Everyone has a different relationship with their vehicle. Some people love their car or truck like it’s a member of the family and fix or repair any little dent or scuff immediately after it happens. These fine folks might visit the car wash several times a week and have a great relationship with the people at their auto body shop.
Others feel less attached to their car, and when new dents or scratches appear, the vehicle owner shrugs their shoulders and gets on with their day. They are going to call their auto body shop for a major problem, but not to repair a hardly noticeable dent in the door.
But what about a stone chip in the windshield? Is this a problem that needs fixing?
No matter what kind of car owner you are, fixing a stone chip soon after it appears is a good idea.
Small chips and dents in the windshield might not seem like a big deal at all, especially if it is out of the driver’s line of vision. But stone chips are small issues that can turn into big problems the longer they are left unchecked.
Here’s why:
When a stone smacks the windshield, usually kicked off the tires of the vehicle ahead, the impact leaves a small crater in the outer layer of the windshield. Windshields are made up of several layers, and depending how deep the chip is will determine that type of damage and repair.
If a stone chip is left unfixed, moisture, air and dirt can get between the layers that make up the windshield. The longer you leave the chip, the more it weakens the windshield, leaving it vulnerable to expanding and possibly shattering altogether, especially if there are drastic changes in air temperature or barometric (atmospheric) pressure.
If the chip is deep enough, there is a good chance it will grow and spread. What was once a small chip is now a web crossing your line of vision and compromising the integrity of the entire windshield.
The windshield of the car is integral in the overall structural integrity of the vehicle. Therefore, if a stone chip becomes a larger crack, the car’s structure is less likely to protect the passengers within, especially if the car is in a collision or car accident.
A shattered windshield obviously renders a car undrivable and is a huge liability, putting everyone on the road and inside the vehicle at risk.
The good news is that depending on your insurance package, you may not have to pay through the roof for this kind of repair because your insurance company prefers to pay for stone chip repair over more expensive options like a totally shattered windshield.
When you bring your car into the auto body shop for a stone chip, you might find that there are several options for fixing stone chips, depending on the severity of the damage. But the longer you put it off the worse it will get.
If your windshield has a stone chip in it, we hope this gets you thinking. It is a good idea to take your vehicle to an affordable auto body shop in Vancouver to at least have an assessment done. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!