Guides & advice
517 guides written by people who fit glass for a living — including a page for every make and model we work on. No filler, and no pretending a repair will work when it will not.
All guides, newest first
Money
The truck that chipped your windshield: what you can actually do
California law on covered loads, why claims against the truck almost never work, and the following distance that genuinely prevents it.
Vehicle Guides
Mazda MX-5 Miata windshield replacement: what it costs and why
What makes a Mazda MX-5 Miata windshield the part it is — the sensors, the coatings, the calibration, and the honest reasons two quotes can differ by hundreds of dollars.
Vehicle Guides
Rock chip on a Mazda CX-9: repair it or replace the glass?
Four tests you can run in the driveway on a Mazda CX-9 — size, location, depth and age — and why the answer leans differently on this vehicle than on the next one.
Vehicle Guides
Tinting a Mazda CX-9 in Sacramento: film, law and heat
Which film a Mazda CX-9 actually needs in a valley summer, what California law allows on the front windows, and what the job costs on this vehicle.
Vehicle Guides
Rock chip on a Mazda CX-90: repair it or replace the glass?
Four tests you can run in the driveway on a Mazda CX-90 — size, location, depth and age — and why the answer leans differently on this vehicle than on the next one.
Vehicle Guides
Tinting a Mazda CX-90 in Sacramento: film, law and heat
Which film a Mazda CX-90 actually needs in a valley summer, what California law allows on the front windows, and what the job costs on this vehicle.
Vehicle Guides
Mazda CX-90 windshield replacement: what it costs and why
What makes a Mazda CX-90 windshield the part it is — the sensors, the coatings, the calibration, and the honest reasons two quotes can differ by hundreds of dollars.
Vehicle Guides
Mazda CX-5 back glass and side windows: what a break actually involves
Why tempered glass fails all at once, where it ends up inside a Mazda CX-5, and what a proper replacement includes that a cheap one does not.
Vehicle Guides
Mazda CX-9 back glass and side windows: what a break actually involves
Why tempered glass fails all at once, where it ends up inside a Mazda CX-9, and what a proper replacement includes that a cheap one does not.
Vehicle Guides
Mazda Mazda3 back glass and side windows: what a break actually involves
Why tempered glass fails all at once, where it ends up inside a Mazda Mazda3, and what a proper replacement includes that a cheap one does not.
Vehicle Guides
Mazda CX-5 windshield replacement: what it costs and why
What makes a Mazda CX-5 windshield the part it is — the sensors, the coatings, the calibration, and the honest reasons two quotes can differ by hundreds of dollars.
Vehicle Guides
Mazda CX-9 windshield replacement: what it costs and why
What makes a Mazda CX-9 windshield the part it is — the sensors, the coatings, the calibration, and the honest reasons two quotes can differ by hundreds of dollars.
Vehicle Guides
Rock chip on a Mazda CX-5: repair it or replace the glass?
Four tests you can run in the driveway on a Mazda CX-5 — size, location, depth and age — and why the answer leans differently on this vehicle than on the next one.
Vehicle Guides
Tinting a Mazda CX-5 in Sacramento: film, law and heat
Which film a Mazda CX-5 actually needs in a valley summer, what California law allows on the front windows, and what the job costs on this vehicle.
Vehicle Guides
Mazda Mazda3 windshield replacement: what it costs and why
What makes a Mazda Mazda3 windshield the part it is — the sensors, the coatings, the calibration, and the honest reasons two quotes can differ by hundreds of dollars.
Vehicle Guides
Tinting a Mazda Mazda3 in Sacramento: film, law and heat
Which film a Mazda Mazda3 actually needs in a valley summer, what California law allows on the front windows, and what the job costs on this vehicle.
Vehicle Guides
Rock chip on a Mazda Mazda3: repair it or replace the glass?
Four tests you can run in the driveway on a Mazda Mazda3 — size, location, depth and age — and why the answer leans differently on this vehicle than on the next one.
Vehicle Guides
Rock chip on a Subaru WRX: repair it or replace the glass?
Four tests you can run in the driveway on a Subaru WRX — size, location, depth and age — and why the answer leans differently on this vehicle than on the next one.
Vehicle Guides
Tinting a Subaru WRX in Sacramento: film, law and heat
Which film a Subaru WRX actually needs in a valley summer, what California law allows on the front windows, and what the job costs on this vehicle.
Emergencies
If your windshield shatters while you are driving
Rare, alarming, and survivable. What to do in the first ten seconds, and why laminated glass means you are not in as much trouble as it looks.
Vehicle Guides
Subaru Impreza back glass and side windows: what a break actually involves
Why tempered glass fails all at once, where it ends up inside a Subaru Impreza, and what a proper replacement includes that a cheap one does not.
Vehicle Guides
Subaru WRX back glass and side windows: what a break actually involves
Why tempered glass fails all at once, where it ends up inside a Subaru WRX, and what a proper replacement includes that a cheap one does not.
Vehicle Guides
Subaru Impreza windshield replacement: what it costs and why
What makes a Subaru Impreza windshield the part it is — the sensors, the coatings, the calibration, and the honest reasons two quotes can differ by hundreds of dollars.
Care & Maintenance
Buying a used car: a five-minute glass inspection
The glass tells you whether the car has been in an accident, badly repaired, or driven hard — and almost nobody checks it.