What degree of car damage do potholes really cause?

Ed Wright | Hometown Life

The undercarriage carnage Jesse Skardoupos views nearly every day would make most mechanics cringe.

But the shock of seeing mangled suspensions, disjointed alignments and roughed-up rims has subsided for the Belle Tire assistant manager, whose office sits just a rocky road from Canton Township's pothole central — better known as Canton Center Road.

"I'd say it's pretty much a daily occurrence," Skardoupos said, when asked how often he sees cars with pothole-related damage cruise slowly and unevenly into his shop. "Some of the potholes out there can not only cause damage to tires and rims, but also suspensions, tie rods and shocks.

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"They can also throw a vehicle's alignment off, time and time again. It's also pretty serious stuff."

And expensive, Skardoupos added.

"I'd say the average pothole-related repair is a couple hundred dollars, but we've had cars roll in here that need as much as $1,500 worth of repairs done, just from hitting a pothole," he said.

On Aug. 7, Canton Township voters will be asked to approved a roads improvement millage, which is for 1.45 mills over 20 years.

If approved, the tax hike will cost the average Canton taxpayer roughly $145 per year over the next 20 years.

While opponents of the millage request argue residents pay enough already for road repairs, Auto Lab service manager and Canton resident Nick Jones said he's leaning toward a yes vote.

"I just had to replace a tire due to a run-in with a pothole on Canton Center and I don't get them free," said Jones, whose place of employment sits on the stretch of pavement that killed his tire. "I paid over $100 to get it repaired, so if you do the math, it's a pretty easy call for me."

Jones said it's not always the depth of the pothole that determines the extent of tire damage.

"A lot of cars today have the low-profile tires that can't absorb the impact as well as, say, the tires on a 2010 Impala back in the day," he said. "The tires are thinner now, for the most part, and the rims are bigger.

"The low-profile tires cost two to three times what the 2010 Impala tires cost, too, so what used to be an $80 repair is now a $180 repair."

Skardoupos revealed he'll often see the same customers roll into his store, their anger amped higher than the previous visit.

"There was one guy who drove an Audi, he was in here three times in a month because his car had the low-profile tires and they just weren't holding up on the roads around here," Skardoupos said. "I think he ended up selling his Audi and buying a Jeep.

"We see a lot of pretty upset people come in here. Some of them say they're going to try and get reimbursed by the township for their (pothole-related) damages, but I don't know if that's possible."

Does Jones worry that if the roads improvement millage passes, his store will see a decline in business due to the smoother, tire-friendly streets?

"Well, now that's an ethical question I'm not sure I can answer," he said with a smile. "Honestly, even if the roads are better, I still think there are plenty of other things that go wrong on cars that can keep us busy."

Contact Ed Wright at eawright@hometownlife.com or 517-375-1113.