Having your car broken into can be a stressful and frightening situation. If you're lucky, then the extent of the damage to your vehicle may only be one or more of the side windows. Repairing a car with a shattered side window can involve a few more steps than repairing a crack or dent on a windshield, however.

Fortunately, you don't have to live with a plastic bag covering the gaping hole in one of your doors. Keep reading to discover the steps necessary to get your car back into pristine condition.

1. Assess and Clean Damage

When you have a crack in your windshield, the extent of the damage is usually limited to the windshield itself. For side windows, the situation can sometimes be more complicated. A technician must thoroughly evaluate the damage caused by your shattered window, and that will involve first removing the interior door panel.

With the door panel off, a technician can check for broken glass that may have fallen into the window channel. This glass can damage parts inside of your doors, such as the window regulator and motor. If nothing appears to be damaged, then the technician will vacuum out any glass before proceeding with the next steps.

2. Install and Adjust New Glass

After carefully removing any stray glass, the technician can install your new window. On most cars, this process involves slotting the glass panel into the door track and then testing the window. There are a few potential hitches that may arise when fitting the window, so some minor adjustments may be necessary to prevent the window from binding.

Before beginning the reinstall process, your technician will test the window several times to guarantee that it functions properly. Trying the window with most of the door panel and hardware removed can also help to catch any small pieces of glass that might have gone unnoticed in the first steps. These shards can bind on door hardware and cause damage later, so it's essential to remove them now.

3. Reinstall Door Panel and Hardware

Finally, your technician will reinstall the car's door panel and associated hardware. Although removing and reinstalling door panels (sometimes known as door cards) isn't difficult, there are a few potential snags. In particular, auto glass technicians need to carefully reinstall the vapor barrier and sound deadening material to correctly restore the door to its original condition.

No matter how disastrous your car looks after someone shatters a window to gain entry, restoring it to its original condition is both possible and relatively straightforward. A trained auto glass repair shop can usually have your car looking like new again in less than a day.

For more information on auto glass replacement, reach out to a local auto glass service.