Out for a drive yesterday and there’s a bang on the windscreen. Didn’t see what it was. Couldn’t see any damage. Really sick this morning to see a 6" hairline crack - barely visible - snaking its way up from the base of the screen. I guess it’s the change in temperature overnight that’s brought the stress from the hit out?
I’m really worried now as I’ve only had the car a few weeks, after looking for a ‘perfect’ specimen for over a year. The scuttle panel is mint. Not cracked at the wiper hole. Perfect rubber seal. Nice black bungs over the screw holes. I can imagine that will be wrecked by the glass people.
Would it be covered as part of the insurance? Do you know any GOOD glass people? I don’t want paint damage from the screen being cut out.
On top of that it’s a Eunos VR combination A. Thinner screen?
Any advice/recommendations? Five specialists who could do this?
Fitst of all check your policy details - it used to be that windscreen cover was pretty well standard as part of the deal on insurance (fully comp at any rate), but this has I believe been gradually withdrawn over the last few years since some cars (fords etc) have heating elements in them that make the cost of replacement frightening! If it is included you’ll probably have a number to call and a specific company to use - Auto Windscreens or National Windscreens is quite common. If you aren’t covered have a look in yellow pages.
You could take the car to a Mazda agent or other garage, but given that windscreen replacement is often a specialist job, all that is likley to happen is that they will call in the same companies you can find in Yellow Pages to do the job, then add their cut to the price!.
I’ve had screens replaced at a local windscreen depot, and also on my own drive. In my experience the windscreen specialists do reaplacements all day -loads of them - and they usually know what they are doing.
Oh, and last time I had it done I didn’t go through the insurance - they do bump up your basic premium if you have a couple of claims within a year of each other (I was unlucky, 3 of the buggers in 12 months - the first was 2 weeks after I’d had the car and a lump of wood hit the screen while I was tanking down the motorway!) - and the price was less than I’d seen on an invoice for the same job, on the same car, through the same supplier. They do charge the insurers more than the private customers!
As for service - the last window I had replaced was the rear window on an Astra estate. At about 1am on new years day (yes, the party was still in full swing!) there was a knock on the door - someone had smashed the rear window. By 2:30 a.m I had booked an appointment and Auto Windscreens (I think it was) had rung back to confirm. At 8:30am I joined a couple of other people with a similar problem at the local depot. By 10:00 am I was on my way with the window replaced - I had to wait a little while while the bonding cured. And this was new years day!
I had mine done by autoglass. I watched them like a hawk - made sure they didn’t scratch the paint under the seal (rust risk). In the end I insisted on a Mazda branded glass (actually made by Pilkington) and a Mazda seal and a new scuttle plate (because the old one wouldn’t lie flat after re-fitting). The result was perfect in the end.
It took them three visits to me before I was happy - I think they were about to get fired! But a good point about the depot. Of course you can’t drive the car for a couple of hours afterwards to let the glue set.
Very impressed with the end result, and a brand spanking new windscreen is so much more clear than one with fifteen years of wiper scratches and stone chippings.
Do not get it done at home, they rush it to get to the next job, a guy came and did mine at home, he was late owing to “problems” with his previous job, ended out doing it in failing light, and finished in darkness. He spilt some glue on the near side “A” pillar which i did not notice until a few days later, luckily it is as dark as the paint work, but still anoys me to this day.
Even having it done at a “centre” is not great, and when I had one done at “autoglass” in Southampton, after a couple of days it started “creaking”, I took it back and they tried to fob me off saying it was “bedding in”, I took it back a few days later where they agreed to refit a new one. The second one was fine for a few months then that started to creak a little, and now several years later every now and again makes a load “popping” noise, getting any one to accept it was poor fitting is near on impossible.
Again check your insurance policy, mine gives me a new windscreen for about £95 excess, far cheaper than paying for one yourself!
You say that, but an independent mobile operator quoted me £135 for a mk2 windsceen. Not that expensive. I ended up going the insurance route though.
However it worth noting that although it will not affect your NCB, it is still a claim and recorded on the MIB database. It may affect future quotation prices.