A broken windshield needs immediate fixing as soon as it has occurred—not only is it illegal to drive around with a broken windshield, but whether it is severely cracked or out-right broken, it is extremely dangerous to drive with a compromised windshield.
If you are at a loss of what to do and are not familiar with how to choose the best windshield replacement provider, then here are a few tips to help you with your search. It is easy enough to look up the locations of your local or nearest windshield replacement company, but to choose the best, consider the following questions:
1. Ask what insurances they accept.If you have a comprehensive insurance with/without deductible, all or most of your costs to repair a chip or replace your windshield may be covered.
2. Ask about the quality of the windshields used by their company. You wouldn’t want to replace your windshield with a cheap or inferior replacement—especially if your insurance is taking care of all or most of the costs. Quality is important to ensure that your replacement windshield will fit correctly, last a long time, and will not encounter problems during the replacement due to cheap materials.
3. Ask if they are certified by AGRSS.AGRSS (Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standard) is an important accreditation that any windshield replacement provider should have. It is accredited by the American National Institute and it is crucial that they have this.Some companies have a guaranteed one-hour Safe Drive Away Time, while some have varying adhesives that depending on the weather, may take hours or days to strengthen enough to drive away after the replacement.
4. Ask how long it would take them to get to you and take care of the repair or replacement. Most of these questions can be found on any good windshield replacement provider’s website, which can be found using your smartphone. If you find yourself not wanting or able to access the internet, choose a company that can answer these questions and any other concerns you have, easily and upfront. These are common questions that they should know.
Since your windshield is likely to be damaged when you are not in the safety of your driveway or on a convenient day, it is important that the windshield replacement company has a swift and reliable response, and can tell you upfront how long they expect the repair to take. Most replacements can be finished in one to two hours, depending on the car and curing time of the adhesive used; while most repairs to chips can be done in less than a half hour.
Asking these questions will help you greatly in the long run, and if you are stuck in a mall parking lot, you will want a quick emergency response and a quick repair/replacement. You will definitely want to try and get a windshield replacement company that has a quick adhesive curing time, so that you can get out of there and get home or other destination as soon as possible.