Twin Cities car repair shops slammed after winter storm

Our winter weather means we're seeing slicker roads and more crashes. It also means auto body shops are buzzing right now.

At Ed's Collision and Glass, there were nearly 50 vehicles with open repair orders on Tuesday. According to co-owner Jake Moser, many of the vehicles have four-wheel drive and most weren't even involved in big wrecks.

"Doesn't matter if you have four-wheel drive. If you hit the ice, you're sliding," Moser said. "Cars are today designed with crash zones in frame rails and parts that are meant to crumble and be replaced because it's protecting the passengers inside the car."

Moser added that in many instances, the most expensive damage happens in the vehicle's ADAS technology — Advanced Driving Assistance System.

"There's a driver outside there that they expect this car to stop or beep when it's backing up or expect it to drive itself at some points," Moser explained. "We have to make sure everything is back to specs and everything works properly for these cars to function like they're supposed to."

One bit of advice for drivers: if your car is still drivable and the damage is relatively minor, most body shops don't charge you for an estimate.