Every car has car mats, right?  If your car doesn’t have them, you may want to consider them because not only is it going to keep your car floors cleaner, they are going to make them look a little nicer.

I have found with purchasing a new car, the dealership wants to throw in car mats for $50 or even $100.  If you fall for this old trick, you’re going to be kicking yourself when you can find car mats online for next to nothing.

When you’re looking to make a choice for floor mats, there are a few things to consider.  By answering the questions below, it should give you a better understanding on what you’re looking for.

• What kind of material do you want?
• What kind of colors do you want?  If possible, get something that will match up to your car make and model.
• Make sure that the floor mats will fit okay in your car.
• Do you want a logo / any customization?

By checking online, I had found a few good companies that have quality made floor mats.  You shouldn’t have to spend no more than $20 – 50 for a set of four.  Remember if you head to a dealership, you’re going to pay a lot more.

• Rubber Queen: Quality floor mats that will only cost you $20.  They are made of rubber, but keep the dirt and everything else away from your floor.  While they don’t look great, they are heavy duty.
• Rubber Queen Vinyl: Apparently, a lot of people are a big fan of the Rubber Queen made floor mats.  They are cheap, they last a long time, and have some high reviews online.
• Plush Carpet Mats: These are the ones that you want to make sure fit your car.  As many of them are different sizes, you will want to ensure that you’re getting something that is going to fit.

You’re really going to have the choice between vinyl, rubber, as well as carpet.  If you want to go the carpet route, get something that blends in.  This will make it look a little nicer.  I would also recommend rubber for those that have heavy duty trucks, where you may tend to get it a little dirty from time to time.

With that being said, check out the best floor mats on the market.  Find one that best suits you and let’s hope that you can keep your car a little cleaner.

If you have a GPS in your car, there’s a good chance that you’re going to want to add some accessories to it.  You’re probably wondering what the heck you can add to your system.

While every system is different, you’re always going to want to ensure yourself that you’re going to get an accessory piece that is going to fit your GPS.  You can generally find what’s going to work with it either by heading to the manufacture based site, or if you want, you can search e-commerce based stores to see what may match up.

If you have a GPS, I would recommend that you consider the following accessory pieces when thinking about getting add-ons.

• #1 Vehicle Mounts - These are great for those that are on the road.  There are mounts that will sit on your dashboard, while some will stick right to your windshield.  This is going to be a personal preference.  A mount is crucial because if you don’t have one, it’s going to just sit there.
• #2 Cases - When you’re not using it, you’re probably going to want to store it somewhere.  Rather than keeping it attached to the window, you’re going to find that you will want to keep it in a safe location.  While having a case isn’t a number one priority, I would recommend it because it’s going to prevent scratches and damage.
• #3 Car Charger - While many of your GPS will come with a charger today, you will find that some sets don’t have one.  You will want a car charger, because you’re going to be able to charge it wherever you may be on the road.  The last thing that you want to happen is be on the road, your GPS dies and you have no idea on where you’re going.
• #4 Cables - There are some cool GPS units out there where you can upload items with a USB cable, as well as others.  This will depend on your model.  If you find that you have a unit that can support something like this, you’re highly going to want to consider a cable.

As you can see, the accessories are going to vary.  Be sure to see what is compatible with your unit.  While the accessories are going to vary in price, make sure you’re going to need and use it, so that you can get your monies worth.

When you want to save money like myself, you probably will do just about anything to save a few extra dollars.  Well, the other day I just bought a set of tires for my older car.  Since I use this process for just about everything, I thought I would share with you on what I did.

Now, I had found that I could install the tires by myself if I had to, but if they would install them for a cheaper price, I would go into the store direct.

The first thing that I needed to know was what kind of tires that I needed to purchase.  I needed to get a set of tires for my 2002 Toyota Corolla.  Since I didn’t really mind what brand I was getting, I thought it would be best to check out a few sites.

Use comparison sites: One of my favorite sites to search for tires was Auto Parts Warehouse.  I could put in my make, model, as well as what type of car that I had.  They would then match me up with the tires that would fit my car.  I could browse by the make, the best sellers, and more.

Compare with Google: Google has an amazing sub-page called Google Products.  What you can do here is input what you want to buy.  Let’s say that you find the tires that you like.  Input the type into the search and see what comes up.  You can then compare to various retailers.

Find a place with cash back: If you’re not familiar with cash back, it’s a rather cool experience.  What you can do is purchase through a retailer online, but they are going to give you a certain percentage back on your purchase.

Let’s say that you wanted to shop with Auto Parts Warehouse as mentioned above.  Well on the site Ebates, you can get 6% back on your purchase as well.  Spend $100 and you’ll get $6.  All you have to do is shop through their link!

Don’t forget the local stores: When you go to a Discount Tire or another franchised based tire store in your area, make sure that you print out what you want online.  Most of the time, they will match the prices.  If they can’t beat the price, you will want to just purchase them online.  If you can’t install the tires yourself, you can always find a friend or a mechanic that will do it for next to nothing.

When I used this particular list, I was able to save big compared to the local stores in my neighborhood.  Give this a try and see how much you can save on your next purchase!

Credit: Flickr

Whether you’re restoring an older car or you just want to get a new set of tires for a limited time, you may have received some advice on just purchasing some used tires.

While these type of tires do get the job done, you don’t want to use this solution to replace your tires 100%.  Used tires are great for those looking to test out a car, use it for a limited amount of time, or even to just get the car off the ground to test some things out.

If you’re looking for some used tires at a wholesale based price, here are a few places that are probably going to work for you.

• eBay: We all know about this giant auction based site.  What you’re going to find out is that they have a fantastic motors section.  On this section, you’re going to be able to find tires, car parts, and even used cars.  Yes, eBay has just about everything and it’s a great place to check out.
• Craigslist: Another great site, just like eBay is Craigslist.  You’re going to want to look in the autos section.  The trick here is to make sure you know how to search.  You can either search by brand, size, or even put in the model of your card to match it up 100%.
• Your local junkyard: Every town has an auto junkyard somewhere.  Since many yards will keep track of their inventory, call them up and ask.  If you find that they aren’t organized, you may want to simply just show up and take a walk around the yard to see what is there.
• Call up a tire shop: Many tire shops have used tires laying around.  While many may not sell them, it doesn’t hurt to ask them.  I would recommend that you call up Mom and Pop based shops to get a better response than the major franchised chains.

If you’re going to keep the car for years to come, you will want to get newer tires.  If you plan on getting rid of it, or even selling, get something such as a used tire.  You’ll be amazed at how much you can potentially save.

Try out the four tips above and see how much you can save on your next purchase.  By heading to these sites, or even going to a local junkyard, you should be able to find what you’re looking for.

As part of our car item month of August, you’re going to see a lot of posts this month in regards to car items.  A lot of these items you have probably heard of, but there may be a few where you’re thinking, “What the heck do I need this for?”

When you think of an infrared thermometer, you’re probably wondering why you would even need one while working on a car and let me explain why you should consider one.

Let’s say that you’re going to work on a hard part of the car.  You just shut it off.  With your anti-freeze and other components, the last thing that you want to do is touch the item and burn your finger.  To save yourself from being annoyed and frustrated with a burnt fingertip, this tool can prevent it each and every time.

Not only can you use these tools when working on the car, it works wonders on other items too in the house, outside, as well as other heavy duty machinery.

If you’re looking to purchase one, plan on saving around $40 – $100 for one that is going to work.  You don’t want to be too cheap because what you’re going to find out is that you’re going to get what you pay for.

I did some research on some major e-commerce sites and here’s what I came up with as the best infrared thermometers on the market today…

Fluke 62 Mini Infrared Thermometer (around $100): This is a rather expensive unit but again, you’re going to want to get something that is going to work.  This is one of the highest rated guns on the market and has some of the best accuracy in it’s class.

Kintrex IRT0421 Non-Contact (around $50): Another great model that isn’t going to break the bank.  High reviews, it can measure all the way up to 932 degrees, as well as give you a response time within 1 second.

Kintrex IRT0401 (around $20): This is a cooler design as it’s going to be able to wrap around your wrist, or if you wish, you can attach it something such as your key chain.  For $20, you can beat the price, as it is very similar to the IRT0421 but only smaller.

Actron CP7875 (around $20): This reader was actually on the Amazon’s best seller’s list for automotive products.  It has a 4 star review, it’s the cheapest in price on the list and can give you instant, yet accurate responses.

Most of the guns are going to do the same thing.  The true question is how big do you want it, what brand do you want, as well as what are you looking to spend?

Be sure to poke around at some of these on the market.  Just don’t be too cheap because again, you may get what you pay for!