No car owner wants to hear that the problem the car is having is in the transmission. Transmissions are one of the most expensive parts that a car owner might have to replace – if the car is old enough, it sometimes makes more sense to replace the car entirely than to replace the transmission. But I’ve found that there are ways to save when you need transmission work! Not only are there ways to save money on a new or rebuilt transmission, there are also ways to locate transmission problems and have them fixed before they become too serious. This blog is designed to help you take better care of your transmission, and avoid paying too much for transmission repairs.
During your vehicle's lifetime, it most likely will encounter many different types of damage to its body. During the winter your vehicle can be up against several different types of damage that can harm its paint finish and eat at its undercarriage. Here are three direct causes of winter damage to your vehicle that can lead to rust, corrosion, and maybe a new spring paint job.
Road Sand
If you live in a northern climate, you may see a lot of snow and ice during the winter. Road crews spread sand onto the road to help passing vehicles gain better traction on the slippery surface.
Road sand is used in climates that have extreme cold temperatures. Salt only melts the snow and ice down to a certain temperature. But, the sand that is spread over the roads is a coarse type of sand and can contain larger, vehicle paint-damaging rock fragments.
Although sand makes it possible for you to drive over snowy roads, the sand can also get flipped up onto the body and undercarriage of your vehicle. This causes dings and chips into the protective paint coating and into the undercarriage. When chip and ding damage are not repaired, they can corrode into larger problems on your vehicle.
Rock Salt
When rock salt can be used in winter temperatures to help make roads passable, street crews spread it on all the roads that need it. The chemicals making up the salt lower the freezing point of water, but these same chemicals can rust and corrode your vehicle's exterior and undercarriage.
When you drive your vehicle through roads treated with salt, the salt that is dissolved into puddles on the road get splashed all over the exterior of your vehicle. Then, when you don't wash your vehicle when you arrive home, the chemicals sit on the outside of your vehicle. This damages your vehicle's paint and any bare metal that has previously been exposed by rock chips or scratches.
Most of the corrosive salt ends up on the undercarriage of your vehicle, where you can't see it. These chemicals end up doing a majority of their damage to your vehicle's muffler, exhaust, coil springs, brake and fuel lines, and frame.
Winter Weather
The most obvious reason for damage to your vehicle's exterior during the winter is from the wet weather. The wet and snowy conditions during the winter can do damage to any areas on your vehicle's body that have been chipped or scratched. After your vehicle's paint gets chipped off from a flying rock from a passing truck, the underlying metal body is exposed on your vehicle. The exposed metal becomes rusted, especially during the winter when your vehicle is more likely to get and remain wet from snow and ice.
When you live in a climate that has snow and freezing conditions in the winter, you may also encounter roads slippery with ice and snow. Black ice on the roads is one of the top causes of auto crashes. If you don't drive carefully, these types of conditions can send your vehicle crashing into another vehicle or structure, causing damage to its body.
These three causes of winter damage can leave your vehicle needing a new paint job in the spring. Visit an auto body repair service to get your fixed up quickly.
Share27 April 2015
