Not Too Late To Winterize Your Car

STANFORD, Conn. (WCBS 880) – As the arctic air mass pushes into the Tri-State, more and more garages are seeing common problems among drivers.

With the coldest night of the season coming on Sunday, mechanics want drivers to know that it's not too late to winterize your vehicle.

 LISTEN: WCBS 880's Paul Murnane reports

Mickey Goberton, owner of the Highridge Shell, said they've already seen plenty of people dealing with issues related to the deep snow.

"People want new tires, new wiper blades. Just your typical winterizing of vehicles," Goberton said.

The cold can also bring harm to car batteries. Ed Welsh at AAA New York said batteries more than 3 years old won't pack as much of a punch.

"When you get to zero you've got maybe 250 or 300 cold cranking amps," Welsh said. "So what happens basically is the draw for electricity feeds the batteries ability to deliver."

With all the snow so far this winter, car tires are being worn out faster than ever.

"So imagine if you will the tires are trying to pull themselves off the rim so what ends up happening is you end up with a lot of soft tires and a lot of flat tires," Welsh said.

Radiators, tires, and even electronic systems can fall victim, which could make Goberton's phone ring.

"Most of the places aren't even doing work like that anymore," Goberton said. "Most of them are food marts now. We're one of the last garages on the street."

Not only are mechanics seeing problems with water pumps, dead batteries and radiators, but also just carelessness with drivers.

"A lot of times, too, people will leave their car running, close the door, the door's locked, locked the keys in their door," said Joe Carlucci, who works on cars in Connecticut.