replace front windshield

Today I took my second rock and got my second crack in two days!!!!! I guess I ought to be thankful that I didn't match JimboK's horrro story and get my second right after I had the windshield replaced.

BTW, my insurance company, Travelers, was extremely easy to work with on this. The first option when you call the claims numbers is for broken windshields, and they have customer service reps who do only that. When I told her that the crack was in my line of sight, she said they recommended replacing the windshield, not repairing it! She did not place any restrictions on the repair, so I can use OEM or aftermarket glass as I choose.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(abqrichard @ Jul 18 2006, 10:38 PM) [snapback]288502[/snapback]</div>

It would be illegal for them to tell you what kind of glass you must use or who you hire to do the work. They can try and "suggest" one of their "preferred" auto-glass replacement companies, but they cannot force you to use them.

 

I've been driving since 1979 and only got one ding in a windshield while driving on the unpaved section of the Cassiar highway in Canada in 1983.

Now, I'm very happily driving my new Prius in New Jersey and at the 600-mile mark I got both a windshield ding from a stone AND a flat tire at almost the same time!

The place I went to did not carry the stock tire so they used a Toyo brand of the same size. It was sort of neat to see the flat indicator go on.

I think the low angle of this windshield will INCREASE the number of dings. I'm going to wait and see if the ding gets worse over time, unless I stumble on one of these liquid chip repair places I see posted about above. If there is a REALLY good one in Northern New Jersey please contact me or post it here.

Rand

 

:mellow: Early in "Ernestine's" (My Prius' name) life, she got a rock ding in the windshield on a Texas Interstate Hwy. It was bad enough that the silicon treatment couldn't work. My State Farm Insurance does cover glass breakage. I insisted on OEM glass since the car was almost new and I wanted the "Toyota" I.D. on the windshield.

The installed total cost was ~$650 of which I paid $50, State Farm ~$600 (or whatever discount they may have received). The job required less than 30 minutes. No rattles, no leaks. It was done at a professional auto glass company, not my Dealer.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rand Reed @ Jul 19 2006, 09:13 AM) [snapback]288675[/snapback]</div>

What I seemed to be finding in my investigation is that repairs can make cracks totally disappear, unless the crack goes all the way through the windshield; the technology is not complicated; it apparently totally prevents the dings from spreading; the repair services generally will come to where you are; and it's inexpensive ($45 seems standard here in Albuquerque). In my old 4Runner, I did not repair dings because I did not know that they could be repaired. I would certainly to that to small cracks now, knowing what I know now.

I got through the day today without getting another crack!

The following are exerpts from "To use original manufacturers’ glass—or not" from AutoGlassmagazine.net, an industry publication, at http://www.autoglassmagazine.net/articles.php?id=218. The long and the short of it as I read it: glass manufactured by non-OE manufacturers may be as good as that manufactured by OE manufacturers, but there's no way of knowing. You can judge for yourself as to whether these guys may have an economic dog in this fight.

Don Howig, owner of Ziebart Speedy Auto Glass in Jamestown, N.Y., refuses to debate. “We use OEM glass because we can depend on the fit for a given vehicle,†Howig says. “We’ve tried a couple of windshields from another company [whose executives] told us that with their new manufacturing equipment their products were just as good and less expensive as our OEM glass. Our experience turned out to be otherwise. I don’t like creating problems for myself, so when I know something works, I am more apt to stay with it, even though the cost is slightly more.

Replacement parts from OEM suppliers were found to be better, according to a 5-year-old study comparing replacement glass made by OEMs with replacement glass made by domestic and foreign vendors who were not supplying automakers directly. The automotive glass quality assurance department of PPG Industries Inc. in Pittsburgh, conducted the study. The researchers found that automotive-replacement glass made by OEMs fit closer to original equipment, resembled original equipment, met the safety standards as original equipment, had the same high-optical quality as original equipment and was easier to install. This type of replacement glass also reduced wind noise and leakage problems because of its tight fit, PPG officials say.

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Are aftermarket manufacturers’ windshields inferior to original equipment windshields? Both kinds come from North American and offshore factories. Does quality depend on country of origin as well as the relation of the glass manufacturer to the OEM?

“It’s on a plant-by-plant basis,†says Garry Dunnegan, president of Northstar Automotive Glass in Wichita, Kan. “There are foreign as well as domestic suppliers with antiquated technology and inferior products. However, some foreign manufacturers have invested in new, state-of-the art, precision-automated technology that produces as high a quality glass, or better, than factories located in the United States.

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Many auto-glass technicians complain that glass purchased offshore does not fit. Dunnegan says the proper fit of the glass depends on the mold that it was made from. The quality of the fit also depends on ovens, computer numerically controlled cutters and temperature controls that cause the glass not to be brittle or distorted. All these critical processes occur before the glass comes out of the autoclave.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(abqrichard @ Jul 18 2006, 10:38 PM) [snapback]288502[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for the sympathy, but I'm not sure I'd call it a horror story. They both were just chips that normally I could have lived with easily, assuming they didn't spread into full-fledged cracks. But the first was directly in my line of sight; the insurance company replaced it, less my deductible. The second was near the edge on the passenger side, so it wasn't a problem and I chose not to get it fixed. Not long afterward, I sold the car.... replaced by the Prius!

Jim

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bolt88 @ Jun 4 2006, 01:41 PM) [snapback]265657[/snapback]</div>

i just finished a 6,000 trip and ended up with a cracked windshield. best price to replace it is just under $400 plus tax. that's more than i paid for gas on my whole trip.

 

I can't believe how much some of you are paying for replacement windshields.

I just replaced the windshield on my Jeep Grand Cherokee and the cost for a new PPG windshield was $125 and $90 labor to install it. Total cost out the door with misc. parts and tax was less than $230.

 

My SUV (anti-Prius), a 2001 Pathfinder, got five chips in the first week I owned it. Last year it got hit by the first of three large rocks, right on the edge of the windshield. The other two happened in the following 6 months. All three had cracks that travelled too far in one day to be repairable. While getting a new windshield a few weeks ago, I asked how much it would cost for the 06 Prius I'm planning to buy. Same price as the Pathfinder, about $230 Can. (that's about $200 US). I was worried due to the large size of the windshield. Now I'm not. And I would never have "glass insurance". It's far too expensive. I've spent $230 for my Pathfinder in six years. Glass insurance would be much more than that over the six years! BTW, dealer price for a "Nissan part" windshield was $1500 or so. When I checked what the glass shop put in, it's the same make and model as OEM! I'm happy.

 

Read your insurance policies carefully. Some states, like Florida where I live, require that auto policies be issued with no deductible windhsield replacement coverage. The flipside is the FL law enforcement folks are much more likely to cite you for an unsafe windshield than many other state's LEOs are, since they know full well that if you're from FL, you have no excuse for driving around with a big crack (in your windshield, that is ).

My carrier, USAA, is quite up front about this coverage, and won't give customers any trouble at all. Some of the less reputable carriers try to pretend the coverage does not exist, and won't acknowledge it unless you ask for exactly the right thing.

Sniff around -- this is a great benefit if you have it.

 

I had a stone hit my Subaru and crack the windshield. I have zero deductible windshield replacement and called my local subaru dealer to have it replaced. They had a wait time of 2 weeks to get me in and suggested a local glass place that would come to my house or work to replace the windshield.

The windshield was replaced in early spring. Once summer came around I started having trouble with the interior trim that slants down by the passenger side come off. It would heat up and this piece of trim would start to sag and fall down. Took the car to Subaru and they tell me a clip on the trim was broken and they tried to fix it. They feel it was damaged during the windshield replacement. Because months had gone by since the replacement, the glass company said it wasn't their fault. So everytime it got hot, that stupid piece would fall off. I am so glad I traded that in and now have my Prius :lol:

Long story short...make sure you use a good glass company and check to see if all the interior trim is still intact.

 

ON Most auto insurance policies there is NO deductible on glass so the insurance company will pay the entire amount. You need to double check with your insurer.

 

I just got a ding in my glass from a stone. It's very tiny and not in my way. If it spreads I'll replace it. I'm gonna track this topic to see what happens to others.