Memorial Day is just three weeks away, and with it, the unofficial start of summer. Ahead of summer road trips, vehicle maintenance is important, especially as the threat of a New Jersey Transit rail engineer strike looms.

Tim Warvel owns Timmy’s Auto Repair in Roselle. His team is always busy, especially when the seasons change.

He says that a springtime pothole can do plenty of damage.

“It's an ongoing thing here, it's ridiculous,” Warvel said. “You'll see cars with wheels hanging off of them. That's what happens when a ball joint snaps, the wheel gets caved in, and then a car is sitting on the side of the road.”

And when that happens, the team at AAA gets the call.

“Last year, over the course of the summer, AAA came to the rescue of over 111,000 New Jersey motorists just in June, July and August,” said AAA spokesperson Tracy Noble. “We want people to be prepared, do the maintenance now and get ahead of the game.”

Noble says there are three key elements you need to check before your summer vacation - battery, air conditioning and tires. But it’s a trip to the garage that could cost you.

“Parts I was paying $60, now they’re $120,” Warvel said. “It’s been doubled. If they say the price is too high, I usually give them more of a break just to get them back on the road safe.”

It’s another costly toll of a summer commute, but it’s one drivers won’t want to risk skipping.