Cracked windscreen

[GeekOKent]

Driving along this morning, on the school run, hear a snap, and this happened.

No previous cracks or dents or any damage, that I knew of anyway. But argh.....

 

[GeekOKent]

Who's the recommend replacement vendor ? My insurance is telling me to goto a random garage near here...

Random in that I have never heard of them in the past, and I thought large companies like autoglass etc were the way to go ?

 

[Towpack]

Don't know about Autoglass, not had much to do with them but wouldn't recommend Auto Windscreens. I had a nightmare with them a few years back replacing the rear window.

 

[GeekOKent]

Auto windscreen seem to be the insurance preferred vendor, and if I want the claim to not impact my no claims, I must goto these folks(?).

What was the nightmare if I may ask?

 

[karl2000]

Had the windscreen replaced in my Mercedes C class years ago - autoglass did a perfect job

 

[Shayne]

All and any company have good and bad both trainees and old hands . Be present and willing to say stop what your doing and go get somebody who has a clue .

 

[GeekOKent]

Looks like I have two options, auto windscreens or national windscreens, both of whom seem to have ratings that say 'avoid', both insisting they are 'as good or better than OE spec. or the insurance company willing to give me £150 to just go get it done somewhere else myself.

time to get some indie quotes.

 

[Towpack]

Auto windscreen seem to be the insurance preferred vendor, and if I want the claim to not impact my no claims, I must goto these folks(?).

What was the nightmare if I may ask?

A complete cluster f*ck of the wrong glass being brought and missed appts with no follow up. The glass being fitted and leaking like a sieve as the fitter had no sealer. Eventually, after more phone calls and cancelled/rearranged appointments, the glass being refitted and still leaking, then more cancelled appointments as the sealer was "still on order". At this point I just got pi**ed off and bought some sealer, removed/refitted the glass myself and job done, been fine since.
I then get another bill for a further £211 above what I'd been quoted on the initial booking call and which I had paid. Further phone calls and an advisor confirmed I'd been quoted the wrong price and the case passed to their customer services who would contact me but they did not and heard nothing more. The only saving grace is that I got the glass at a good (incorrect?) price but all in all, a frustrating experience with shite customer service.

 

[GeekOKent]

@Towpack that sounds like a good reason to avoid

 

[Juddian]

I use a local independent one man his dog business, the used car trade in your area will know the man to use.

Haven't claimed on a screen for years, unless you have something exotic its quite surprising just how cheap new screens can be when you avoid the big advertisers.

 

[Towpack]

The only reason I changed the rear window was the HRW had failed on several of the elements. Tried a few times to fix with the special silver repair paint but no good and just got fed up with it not working. IIRC Toyota wanted around £700! Auto Windscreens came in much cheaper thanks to their mis-quote so decided to swallow the cost and replace it. That's the main reason I went with them.

 

[karl2000]

Surprised they went ahead with a mis-quote!!

 

[Towpack]

They quoted the price, I ordered it, it was fitted eventually (fitter took payment on first fitting), cost verified by both fitter and the recording of the initial call so what could they do? A quotation is a quotation, not an estimate and no mention of it being a deposit with further payment due. I assume they decided that if it went to court they'd lose.
This was back in 2016 by the way.

 

[Tractionman]

Had Autoglass come out to me at Watford Gap services one Monday morning when windscreen came in in a million bits on a DAF truck after stone hit on M1.
Boss ordered replacement laminated, but they turned up after 2hrs with ordinary toughened, saying no laminated available.
I was on my way delivering to North and Scotland all week, and after phone calls back and forth, they fitted the toughened with written proof they would swap at later date.
Did an excellent job vacuuming broken glass.
True to their promise, the following Saturday back at base, they removed toughened and fitted laminated. No leaks, and left my cab clean and tidy.

 

[GeekOKent]

National windscreens.... Today....

 

[GeekOKent]

They seem to have done an ok job. No extra noise inside and it looks optically even. Took them the best part of an hour and a half and then an hour to let the sealant cure.

Now we need a couple of good showers to confirm it's water proof. Fingers crossed.

 

[Gr8Yota]

Autoglass took 7 or 8 visits to get the screen correct and fitted correctly in Mikes 80!

I think with any of the big boys it is just dependant on the depot and fitter on the day whether they give a dam or not… I doubt the £150 will cover it so check before you accept!

 

[GeekOKent]

It was definitely better going into the workshop, they had 2 people and inside, out of the rain they would have been in on my drive!