So this huge meteorite hit my windscreen of my 6 month old TA and within a few hours it turned into a 10" crack. Now Autoglass are currently replacing it. The guy from Autoglass said that I was lucky he had a OEM one. My question is would the screen he is replacing not be exactly the same oem or not? has anyone had a bad experience as well as a good one?
General new windscreen
- Thread starter nicks500
- Start date
Currently reading:
General new windscreen
That's a good question! I thought myself that the replacement windscreens put in through windscreen fitters, were generally OEM but often with the supplying company's logo on it. When my Primera windscreen was replaced, it had an RAC engraved logo tucked away in the bottom corner. When my Dodge Neon windscreen cracked beyond repair, I was lucky and got a brand new original Chrysler windscreen from a PDI Centre for ten quid! It cost me 40 quid to have it fitted, but was still cheaper than going through insurance. Not sure what happenz if you have a 'heated' front screen, though I suppose that any replacement should be fitted to the same spec. It will be interesting to hear someone's experience of how they got on with a replacement for their 500.
Bummer
.TBH I'd be more worried about collateral damage than the quality of the screen. Before you sign anything, inspect carefully for paintwork damage & check the interior headlining & trim, too.
I've had a new screen through autoglass and was identical to one that was cracked. No problems here
Good advice to check their work on completion. I had a large chip in the windscreen of an Audi TT. Autoglass came to attend to it on-site and for some reason used the power for their equipment from inside the car which could only be activated with the ignition turned on.
On completion, before he cleaned the screen down, he had left one of his tools balanced on the screen at the wiper arm at which point it started to rain and the wiper blades automatically activated resulting in a big score mark being made.
I did not notice the damage until I got inside the car, which was after the guy had left. Was not really visible from outside due to lighting etc. After seeing the way the guy worked I was able to piece together what had happened.
Local office kept stalling not offering a quick solution so complained to head office quite forcefully with the end result being a new windscreen fitted.
Learning point : Don't let them off-site until you have done a thorough check.
On completion, before he cleaned the screen down, he had left one of his tools balanced on the screen at the wiper arm at which point it started to rain and the wiper blades automatically activated resulting in a big score mark being made.
I did not notice the damage until I got inside the car, which was after the guy had left. Was not really visible from outside due to lighting etc. After seeing the way the guy worked I was able to piece together what had happened.
Local office kept stalling not offering a quick solution so complained to head office quite forcefully with the end result being a new windscreen fitted.
Learning point : Don't let them off-site until you have done a thorough check.
GLA55MAN
New member
This is my first post here, so hello to all.
It is good advice to check the car once the windscreen has been replaced. It's even better to agree on the condition of the vehicle pre and post installation. In my experience (20+ years in the industry) a newly fitted windscreen can look great to the car owner (at the time) but you can never tell what that newly fitted windscreen is hiding. This will go unnoticed until there's a problem, or the vehicle needs a new bit of glass. Examples are: scored paintwork, gouges into paint or trim; broken clips, damage to wiring; incorrect ancillary, or constituent parts - or lack of them!
It's a desperate business. Everyone is fighting for the same work and the prices are the lowest I've ever seen. Even insurance companies are going with the supplier who will offer the lowest Average Invoice Value. To retain a workable margin, glass from China is used, or essential trims are sacrificed in favour of non-standard universal 'fit all' types which are often completely wrong and will affect how the glass sits.
OEM glass is the glass fitted at source. These are usually big brands such as Sekurit (Saint Gobain) Pilkington, Guardian but even the manufacturers are looking at their options. Audi and Land Rover have opted for Fu-Yao glass on selected models for example.
It is good advice to check the car once the windscreen has been replaced. It's even better to agree on the condition of the vehicle pre and post installation. In my experience (20+ years in the industry) a newly fitted windscreen can look great to the car owner (at the time) but you can never tell what that newly fitted windscreen is hiding. This will go unnoticed until there's a problem, or the vehicle needs a new bit of glass. Examples are: scored paintwork, gouges into paint or trim; broken clips, damage to wiring; incorrect ancillary, or constituent parts - or lack of them!
It's a desperate business. Everyone is fighting for the same work and the prices are the lowest I've ever seen. Even insurance companies are going with the supplier who will offer the lowest Average Invoice Value. To retain a workable margin, glass from China is used, or essential trims are sacrificed in favour of non-standard universal 'fit all' types which are often completely wrong and will affect how the glass sits.
OEM glass is the glass fitted at source. These are usually big brands such as Sekurit (Saint Gobain) Pilkington, Guardian but even the manufacturers are looking at their options. Audi and Land Rover have opted for Fu-Yao glass on selected models for example.
Last edited:
Hello :wave: and welcome.
What a useful and helpful first post with which to introduce yourself.
- Joined
- May 15, 2011
- Messages
- 3,769
- Points
- 588
If one was getting a windscreen replaced (I had one done on the Marea to get 'past' a MOT test over a crack by the mirror) is there anything that one can ask about the quality of the glass been used ? Is there a certain standard that it would have to comply with ? Given that windscreens are toughened and laminated (in some cases heated - getting rarer now) you would expect the replacement ones to be just as good as OEM. Should one insist on an OEM and pay the excess of what an insurance company will pay to be certain that you getting like for like ?
Last edited:
Yes, an excellent post and welcome. Concerning replacement screens, I mentioned this in a previous post, but when the screen on my Neon cracked from top to bottom, I managed to get another original brand new Chrysler screen for a tenner (dealer £265+vat!), but that was just flukey good fortune. I've a mate who just recently went to the trouble of having a genuine OEM screen removed from a SAAB in a scrapyard and having his own cracked screen replaced with it, purely because he's a purist and didn't want a non OEM one! I too would be prepared to do the same for the wife's 500 if it came to it. It only cost me 40 quid to have the new screen fitted in the Neon, which was cheaper than going through insurance at the time.
GLA55MAN
New member
All glass must comply to a standard. Having said that, there are some windscreens whcih send a shudder through the fitter's body when he sees it's 'one of them!' he's about to remove. These tend to be the lesser known brands but notoriously, the Heywood Williams, later marked as Autowindscreens, then RAC Autowindscreens, then UKG always seem to delaminate and break up. Some were truly shocking and we wonder how they ever met the prerequisite standard. But this goes back to my original post - it may be OK on the day...
You can ask the installer which brand of glass they are proposing to use. Notwithstanding the quality issues of some glass, the problems usually arise from poor fitting.
GLA55MAN
New member
Thanks
I believe there should always be a choice. As you know, the OEM option usually works out to be the most expensive, not always, but whatever your reason(s) might be for specifying, you should have that choice IMHO.
If the OEM glass starts as high as it does, the rest fall below it into tier, so why not have those options: OEM, Certified OE, budget brand etc.
Where required (people are always looking for cheaper) I will offer the options. I have a set price and I will source the best glass for that car/according to the customer's request, but if they want cheaper, I'll offer them a budget brand (and consequently restrict the guarantee).
Slightly OT but I wonder if in years to come some people will replace their screens with the heated ones in the Ka, or how viable it is to connect it up.
I commend your approach. If other people out there were as transparent (oh dear oh dear, I'm disappointed in myself, no pun intended!) I for one would be a far less miserable git than I already am! Seriously, good to hear you give people a choice. I've got Saint Gobain glass in my Cadillac and I wouldn't want an inferior piece of glass putting in that if the time comes.
GLA55MAN
New member
Some cars which have a factory option of heated front windscreen will have the loom in place. This is true for some Fords and Jaguar models. This just leaves a relay and switch to be added, but much will depend on the level of model you're upgrading.
- Joined
- May 15, 2011
- Messages
- 3,769
- Points
- 588
I had a heated windscreen in an old RS and it was brillant but I wouldn't specify one in a car now even if the option was available. During the day you could see the fine lines of the heated element. It was great for icy mornings and for keeping the windscreen demisted. I did have a crack in it but in the days when the NCT (MOTs) were non existent didn't replace it. When I did enquire about it - it was well in excess of what the insurance were prepared to pay under 'windscreen cover'.
:Offtopic:
A guy I know has to avoid the sun - prone to 'skin' problems - and had to get the glass in his driver's door replaced with 'light friendly' glass to stop essentially a form of 'skin cancer' in his case. I wonder how good is the standard OEM glass for filtering the sun rays. In places like Australia the type of glass used e.g. in conservatories is of great importance.
I'm thinking of getting this system fitted to my Caddy:
http://www.heatshot.com/UK/
There is a video in the link.
http://www.heatshot.com/UK/
There is a video in the link.
Don't really have conservatories in Australia, they'd just end up being ovens.
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 3,696
- Points
- 796
That might have the added benefit of thawing the patented Fiat egg shell washer jets and stop them breaking too.
- Joined
- May 15, 2011
- Messages
- 3,769
- Points
- 588
That was the wrong word to use - sister spend 10 years in Melbourne - I should have said a more open glass design - problem with trying to 'simplify' the explanation. There are issues down under with the ozone layer - it was one of the reasons that she returned.
all this can be solved with glass films, there are many many films out there that could be applied to car. All these fancy buildings with huge amounts of glass still need to meet modern building reg and have certain U-values. Modern glazing in most buildings will have coatings on the glass during manufacture but you can get loads of films designed to retrofit to existing glazing to improve buildings. Hell you could even fit that self cleaning film to your car windows and they'd never get dirty..
PS> I'm a commercial building energy assessor by trade
PS> I'm a commercial building energy assessor by trade
