CORTLAND, Ohio - Now that we have this nice little breather from winter weather, perhaps it's time to take a look at your car. This might be the perfect time to prevent something bad from happening in the future.

Our cars all look just about the same this time of year; a little ashy, covered in salt and whatever else we've been driving through on the road. Keeping all that stuff on your car isn't a good idea.

"The salt and road brine, it eats everything; metal, makes your plastic look dull and gross, your tires, your rims. You got to get all that out," said Bambi Betts, owner of Lucky 13 Kustomz and Auto Detailing in Cortland.

Betts says she's constantly seeing cars that go the entire winter without a wash.

"It hurts my heart. It really does. You walk past and you're like, 'Oh.' I just want to put my card on the window," said Betts.

So the key is taking advantage of these little windows whenever they pop up to get all this stuff off your car because if you don't there's a good chance you'll regret it.

Beyond just washing it all off, Betts said there's a lot you can do before winter starts or even now to help your car last a little longer. Under-coating is one option, but another is as simple as getting a fresh coat of wax.

"If you get a good coat of wax on it, it should last you three to six months, depending on how often you wash your car," said Betts.

Which apparently isn't often enough for a lot of us this time of year.

Lucky 13 in Cortland does hand washes for $15 in February and they also do a lot of motorcycle work this time of year, making sure your bikes will be ready to roll once winter finally gives up.