Tulsa Mechanics See Jump In Car Repairs After Winter Storm

The newest hot spot after our recent winter weather is the mechanic's shop.

The cold has a strange way of affecting everything it touches. Mechanics say they're seeing a lot of cars with dead batteries and a lot of banged up vehicles that have slid into curbs.

Tuesday was a busy day for mechanics after the recent winter storm beat up many cars.

"I went out there to start it and it's just dead," said driver Pat Sears.

Sears discovered the cold temperatures drained the battery in his truck.

"It's not a surprise. Cold weather knocks a battery down. There's no question it will do that," he said. "It's just things you have to put up with."

Sears isn't alone.

The Firestone at 41st and Yale was packed Tuesday. Nearly 50 percent more cars came to the shop with damage from the snow and ice.

"That one slid into a curb, bent a wheel--an aluminum factory wheel. Fortunately, I was able to find him a used one," said mechanic Chris Shew.

12/4/2013 Related Story: Tips For Prepping Your Home, Car For Freezing Temperatures

Shew said many drivers took to the ice too fast, causing spin outs with some hitting curbs and doing hundreds of dollars in damage.

"The best case scenario is it just kind of knocks it out of alignment. Unfortunately, most of them are bending parts, breaking parts, bending wheels," Shew said. "It's about a $500 deal by the time you replace the wheel, tire, get it aligned and that kind of stuff."

Sears said his niece's car is also having work done after she slid on ice.

"About $1,500 worth of axles and wheels. Ran it into the curb," he said.

Although there's not much these drivers can do now, mechanics say one key thing everyone needs to check before the next storm is their tires.

"Make sure your tires have tread all the way across and, when you see it down, like this one is pretty close to getting into steel, you've really got no all-season traction there," Shew said.

The roads are beginning to thaw during the day, but they're freezing back at night and that is creating a different set of problems: potholes.

The City of Tulsa says it already has four crews out repairing those potholes.