if you’ve recently bought a new car of you’ve been driving for quite some time now and you don’t know what kind of gasoline your car should take, it may be time to set aside a few minutes and figure out which type of gas your manufacture company recommends.  Since most cars only need 87, it never hurts on how to find out.  Here’s how you do it:

Check your owner’s manual – The first thing you should do is reference your owner’s manual.  Every manual will have a section where it’ll tell you what gasoline they recommend for your vehicle.  Simply look in the glossary for anything related to the gas consumption.

Check the website – If you don’t know where you’ve placed your owner’s manual, simply hop online and Google your car’s name.  Every car company has your car manual online.  From there, browse it online or simply search for something like “What kind of gas does a 2007 Honda Civic need?”.  99% of the time you’ll get your answer.

Be cheap – If your car recommends 87, stick with it, it will do just fine!  There’s no need to upgrade and pay 30 cents more a gallon for a higher octane, you’re only hurting your wallet.

What takes high octane?  The only cars that you’ll most likely find taking higher octane fuels are your luxury vehicles, higher performance cars that require a lot of horsepower, and others.  So, unless you’re driving a higher perfomance based car there’s probably no need for you to go for the high grade.

How is my octane determined?  The octane for your car is determined on a few factors.  The main factor is generally the engine and how it works.  As I mentioned above, the higher the horsepower, the harder it performs, the better grade of gasoline it will need.

My word of advice is that you just stick to what your manual recommends.  If it recommends a higher grade, I wouldn’t use anything lower than this because it will potentially void your warranty and could cause great damage, so don’t be stupid or cheap when it comes to using better gasoline.

Being safe in your car is probably one of the most important things on your mind when you’re driving your vechicle.  Whehter you have kids or you drive by yourself, there are some accessories online that you can purchase that will help you be a little safer when you’re in your automobile..  Some of these accessories I’m sure you’ve heard of but there are some that you may have never known that even existed in the marketplace.  Here are a few accessories that I may recommend for your car:

The LifeHammer

This device may sound a little silly at first but if you really sit back and think of it, this little $15 item can potentially save your life in the future.  This is how the LifeHammer works.  If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to break your car windows, you’re not going to be able to do this simply by using your hands.  This is where this device comes in.  The LifeHammer will easily cut seat belts, break windows, and is easy to install.  All you do is simply mount it on your car floor.  This way, it’s easy to access.

Coleman Emergency Hammer with Tire Gauge

If you’re looking for a tiny device that does everything, you may want to look at the Coleman Emergency Hammer.  With this hammer, you’re going to get a lot of gadgets built into one.  You’ll receive a tire gauge, a razor to cut through seat belts, a flashlight, a reflector, and a hammer that can break through glass.  The best thing is that it’s very cheap and is very small!  This is very similar to the LifeHammer but a little more reasonable.  You can pick one up for less than $10.

The Club LX Series

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Club before.  It’s a simple device that you place on your steering wheel to prevent thieves from stealing your vehicle.  The Club works very easily.  You’ll simply place it on your steering wheel and lock it.  This can’t be cut or hammered off, it works really well!  To unlock the club, you’ll simply use your key set it comes with.  The club comes in all colors so it matches your interior!

AAA 70 Piece Roadside Kit

If you want the most for your money when it comes to safety, you’ll want to look into getting the AAA Roadside kit.  This kit comes with over 70 pieces that you can use in case of emergency.  With an equipped bag, it will be very easy to store all of these items in your trunk.  A few of the items that this kit comes with are jumper cables, a flashlight, poncho, screw drivers, first aid kit, and so much more.  The best of all, it’s under $50!

Being safe should be one of your main concerns when driving.  These items aren’t necessary for your car but they definitely can help you out in an emergency.  Consider looking at each item and see if it’s something you could use!

If you haven’t heard already, one of the most dangerous things a teenager can do is get behind the wheel.  What makes driving so dangerous for a teenager is their little experience and their many distractions.  We all know teenagers live very busy lives and sometimes get too caught up in them.  It seems as though teenagers are never seen without their cell phones and are constantly keeping in contact with their friends.  This can be a good habit yet one of the most dangerous.  To make sure you or your teenager is safe on the road, you may want to consider some of the tips below:

Safety driving tips for teenagers:

Put down the phone – This is a very common reason for an accident among teenagers.  They receive a call, get distracted from the road and end up paying more attention to their phone.  They often are found texting, talking and surfing the web with their phone.  What you can do to make things safer is either put your phone away and don’t get distracted by it or pull to the side of the road and take care of your business. 

Music – Young drivers are also found playing with their radio constantly.  You don’t want to do this because taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds can be a possible accident.  Instead of constantly changing the radio station try get a CD you like and putting it in.  This will get rid of most of the distractions of the radio.

Keep your eye on the road – When driving you want to always make sure that your eyes are on the road.  There are many distractions but you have to make sure you don’t let them bother you.  Keep your eye on the road and be aware of what is going on around you.

Keep it quiet – Be sure that you are able to hear the sounds around you.  If you have the music too loud you may miss out on the warnings of an ambulance, a car honking at you (for your safety) or other possible cases.  Be sure that even if you have the radio on you are capable of hearing the sounds around you.

Put down the drinks – It’s this simple don’t drink and drive.  Teenagers are always saying “I’m okay. I can drive.”  Even though you think you can, you cannot!  When driving on the road not only are you looking out for yourself but you’re looking out for others on the road as well.  Simply ask someone to pick you up, no matter who it is, and what time it is.  You are always better off having someone come get you than you making that attempt.

There are many things teenagers can do to stay safe on the road.  If you have a young driver or you are one yourself consider these tips above!  Driving is a exciting time in your life and you don’t want to make one mistake and have it be ruined.  You always need to keep in mind that you’re not only looking out for yourself but other drivers as well.

Gasoline smells, let’s face it and if gas ever gets into something such as your home carpet or inside your car, it seems as if that smell will be there forever.  While gas smells good to some people, the smell can be overwhelming if you have to smell it every time you’re in the area of it.  I’m going to show you some techniques today that can get rid of the gasoline odor for good:

Lift the carpet – If you can lift the carpet easily, lift both the carpet and the pad and see if the gasoline has soaked all the way through.  Try and absorb as much of the gasoline with a paper towel.  This will make the cleanup process a little easier.  Keep in mind that if that the spill is severe, you may have to replace the pad and carpet altogether, which can be very costly.

Try vinegar – If you have any white vinegar laying around the house, simply put a little bit on the area and let it sit there.  I would wait a few hours before you do anything to it.  If you have a carpet cleaner, I would use this to absorb the vinegar.  If you don’t, use a regular vacuum.  Once you vacuum, wait overnight and come back to the spot the next morning.  If the smell still exists, repeat the process again.  This time, you’ll want to add baking soda to the mix.  Once the vinegar dries up, add baking soda, and continue to vacuum again.

Isopropyl alcohol- I’m sure you’ve never heard of this type of alcohol but you can find this at any of your local hardware, department stores.  If you find that the vinegar doesn’t work, try the isopropyl alcohol.  You may find that this may work better.  If it doesn’t, move on to the next step.

Try detergent – There are a few detergents on the market that can help your carpet cleaning greatly.  I did some research online via some review sites and came up with these top three cleaners that can help you with your odor process:

• Hoover Cleansing Detergent – rated the best online
• Bissell Pet Odor – says pet odor but works with gas as well, I promise!
• Kirby Allergen Control – another great brand that works.

Even if you don’t have a shampoo vacuum, you can place this detergent in a simple water bottle with warm water and spray it on the location and proceed to use a scrub brush. 

Febreze – If you’re finding that none of the above works, you should resort to a simple spray bottle of febreze.  Spray it on the spot and see if it works.

These are the popular methods that you can use when you’re looking to eliminate odors from your carpet.  If none of it works, you may want to consider replacing the carpet, as this can be the only option.  Fresheners can only mask the smell for so long.  Don’t give up on all the methods and don’t be afraid to try new things, anything can work!

With today’s technology, selling a car in today’s world is easier than ever.  Unlike the older days, you have to place an ad in a newspaper with no pictures, hoping that someone would call you or you would simply place your car on the side of a street with a for sale sign on it.  Now, with millions of people online, it isn’t hard to sell a car, if it’s set at the right price.

The best place in my opinion to sell a car is on eBay.  With eBay, you’re able to reach the whole world on a website that caters to millions of users.  Not only can you target local buyers, you can target buyers from thousands of miles away.  If you plan on selling your car on eBay, you’re going to want to make sure your listings are right.  If it isn’t , you may not get the right price for your car.

Find out the value of your car.  First things are first.  Before you even sell your car, make sure you know what it’s worth.  You won’t want to put up a car that has a high price.  I wrote a post a while back that will show you exactly how to get the value of your car.

• How to get the value of your car

Start taking pictures.  Once you find out how much your car is worth, start taking pictures of the car.  The more pictures you take, the merrier.  A car purchase is going to be a big one for the buyer and if they can’t check out the car in person, they want to see as many pictures as possible.  Here’s a checklist of what you should take pictures of on your car in order to be successful on eBay motors –

• The engine
• The outside of the car from each angle (front, right side, left side, back)
• Inside the trunk
• The dashboard
• The center console
• Front Seat
• Back Seat

If you can at least take pictures of these things, you’ll increase your chances of selling the car.

Create a video.  If you want to be different, you may want to create a video of the car on youtube.com.  You can make a video of yourself starting the car or showing a few things such as the lights coming on, the four-ways coming, blinkers, and anything else you can think of.  A video will help you sell it as well.

Show the mileage.  When you’re taking pictures of your car, make sure the car is up and running.  Take a picture of the odometer to show the actual mileage.  Buyers love to see the mileage, so make sure that is there as well.

Write a description.  Here comes the hard part.  When you’re writing your description, you’re going to want to be as descriptive as possible.  You’re going to wnat to list all of the features.  List everything you can think of from air conditioning to anti-lock brakes.  Everything counts!  Besides writing about the good things, don’t be afraid to list the bad.  A buyer will want to know everything.  If it’s been in an accident and it’s been to the collision shop, let them know!  I’d rather buy from an honest buyer instead of a liar.

List your terms.  Let the buyer know how they can buy from you.  Whether it’s a cashier check or 10% down via an escrow, let the buyer know what you’ll accept when they bid.

Know your format.  Once you’re ready to sell, know what kind of format you want to sell with.  You can either do a fixed price where they have to accept your price.  I recommend if you go this route, you go through a place like AutoTrader.com or you can do the auction route.  This is the best way to do it.  Set a price and let the buyer determine the price.

eBay is a great way to sell your car.  If you follow these tips, you’ll defintely increase your odds of selling your car.  Good luck!