Help Is On the Way

Tis the season for potholes! All of the freeze and thaw cycles that the roads have been through have caused excessive potholes covering many of the roads across many states. Unfortunately, there are many times that avoiding those potholes is impossible and the damage sustained is unavoidable. Here, you'll find a few tips to help you get the right repairs made to avoid making things any worse for your vehicle.

Take Pictures

If possible to do so safely, take pictures of the pothole, the area around the pothole and the damage that your car has sustained. These pictures may be needed if you're able to file a claim for the damage. In some areas, damage caused to vehicles due to potholes in the road can be paid for by local municipalities or cities.

The best thing to do is to take the pictures, get the repairs made and send copies of all of the receipts and pictures to the party responsible for maintaining that road. You will have to find out if it's a local or state maintained road and then track down the office responsible for the repairs. Then, you can submit the claim and wait to find out if you'll be reimbursed or not.

Get the Tire Repaired

When the tire is repaired, the technician will also have to check for damage to the rim. If the rim is bent, it will need to be replaced or you will end up having to put air in your tire all of the time, or if the damage is really bad, you could suffer a blow-out when traveling on the highway.

Get the Car Aligned

Once the tire has been repaired, you will need to get the car aligned to protect the tires from sustaining damage from uneven wear. Try to limit the amount that you drive the car before you get the alignment performed. If you continue to drive the car with it out of alignment, the damage could extend beyond the tires – you could face the repair costs of wheel-bearings, tiered ends and other suspension components.

Talk with your tire repair specialist to find out just how bad the damage is and what it will take to get everything repaired the right way. Don't skimp on these repairs because they will impact the performance and durability of the vehicle from this point on. A few repairs now will save you the trouble of a lot more repairs later.