cap and get a close look at the color of your brake fluid.  The color of the brake fluid should be a color similar apple juice.  It should never have a brownish or dark color to it.
4. If you have a dark color to it you will now want to take your vacuum pump and suction all the old fluid out of the master cylinder.
5. Now put the canister on the pump, (this becomes the reservoir) and drain the master cylinder.
6. Make sure the tube gets all the way down to the bottom to suck out all the fluids.
7. Once the canister pump is all the way full you will want to get a rag and be sure to stop pumping. 
8. Repeat this until all the brake fluid is out of the master cylinder.
9. Once all the fluid is out, get a rag and wipe down the brake master cylinder.  You will want to get as much dirt off as you can to clean and keep the fluid from getting contaminated.
10. Now you will want to get the brake fluid and pour it to the line that says “full”. 
11. You will need to take all the wheels off of your car and get out vacuum pump again.  By each tire there is a bleeder valve.  You will want to take off the cap and suction your vacuum pump to it. 
12. Now take a wrench and loosen the bleeder value just a tiny bit.
13. Pump your vacuum pump until all the old brake fluid comes out.  (It will come out dirty and sometimes have air bubbles.)  Give it about 15-20 pumps.
14. Now you will want to go back to your master cylinder up front and add more fluid since you’ve been draining it.
15. Repeat this for the other 3 tires.
16. When the job is completed and you are ready to test drive, you may notice that your pedal will go all the way down to the floor and the ABS light may come on.  You will want to pump the break about 10-15 times and it will firm up.  The ABS light should go off after you turn it off and back on again.  If it doesn’t turn off the first time you will want to unhook your battery (the negative terminal) so that the computer will reset.

NOTE: You should change your car’s brake fluid every 2 years or every 24,000 miles, which ever one comes first.

It may seem like a lot of work but once you do it a couple times you will have it down like that.  By changing the car’s brake fluid you will be saving a ton of money and time by avoiding the shops.  You can also guarantee yourself a great job.  Good luck!

It seems we always get caught up in the unexpected.  One day you may have walked out to your car to find that your car won’t start.  These things always see to happenwhen we need to get things done or we are at our busiest.  To find out how to change your cars battery yourself and avoid going to the shops and paying a fortune follow these steps below:

1. You will first want to keep in mind that you should recycle the dead car battery by taking it to any place that sells them.
2. You will now want to lift the hood and look for the battery (the battery is usually located on the left side of the car.)
3. On the old battery, you will want to disconnect the cable terminals.  Not sure what this means?  Unplug the negative terminal (black) and the positive terminal (red).
4. Next dismantle the bracket or frame that holds the battery in position. 
5. Now the battery should be loose and free to take out of the car.
6. If the cable terminals are dirty or dusty wipe them with water, a wire brush and baking soda.
7. Now take a wire brush and graze the inside of each cable terminal.  The purpose of this is to make sure that when you put in the new battery, you are exposing it to clean metal instead of dirty.
8. Place the new car battery inside the car.  Once the battery is in place connect the negative and positve (black and red) cables to the battery.  Make sure they are tight and in positiion.  If they can be moved easily, they are not in proper position.
9. Next step, turn on your vehicle to see if it starts! If it doesn’t start don’t panic just go through the steps again and you will find the mistake you made.

When it comes to changing the cars battery it really isn’t that hard.  Avoid taking it to the shop and wasting a ton of money.  Most people if they suspect a problem they take it into the shop right away.  Avoid doing that, do your research and learn how to fix the problems yourself.  Fixing the problems yourself will save you a ton of money and time in the long run.  Good luck!

Have you ever had a car that wasn’t very reliable?  It seems like everyone comes across that at least once in their lifetime.  We all panic if we notice something acting up with our vehicle and then dread taking it to the shop for repairs.  Taking your car to the shop is almost a guaranteed hole in your wallet for most people.  So how can you avoid spending so much and start saving?  Well take a look at a few different options:

Take a look at your auto mechanic – We all need to make a living off of what we do.  If businesses aren’t making good money they will charge you a higher price.  Try and stick with the busier businesses that people recommend and go to for car trouble. 

Price compare – Don’t just go to the place closest to you and settle for their price.  Make sure you go to at least 3 or 4 places to get a price quote.  This is an easy way to get the best deal and to find out who can be the most helpful.  Doing this research now will also save you time in the future so that you can stick with the same person.  If you keep going back to the same person maybe they will give you and extra hand and give you a deal for all your business.  They will find you as a loyal customer and do whatever they can to make sure you keep coming back.

Ask around – If you know someone who has had car troubles in the past don’t hesitate to ask where they went and how much their auto shop ran.  This is an easy way to know who to avoid and who to consider.

Consider an automotive school – There are many schools that need the practice and offer you very good deals.  Student who need to learn from hands on experience need a vehicle to work on.  There will be people managing them and helping them to make sure they do it right so you don’t have to worry.  This is something you should definitely consider.  Everyone has to start somewhere.

Look for coupons – Often in the newspaper and Sunday ads they will have coupons.  Automotive repair companies often have deals like spend a certain amount and get a certain percentage off.  These are definitely something to consider, coupons can save you a ton of money.

There are many ways to save money when it comes to auto repairs.  You just have to shop around, keep an eye out for coupons and do your research.  Doing these few things will save you some money while saving your from spending too much!

Buying a new or used car can take a lot of time and if you invest all of your time and find that you’ve purchased a dud, nothing can make you feel worse inside.  All the money you’ve basically spent is now down the drain.  To avoid buying a car that has had damage in the past, there are a few things we all need to keep in mind so that we get the best car for our money.

Get a history report- Websites like AutoCheck offer great vehicle history reports that will show you things such as if there’s damage with the car, how many owners have had it, if an odometer has been rolled back, and so much more.  If you’re going to invest into a car, I suggest you spend a few bucks and get a history report.  It’s going to save you in the long run if you find out you could have had a previously damaged car.

Use your eyes – When you go to check out the car, a human eye can go a long ways.  Make sure you check out every piece of the car inside out.  Look for paint that may not match up, ding marks, etc.  Now, we all know that every car can’t be perfect but if you do spot some dents or dings, ask the owner why it’s there and how it happened.  If they can’t come up with an answer, I would recommend you move onto another car.

Get a mechanic – When you find a car that you like, ask the dealer or seller if you can take it to a mechanic to check out the car.  If they say no, they are saying no for a reason, I would recommend you leave.  If they say yes, find someone that can look at it inside and out and see if there’s anything wrong.  A mechanic may be able to find something that you can’t.

Use a magnet- One of the oldest trick in the book is to bring a refrigerator magnet with you and place it on every piece of the car.  If the magnet doesn’t stick on some parts, it may mean that there’s too much paint or something is wrong with that part of the body.  Be weary if parts don’t allow the magnet to stick.  Ask the owner about this.

The best way to spot the damage is to get the vehicle report.  It’s only going to cost you a few dollars and you’ll be glad if you find problems that could have haunted you in the future.  Make sure that you do a thorough check and get someone else to look at it, not just you.  Sometimes, two set of eyes are better than one.