FAIRMONT–Car Parts Direct owner Jamie Johnson believes that spring car care is important to maintaining your vehicle. At Car Parts Direct, Johnson and his other workers perform services that will help maintain your vehicle after winter going into spring.

Johnson stated that the Minnesota climate during the winter causes a lot of damage to the front end of a vehicle. Examples of that climate include ice chunks, rough roads, and potholes. Johnson stated that it would be best to get an alignment check and suspension check before Spring because you run the risk of wearing your tires out and causing damage to your suspension.

Johnson and Car Parts Direct mostly work on suspension work, battery work, belt work and fluid checks. The suspension work comes in part due to the rough roads. Fluid checks consist of oil changes and coolant flush. The cold weather impacts your battery by killing it and then cold weather can also cause cracks in your belts.

“Just a routine maintenance checkup is what we do in the springtime and what we recommend to do in the springtime,” Johnson said.

Car Parts Direct also sells parts from their salvage yard. Car Parts Direct sells a lot of body parts that could range from mirrors, a headlight that was cracked or a fender that might have a dent in it.

“Depending on the winter if it’s really icy and really slick people get in little fender benders,” Johnson said. “They don’t want to work on it till warmer weather so when it warms up they will.”

Johnson stressed that the tires are the most important service that he advises people to check and treat during the transition because your car cannot go without good tires. If you don’t have an alignment and everything in place your tires will wear out.

“It’s a good idea to keep your tires in check and keep them in good condition,” Johnson said.

The importance of Spring Car Care to Johnson is maintenance. The routine oil changes, routine flushes, will help make sure your car is ready for the spring and summer instead of letting your car go and causing more damage down the road.

In his experience, Johnson has seen examples of people letting their car go for too long. The example he provided was that someone’s breaks might be squeaking or grinding that is not checked on at a shop and get it serviced that could be a regular brake job or brake pads. If not it could ruin your rotors and calibers so that could turn a $100-$200 job into a $500-$600 job.

“Just catch the problem before it goes too far,” Johnson said. “If not it’s going to turn into an expensive repair.”