Spring is here, which means the snow is melting, the potholes are potholing, and your car has just survived another New England winter. Whether it shows it or not.
Here’s the thing: winter damage doesn’t always announce itself. It builds up quietly — in your brakes, your suspension, your battery, your fluids — and then shows up in April or May when you’d rather be thinking about anything else. After nearly 40 years at McCracken, I’ve seen the same patterns every spring. Here’s what I actually look at when a car comes in after a hard Boston winter.
Your Brakes
Road salt is brutal on brake components. It accelerates rust on rotors, eats away at brake lines, and works its way into calipers over months of exposure. A rotor that looked fine in October can develop uneven wear or surface rust by March that you’ll feel as a vibration or a pull when you stop.
If your brakes feel different than they did in the fall — softer, noisier, or pulling to one side — don’t wait on it. This is the one thing I always tell people not to put off.
[Jason — anything specific you’re seeing this spring? A bad batch of potholes causing more caliper damage than usual? Add it here.]
Your Suspension & Alignment
This is the one most people don’t think about, but they should. Every pothole your car hits is a small impact to your suspension — and Massachusetts roads in March are basically an obstacle course. Over a winter, that adds up.
Signs your suspension took a beating: pulling to one side, a steering wheel that’s off-center, a ride that feels rougher than it used to, or uneven tire wear. An alignment check in spring is one of the best investments you can make — it prevents tire wear that costs you much more down the road.
[Jason — what’s the most common suspension issue you see come spring? Struts? Control arms? Anything particular to the roads around West Roxbury?]
Your Battery
Cold weather is hard on batteries. A battery that was marginal going into winter may have just barely made it through — and now that you’re relying on it less to start a cold engine, you might not notice it’s failing until it leaves you stranded on a warm Tuesday in June.
If your battery is more than three years old, spring is a good time to have it tested. It’s a five-minute check and it tells you exactly where you stand.
Your Tires
Two things to look at here. First, if you’re still on winter tires, get them off — running winter tires in warm weather wears them down faster and actually reduces your handling in dry conditions. Second, after a winter of potholes and temperature swings, check your tires carefully for sidewall damage, uneven wear, or low pressure. Tire pressure drops roughly one PSI for every 10-degree drop in temperature — which means your tires were underinflated all winter and you may not have noticed.
Your Fluids
Brake fluid, coolant, and transmission fluid all degrade faster under extreme temperature swings. Spring is a natural time to check levels and condition — especially coolant, which needs to maintain the right pH to protect your engine. Old coolant can actually become acidic and start corroding from the inside out.
[Jason — any fluid issues you see chronically in spring? Anything worth flagging for West Roxbury drivers specifically?]
The Bottom Line
You don’t need to fix all of this at once. What I tell every customer is the same thing I’ve been saying for 40 years: let’s look at what’s critical, what can wait a few months, and what you don’t need to worry about at all. Then you decide.
If you want a straight spring checkover — no pressure, no overselling — bring it in. We’ll tell you exactly where things stand.
[Book a Spring Checkover at McCracken →]
McCracken Automotive has three locations in West Roxbury, MA. McCracken Auto Service (107 Spring St.), McCracken Express Tech (145 Spring St.), and McCracken Brake & Tire (510 VFW Pkwy.). Call (617) 325-2200 or book online.