MISSION, Kan. — It's almost time for the busy holiday travel to start, and professionals in Kansas City want to make sure you're prepared.
More than 115 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home over the last 10 days of the year for the holidays, according to AAA.
Johnson County Automotive Repair in Mission, Kansas, is encouraging regular inspections to your car year-round, but well in advance of your holiday travel.
“With cold weather, one of the big things we look at with a car is maintenance items," Johnson County Automotive owner Alan Heriford said. "Cars (are) a lot better than they used to be, so if you maintain them properly, you don’t have to do a whole lot.”
He said even the simple checks can go a long way.
“We’re gonna check tires, make sure you got good tread on your tires, make sure they’re inflated the way they should be," he shared. "We’re gonna look at wiper blades, that’s something everybody forgets until it’s too late, so having a good set of wiper blades is great."
Heriford also said it's been interesting to watch Kansas City's response to severe winter weather change over the years. He remembered that in years past, business was slammed when it snowed.
“The snowstorm thing is different than it used to be because it really shuts things down. The city didn’t used to shut down like it does now for snow," he said.
And of course, whether you're traveling through or out of Kansas City, any knowledge you have about the roads you're driving on will help, too.
“Potholes, and the kinds of roads we’re driving on can have some serious effects on cars here in Kansas City, so we do inspections to front ends, shocks, springs, components that may have damage that you’re not 100% aware of," he said. “Any worn set of tires can easily be one $1000 to a couple thousand dollars just depending on the type of car you drive.”
