At last! The replacement windscreen for the Mazda6 has arrived and, as I type, a pleasant man called Brian from AA Autowindshields is in the office car park fitting it for me… a month on from the crack first being reported.

It’s a repair that I would have expected to have been completed in a matter of days rather than weeks; the delay being due to the replacement screen being on back order.

During this wait I've had to use an alternative car, which could be a potentially-costly exercise for any business in the same situation.

Brian passed on a clever tip to determine whether a crack has been caused by being struck by something: simply take a pointed tool (you can use a ball point pen) and run it along the length of the crack.

If the tool or pen stops, that is the point of impact. If you can trace the entire length of the crack without interruption, then the screen has most likely cracked for another reason.

On this occasion, Brian did find a tiny point of impact towards the bottom of the screen, most likely caused by a flying stone.

A new screen takes about an hour to fit and after a few more hours curing time the car will be ready for use.

I'm looking forward to being back in the impressive-looking  Mazda. Luxuries like heated seats and sat-nav and its sheer size and practicality were sorely missed over the Christmas period.