Check the date codes match
Every pane has a manufacturer's stamp in one corner, and it includes a date code — usually a number with a row of dots before or after it indicating the year and the quarter.
On an unmolested car, all the glass is from around the same period, a little before the build date. One pane noticeably newer than the rest means that glass was replaced, which means something happened to it.
That is not automatically bad — a rock is a rock. But a replaced windshield and a replaced quarter glass on the same side is an accident, not a rock.
Look for a bad installation
Run a finger around the inside edge of the windshield trim. Uneven gaps, a moulding that sits proud, or visible urethane squeeze-out mean an amateur job.
Then look at the corners of the headliner and the A-pillar trim for water staining. That is a leak, and a leak means rust on the pinch weld underneath.
Check for pitting and repairs
Sit in the driver's seat and look through the glass toward a bright sky at a shallow angle. Pitting shows as haze. Old chip repairs show as small circular marks — count them, because a windshield with four repairs is at the end of its life.
And check the logo. A windshield branded differently from the other panes is a replacement.
If it is tinted
Look at the edges for lifting, and at the rear window for damaged defroster lines. Purple or bubbled film is cheap dyed film, and removing it properly costs real money — factor it in.
Need this done rather than explained? There is no shop to drive to. We come to wherever your car already is — your driveway, your workplace car park, an apartment lot, or the side of the road it stopped on — anywhere in greater Sacramento, with no call-out fee and no mileage charge. Give us the year, make and model and you will have a firm price before the call ends.