If you've lived here for a summer or two, you've probably been through one of these. The sky turns a weird green, it sounds like somebody's dumping gravel on the roof for two minutes, and then it's over. Then you go outside.
Here's what to do about the glass once the storm passes.
1. Take pictures before you do anything else
Get photos of every window, plus the rest of the car, before you move it or clean it off. A wide shot and some close-ups. Your insurance company is going to want them, and it's a lot easier to take them now than to try to remember later which ding came from which storm.
2. Figure out what you've got
Hail damage on a windshield usually looks like a bunch of small chips or little bullseyes scattered around, sometimes with short cracks running between them. The back window and side windows are different. They're tempered glass, so if hail breaks one, it shatters into little cubes all at once.
- A couple of small chips. Usually repairable.
- Lots of chips, or chips with cracks between them. You're probably looking at a new windshield.
- A shattered side or back window. Needs replacing. Tape some plastic over the opening so rain doesn't get in.
3. Call your insurance company
Hail falls under the comprehensive part of most auto policies, not collision. If you've got body damage too (you probably do), put the glass on the same claim so you're dealing with one claim number and one adjuster.
You get to pick who fixes your glass. Your insurance company might suggest a shop, but you don't have to use it.
4. Call us early
This is the big one. After a bad storm, every auto glass shop from Monument to Pueblo gets slammed at the same time. The people who call the next morning get on the schedule first. The people who wait a week end up waiting another week.
When you call, tell us if the damage is right in front of the driver. Glass you can't see through moves you up the list.
5. Be careful driving it in the meantime
If the windshield just has a few small chips, you can keep driving it while you wait. Go easy on the defroster and skip the car wash so the chips don't spread. If it's cracked across your line of sight, or a side window is out, keep it parked if you can. We'll come to you.
Why we get so much hail here
The Front Range sits right in what people call Hail Alley. Storms build over the mountains in the afternoon and roll east onto the plains, and the open country out past Falcon, Peyton and Calhan tends to catch the worst of it. May through August is the main season, but we've seen it in September too.
If a storm just came through, call us at (719) 467-3190. We'll tell you whether it's a repair or a replacement and get you on the list.