Can a Dealer Sell a Car With a Cracked Windshield?

Yes in most of the country, because no federal rule stops it. The answer turns on your state. California bars a dealer from selling a car that is "not in compliance with this code," and its code makes a windshield that impairs the driver's view unlawful. Maryland will not title a used car until it passes a safety inspection, and that inspection fails a crack as short as 1/4 inch in front of the driver. Pennsylvania lets the sale close and gives you 10 days to inspect an uninspected car. Everywhere else, the federal Used Car Rule asks the dealer to post a Buyers Guide, not to fix the glass.

So in most states a dealer can sell you a cracked windshield "as is," without listing the crack anywhere. What the dealer cannot do is lie about it.

What "dealer," "as is" and a cracked windshield mean here

Four terms decide the answer, and each is narrower than its everyday meaning.

• Dealer. Under the federal rule, anyone who sells a used car after selling or offering five or more in the past 12 months. Banks are left out. California's rule covers any "dealer or person holding a retail seller's permit." A neighbor selling one car is neither.
• Buyers Guide. The window sticker the FTC requires on every used car a dealer offers. It shows whether the car has a warranty, and its back page lists major defects to look for.
• As is. A sale with no warranty. The Buyers Guide box reads: "The dealer does not provide a warranty for any repairs after sale."
• Safety inspection at sale. A state check of brakes, lights, glass and more that a used car must pass before it is sold or titled. A VIN check is different: it looks only at paperwork.

A cracked windshield is not one legal thing. The law cares where the crack is. California asks whether the glass impairs the driver's view. Maryland measures zones, with the strictest one right in front of the driver. How the driver's viewing area is marked explains the zones, and measuring a chip or crack shows how to get the length right.

What the federal rule and three states say

Each row comes from the rule named in it and is explained below. States not in the table were not read for this page.

Only California stops the sale itself. Maryland stops the title. Pennsylvania and the federal rule leave the glass to you.

"Dealers must disclose it" or "as is means anything goes": which is right

Two answers circulate. One says a dealer must tell you about a visible crack. The other says "as is" lets a dealer sell anything. The federal text supports neither.

The federal rule has no list of defects a dealer must point out. The Buyers Guide is about warranties. Its back page names "some major defects that may occur in used vehicles" under 14 headings, from frame and body to exhaust. Glass is not one of them. The nearest item is "Heater & Defroster." So a dealer can check "As Is," say nothing about the windshield, and still follow the rule.

But "as is" is not a license to say anything. The same rule calls it deceptive for a dealer "to misrepresent the mechanical condition of a used vehicle." A salesperson who calls cracked glass fine has crossed that line. And "as is" works only where state law allows it. If your state "limits or prohibits 'as is' sales," the rule says state law wins.

California: the sale itself has to comply

California's rule is aimed at the sale. Vehicle Code 24007(a)(1) says no dealer or retail seller "shall sell a new or used vehicle that is not in compliance with this code." It names three ways out: a sale to another dealer, a sale to be "legally wrecked or dismantled," or a sale "exclusively for off-highway use."

Section 24007 does not mention glass. It points to the rest of the code, and for windshields that is VC 26710. It makes it unlawful to drive "when the windshield or rear window is in such a defective condition as to impair the driver's vision either to the front or rear." Read together, a dealer cannot sell you a car whose windshield impairs your view.

The test is vision, not damage. A crack across the driver's view is the case 26710 describes. A small chip low on the passenger side may not impair anyone's view, and no court ruling on that line was read for this page. If you are cited after you buy, 26710(c) gives you 48 hours to fix the glass. How a California fix-it ticket is cleared covers the proof.

Maryland: no title until the car passes

Transportation Article 23-107 says that before the MVA "titles and registers any used vehicle," it "shall require a valid inspection certificate." The MVA's own page says a car must pass "before a motor vehicle can be sold, titled, or transferred in the State." A certificate lasts 90 days, or 6 months or 1,000 miles for a car in a licensed dealer's stock. Without one, the MVA can hold the title and issue a temporary registration, and the car must be inspected within 60 days.

The glass standard is COMAR 11.14.02.14, and it splits the driver's side into three zones:

• Acute area. A box 8 inches wide by 5 inches high, right in front of the driver. Any damage over 1/4 inch fails, alone or added together.
• Critical area. The part your wipers clear, minus what the hood or mirror hides. Damage over 1/2 inch fails.
• Non-critical area. The rest. Crossing cracks fail, as does a crack reaching more than 2 inches in from the frame, or any break over 3/4 inch.

The passenger side is looser, but not by much. Damage over 1/2 inch in the wiper path fails. Outside it, a crack may reach 4 inches in from the frame, and any break over 1 1/2 inches fails. So a single crack longer than 1 1/2 inches fails wherever it sits. A Maryland dealer either fixes the glass before a retail sale or sells a car the MVA will not title.

Pennsylvania: inspection can come after you buy

Pennsylvania runs a yearly inspection, but it does not stop the sale. Under 67 Pa. Code 175.8(a), a car without a valid sticker "at the time of sale" must be inspected "within 10 days of sale." Under 175.8(b), a car with a valid sticker "may be driven until the inspection certificate expires."

The glass rule is 175.80. It rejects "defects in an acute area of the windshield," a box 8 1/2 inches wide and 5 1/2 inches high in the driver's line of vision. It also rejects "hazardous cracks" that "would interfere with the driver's vision," and glass that is "shattered or broken."

That leaves a gap. A sticker shows the car passed on inspection day, and 175.8(b) says nothing about damage that formed later. So a car can carry a valid sticker and a crack that will fail the next inspection. The sticker sets the date. It does not make a crack in your view legal on the road. If you replace the glass, what happens to the inspection sticker covers Pennsylvania's 5 day swap.

One cracked car, four rules: a walkthrough

Suppose a dealer has a 2019 sedan with a 6 inch crack. It starts at the lower edge on the driver's side and runs up into the wiper path. The Buyers Guide has "As Is" checked and says nothing about glass.

1. Federal rule. Met. The Guide is posted and the box is checked. If the salesperson said "the windshield is fine," that would be a misrepresentation.
2. California. A crack running up through the driver's wiper path is the damage 26710 describes. If it impairs the view, 24007 bars the sale to you. A sale to another dealer would still be allowed.
3. Maryland. Over 1/2 inch of crack in the critical area fails. No certificate, no title. The dealer has to replace the glass first.
4. Pennsylvania. The sale closes. With a valid sticker you drive until it expires. With none, you have 10 days, and the crack fails. Under "as is," the glass is likely yours to pay for.

Now change one thing. Suppose the crack is 3 inches long, low on the passenger side, outside the wiper path. In California it may not impair the driver's view, so 24007 may not reach it. In Maryland it still fails, because it is over 1 1/2 inches. California asks where the crack is. Maryland also asks how long it is.

What this answer does not cover

This page read one federal rule and three states. Other states may have their own sale or inspection rules, and the guide to inspection states lists which ones check glass. The federal rule covers only dealers, so private sales fall outside it. It also leaves out a car sold only for scrap or parts, once the title is surrendered and a salvage certificate issued. No state's disclosure law or implied warranty law was read here, and either may give you rights the federal rule does not. New cars raise separate questions, covered in what the new car warranty covers. And a legal sale is not a safe car. Whether you can drive with a cracked windshield covers the road side.

What to do before you sign

Look at the glass from the driver's seat. Then settle who pays before the paperwork is done. The Buyers Guide warns that "spoken promises are difficult to enforce" and asks you to get promises in writing. If the dealer agrees to replace the windshield, have it written into the contract.

Check for a camera behind the glass, because a new windshield on those cars needs calibration, priced in what calibration costs. Use the windshield cost estimator before you negotiate, and the repair or replace check if the damage is a chip. Do not plan on insurance: a crack from before your policy began is not a covered loss, as cracks from before your policy explains.

In Maryland, if the car passed with a crack that should have failed, act fast. The State Police inspection chart says complaints must reach its Automotive Safety Enforcement Division within 30 days of purchase, before the car has gone 1,000 miles past inspection. If you already have a ticket, how glass equipment tickets work explains what comes next, and the rest of the state rules are in the windshield laws section.

Frequently asked questions

Can a dealer sell a car with a cracked windshield as is?

In most states, yes. The FTC Used Car Rule only asks the dealer to post a Buyers Guide and mark whether the car has a warranty. Glass is not on the Guide's defect list. States can be stricter: California bars a sale if the windshield impairs the driver's view, and Maryland will not title a used car until it passes a safety inspection that checks the glass.

Does a dealer have to tell me the windshield is cracked?

The federal rule has no list of defects a dealer must point out, and glass is not among the 14 headings on the Buyers Guide. But the same rule makes it deceptive to misrepresent a used car's condition, so a dealer who says the glass is fine when it is cracked has crossed the line. Some states may add a disclosure duty. Check yours before you rely on it.

Will a cracked windshield pass inspection when I buy a used car in Maryland?

Usually not. Maryland's glass rule fails any damage over 1/4 inch in an 8 by 5 inch box in front of the driver, over 1/2 inch in the rest of the driver's wiper path, and cracks reaching more than 2 inches in from the frame elsewhere on the driver's side. The MVA will not title a used car without a valid inspection certificate.

I bought a car in Pennsylvania with a cracked windshield. How long do I have?

If the car had no valid inspection sticker when you bought it, Pennsylvania's rule says it must be inspected within 10 days of the sale. If it had a valid sticker, you may drive it until that sticker expires. A crack in the driver's line of sight will fail the next inspection, and it can still draw a ticket on the road before then.

Will my insurance pay to replace a windshield that was cracked when I bought the car?

No. Comprehensive coverage pays for losses that happen while the policy is in force. A crack that was already there when you bought the car happened before your coverage began, so it is not a covered loss. Settle who pays for the glass with the dealer before you sign, and get that promise in writing.

Sources

• California Vehicle Code 24007, Sale of noncomplying vehicles (FindLaw copy)
• California Vehicle Code 26710, Defective windshields and rear windows (FindLaw copy)
• FTC, Dealer's Guide to the Used Car Rule
• 16 CFR 455.1, General duties of a used vehicle dealer; definitions (Cornell LII)
• 16 CFR 455.2, Consumer sales, window form (Cornell LII)
• FTC, Used Motor Vehicle Trade Regulation Rule, 81 FR 81664 (Nov. 18, 2016), Buyers Guide figures
• Maryland Transportation Article 23-107, Inspection before titling
• Maryland MVA, Safety Inspections
• COMAR 11.14.02.14, Vehicle Glazing (Cornell LII)
• Maryland State Police, Vehicle Safety Inspection Chart
• Pennsylvania 67 Pa. Code 175.8, Newly-purchased vehicles
• Pennsylvania 67 Pa. Code 175.80, Inspection procedure