Here are some tips:

DO: Pour cold water to gradually melt the ice on a “sealed,” frozen door.

DON’T: Pour hot water on the vehicle's windshield and windows to melt the ice. The extreme temperature change can cause the glass to break.

DO: Start the vehicle and use the defroster setting to warm the glass. Wait at least five minutes for the glass to warm up.

DON’T: Try to “unseal” the door by using a hair dryer, cigarette lighter, ice pick, screwdriver, propane torch or portable heater.

DO: Use a plastic ice scraper and a soft plastic bristle brush or broom to clear the ice once it starts melting. A squeegee also helps.

DON’T: Scrape the ice off the windshield with a metal ice scraper, key, spatula, utility knife or crowbar. The metal scratches and cuts grooves in the glass.

DO: Make sure no ice or snow is obstructing the vehicle’s tailpipe. If it is covered, remove the ice or snow to prevent the possibility of carbon monoxide poisoning.

DON’T: Pour a mixture of vinegar and water on the windshield. Vinegar eats pits into the windshield glass.

From http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/local/x1243755782/Tips-The-best-ways-to-de-ice-a-windshield

When should you get a rock chip repaired? As soon as possible!

Understand, rock chips are quirky little things. You can have one on your windshield for months or years, and nothing happens. It just sits there.

Then, all of a sudden, BOOM! It has spread into a crack. Now you must get your windshield replaced.

Some of the things that cause a rock chip to spread are:
- Going over a bump
- Running the heat
- Running the air conditioning
- Washing your car

Also, there are a few restrictions on repairing rock chips:

1. When a crack is more than an inch (the size of a quarter), then the repair has a higher likelihood of failing; so high, in fact, that we recommend you replace the windshield.

2. If there are more than 3 rock chips on a windshield, we recommend (as do the insurance companies) you replace the windshield.

3. If a rock chip is in the driver’s line of vision, we cannot repair it due to safety reasons.  It works like this:  When a rock chip is repaired, we have to drill the windshield. This removes a tiny amount of glass. This can cause a flare when the sun or other bright light hits it. Thus, if a rock chip is directly in the driver’s line of vision, it cannot be repaired.

I get a lot of people who ask me, “Can you waive my insurance deductible?"  Well, that depends.

Why can’t I say I will always waive a deductible, they way I used to be able to do?  Well, the insurance companies figured out they were overpaying for auto glass, and started increasing discount rates, reducing the amount they pay for labor, and basically squeezing every penny so hard Abe Lincoln started screaming.  There is nothing I can do about the rates the insurance companies are paying these days; when I take an insurance job I have to agree to their rates.

This is how an insurance job is billed:

First, I find the correct part number and get my costs from my suppliers.

Second, I look up the part number to see what the list price is, how many hours of labor are to be charged, as well as any adhesive kits.  Adhesive kits are used to glue the windshield, back glass, and some other glasses to the car body.

Third, I look at the discount rates, labor rates, and adhesive kit rates for your insurance company.

Fourth, I look at your deductible.

I have a calculator that allows me to plug all this in and see if it makes financial sense for me to waive or reduce your insurance deductible.

What is a “discount rate”?  The discount rate is the percentage the insurance company takes off the list price.  Say a list price is $600.00, and the discount rate is 90%.  The insurance company will pay me $60 for that piece of glass, plus labor, plus any adhesive kits, plus sales tax.

The insurance company will calculate the amount they are willing to pay, subtract the deductible, and send me a check for the balance.  This takes 1-2 months.

What I do is look at my calculator, see what the balance would be, then I need to subtract the cost the glass plus something for overhead.  If I can help you with your deductible, I will.

So, now you see why I say “that depends”.  There is no answer that applies to everyone.  Just call me at 916-488-2626 and I will be able to give you a personalized answer within a few minutes.

Many people assume that a small piece of glass will cost less than a large piece of glass.

For a home window or a commercial window, this may be true, but not for auto glass.

Auto glass, properly regarded, is a car part.  This is why, when you call an auto glass shop, they start with the year, make, and model of the car, the number of doors, the body style, and THEN ask which piece of glass you need.  Sometimes, for complicated glasses, they need the VIN, too.

Since the glass is a car part, it probably does not interchange with another car.  Sometimes it does, but usually not.

Now you get into how common the glass is.  Windshields are the most commonly replaced glass on a car, so they are usually the lowest priced glass on a car.  The manufacturers can spread the cost of the machine to make the windshield across a larger number of parts.  Other glasses on cars, such as door glasses, back glasses, quarter glasses, and vent glasses, are not replaced as often, so the cost of the machine is spread across a smaller number of parts.  If a glass is for a common car, then the cost may be lower.  Glass for less common cars is more expensive since the price of the machine to make the part is spread across a fewer number of parts.  The supplier will have to charge a higher price as well, since the glass does not sell as frequently, and the supplier has to recover its operating expenses (storage, finance charges, etc).

Once the part has been ordered, you have to charge the labor appropriately, too.  Some glasses are simply more difficult to install than others.

So, which piece of glass do you break if you lock your keys in the car?  You don’t; call AAA or a lockout service; it will be cheaper!  But if you have to, break the passenger side front door glass; usually this is the lowest priced glass on the car, but it will still cost you double or triple the cost of a lockout service!

Why can’t I get just one panel of my slider replaced?

For those of you who don’t know, a slider is a back windshield in a pickup truck that has window panes that slide back and forth.  You can also find them on big rigs.

People like them as they allow you to pass things between the cab and the bed of the truck without stopping.

These come in two basic types, the “3-part” and the “4-part” slider.  The difference is the number of moving panes:  The 3-part has only one moving pane, and the 4-part has two moving panes.

So if it comes in 3-part and 4-part types, why can’t you replace just the one broken piece of the slider?  It would be cheaper, right?

Uh, no, it would not be cheaper; in fact, it would be more expensive.  Here’s why:

When a slider is manufactured, the glass portions are put in a jig and the frame (the part that holds it together, and provides the track for the sliding piece to move) is bent around it.  So to replace just the one piece, you would have to:

- Cut the frame

- Bend the frame open to allow you to get the broken piece out, and an unbroken piece to use as a template.

- Cut the glass

- Put the new glass in the frame and replace the piece you used as a template.

- Bend the frame back to where it was

- Reweld the frame.

All of that WITHOUT breaking the glass!

This would be a lot more work, and while the newly-cut piece of glass might be cheaper, all the labor involved would be a lot more expensive than a brand-new slider made by a reputable company.  Besides, the new slider will work (andl look) better than the old one.

1.  We have to give you a span of time; as we all know, things happen when driving.

2.  Please ensure there is cover from the rain or snow.  The rain or snow can interfere with the adhesion of the windshield or other glass.   Besides, no one likes the inside of their car to be wet!

3.  When we are replacing a door glass, we need an electrical outlet nearby, within 25-50 feet.  This makes it possible for us to vacuum out the glass from the car.

Now, there is one question I get frequently, “Can I get a used windshield?”.  Um, no.  Windshields are not designed to come out of cars without breaking, and only the most skilled technicians can take a windshield out without breaking it.  Even then, exercising the most care, more than half of windshields break coming out of a car.  Even if you are able to find a used windshield, you have a higher probability of having to replace that windshield quickly.  When you take a windshield out of a car, there may be nicks, cracks, chips, and clams on the edge of the windshield, and these are where cracks start.  All you need for a crack to spread is a temperature difference.  I have had customers tell me when they turned on the heat in the winter, or the air conditioner in the summer, or washed the car, and all of a sudden there is a crack in the windshield.  Now you need another windshield.  The used windshield may have saved you $20, but now you need a new windshield at an approximate price of $130-$150.  Was the used windshield worth it?  For these reasons, I tell people putting a used windshield in your car is the equivalent of putting used motor oil in your car.

Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of new and used auto glass:

NEW AUTO GLASS

Advantages

Quality.  No scratches, old decals, or other flaws.

May be a better fit in the car.

Disadvantages

May be more expensive.

May take longer to get in; sometimes it can take 3-5 days for a piece of new glass to come in, especially if it is coming from the dealer.

USED AUTO GLASS

Advantages

May be less expensive.  Notice I say MAY be less expensive; this is not always the case.  I have seen used glass be the same price, or more expensive, than new auto glass.

May have faster availability.

May be the only glass available for that car, depending on age, whether the manufacturer is still in business (when was the last time you saw a Daewoo dealership?), or any number of other reasons.

Disadvantages

May be a lower quality, such as scratches, old decals, or various other reasons.

May not be less expensive.