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Prius windshield--$350, Prius v windshield--$1250?

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Charles Heckel, Jun 10, 2012.

  1. Charles Heckel

    Charles Heckel New Member

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    I just bought a Prius v for list price, but shortly thereafter I parked it on a street and came back to see a crack across 40% of the windshield. I took it to the dealer repair service and the manager told me it was vandalism, the crack could not be glued, and it would have to be replaced--for $1250 plus a $100 installation fee.
    I know the Prius windshield costs $350 and the Prius v is essentially the same conformation, so I made a few inquiries. I heard that there is as yet no aftermarket in Prius v windshields, so there is no incentive for the dealers to bring their costs down, as there is for the Prius. I went to a windshield repair place and they quoted me $1007 for the same windshield--factory glass. I also heard that aftermarket windshields would be coming out in a couple of months, and it might be prudent to wait for the price to go down.
    Any better information? Any suggestions?
     
    #1 Charles Heckel, Jun 10, 2012
  2. catgic

    catgic Mastr & Commandr Hybrid Guru

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    Charles – You just paid $30K for your brand new Prius v5, replace the broken windshield with the Toyota OEM factory glass. There is no guarantee that when the after-market windshield becomes available it will be $350. It could be $550 or whatever.

    What state do you live in? Here in Florida windshields are replaced at NO COST to the insured.
     
    #2 catgic, Jun 10, 2012
  3. Charles Heckel

    Charles Heckel New Member

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    I live in California, and I'm insured, but the kilobuck difference between the Prius and Prius V windshields is still an eye opener. Saving on gas and spending on glass is a false economy.
     
    #3 Charles Heckel, Jun 11, 2012
  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    What do glass and gas have to do with each other? If you trashed your tire on a pothole would that the Prius' fault as well?

    Tom
     
    #4 qbee42, Jun 11, 2012
  5. Charles Heckel

    Charles Heckel New Member

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    What do gas and glass have to do with each other? They both cost money. In this case, the thousand dollar difference between Prius and Prius V windshields would pay for 250 gallons of gas, which is good for about 11250 miles. It would take about 5000 miles of driving to amortize the difference between a Prius and a 25 mpg gas gulper.

    Is it the Prius' fault? Regardless of how fond you may be of your Prius, it is an inanimate object and blame does not apply to it. The prime cause here is apparently an anonymous kid with a slingshot, whom I do hold responsible for $350 worth of damage, as I see no intrinsic difference between a Prius and a Prius V windshield. The other $900 is opportunistic pricing which I would prefer to avoid, hence this post.

    Intelligent suggestions, anyone?
     
    #5 Charles Heckel, Jun 12, 2012
  6. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Yes. Pay the money and move on. Either that or live with a broken windshield until prices come down.

    Tom
     
    #6 qbee42, Jun 13, 2012
  7. DGH

    DGH Thread Terminator

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    Yep, no aftermarket available yet. I just doled out $1300 myself.
    Plus it took two weeks to obtain the new glass.
    I also see it as a bit of opportunistic price gouging.
     
    #7 DGH, Jun 16, 2012
  8. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I have not been able to confirm that the glass in my CTh has an OEM tint; but if true perhaps that explains the v's cost also ?
     
    #8 SageBrush, Jun 16, 2012
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Is there any evidence that it's vandalism? For example, are there signs of impact on the outside of the windshield?

    Windows do crack, due to internal tension, without getting hit. And if this is the case I would think it is Toyota's responsibility.

    Perhaps get your insurer involved?
     
    #9 Mendel Leisk, Jun 16, 2012
  10. DecimationX

    DecimationX Junior Member

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    I was just going to say... and not to insult you sir, but you bought this nice vehicle and you do pay an insurance premium for a reason....If it was just a knick or a scratch on the paint I would pay 100 bucks to fix it but since this seems to be a substantial smount of money, why not pay a deductible with insurance to get this fixed under comprehension damage?

    My deductible is only $250 So that seems to be a much cheaper way to go after it. However I understadn if you have a 500 dollar or a 1000 dollar and up deductible then it may be different.

    Just saying....that is what insurance is for. Usually even for this your insurance wont go up because it wasn't while you were driving. Usually any "Accident related" damage fix to a car when it is "not in motion" shouldn't affect the outcome of your future deductibles.

    having insurance and not using it, is like paying your social security tax your whole life but then refusing it when you retire.
     
    #10 DecimationX, Jun 17, 2012
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  11. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    All I can say is yikes! I better be careful about my front window somehow!!!! Have you measured the Prius window and then Prius v window? I would ask the part numbers from the dealer's parts department for the two and check if they are different. If so, there might be a reason...
     
    #11 jzchen, Jun 25, 2012
  12. schmuly

    schmuly Member

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    I just had a windshield changed on our Outback and I inquired about price for the Prius v. The owner of the shop looked it up ... nothing locally...nothing regional...nothing national! He looked at getting one from the local Toyota dealership, (he said he gets 20% off) so his price was 1058-20%=846+ install. He said under 900 bucks for factory glass. He was suprised at the cost and said they will come down, I quess for now you would have to go through insurance if one was needed.
    I have had 5 windshields done through him in the last 3 years and usually $159 to 169 installed (5 different vehicals)
    This is the Spokane Wa. area.
     
    #12 schmuly, Jul 10, 2012
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