Accidents happen all the time, and especially, when you are driving around in unpredictable weather or at night, and cannot see or even because of other drivers who may be reckless or don’t see you approaching them. As a result, you could either get a wrecked hood or even a cracked windshield.
Cracked windshield not only happens during a road accident. Anything from a stone to debris, or even someone playing ball near your car can cause this.
There are three types of cracks that you should be aware of:
- Edge Crack
- Floater
- Stress
You can then be at risk of getting the glass shattered, or one of the different types of other hindrances such as bullseye, combination, stars or chip damages. There are also several different types of glass used on car windshields:
- Laminated or PVB glass (polyvinyl butyral) – Made with two pieces of glass stuck together with the PVB in the middle. These are sealed airtight using a series of pressure rollers and then heat compressed, which bonds the PVB tightly to the surface ensuring it is resistant to any damage or penetration. Suffice to say this is a tough cookie!
- Tempered glass – Similar to the laminated option, this too is quite strong but differs in functionality as well as form. As with the laminated glass being able to withstand the pressure of deploying an airbag, this one is not only 5 to 10 times weaker but also the edges are more sensitive to damage. It is a weak glass in comparison to its predecessor. Although, both are of a high standard and acceptable for use on any vehicle to protect the driver and front passengers.
Further information about each one can be found here
Sometimes it may be a case of fixing a small crack or replacing the entire thing completely. Whatever you choose, you should the difference between the two, as you may be able to salvage some extra costs.
A cracked or broken windshield can happen at any time, and trying to repair yourself would even be impossible especially when you don’t know anything about it. Taking your vehicle to a professional service that does this will ensure it is done properly and with the right tools, as messing around with something as careful as this may be a dangerous thing to do if not done well. The windshield could come off at anytime while you are driving or injure someone inside or outside the car.
When finding the best windscreen repair services, there are a few places to check, one of the obvious ones being an online search. The other is finding a recommendation from a friend, colleague, neighbor or family member.
One thing to note is if you have an insurance policy, it may not cover a replacement, however, it could cover mending of small cracks. If you are lucky enough you can purchase one of those windscreen repair kits from a car or hardware store and do it yourself. But if it’s a bigger issue, taking it to the repair shop is highly recommended. This needs to be done as soon as possible to avoid it from getting worse.
Important Things to Consider
Never leave a chip, crack or any form of damage to the vehicle for the last minute to get repaired. The reason why a car has a windscreen is to protect you from outside obstacles, as well as keep you safe inside the car incase you have a fender bender. This part of the car takes up at least 30% of the damage when you hit anything and retains its structural integrity.
A small chip, over time, could turn into a crack, and the crack overtime could turn into the entire thing falling out and breaking into a million little pieces. Another vital thing to note is that this area of the car provides support for when an airbag deploys.
Something else that you need to keep in mind is that if your vehicle is due for an MOT (Ministry of Transport) check here, it may hinder the results if anything is cracked, damaged or has not been fully repaired. An MOT is an important part of owning a vehicle and retaining your license. Once you lose it you will only have a second chance in perhaps one year if you are lucky.
Testing the roadworthiness of the vehicle is what the MOT is for, and no government department will allow you to use your vehicle if it is not road worthy in any way. Avoiding having this happen to you and get your repairs or replacements done on time and in full to save you a lot of hassles, re-tests and time or money.
How the Repair Services Assess Damage on a Vehicle Windshield
When the repair store is assessing the damage they usually check the severity, size and location of the damage. There are different zones on a window that will determine if it needs a repair or replacement. If it is a chip that’s up to 10mm in length it can be easily repaired, however, anything from this upwards may need a replacement. It would depend on whether the damage is directly in or outside of your vision of sight.
If you can get away with a repair, you need to make sure you take your vehicle to a service shop that’s trustworthy and reliable. Not many will do the best job, or at least one that’s of a high standard. You can choose many, but only a few will do the job to its fullest. One of the recommended ones includes the Abbotsford cracked windshield repair services, which has windshield glass repair and replacement services.
Once you take the car to the shop, they will make the initial assessment and if you need to leave the car at the workshop, the company will usually provide you with a courtesy car to use in the meantime while they fix yours, and once the work on it has been completed, they will let you know. Its as simple as that.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
