Potholes are back with a vengeance this year.

"It's kind of scary when you hear BOOM! And you're dragged over to the side of the road," says Kevin Yezbick.

"I've blown a tire out, hit the muffler in the back," John McKissic tells us.

And everyone's got their own method of bracing for the bumps.

"I close my eyes!" McKissic jokes. "Hands off the wheel, close my eyes, it's horrible."

"I straighten out my elbows, grit my teeth, dig my fingernails into the dashboard," Yezbick says.

Those are jokes, of course, but there are actual ways to soften the pothole punch.

So we went to an expert, mechanic Mike Chase at Holt Auto Service, for the real low-down on how to save our cars.

"The biggest thing to do is slow down," Chase says. "You'll feel it more, you'll go gradually though it-- but the vehicle won't take the blast at all."

That may seem common-sensical, but it's the most important.

But wait-- there's more.

"If you haven't had an allignment checked, have it checked. Have your suspension checked more often," he recommends. "If your tires are unfer-inflated, it will do more damage."

If you think taking on potholes at a normal speed is a good idea, because it feels smoother in your car, you've got another thing coming.

"People say 'Oh, I can drive over it easy the faster I go, the smoother it is,'" Chase says. "It may very well be [smooth] in the car, but you don't see the damage you're doing to the wheels and the car."

And that damage can be severe.

"We had one the other week that hit a pothole and did $3600 worth of damage," he says.

So go slow, and keep your change, your car and your sanity in tact this year.