Winter can be hard on your car, even your windshield. Proper care of your windshield can help prevent chipping, cracking or premature damage. Follow these tips to help your auto glass survive until spring.
Sudden temperature changes weaken auto glass, making it more prone to cracking and chipping. When you need to remove snow and ice, (more…)
Windshield chips and cracks can interfere with visibility and compromise the integrity of your windshield, so they need to be taken care of. But who has time?
If your windshield needs TLC, but your schedule just cannot handle one more commitment, call the mobile repair team at Astro Auto Glass!
Getting your windshield (more…)
Window tinting is a great way to customize your ride and increase the interior comfort of your car. But as sick as some window tinting can be—colors, patterns, etc.—not all of it is street-legal in New Mexico. Be in the know so you can avoid the penalties.
New Mexico laws clearly outline how dark your window tinting can be. (more…)
Window tinting can help keep your car cooler and make your drive more comfortable under the blazing New Mexico sun. In Albuquerque, there are dozens of places you can go for window tinting, but your best choice is Astro Auto Glass…and here are three reasons why:
The technicians at Astro Auto Glass have a lot of experience with window tinting. No matter what type of vehicle you, you can expect: (more…)
Windshield damage is something that unfortunately happens from time to time. While it’s a damage that may occur to your vehicle, you hope it’s something that never really happens. It can happen at a moment’s notice… and it can be an accident, or it can be something that is done intentionally. If you find yourself in this type of predicament you want to get it repaired if you possibly can, but if you can’t then you want to get in replaced. While you don’t want the damage to sit too long under any circumstances, you definitely want to make sure that you have your windshield repaired or replaced before (more…)
Discovering a broken windshield or car window is never enjoyable. You know you’re going to have to replace the glass as well as clean up the remnants. There’s always one or two pieces that stick around in the car that you discover months later, and it’s a hassle to take your car in for new glass. You might be suspecting a rock made contact—either accidently or deliberately—with the glass, but did you know there are other things that can break auto glass? (more…)
There’s a long list of reasons that people choose brand-name businesses, and it’s usually due to misconceptions about quality and value. But did you know that small businesses have a vested interest in maintaining the economy of the area? They depend on it just as much as you do; it’s in their best interest in ensuring that products and services aren’t so expensive that people can’t afford them. And there are many other reasons why choosing local businesses can work in your favor.
Brand-name stores have a national presence. They don’t have to worry about a few unhappy customers or a reputation that one particular store may gather if they hire rude employees. Closing a single store won’t affect a brand-name company.
But it will have profound effects on a family-owned business or a privately owned company. Customer satisfaction is one of the most important aspects of business for a privately owned establishment. Satisfied customers spread word-of-mouth advertising and become repeat customers.
Every business in a community pays taxes that help support public services. They also provide jobs for local residents and have a vested interest in keeping a neighborhood safe and crime-free. Choosing a small or privately owned business for your needs ensures that your money is going back to the community and not out of the country.
Many locally owned businesses end up recycling a large share of their revenue back into the local economy rather than spending it elsewhere on imported goods. With their interest in maintaining a strong local economy and community, many small or privately owned companies also support local causes, donating time, money and goods to schools, churches, other small businesses and more.
A severe crack has turned into a dozen and your windshield isn’t safe any longer. It’s time for a replacement to be both legal on the road and safe to drive. But what is replacing your windshield going to entail? Here are a few basic things to keep in mind.
Removing a windshield may seem like an extensive affair to people who don’t handle it every day, but there’s (more…)
It reduces the natural light that can make driving difficult during daylight hours, but does window tinting do anything other than make our eyes relax? It does! Not only does window tinting improve your privacy, allowing you to check your wallet or dial your phone without fear of disclosing private information, but it can even (more…)
It’s not always immediately apparent whether you have a crack or a scratch on your windshield. From the front, they can look very similar, and most of us don’t take the time to sit down and really examine our auto glass. But you want to know what you’re going to need to fix, don’t you? If you’re bringing your vehicle in, you want to be able to tell the shop exactly what you need done. It’s hard with engine troubles, but it should be easy with a windshield, right? (more…)
Auto glass is part of your car’s safety features. It keeps you protected from air currents, debris and also provides structural integrity to the vehicle itself. Getting it repaired is absolutely necessary, but are most auto glass shops able to handle an RV?
There’s a difference in height, the shape of the windows and the difficulty of working on something so large can make it hard for you to find someone to repair or replace damaged RV glass. It’s just as necessary as on a smaller car (more…)
Your vehicle’s windshield is one of its most important safety features. While it may look like any other glass, auto glass is designed to protect you in an accident.
Most types of glass, including the glass used in home windows, will shatter into sharp shards if broken. It doesn’t take much to break window glass, but auto glass needs to stand up to hazards like (more…)
Drivers on the road today do not even remember a time when cars were manufactured without windshields, so the history of one of the most important vehicle safety fetures is nearly forgotten. But the New Year provides an opportunity to look both forward and glance into the past, and so Astro Auto Glass tells the story of the windshield’s development.
The Early 1900s: Optional Plate Glass Windshield
The first cars were essentially motorized horse carriages, and like horse-drawn carts, did not offer any front protection from the elements or road debris. In fact, drivers wore goggles for protection. The idea of having a see-through protective layer installed on the vehicle itself did not appear until 1904, over a decade after the first car rolled off the assembly line.
The first windshields were nothing more than two sheets of window-pane glass. Many models had an upper pane could be folded down when it got too dirty to see through. While these first windshields offered some protection against wind and road debris, they were not (more…)
With the holiday season in full swing, there’s a lot of travel occurring. One of the hazards of this travel is damage to your car’s glass. Windshields and windows can both be cracked, chipped and broken. With the high importance of windshield safety alone, this is something that you need to be aware of. Stay alert for potential hazards and know what to do in case an accident does occur. (more…)
Glass cracks, chips and breaks. This can be a serious problem when it’s your car windshield that’s taking the damage. You can avoid driving on gravel roads and try to park in the shade during the summer to avoid heat cracks. But what other steps can you take to keep your windshield in one piece? Does a layer of dirt protect it or weaken it? (more…)
Cracked and chipped windshields are a simple fact of life as a car owner. Throughout the life of your car, you will probably end up needing windshield repair many times. If you have insurance, the cost of this can be reduced – or, in some cases, glass repair and replacement is totally covered.
Insurance coverage that protects your vehicle comes in two varieties: collision and comprehensive. Collision pays for accident-related damages; comprehensive covers things like natural disaster and vandalism. And many insurance companies offer two types of comprehensive insurance: standard and full glass.
In a standard comprehensive policy, you pay a deductible for every claim; the difference between your deductible and the cost of repair is paid for by insurance. With full glass coverage, your deductible is waived if only glass is damaged.
In other words: If you have full glass coverage on your auto insurance policy, glass repair is free.
Full glass coverage is usually more expensive than the standard, and you may not find it worthwhile. However, if you live on a gravel road, travel often or otherwise expose your windshield to damage frequently, it might be worth considering.
You can always contact your insurance company to discuss your options and see whether you might be able to save money in the long run by switching to full glass coverage!
A rock pings off of the windshield while you’re driving and what’s left behind is a small “star” of damage on the glass. These may not interfere with your visibility and they look innocuous. But when sudden temperature changes happen, those “stars” can turn into cracks that mean expensive repairs or even windshield replacement. The repair usually takes less than an hour and it can save you a lot of trouble down the road. (more…)
Over the summer, your windshield probably picked up a few cracks and dings, especially if you decided to go camping or on an interstate vacation. But now that summer is winding down and fall is around the corner, it’s a good idea to have your windshield taken care of right away – before that chipped windshield has the chance to get worse. (more…)