Used Car Buying - Glass & Mirrors

How to inspect glass and mirrors when buying a used car

Depending on where you live you likely will need to have the used car pass a safety certification of some kind before you can license and drive it. In order to be considered safe the car will need to have working mirrors and windows which are not broken or cracked.





Especially in newer vehicles, the windshield itself is considered part of the crash protection of the car so any large cracks or chips will need to be fixed. In most cases of front windshield damage you will need to replace the windshield altogether. This is a repair that will cost a few hundred dollars in most cases so be sure to factor that into the price you are willing to pay for the car.

Sandblasting wear on the front windshield

A major safety concern that almost everyone overlooks when buying a used car is the condition of the front windshield. Most people look for the window to be broken or not, but very few take note of the condition of the window surface itself.

Especially true on older and high mileage vehicles, the front windshield will become pitted and scarred from road dust and debris. This sandblasting effect leaves the window surface rough. The importance of this is that a rough windshield may be OK on a warm and sunny day, but driving in the rain at night like this would be extremely hazardous.





Once scarred and pitted, the windshield wipers no longer contact smoothly on the glass and thereby are not able to clear water effectively, and will promote the build up of road grease and tar that will make driving at night near to impossible. If the used car that you are inspecting has a weathered or worn windshield you must factor in replacement costs for the windshield into the asking price of the car since this will need to be fixed in order to drive safely.


Proceed to the next section of the used car buying tutorial on tires and brakes.