ALT-1 Auto Glass Window Replacement Tips
It happens. It happens to all of us whether you like it or not. Whether you are prepared or not.
You're driving on a familiar road. The sun is out. The sky is blue. The road is dry. The traffic is minimal. "What could go wrong?" you ask yourself. Then it happens. Unexpected and sudden and definitely not subtle. In an ear piercing split second, and after you force your eyes open from their purely reactionary slamming due to the loudest sound the interior of your car has ever hosted, you see the faintest puff of smoke get waifed up along your windshield and out of view.
What is left, in the wake of one of the most shocking and deafening experiences a driver is subject to, is a semi-circular cone reaching clear through the glass of your windshield. (If you're lucky, it is not directly in your line of vision) Debris, usually a pebble half the size of an M&M or smaller, has been lifted off the roadway by a vehicle ahead of you, and slammed into your windshield. C-RAAAAAAAACK. (That's what you get for following a construction vehicle with a sign on the back of it that says "construction vehicle:do not follow")
Until recently you only had two choices.
First choice: Leave it alone. Unless your car is due for inspection and the divot is in the sweep radius of your windshield wipe, (in which case you will fail the inspection, and have to pay an additional charge for the privilege of going through it twice), just wait until it starts to snake a crack across the entire length of the glass and take a chance that the whole thing doesn't come crashing through on your lap.
Second choice: Have the windshield replaced. Sounds easy, right? Well to tell you the truth, it sounds harder than it really is. These guys (or gals) will usually come to your house, remove the seal, and climb into the cabin. With their backs nestled firmly against the seat, they will put both feet on the glass and push. Slowly, the glass is wrestled off. The new one is put into place after a little cleaning and sealed. C'est-ca.
Third choice: Have the hole filled. Yes, that's right. I said filled. The guy (or gal) will probably come to your house to do this too. There is this little do hicky that is fastened to either side of the glass covering the hole on both sides, provided that it hasn't cracked and started running yet. A few pumps, a little vacuum pressure builds up, and a clear filler is sucked through a small hose into the hole and in no time, the hole is filled.
Talk to your automobile insurer about "Full glass coverage". It's relatively cheap and usually worth any charge incurred for it. This will cover all windows, front, back, and sides. You might even get the sun/moon roof covered too.
Speak to the shop owner before they send someone to replace any glass and explain to them that you will not accept any glass other that the glass manufactured by the same company that produced the car! If it is a Honda, make sure you get a honda manufactured windshield, Toyota, Ford......you get the idea. The service man will usually give you some sob story about him having to have to eat the cost and make no money and blah blah blah. Do not accept their rhetoric. Insist on the original replacement. If they balk, go back to your insurance company and COMPLAIN. This will usually do the trick.Enjoy your new view. It is priceless to see clearly while driving. A new windshield is not laden with wiper burn, bug stains, tree sap. The glass cleans up nicely and the sun glare is minimal to nonexistent without all the microscopic debris and scratches.Last bit of advice: don't follow that construction vehicle.
