(406) 294-6991
3724 1st Ave South
Billings, MT 59101
(Next to King's Hat)
(map location)
M-F: 8:00a – 5:00p
Sat| Sun: Closed
Our team is made up of Jeremy, Jason, Johnny, annd Elijah. Auto Glass Direct is our second location specializing in automotive glass with chip repair and window replacement. We opened our doors at Auto Glass Specialists in 2003 and have been expanding and fine tuning our business ever since. We stock our own OEM quality glass to ensure timely and affordable replacement while treating your vehicle as our own.
We provide our guests safety and security by embracing the extreme importance of a properly installed windshield as if our own family will be driving in each vehicle.
Check out Auto Glass Specialist for additional services.
We pride ourselves in being the auto glass source for reputable businesses in our area. Moreover, a large percentage of our guests are repeat guests or have been sent to us because of someone's recommendation. We can't put into words how great that makes us feel.
“Amazing service from the employees and owner. I called to get a new windshield put in and they got me in right away and even delivered my car to me. Only place I will take my cars to.
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“Nate and John are amazing to work with! Super quick, professional service that is perfect! I had a chip in my windshield, called Nate and he had me in within 5 minutes. John was so nice and took care of the rest in a hurry. Highly recommended and would not go anywhere else! ”
“These guys are awesome. I had a chip on my car and they got me right in and out. They also came and picked up my other car to put in a windshield. I recommend these guy 5 stars x 10!!!!”
WHY IS A CRACKED (OR IMPROPERLY INSTALLED) WINDSHIELD DANGEROUS?
Your windshield prevents you from being ejected during an accident.
The safest place to be during a car accident is in the car. Your windshield is an important barrier that keeps you in the car. If you don't replace your windshield, a cracked windshield (or a poorly installed windshield) can fail during a collision or roll over, allowing you or your passenger to be ejected. A passenger ejected from a car or truck is much more likely to experience a serious injury or death. Cracked windshields expose the laminate that joins the layers of glass in the windshield, resulting in delamination. It is this delamination that results in a dangerous reduction in the structural integrity of a vehicle.
In nearly all new vehicles equipped with airbags, the passenger side airbag deploys upward and bounces off the windshield glass to protect the passenger in a crash. When the airbag deploys, it does so at 150 - 200 miles per hour. Needless to say, a cracked windshield lacks the structural integrity necessary to absorb the force of a deployed airbag; the result is that passengers may be ejected and injured or killed if the airbag deployment is deformed by the windshield’s failure. In addition, an improper windshield replacement that fails will subject a vehicle’s occupants to the same risk of airbag failure as a cracked windshield.
An automobile's windshield is designed to prevent the roof from crushing you in a roll over accident. It's important to promptly replace your windshield, because a cracked windshield will not meet any of the ANSI windshield performance and safety standards. Industry experts have estimated that windshields provide up to 70% of the structural integrity in a rollover accident. A cracked windshield may fail to support the roof if the car flips over, causing severe injury or death to occupants.
At Auto Glass Center, we commit to having your vehicle back to factory specifications after we replace your windshield by using professionally trained personnel and OEM parts.
Windshield chip repair is a deceptively simple process. Although professionals with the right tools can get the job done in minimal time, there is actually quite a bit of specialty work that goes in to making a windshield look like new. Faster and cheaper than whole windshield replacement, chip repair is rapidly becoming one of the most common types of work done on vehicles of all shapes and sizes.
A chip in a windshield is almost always filled with a resin that looks and feels just like glass. Using specialty tools that drill small holes into the damaged glass and suction the air out to create a miniature vacuum on your car's windshield, the resin is injected into strategic locations.
The vacuum is used to remove any air pockets caused when the rock or other debris hit the windshield and opened it up to the elements. It also allows the stress on the glass to lower, meaning that the injection of the resin won't cause much pressure that additional cracks will form. The resin is allowed to set for a period of time. This gives it the opportunity to change from a liquid to a solid adhesive, holding the glass together and giving the windshield back its maximum strength. This process is usually helped along by special tools that harden the resin faster, allowing you to get back on the road as soon as possible. The resin is usually polished as the final step in the process.
Most of the resins used in windshield chip repair have the same properties as glass when it comes to interaction with light. The reason behind this is simple: when light hits the windshield, it is vital that there is no scattering or fracturing of the driver's line of vision. In most cases, the windshield chip repair will only leave a small mark that indicates where the damage occurred, but without any lingering side effects that will impair the driver's vision during day or nighttime driving. Restoring Your Vehicle's Condition When done correctly, chip repair is a quick and easy process that doesn't have to cost you much more than you normally spend on filling your car's gas tank. Although your car's windshield might never again look perfect, windshield chip repair will get you as close to perfection as possible.
A man had a huge vision. He started with just himself and a little Chevy S-10. Going from gas station to gas station and putting only $5 in the tank so he could possibly strike up a conversation with someone about their broken windshield hoping to drum up some business that day.
