Jack Williams

Protect the Exterior of Your Vehicle This Winter

Winter in the northeast can make driving treacherous and do a lot of damage to your car. Rock and salt, which are used to treat the roads during ice and snow, can cause limited visibility, paint damage, windshield damage, and rust. Here are a few precautions you can take to protect your car during the winter months.

1. Polish/restore headlamps. Headlights fade and lose luminosity because the protective plastic lens gets damaged and the transparency decreases. Visibility is one of the most important safety factors during winter.

2. Wash the undercarriage of your vehicle. It's important to remove any build up of ice, mud, rocks, salt and other debris to prevent corrosion of metal and aluminum.

3. Wax all painted panels and get any body or paint repairs done before winter hits. For several months your vehicle is exposed to moisture that can result in paint peeling and rust, particularly on the roof.

4. Repair any cracking or peeling paint before the winter starts. When done proactively, these repairs are only cosmetic and are significantly cheaper than if rust appears and the repair turns into an auto body repair.

5. Have a hydrophobic coating applied to your windshield to help repel rain, sleet and snow. The water will bead up and race across the windshield out of your viewing area.

6. Get new wiper blades installed for the winter season. Clear your windshield of ice and snow before using your wipers to extend the life of your wiper blades.

7. Install a clear front-end bra to prevent rock chip damage. During winter the roads become littered with rock and salt debris that can cause significant paint damage. Bumpers made of steel can rust while plastic bumper covers chip and become pitted. A bra will protect your bumpers from chips and save you the cost of repairs and repainting.

Jack Williams Tire and Auto Service Centers specialize in all of your vehicle's service needs. Whether your vehicle needs factory scheduled maintenance, state inspections or mission inspections, Jack Williams' ASE certified professionals know just how to help you. Visit any of our 29 locations to meet with Jack Williams' team of experts for alignments, brakes, shocks, struts, exhausts, batteries, fluid services, oil changes, filters, belts, hoses, diagnostics and more! Jack Williams Tire is proud to employ ASE certified technicians.