Why Auto Glass Repair Is Important

Every second, a vehicle driving down the roadway suffers damage to the windshield that requires auto glass repair. Whether it's from a rock, a stick, a bird hitting the windshield, etc. there are numerous causes that result in the same thing; a chipped or cracked windshield. The problem with damage to your auto glass is two-fold.

1. It Impairs Your Visibility - A crack on the driver's side of the vehicle, or a bulls eye chip in a broad splash, can reduce your vision far more than you realize. Essentially you're creating a blind spot directly in your field of vision. This can make you miss red lights, a pedestrian, the brake lights on another vehicle, debris falling into the road, etc. It also negates the glare reduction of windshields, making it harder to see when driving into sunlight or at night.

2. Safety is Reduced - A windshield is designed with two layers of glass separated by a layer of PVB that performs multiple purposes; it glues the layers together and bonds them, it reinforces the glass in the event of a break (forcing it crumble instead of shatter into large deadly shards) and it reduces UV exposure. When you let chips and cracks develop, you damage this internal layer, exposing it to the elements. This also reduces the integrity of the windshield overall.

Too many drivers believe that getting a chip repaired is an expensive ordeal but it's nowhere near as expensive as completely replacing your windshield. Here are the primary benefits of opting for auto glass repair over windshield replacement.

Convenient Repairs - A repair on your window is simple. This can be handled typically in under 60 minutes and your vehicle is immediately available to you. Compare this to replacement which can take several hours before it's finished and drivable with another 10-24 hours before it's cured completely at the seams.

Cost Effective - The cost of windshield and auto glass repair is surprisingly affordable. If you were to pay out of pocket you could expect somewhere in the range of $50 for a single chip repair. That's less than the cost of most insurance deductibles on windshield replacement. If you have full coverage, your insurance company may cover the chip or crack repair outright, without you spending a dime.

Environmentally Safe - This is a big kicker and like many things relating to the environment and to living a "greener" lifestyle, most people don't consider it. Because of the way windshields are manufactured, they cannot be recycled. That means every windshield that's damaged and replaced winds up in a landfill somewhere. The environmentally responsible thing to do is always have your damage assessed to see if auto glass repair is a possibility before opting for replacement.