Mobile windshield replacement in Cary: the van comes to your car

Why mobile is the way Impex works in Cary

Impex Auto Glass describes itself as a mobile auto glass repair and replacement company. Its About page says it serves all of North Carolina and South Carolina and parts of Georgia, with mobile service across that area, and its services page mentions mobile and no-contact service options. For a driver in Cary, that means the choice is not between shops across town. It is a visit at a time and a place that suits you.

Mobile does not mean a lesser job. The glass is the same, the part is checked against your VIN in the same way before the visit is booked, the urethane is the same and the drive-away rules are the same. What changes is that you do not lose a morning sitting in a waiting room. The full replacement is described on the windshield replacement in Cary page; this page covers what is particular about doing it at your door.

Where the van can work in Cary

The technician needs the car, room round it and a reasonable surface. In practice that covers most places a car spends a few hours:

• Your driveway or garage. The easiest place: level, private, and you can carry on with your day indoors. A garage also takes the weather out of the picture.
• An apartment or condo lot. Fine where the space has room on both sides and the front of the car. Some communities have rules about vehicle work in their lots; check yours before you book.
• Your workplace. Office lots along NC 54 or in Research Triangle Park are the kind of place a car sits all day. Ask building management if the lot allows it, and tell Impex which entrance and which row.
• A parking deck. Covered decks keep rain off. The van needs headroom and a space where the doors can open fully, and the deck has to allow it.

Where the car sits on a slope, at the curb of a busy road or in a space too tight to walk round, the technician may ask to move it. On a public street the car must be parked legally for the whole visit.

What the visit needs from you

1. The car details and the VIN. The VIN is on the driver’s side of the dashboard, seen through the windshield, and on your insurance card. Impex uses VIN-based verification to make sure the right part is ordered.
2. A place and a time. Say where the car will be and how long it can stay there. Plan on a couple of hours for a windshield, more if the camera needs calibration.
3. Access. The keys, and the car unlocked or someone on hand. The technician works inside the car as well as outside.
4. A clear dashboard. Take things off the dash and the mirror, and remove toll transponders or parking tags that are stuck to the glass if you can.
5. Your claim number, if you are claiming. Impex says it works with all major insurance providers and can handle the claim with your insurer.

Rain, heat and the drive-away time

A windshield is held in by urethane, and the urethane has to set before the car is driven. The Auto Glass Safety Council calls this the minimum drive-away time and says it varies with the type and brand of adhesive and the atmospheric conditions at the time of the job. That is why the weather matters more for a mobile job than a shop job.

Nobody can fit a windshield into an open, wet frame. If rain is forecast for your visit, there are three choices: move the car under cover (a garage or a parking deck), move the visit to a dry day, or, where the calibration or the weather make a shop better, go to a shop. Impex will raise this when it confirms the visit. Side windows are less sensitive: Impex’s guidance is that a side window takes about 30 to 60 minutes and can be driven straight away.

After a windshield, Impex’s advice for the first 24 hours is no car wash and no slamming doors, and to avoid harsh bumps. After back glass, avoid washing the car or using the rear defroster for 24 hours.

Camera calibration on a mobile visit

If your car has a forward camera at the top of the windshield, it usually needs calibrating after a new windshield. I-CAR describes two methods. Static calibration places targets at set positions in front of the car while a scan tool runs the aiming routine, which needs level ground and space in front of the car. Dynamic calibration drives the car at or below a set speed for a set time or distance, and can need roads clear of rain and without heavy traffic or curves. Some cameras need both.

Impex says it performs ADAS calibration on site straight after windshield replacement and completes static and dynamic calibrations in one visit, in 30 minutes to 2 hours. Whether your own car’s calibration can be done in your driveway depends on the car and on the space. When you book, Impex will tell you. More on the ADAS camera calibration page.

When a shop is the better place

Mobile covers most jobs, but not every one. A shop visit is the better choice when:

• Your car’s camera needs a static calibration with targets at measured distances, and there is no level space at home or at work.
• Radar calibration is needed as well. I-CAR notes that static radar targets need a large area clear of metal objects. See ADAS radar calibration.
• The weather is set wet and the car has to be driven soon.
• The car cannot be left for the time the job and the adhesive need.

Impex’s shops are in Greensboro and Charlotte. For most Cary drivers, a dry day and a garage or a level space are closer than either.

Cost and insurance for mobile service

Impex says its quotes are fully inclusive, with no hidden fees, upsells, delivery charges, fuel fees or disposal fees, so the van coming to Cary is not an extra line on the bill. Impex’s insurance guide adds that mobile service is typically covered by insurance at no extra cost. In North Carolina, glass breakage is a comprehensive loss paid less any deductible, and you choose the repair service under G.S. 58-3-180. See insurance claims and the windshield replacement cost guide.

Mobile auto glass across Cary and the towns nearby

The van covers all of Cary, from downtown and the Cary Parkway loop to the NC 540 side, and the towns around it: Apex, Morrisville and RTP, Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina. It also handles more than windshields: side window replacement, back glass replacement and chip repair. For all the glass that is not the windshield, see auto glass repair in Cary.

Questions people ask