With spring in the air, it’s officially pot hole season. Are you prepared?
Is there anything that can wipe a smile off your face faster than your vehicle bottoming out as you hit a giant pothole, hearing the ensuing clunking sound as you try to reach your destination in one piece?
The moment your body jolts as you hear a loud thud and that thought crossed your mind—how much is this going to cost me to repair?
Don’t worry, you’re not alone. We have all been in that situation.
“We definitely repair more vehicles in the spring,” Fast Monkey Auto owner Jason Cornett told KZRG. “Everyone is getting ready for Spring Break and upcoming summer vacations, that sort of thing.”
Not surprisingly, something seemingly so minor as hitting a small pothole can cause surging repair costs to your means of conveyance.
“We see a lot of times that it can knock your vehicle out of alignment, or damage your tires,” Cornett said. “You can also damage suspension components such as your ball joints, tire rods, shocks, struts and control arms.”
Unfortunately, this time of year potholes are not the only road hazard to watch out for. With the spring season rapidly approaching, that means construction season is also getting underway.
Crews are out day and night doing different road repairs, which can also lead to unfortunate repairs to your vehicle thanks to foreign objects in the road you might not even see such as nails, bolts and screws. .
While it can seem overwhelming when it comes to car repairs, make sure to not make the issue worse by letting repairs linger. It is smart to get out in front of car repairs in order to avoid compounding the issue. A repair that might cost a couple of hundreds of dollars could balloon to thousands of dollars in damage if you continue to drive on it.
“If you were to hit a major pothole and damage your ball joint, it can actually cause a wheel to disconnect from the control arm and cause you to lose your wheel if the damage to the ball joint is bad enough,” Cornett continued. “All of these components work together. If you damage one small component and don’t get it looked at or repaired, you are going to put stress on the suspension components or your tires.”
But, perhaps just as important, if you are in need of a major repair, make sure to ask around and find someone you can trust with your auto repairs.
“It is important to trust your mechanic to make sure you are getting the right information,” Cornett said. “We use a process where we can actually send pictures of the damaged components to ensure we are giving the proper estimates. But, it is very important to make sure you trust your mechanic so you can make sure your car is getting fixed safely and properly so you can get back on the road without any worries.”