Syracuse, N.Y (NCC News) – Syracuse University senior Megan Acker, who has lived in the central New York area her entire life, said driving in the snow isn’t so bad once you get used to it.
“Once you learn how to drive in it, I think it gets a lot less scary,” Acker said, “but there’s definitely a learning curve there.”
Although drivers can eventually adapt to the wintry conditions, the same can’t be said about the cars themselves. John Boronczyk, owner of John’s Auto Care in Solvay and Syracuse for the last 25 years, said no amount of experience can get your car’s undercarriage used to the damage caused by salt.
“The corrosion from the salt is terrible,” Boronczyk said. “It just eats the metal, so just think about the bottom of a car and all the metal that’s underneath there like aluminum, cast iron and steel. It causes a lot of problems.”
A new AAA survey estimates U.S. drivers have paid $15.4 billion over the last five years to repair damage caused by salt and other road de-icing chemicals – about $3 billion annually, or roughly $500 per repair.
To minimize the salt’s damage on your car, one of the easiest preventative measures is visiting a car wash roughly every 10 days. Boronczyk said car washes can help significantly with removing the salt, grime and other corrosive wintry mix from underneath your car.
“Running it through the car wash is a great first step,” said Boronczyk.
However, the car wash doesn’t fix everything because salt isn’t the only thing wreaking havoc on your car in a CNY winter. Potholes can cause just as much damage as the salt.
“Potholes damage suspension parts, bend wheels and damage tires” said Boronczyk, “but a lot of people don’t really pay much attention to it.”
Therefore, to make sure your car is running properly, Boronczyk strongly advises central New Yorkers to get their cars examined by an auto shop.
“Have it checked out by a service professional probably every three-to-four months,” Boronczyk said. “Find someone you trust, and they should be able to monitor things as they wear and get older.”
Video Transcript
Eddie McCarthy: Driving in the snow is unavoidable in Central New York. Sometimes it leads to stories like this
Megan Acker: I have slid off the road a couple of times.
McCarthy: Said so casually. But as Megan points out, it’s the way of life around here.
Acker: Once you learn how to drive in it, I think it gets a lot less scary.
McCarthy: And while drivers may have adapted to it, their cars not so much.
John Boronczyk: The salt and moisture is going to cause real problems with the undercarriage, it rots and it rusts things.
McCarthy: John Boronczyk’s been an auto shop owner for 25 years. He knows this time of year, cars are taking a beating from salt.
Boronczyk: It just eats the metal. So, just think about the bottom of a car, all the metal that’s underneath there.
McCarthy: It’s not like Central New Yorkers don’t know this.
Acker: You look around, everyone around here is driving a rust bucket, because it’s, it’s terrible for your car.
McCarthy: They may just need a reminder on what they can do about it. Like swinging by one of these every now and then. The car wash is a great way to wash off all that damaging salt and ice and sleet and slush and other wintery mix that can really damage your car and cause corrosion and rust and all sorts of other problems.
Boronczyk: Car washes, for the average Joe, that’s gonna work great.
McCarthy: But especially for the people living in or around the Salt City, the pro’s recommendation:
Boronczyk: Have the thing checked out by a service professional probably three-to-four months, every three-to-four months.
McCarthy. In Syracuse, Eddie McCarthy. NCC News.