Windshield Replacement in Matthews, NC and Mint Hill

Auto Glass Company Charlotte is a website of Impex Auto Glass, a North Carolina auto glass company based at 5641 David Cox Rd, Charlotte. In Matthews the service is mobile, and the technician brings the glass to the car.

Matthews, Mint Hill and Stallings

Matthews sits in south-eastern Mecklenburg County. Charlotte borders it to the north-west and south-west, Mint Hill to the north-east and Stallings, across the Union County line, to the south-east. NC 51 crosses the north of the town, running north-east into Mint Hill and west toward Pineville. Mint Hill lies mostly in Mecklenburg County with a small part in Union County; NC 51 runs through its center, NC 24 and NC 27 share a road along its northern edge, and I-485 passes along its east side with five exits.

For a windshield, that geography means two things. Most drivers here spend time on I-485 and US 74, where loaded trucks and road debris throw up stones at speed. And most cars spend the day parked somewhere a van can reach: a driveway off a quiet street, a business park, a school or church lot. That suits mobile work. Tell Impex where the car will be and whether there is a garage or covered space, and the visit is arranged around it.

Can the windshield be repaired instead?

Check before you book a replacement. Impex says a repair may be possible when the damage is small, shallow and away from the edges of the glass. ROLAGS, the windshield repair standard, treats stone breaks up to two inches across and single line cracks up to 14 inches as repairable, though many shops use a tighter rule of thumb of about six inches, the length of a dollar bill. A crack that reaches the edge, damage right in front of the driver or a break where the forward camera looks through usually means a new windshield. Send a photo with the quote form and Impex can tell you which you are likely to need.

The windshield replacement, step by step

1. The quote. You give the vehicle, the damage and ideally the VIN. Impex uses VIN-based verification so the windshield ordered is the one made for your car, with the right bracket, sensors and tint band.
2. The visit. The technician arrives with the glass, protects the paint and interior around the windshield, and removes the wipers, cowl and trim.
3. Out with the old. The old windshield is cut free of the urethane that bonds it to the frame, and the frame is cleaned and prepared for the new bond.
4. In with the new. Fresh urethane is laid around the frame and the new windshield is set in place, then the trim, cowl, wipers and any mirror or sensor mounts go back on.
5. Calibration, when needed. On a car with a forward camera, the camera is calibrated after the glass, on site.
6. The wait. The technician tells you when the car can be driven. Impex says most cars are back on the road within two hours.

Impex puts the work itself at about one hour, plus a short curing period. The Auto Glass Safety Council explains that minimum drive-away time depends on the adhesive used and on the weather at the time, which is why there is no single number for every car on every day. The AGSC also calls the windshield part of the vehicle’s passenger restraint system, which must be installed properly for airbags to deploy safely. That is the reason not to rush the wait.

Booking around the working day

Most Matthews drivers cannot spare a car at nine in the morning on a weekday, so plan the visit around where the car sits still longest. For a commuter that is often the office lot, with the car parked from arrival to the drive home; for a family with two cars it may be the driveway on the day the second car is free. Allow for the work, the cure and any calibration, and make sure the technician can reach the front of the car with the doors open. A car boxed in at the end of a tight row is harder to work on than one in a corner space.

Cameras behind the glass

If your car has lane keeping, automatic braking or adaptive cruise control, look behind the mirror. A camera there reads the road through the windshield, and I-CAR lists removing the windshield as an event that may require the camera to be aimed again. Impex performs ADAS calibration on site when your vehicle requires it, and says most calibrations take between 30 minutes and 2 hours. The details, including static and dynamic methods, are on the page about ADAS calibration in Charlotte. If the front of the car has also had bumper or grille work, read about ADAS radar calibration too.

What a windshield costs in Matthews

The price turns on the car and the glass, not the town. A windshield with a camera bracket, a rain sensor, an acoustic layer or a heated wiper area costs more than a plain one, and calibration adds to the job when the car needs it. Impex’s technicians can explain the choice between original equipment and high-quality aftermarket glass for your car. Whatever the choice, Impex says its quotes are fully inclusive, with no hidden fees, upsells, delivery charges, fuel fees or disposal fees.

Paying through insurance

In North Carolina a broken windshield normally goes under comprehensive coverage, paid less your deductible unless your policy includes full glass coverage; the state has no zero-deductible glass law. A comprehensive glass claim is not an at-fault accident, so it adds no Safe Driver Incentive Plan points, though insurers may look at how often you claim. Under G.S. 58-3-180 you choose who replaces the glass and your insurer pays the same amount either way. Impex works with all major insurance providers and can deal with the claim for you.

After the new windshield is in

• Avoid washing the car, and especially automatic car washes, for 24 hours, as Impex advises.
• Do not slam the doors for the first 24 hours.
• Follow anything else the technician tells you about your vehicle before you leave.
• Watch the driver assistance features on the first few drives and call if a warning light appears.

A windshield is about more than the view

North Carolina’s annual safety inspection, under G.S. 20-183.3, checks the windshield wipers rather than the glass, and no NC statute sets a crack size. That does not make a cracked windshield harmless. Safety glass is required in every window (G.S. 20-135), wipers must clear the glass in front of the driver (G.S. 20-127(a)), and a crack in your line of sight on US 74 at night, with headlights flaring across it, is a real hazard. If your windshield has tint along the top, the rules are in G.S. 20-127: tint on a windshield may come down no more than five inches from the top or to the AS1 line, whichever is longer.

Nearby

Impex also covers Union County to the south-east; see windshield replacement in Monroe, NC for Monroe, Indian Trail and the towns along the Monroe Expressway. Businesses in Matthews running vans or pickups can read about fleet auto glass in Charlotte.

Questions drivers ask