Chances are you’ve become familiar with the rattling noise of your car rumbling down Michigan roads. Pothole season came early this year thanks to a temporary thaw.
“Oh it’s expensive,” said Myia Riddick. “It’s definitely expensive.”
Riddick has cracked a rim on a bad pothole before. She said it’s a nightmare that has her dodging potholes whenever she can, an exercise that can prove futile on some days as the roads seem to be covered by more and more potholes by the day.
“It wasn’t like this a month ago,” said Riddick. “It’s been terrible, just driving home is a stress.”
Over at Restock Wheels in Southfield the work to repair bent, busted and cracked rims is an ongoing battle.
Paul Kokx, the owner of the business, said that the bulk of his business is typically in early Spring; however, they’ve noticed an uptick in customers.
One person in his waiting room on Monday was a repeat customer. He bent his rear tire wheel on a pothole in Farmington last week. He hit the same pothole and mangled his front rim this week.
Kokx told 7 Actions News that hundreds of drivers are likely on the road with damaged wheels that could spell more trouble down the line. It’s why he suggests to take your car in for preventative repairs as soon as you hit a pothole hard.
“The bend is on the inside where you can’t see it,” said Kokx. “You may be driving around with a bend, or even a crack, and be heading towards a more serious issue.”
Typically a bend, or crack, will lead to a bit of shaking as you pick up speed. Kokx said that if you suspect damage you don’t have to rush out and buy new tires.
At Restock Wheels they weld wheels and fix them for a fraction of the cost of a full replacement, in fact, he said the biggest that you can make is replacing a strong wheel with cheaper, newer, wheels. According to Kokx, there is still a lot of value in wheels and that some cars will have better value with a “fix” rather than a cheap replacement.
