SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The harsh winter has caused some drivers to rack up repair bills. One local mechanic says he's seen it all so far this winter.



"A lot of dented rims, bent rims, tires blown out, tires with impact brakes on them, bent control rods, bent tire rods, bent front end parts, broken coil springs," said Steve Wroblewski, Assistant Manager of Zolman's Tire and Auto.

 

The list goes on and on. This harsh winter has business booming for local auto repair shops.

 

"This year it's just been way worse than I've ever seen and I've been in the business for ten years," said Wroblewski.



For drivers like Rod Spickler, the unforgiving road conditions have put a dent on his wallet.

 

"It became like a big bundle of ice and it sounded like I'm driving a tank around but that's not the worst part, the ice affected my cable to open the hood, now I can't open the hood," said Spickler.

 

Ice inside, outside and underneath his car, Spickler says he had to wait for it to thaw before he could get it fixed.

 

"Had to wait really until we had this mild warm up period here and it melted out of there," said Spickler.

 

Spickler's car damage will amount to about $150 for the cable-but many others aren't so lucky.

 

"If you have to replace the rim, you could be looking at an upper echelon depending on the vehicle of $1,000 for a new wheel," said Wroblewski.



There are a few things you can do to prevent some of this damage to your car.



"Drive cautious, be careful if you know the roads are bad. Four wheel drive is great for snow, it's great for mud but there's nothing that helps you with ice. Ice is a villain and nobody beats ice," said Wroblewski.



He also says you should make sure your tire pressure is correct. That can help absorb the impact when you hit a pothole.