[elim11]

Hey guys,
Just my luck, rock hit the windshield and gave me a nice little crack. I arrived at my destination and I parked it outside on a hot day. Got back in, turned on the AC and the crack got larger. Needless to say, I need to replace the windshield.

I know my options are to either go OEM glass or aftermarket glass. I called around to the dealer and he gave me the sales pitch why you should use only OEM glass etc,etc. Guess how much he wanted: $1800.

I would like to get your opinion and see if you have any good recommendations on places that do a good job. I am located in OC, Los Angeles area.

(This is for a F30 328i)

Thanks in advanced.

[justinnum1]

i thought insurance covers glass cracks, as in you dont have to pay the deductible and your insurance doesn't go up. i could be wrong but i thought i heard that somewhere.

[BigKutta]

This is a no deductible replacement by the insurance co. Call them and insist on the OEM and they will have it replaced at no cost to you

[Mrcarcrazy]

depends on location and company. some locations force the insurance company to do this no cost stuff...others (like Texas) don't force them...in these cases some companies have a smaller glass deductible, while others (like mine) hit you with the 500.00 deductible....

[Cyberdemon]

Glass deductible like any deductible should be something you can choose the amount of.

It's also usually one of the cheapest deductibles to lower FYI. With Geico to lower my comprehensive deductible from $1000 to $50 and full glass was something absurd like $1.50/month.

[Jbrock22]

If you have HUD you need a BMW windsheild. Has a film in it.

[TheObviousChild]

tiny chips can be sealed at no cost to the driver. Entire windshield replacement is usually another story. Here in Denver, you typically average a windshield replacement every 2 years. I got a 6 foot crack on mine and finally decided to replace it before doing a performance driving school. Luckily, I have a $50 deductable on all window replacements through Progressive. Aftermarket was about $500 and was completely covered after the $50. BMW wanted abotu $1000 and insurance would have made me pay for the difference.

Good luck. ...and aftermarket quality is perfectly fine.

Side note - this is why I won't get the HUD in the new one. I believe you NEED the OEM glass for that to properly display.

[jpoet]

The only add-on gimmick I let my dealer talk me into, was BMW's glass coverage. It was expensive at $700/5 years, but it covers replacing any piece of glass on the car even just for a minor "star", with no deductible.

My old car had a couple of stars in the windshield, and they really bugged me. My Insurance would not cover replacement, just repair, for stars. To get replacement out of my insurance company required the window to be "dangerous".

[gerbs]

Originally Posted by BigKutta

This is a no deductible replacement by the insurance co. Call them and insist on the OEM and they will have it replaced at no cost to you

This is not sound advice. Only some states require insurance companies to have a no deductible replacement for glass. Not all insurance companies have this as an option either so it may just come out of your regular comprehensive deductible.

Looks like he is in California. In California, there is no requirement for insurance companies to replace glass deductible-free.

[elim11]

Originally Posted by Jbrock22

If you have HUD you need a BMW windsheild. Has a film in it.

Is this true? I do have a HUD.

Thanks for everyone for their help so far. I don't think insurance will work without me paying deductable($1000).

Any recommendations on Safelite?

[BigKutta]

Originally Posted by gerbs

This is not sound advice. Only some states require insurance companies to have a no deductible replacement for glass. Not all insurance companies have this as an option either so it may just come out of your regular comprehensive deductible.

Looks like he is in California. In California, there is no requirement for insurance companies to replace glass deductible-free.

So the first step would be to call the insurance company to find out

[TheObviousChild]

Originally Posted by elim11

Is this true? I do have a HUD.

Thanks for everyone for their help so far. I don't think insurance will work without me paying deductable($1000).

Any recommendations on Safelite?

Pretty sure it's true.

I've had good experiences with Safelite. They will come to where you work and they do a good job.

[whoever]

I was quoted $1,600 by the dealer and went with one of the online company. $350 at my door step. Looks exactly like the original, down to every dot, line and shade.

Originally Posted by elim11

Is this true? I do have a HUD.

Thanks for everyone for their help so far. I don't think insurance will work without me paying deductable($1000).

Any recommendations on Safelite?

[crowed]

Do you have HUD? That sounds a bit shady mcgrady

[elim11]

I called Safelite and it is confirmed, cars with HUD have a special film on the windshield that allows the display to be seen on the window vs just going thru the window.

That being said, its a dealer only part which I found for $640 so far. Include the quoted 5 hrs of labor and you are in the $1xxx range.

I just wanted to give people a heads up (pun intended)

[Mako]

Originally Posted by elim11

I called Safelite and it is confirmed, cars with HUD have a special film on the windshield that allows the display to be seen on the window vs just going thru the window.

That being said, its a dealer only part which I found for $640 so far. Include the quoted 5 hrs of labor and you are in the $1xxx range.

I just wanted to give people a heads up (pun intended)

5 hours of labor??? that seems a little insane.
I believe in IL our insurance covers repairs for free and even full replacement for free if they deem it needed. I would think you could argue that if its not OEM glass your car is not being repaired properly since the HUD was a factory option on your car, that would be like my insurance company saying they are replacing my bumper with the standard 3 series one if I get in an accident because it will fit and its cheaper than the M Sport bumper the car came with...

Even if they charge my comprehensive deductible that is only $200 for me and its much cheaper than replacing it on my own and much cheaper than BMW full glass insurance and in IL I was told by my agent it doesn't make your insurance go up (comprehensive claims, as long as you don't have more than 2 in a year or something like that). I have never seen a "glass" option when buying insurance on Geico or any other site, but I think they tailor their quotes to each state rules/laws.

[Digtlartst]

Coverage depends on your insurance company and your deductible. Mine's GEICO. I got a foot-long crack in my E91 windshield 2 months ago, covered under comprehensive. I had a $300 deductible.

You may think that you can insist on all OEM parts after a wreck and that insurance has to pay for OEM -- but that doesn't apply to glass. GEICO has a kickback scheme of some kind with Safelite for glass repair. Whatever Safelite quotes for replacement glass (mostly Chinese glass) is all GEICO will pay. You can take your car to any other glass shop but you pay any extra over whatever Safelite quotes to GEICO. I specified OEM glass to Safelite and they ordered and installed it, but BMW glass cost about $400 more than their generic Chinese glass. The Safelite installation was good, with two exceptions. The wiper fluid hose was left disconnected so it squirted all over the engine. The driver wiper sweep was about 3" off so that there was a huge unwiped area on the left side. It took 5 min for me to fix both problems myself, but it was annoying. I don't know if Chinese glass would have waves in it, but the BMW windshield I got is flawless.
There's nothing like sparkling new glass!

-- I got labor quotes from two local BMW dealers' body shops that were about $500 higher than Safelite's quote. The dealers also marked up the BMW glass much more. Bring More Wampum.

[dmontic71]

Make sure you get a quality installer, I'd be more concerned with that then the glass itself. Had a windshield replaced once (not a BMW), and it leaked badly...

[Big C]

Safelite is replacing mine tomorrow morning at 0800. i'll definitely make sure everything is in good working conditions before they leave.

[lo_xyooj]

5hrs what a rip off..I used safelite last year on another vehicle. He came to my work and did the work in about an hour.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by elim11

Hey guys,
Just my luck, rock hit the windshield and gave me a nice little crack. I arrived at my destination and I parked it outside on a hot day. Got back in, turned on the AC and the crack got larger. Needless to say, I need to replace the windshield.

I know my options are to either go OEM glass or aftermarket glass. I called around to the dealer and he gave me the sales pitch why you should use only OEM glass etc,etc. Guess how much he wanted: $1800.

I would like to get your opinion and see if you have any good recommendations on places that do a good job. I am located in OC, Los Angeles area.

(This is for a F30 328i)

Thanks in advanced.

If in OC/LA, if you decide to use non-dealer, do check out this guy, he looks genuine and good at his craft(he does not scratch any of the metal frame with the cutter!).

And is the dealer with $1800 quote outsourcing the job to Safelite anyway?

My windshield was recently replaced, and my choice was to skip Safelite(insurance's choice) and went with a local CCRC, which supposedly adhered to strict BMW specs, and have in-house BMW glass techs(even some CCRCs outsource their glass job). The quote was also $1600(only paid deductible) for non-HUD glass, top and side moldings, molding clips, windshield spacers, apron, new rain sensor, BMW install kit, plus 5 hours of labor, plus 1 hour to reprogram rain sensor. The SA requested the car to be left at shop to allow BMW urethane to dry, plus perform water test and such.

The Safelite quote instead only lists OEM non-HUD glass(my policy covers OEM), and 2 hours of labor. The rest of the parts are reused(the moldings may be replaced if needed), including aftermarket gel pad to be applied on old rain sensor.

The main issue of Safelite(or aftermarket in general) is the rain sensor. Those sensors have sensor array(C-shaped black pattern) that can be scratched when the old gel pad is removed, and then aftermarket gel pad needs to be reapplied. A OEM rain sensor with factory gel pad is $250 MSRP.

The CCRC job came out great, in fact, the new windshield has less noise than the factory installed one! The rain sensor also works great first try.

[CarlosC]

Safelite replaced my windshield last year. I had a $500 deductible with my insurance company (Wawanesa) so that's the total I ended up paying. Insisted on the exact OE BMW branded/Pilkington glass part # that was on my car before, and that's what they installed. No issues with HUD, cameras or the rain sensor...everything works like before.