Have you seen the 2013 Toyota Highlander Limited 4WD? Wow! You could be the king of the road with that car. With interiors and exteriors that will match your style and taste. What more could you ask for?

Insure Your Car Now

No matter what model or make of your car, the insurance is imperative to protect yourself against the cost in case of an accident. There is a study that the safe drivers are not always charged the lowest insurance. Non-driving factors such as income, education and work seem to be more important in getting lower insurance rates.

If you can afford the new Toyota Highlander Limited 4WD, your income bracket must be in the upper scale. Make sure to insure such a handsome car.

Proper Maintenance of Your Car

To avoid any road accidents, you should keep your car in good condition. Not everyone can afford a brand new car every year. Therefore, proper maintenance of your car is necessary. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Have a regular tune-up-have your car serviced regularly to keep it in good condition and to replace parts that are already worn out.
2. Check your brakes, clutch, tire pressure, battery and battery water-it is important to have these items checked to avoid any mishaps on the road.
3. Drive efficiently-do not overstep on the gas and brakes. Do not be a clutch driver either for those who do not drive an automatic car. These will wear out your car faster.
4. Change the oil when it is scheduled to be changed-oil change used to be every 3,000 miles, It is done now when your car schedule calls for it.

Aside from prolonging the life of your car, car maintenance also keeps you and the public safe. Make this a priority today.

Safety is the Issue

Most car buyers look at the design,, the color, the features of the car. However, safety should be the issue in buying a car. You have to be protected out there when you are driving on the road. Some say that European cars have more safety features. Others say that American cars are sturdier. Japanese car makers will counter that their cars have a lot of safety features.

It is not just the car that makes driving safe, it is also the driver. Therefore, follow these guidelines to be safe on the road.

1. Always drive with your driver’s license inside your wallet
2. Do not drink alcoholic drinks if you are driving
3. Do not drive if you feel drowsy or sleepy
4. Do not drive if you are easily
o unsettled,
o hot-tempered
o irritated

Having a car is a responsibility to drive safely. You owe this to yourself and to the public. Make sure that your car is insured to minimize any costs due to an accident. The car and the driver must be in good condition before they hit the road. Drive defensively and reach your destination safely.

OOH man, that guy just dinged my door! It’s not a new car but it’s a pseudo classic or soon will be. There’s not too much rust and mostly the paint is in good condition, but now there a ding on the door and paint came off leaving a quarter sized nugget of primer gleaming like a black eye after a fight with a better boxer than you.

Since most of the other paint problems are unseen and the overall look of the car is good, this particular gouge needs to be repaired. You’re a handy kinda guy and so you think it’ll be child’s play to make the needed touch up’s, but don’t get too cocky. The process of applying car touch-up paint has its problems and if you want a good match there are a few steps you need to take to ensure that the paint you buy matches the paint on your soon to be classic ride.

The first step is to not only inspect the obvious damaged area but to take a close look at the overall paint on the car to see if any other spots need to be painted. You might as well fix them at the same time.

The next step is to do a thorough search for available paint suppliers with a specific emphasis on your make and model car. Finding the right paint is perhaps the most important factor in getting good results.

After you found the paint it’s very important to read the directions, let me repeat this …read the directions. Each paint manufacturer has differing techniques designed for their specific paint; failure to follow those directions will result in a substandard touch up.
Once you actually read the direction and committed them to memory, you will need to clean the effected spot and give plenty of time for that spot to completely dry. Remember, paint and water do not mix well, so let it dry completely.

Most products require you to do some light sanding and many will provide the proper sand paper. Sand slowly and lightly allowing the paper to do the work. This is not a time to show off your muscles, this is a finesse job, not a job for the hulk.

After the sanding apply a clear coat layer and again follow the direction, you may want to experiment on an unexposed area first to gauge the amount of clear coat to use. When applying the paint, use straight, even, spray patterns with a back and forth motion. Overlap the first spray and the edge of the second spray by about one-half of the original width. There are videos online to help you with this stage.

Again let the paint dry completely and then complete the project by applying wax and buffing the area. One reminder: your product of choice may have certain waxes they recommend, so use what they recommend.

This is a very satisfying project, but it’s important to take your time and follow the rules. When you’re done you’ll be able to stand back and wonder if that ding really happened or was it all a dream.

Everyone knows car maintenance is important, but if you’re not a gear head – someone who loves working on vehicles – the idea of doing routine car maintenance can be very intimidating.

Whether on the set of “Top Gear,” at NASCAR races or just in my garage at home, I’m fortunate enough to be around cars a lot. I love driving them, repairing them and tinkering with them. However, for a lot of people, cars can be a confusing and even intimidating piece of machinery to work on.

To help people feel more comfortable in maintaining their vehicles, here are some simple tips that can make anyone feel like a gear head.

Change your oil

While many don’t find the prospect of being under a car messing with greasy filters their idea of a fun Sunday afternoon, changing a car’s oil isn’t as daunting a task as it seems.

1. Make sure your engine is cool before you start, then safely jack up your car and support it with jack stands. Lay a piece of cardboard under the engine, just in case you spill any oil.

2. Position a recycling container under the oil pan that’s on the bottom of your engine, then undo the drain plug and let the old oil pour into it. When the old oil’s out, put the drain plug back on and tighten it to your car’s torque specification.

3. Next, remove your old oil filter using an oil filter wrench; turn the filter counterclockwise until it’s free, but watch out you don’t spill the old oil that’s still in it. Make sure the rubber gasket comes out with the old filter.

4. Then, taking your new oil filter, lubricate the rubber gasket with some new oil and fill the new oil filter with oil to about two-thirds full.

5. Carefully screw the new oil filter clockwise into place (holding it upright); tighten only as much as you can with one hand, don’t overdo it or else it can cause a leak.

6. Now it’s time to fill the engine with oil, so unscrew the oil fill cap on the topside of the engine and insert your funnel. It’s smart to check your owner’s manual to find out how much oil your engine holds if you’re unsure, then pour a little more than three-fourths that amount into the engine.

7. Finally, start your vehicle and let it run for about a minute. During that minute, take a peek underneath to make sure you don’t have any leaks. After a minute, turn off you vehicle and check the oil level on the dipstick, adding more if necessary.

I use and recommend Valvoline NextGen Oil. It works great, and since it’s made with 50 percent recycled oil, it’s good for the environment as well. To sweeten the deal, they’ve even come out with a Close the Loop program where they’ll give you a $20 mail-in offer if you return your used oil at participating auto parts stores and buy five quarts of NextGen for your next oil change.

Check your tires

Worn treads are a major safety issue while on the road, leading to hydroplaning, poor traction as well as reduced fuel efficiency. Luckily, checking your tread wear is simple. Look at the tread pattern. You’ll probably see something called “tread wear bars.” These are small bridges between your treads. Look at the tread pattern and you’ll see the beginnings of these bars start to form between the treads, or running across the tires. As the tires wear, these bars will become flush with the tire’s tread. If they are, then it’s time to change your tires.

Another simple trick is to head for the change jar. Just grab a penny and place it upside down with Lincoln facing you in the center of the tread (at the thickest part of the tire). If you can see the top of his head, it’s time to get new tires.

Clean up cloudy headlights

It may seem obvious that your headlights are one of the most critical safety features on your car, but what’s not always top of mind is how quickly they can become yellowed, hazed or dull from rough road conditions and exposure to the sun. This can lead to severely diminished visibility for yourself and other drivers, especially when driving at night or in poor weather.

Replacing or professionally restoring headlight lenses can cost hundreds of dollars. Options like the 3M Headlight Restoration Kit (no tools required) allow you to use basic DIY skills and a little elbow grease to sand, smooth and polish your way to clearer lenses from the comfort of your own garage. This easy-to-use kit includes a series of handheld abrasives and rubbing compound that’s used to remove yellowing and surface blemishes, and then refine and polish the lenses to reduce and remove scratches.

By following these tips, you might not quite be ready to join a NASCAR pit crew just yet, but you’ll be well on your way to becoming a true gearhead.

To help get you started, Bullz-Eye is giving one lucky winner a real car guy maintenance tool kit, including an oil change kit and headlight restoration kit. Click here to enter for your chance to win. The contest ends on June 20th and the winner will be notified via email.

Rutledge Wood is the host of “Top Gear USA” on the History Channel, a NASCAR correspondent on SpeedTV and Valvoline spokesperson.

The oil and filter change is the backbone of automotive maintenance. Everywhere you look, this seems to be the lone ingredient to keep your car on the road. But beyond the items that your local oil change shop advertises, there are items that are just as crucial to check and change as your car gets older. In fact, ignoring these items is just as bad as not changing your oil at all.

Headlights

“Don’t Know What You Got Till It’s Gone,” helps explain the importance of headlights and how little attention we pay to them when they work. Sylvania recently took Bullz-Eye out to New Hampshire to explain that headlights can go bad before they necessarily go out. Even though they might not go out, a headlight loses about 20 feet of light distance every year. If you have HID headlights, these usually change to a shade of purple before going out.

Although headlights last about 3 years, you should check or replace them in about half that time. When it comes to replacement, they are probably the most DIY friendly replacement item on this list. Sylvania even offers a guide on their website to help you install the bulbs correctly, plus tips and tricks to ensure lasting performance. You can also take the chance to upgrade your lights with better bulbs, such as with Sylvania Silverstars. These lights offer HID quality lighting for halogen applications. Don’t be driving in the dark by checking and changing your light bulbs before they go out.

O2 sensors

The O2 sensor measures the oxygen from your car’s exhaust to make sure the engine’s computer is supplying the right amount of fuel for the engine. However, when the O2 sensor stops working, havoc occurs with how the engine performs. The mixture of air and gas runs wild. This can affect your mileage, your engine’s lifespan, and the emissions it spews.

That’s why you should pay special attention to your O2 sensor’s lifespan. They don’t need replacing often, usually 30,000-50,000 miles, but once you hit the end of its lifecycle, fixing it could save you many costs down the road.

Fuel Filters

Repair shops will often tell you to replace air filters with due diligence, but they usually don’t advertise the other big filter in the car, the fuel filter. The fuel filter is crucial in keeping debris in the gas from getting into the engine. When it gets clogged, fuel may stop getting in to the engine, or dirt enters the motor.

Fuel filters usually last 50,000 miles, but do vary between cars. Some are easy to change yourself, others not so much. Try to find a guide online guide about your specific car, or get it changed at a repair shop. Changing your fuel filter is necessary in ensuring fuel mileage and keeping your engine and fuel system clean.

Timing Belts

The timing belt in most engines keeps the engine from destroying itself from the inside out. Without the timing belt, the pistons punch a large hole in the top of the cylinders. With a timing belt, they are pulled back right before contact is made. Because of their importance, timing belts last a long time, usually around 100,000 miles.

However, it is vital to check your timing belt every so often for cracks and stretch marks. If your car has reached 100,000 miles, or is past it and never had the belt changed, you should probably look into making an appointment with your mechanic. It is a little bit pricey to get your timing belt changed, but not nearly as much as getting your engine replaced.

Timing belts, fuel filters, 02 sensors, and headlights are the unsung heroes in car maintenance. They don’t need changing or checking very often, but if ignored will hurt your car and your wallet in some big ways.