Replacement of headlights
The 1,400 Glassdrive workshops guarantee rapid repair of your headlight lenses: when their protective glass is broken or cracked, the durability of your lighting is potentially threatened. The risk of loss of visibility for you and other drivers is a real danger. It is therefore imperative that this is remedied as soon as possible.
What material are your headlight lenses made of?
Today's headlights are not the same as yesterday's: at the turn of the millennium, a technological shift led manufacturers to abandon glass in favour of polycarbonate, to manufacture the optics that cover halogen, LED, xenon or laser bulbs and their reflectors with their transparent, curved walls.
This plastic-type material, appreciated for its lightness, its level of waterproofing and its extreme resistance to impact, has also become established for its ability to create aesthetic variants, more in line with the evolution of 21st century vehicle design, and better adapted to their aerodynamic profiles, into which it is harmoniously integrated.
The vast majority of vehicles today are equipped with polycarbonate headlights. However, this very solid glazing has a few disadvantages: the varnish used to finish it, which gives it its shiny appearance when new, becomes severely tarnished over time, under the action of the sun's UV rays, polluting particles and dust deposits accumulated on its surface. To restore its shine, Glassdrive ensures an extremely precise and careful polishing, a delicate operation carried out using a sander, sandpaper and a special paste designed to polish the headlight after it has been stripped.
Riding with a broken headlight: why is it forbidden?
Driving with a broken headlight is a real danger: its cover is no longer able to perform its protective function in an optimal way and to ensure the necessary waterproofing of the lights. Without this real shield, the headlights inside the block are exposed to moisture and splashes of stone chips and many other foreign bodies. In the short term, the normal functioning of your lighting system is therefore threatened, even to the point of extinction: the formation of mist and condensation inside the headlight alters its luminous flux, reduces its luminous intensity and eventually damages the reflectors and bulbs.
Driving with damaged headlights is liable to be punished by the police (in France, this offence is punishable by a 3rd class fine of 68 euros). Needless to say, a damaged headlight has no chance of passing the roadworthiness test: it is then compulsory to change the optics and to justify this during a second inspection.
What insurance cover is there?
Some insurance contracts cover the cost of replacing a headlight. The glass breakage guarantee, when it has been taken out, sometimes covers damage to the headlight's glass. However, this is not always the case.
As soon as you contact them, the Glassdrive advisers will contact your insurance company to find out what compensation you are entitled to and to inform you of the possible amount of your remaining costs (excess).
What risks are your headlights and bulbs exposed to?
There are several types of potential impacts to your headlights: damage caused by vandalism is generally the most frequent. A violent head-on collision with another vehicle, or a protruding object, can also break the glass of a headlight and/or remove the optical unit from its housing: it is no longer stabilised. In the latter case, the problem is probably the mounting brackets, which have been damaged by the accident.
A classic: when parking in city centre or in a car park, there may be bollards to delimit a parking area or grills to protect plantations. These are often less than 1m high, and may not be visible to a driver when manoeuvring. Our advice: check your vehicle's surroundings before parking or moving your vehicle in a tight space.
Request the help of a Glassdrive professional to repair your optics or your light
Whether the fault is obvious (broken window) or more subtle (broken mounting brackets), replacing your headlight or rear light will require dismantling the part and probably related parts, which are not always very accessible, as well as the appropriate tools. The technicians at our Glassdrive centres have the training, the equipment and above all the experience of such situations and will be able to solve your problem quickly and with the guarantee of a professional service!