I think this is the time of year when the roads are the dirtiest and tend to have the most debris on them – at least in areas that have a cool winter climate. There’s often rocks and other litter on the road that can easily fly up and crack your windshield when you are driving behind another car or truck.
It’s happened to us. A few years ago we were driving on a highway and I guess the vehicle in front of us rolled over a good size stone in just such a way that it sent it flying at high speed right towards the drivers side of the windshield. Our windshield didn’t completely crack but it ended up with a puncture and some cracked glass in a circular pattern around the hole. Very much like what I think a gunshot might look like.
Of course you can’t drive around like that! The drivers side windshield was obstructed thanks to the damage so we had to get it repaired.
We took our car to a local auto glass repair shop. We strongly believe in supporting smaller businesses. Why? Well, for one the service always seems to be so much more personal, and often the smaller companies will go out of their way to help you out. The big companies don’t always care about the individual customer the way the smaller businesses do.
Some local autoglass companies, such as Seattle Windshield Repair will actually support your insurance policy so that you don’t end up spending more than you need to.
The Auto Glass guy is one of the local auto glass repair companies that you might want to go to if your windshield ever gets damaged like ours did. Their installers are NGA certified. Your safety is very important to them. Oh yes, they also handle all of the paperwork when you have to put in a claim with your insurance company. Try getting one of the big national companies to do that for you!
Hi Tricia, I have “springtipped” your post! We have a “Think Spring” meme going, if you want to have a look:
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Greetings from Germany, and thank you for your blog!
Heidrun
We added your article about windshield repair to our auto glass directory. You’ll find there is link to this blog.
It was such a good article and so much related to our directory.
Let us know if you have any comments!
Yeah, you are absolutely right, The big companies don’t always care about the individual customer the way the smaller businesses do.
Great article! I am an owner of a local Auto Glass Replacement company Glass Pros in Portland, Oregon. We are proud to be a family owned business and always strive for a friendly and personal customer service.
Most of the time the rock chip a size of a quarter is easily repairable and it takes 10-15 minutes. It’s a good idea to fix it as soon as it possible to prevent it from spreading. Often we get phone calls from customers telling us they had a tiny chip for couple weeks and all of a sudden it cracked. It can be caused by a bump on a road or a change in temperature.
Thanks for supporting local businesses.
Many of our clients have told us that they prefer dealing with smaller, local companies when it comes to windshield repair and replacement. I think local companies are more focused on customer service and people recognize that very quickly.
Just to put in my two cents for those of you that have problems with too much glass damage or replacement. At our glass shop we recently started carrying a product called ClearPlex(c) that is a thin film protectant that prevents most road damage from even happening.