My daughter lives in Philly and some jerk celebrating the 4th went down the street smashing car windows for no good reason other than personal enjoyment.

 

She now has a smashed out rear side window in the cargo area on her 97 wagon.

 

How much of a PITA is it to replace one of those? Assuming I get the glass, should I just bite the bullet and pay a professional to replace it? I've never replaced a stationary piece of glass, only door windows.

 

Any advice is appreciated. I did tell her not to lose the gasket in case that can be reused.

Check your insurance policy. Many policies have glass replacement w/o deductible. Mine does for about $20 per year that I was unaware of until my windshield cracked for the first time. Fingers crossed.

Insurance won't be an option, she has no comprehensive insurance just basic coverage. :-\

If it were me, I think I would just bite the bullet and have an auto glass shop do the replacement. Some shops will even dispatch a truck, and the repair guy to do the work in a driveway. I have watched a couple of windshields installed, and it looked like it required some knowledge of using special hand tools and how and where to apply adhesive glue. I remember thinking at the time, that if I tried to do the job, I would make a nasty mess by getting adhesive glue everywhere.

My driver side rear quarter window on a 96 obw broke while I was out of town for Thanksgiving. I don't know what hit it, but I heard a pop and looked in the rear view mirror to see something weird. I wasn't going to drive 5 hours home on the NY thru way with a busted out window so I had to find a place quick. Went with a company called Payless Auto Glass. It cost $241.50 tax included. They came to the house and did it in the driveway. I still find glass bits in nooks and crannies, but there doesn't seem to be any leaks.