Have you recently had a rock fly up and hit your windshield or one of your side windows? Are you unsure about where it came from, but you want to get it repaired as soon as possible? It can be incredibly frustrating to deal with this type of damage when it happened through no fault of your own. Thankfully, with modern tools and equipment, you can be in and out of the auto glass shop in near-record time. But before you take your vehicle in, here are some things that should be done:

Check insurance policy: Depending on your insurance policy, you may be able to get most or potentially all of the cost of the auto glass replacement covered by your insurance company. If the damage wasn't directly caused by an accident in which you drove into something or another vehicle drove into you, there are insurance companies that won't penalize you and raise your rates. There may still be limits in place, such as only being able to file this type of claim once in a certain period, but if your auto insurance policy is like this, it only makes sense to take advantage of it and to get your windshield or side window paid for by the insurance company.

Find out about repairs: If your side windows are damaged in the slightest, there's a good chance that they practically dissolved already by turning into small glass pebbles. This type of glass damage cannot be repaired. But the glass on your windshield, while similar, is not quite the same. Instead of needing a full auto glass replacement for small chips or cracks, you may be able to have an auto glass professional repair the damaged area by filling it with a special epoxy material. This repair is extremely cost-effective as it can postpone the need for a replacement indefinitely. When you have to drive over a gravel road and/or a road with lots of construction debris on it, you probably don't want to have to be replacing your windshield every time it gets hit by a pebble.

Shop around: You don't have to take your vehicle to the first shop that offers auto glass replacement. In fact, it can pay to shop around. There are many auto glass shops that offer various incentives to get you to use them. Some have a deal with a local restaurant to offer free dinners, and others might offer free gift cards to a local store. If you need to have your windshield or other auto glass replaced anyways, it makes sense to try to get the best possible incentive out of it.