Questions about windshield replacement, answered

Yes. We are an ICBC Glass Repair Program facility, so you do not call ICBC first. You call us, we confirm your coverage and open the claim, you pay your deductible at the appointment, and we bill ICBC for the rest. If you already have a claim number, give it to us and we use it.

No. ICBC's own glass claims page tells drivers they can go directly to an approved Glass Repair Program facility. We open the claim when you book and the claim number is created then.

If you are claiming through ICBC, you pay the deductible on your policy and nothing else. If you are paying yourself, you get a firm written price before we book and it does not change on the day. When the two numbers are close we show you both, so you can decide whether the claim is worth opening.

No. Glass is covered under Comprehensive, which is optional coverage. With Basic only, or Basic plus Collision, you pay for the work yourself and we quote a cash price.

You pay the deductible amount shown on your policy. We do not add anything on top of it, and ICBC pays the rest of the invoice directly to us.

ICBC's Comprehensive coverage page states that submitting a Comprehensive claim will not affect your premium. If you have made several Comprehensive claims in the last few years, ask your broker about ICBC's escalating deductible before you decide. Chip repairs do not count towards it.

Often, yes, and under Comprehensive a repair has no deductible at all. ICBC's guideline is damage smaller than a loonie, not a long crack, and a repair that would not leave a mark larger than a quarter of an inch in the driver's line of vision. We look at the chip before we book a replacement and tell you which one you need.

Most windshields take 60 to 90 minutes at your address. Larger vehicles and vehicles with a lot of trim can take up to two hours. The adhesive then needs about an hour before the vehicle is safe to drive, and we tell you the exact time for the product we used before we leave.

If your vehicle has a forward-facing camera mounted at the windshield, yes. The camera is aimed through the glass, and a new windshield changes what it sees by a fraction of a degree, which is enough to affect lane keeping and emergency braking. Recalibration is included in your quote when your vehicle needs it, and on an ICBC claim it is part of the claim.

OEM glass is made for the automaker and carries its logo. OEE glass is made to the same specification, often by the same factories, without the logo. Both are laminated safety glass and both meet the standard. We tell you which one we are installing before we order it, and if you want OEM glass and the claim does not cover the difference, you pay only the difference.

Every installation carries our workmanship warranty against leaks, wind noise and moulding fit for as long as you own the vehicle. ICBC claims also carry the limited glass replacement warranty that ICBC lists for program facilities.

Leave the tape on for 24 hours. It holds the mouldings in place while the adhesive cures. Skip the car wash for two days, and close the doors gently on the first day so the air pressure does not push on the fresh seal.

Glass shrinks in the cold and expands with heat. A chip is a weak point, and blasting the defroster onto a frozen windshield puts hot glass next to cold glass right across it. Warm the cabin gradually, and get the chip repaired before the cold weather arrives, because a repaired chip never becomes a replacement.

No. Every job is mobile. Your driveway, your workplace lot or your parkade is the bay, anywhere in Metro Vancouver, and you get on with your day while we work.

Rain complicates it but rarely cancels it. The bond needs a dry surface, so we work under a carport, in a parkade or under the canopy we carry. In heavy rain with no cover we reschedule rather than risk the seal.

In most parkades, yes, as long as there is enough height for the van and room to open the doors. Some stratas want notice, so tell us if yours does. On the street we need a legal parking spot beside the vehicle and a safe side to work from.

Most windshields are in stock or a day away, so we can usually book within one to three days. If a crack is spreading, say so when you book and we move it up.

Door glass, quarter glass, vent glass and rear glass, on any make. Side and rear glass cannot be repaired, only replaced, and if a window was smashed we vacuum the glass out of the door and the seat rails as part of the job.

Yes. We come to the lot, work through the vehicles where they are parked, and send one invoice with a line per vehicle.