Heated front windscreen
- Thread starter squaresausage
- Start date
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myfirstl322
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 41,354
- Location
- Hoots mon...
Actually mine was replaced as part of a small parking NON fault incident, the details of which i shall not publish, NOR could i possibly comment about whether the incident was the reason the screen cracked, i never seen it before guv, ahem. The repairers ordered new one which when arrived was found to have been dropped, it was goosed. Took another week for 'replacement' replacement....Like for like. Also it was very fortuitous that the 'incident' slightly marked my stone chipped and scuffed front bumper, the whole bumper was resprayed, win win. I had an X3 for 3 weeks on hire, most miserable i've ever been, hideous car. Noisy, firm, sporty, small, nimble, yuk. Apparantly if i had an 06 or higher it would have been an x5...? A rep drove from Glasgow to me in Inverness with this brand new X3, and took mine to repairers, no wonder insurance is so expensive, but other party was picking up the Tab. New screen is £780 at stealers, UNFITTED, whoah.
squaresausage
New Member
- Posts
- 73
- Location
- Hamilton, Lanarkshire
Got a new heated screen fitted today by AA windscreens 
£60 excess. Only problem the screen had been replaced before and the previous installers must have damaged the paint around the screen and rust had set in.
The AA guys were great and sanded and primed the affected area before fitting the new screen. Great job and I now have a fully functioning heated front screen
£60 excess. Only problem the screen had been replaced before and the previous installers must have damaged the paint around the screen and rust had set in. The AA guys were great and sanded and primed the affected area before fitting the new screen. Great job and I now have a fully functioning heated front screen
2.0_hippo
Well-Known Member
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- 6,069
- Location
- Hertfordshire
Top job !
Glassman
New Member
- Posts
- 10
- Location
- Greater London
I'm surprised at the 'get a new windscreen on insurance' and 'a bargain for 100 quid' attitude. There are a few things to consider.
Your insurer is not interested in your car. They're in the business of indemnifying loss; they take your money and don't really like giving it back. When it comes to paying for your new windscreen, most - if not all - inscos will have some kind of an 'average invoice price' deal whereby the insco gets a cracking deal (pun intended) on glass replacement. That one AIP might even include repairing chips, cue those 'there is never a good time to have a chipped windscreen' adverts...
On the flip side, the 'nominated' windscreen company will be looking at some serious volume to make that AIP deal work, so they will no doubt have secured as close to exclusivity as possible (which is why you'll find that the insco won't be too keen to let you nominate your own preferred supplier). AIP deals work by sheer volume, and by bringing in cheaper glass into the equation. This cheaper glass is coming in from China, Poland, and even that once British brand Pilkington is Japanese, owned by Nippon Sheet Glass (and the windscreens they produce come from plants all over the world). The claim that aftermarket (copy) glass is as good as is not entirely true, and not even the manufacturers are making a definitive distinction between OEM and aftermarket glass. See here for some examples of this. Paying your excess will rarely get you a like-for-like genuine LR windscreen; it costs too much.
Paying your excess may also open you to a risk of a poorly fitted windscreen by someone with little experience or with no regard for your car. It is alarming how many fitters/fitting companies are installing windscreens which are contaminated (from manufacturing processes) and the damage a lot of these guys are hiding underneath your shiny new windscreen will only make itself known when the warranty period lapses, or when the car is sold (windscreen guarantees are not transferable).
Aftermarket heated windscreens are functionality tested, but you'll only get a 12 month manufacturer warranty. Fitting guarantee will vary from firm to firm.
Your insurer is not interested in your car. They're in the business of indemnifying loss; they take your money and don't really like giving it back. When it comes to paying for your new windscreen, most - if not all - inscos will have some kind of an 'average invoice price' deal whereby the insco gets a cracking deal (pun intended) on glass replacement. That one AIP might even include repairing chips, cue those 'there is never a good time to have a chipped windscreen' adverts...
On the flip side, the 'nominated' windscreen company will be looking at some serious volume to make that AIP deal work, so they will no doubt have secured as close to exclusivity as possible (which is why you'll find that the insco won't be too keen to let you nominate your own preferred supplier). AIP deals work by sheer volume, and by bringing in cheaper glass into the equation. This cheaper glass is coming in from China, Poland, and even that once British brand Pilkington is Japanese, owned by Nippon Sheet Glass (and the windscreens they produce come from plants all over the world). The claim that aftermarket (copy) glass is as good as is not entirely true, and not even the manufacturers are making a definitive distinction between OEM and aftermarket glass. See here for some examples of this. Paying your excess will rarely get you a like-for-like genuine LR windscreen; it costs too much.
Paying your excess may also open you to a risk of a poorly fitted windscreen by someone with little experience or with no regard for your car. It is alarming how many fitters/fitting companies are installing windscreens which are contaminated (from manufacturing processes) and the damage a lot of these guys are hiding underneath your shiny new windscreen will only make itself known when the warranty period lapses, or when the car is sold (windscreen guarantees are not transferable).
Aftermarket heated windscreens are functionality tested, but you'll only get a 12 month manufacturer warranty. Fitting guarantee will vary from firm to firm.
busakaz
Active Member
- Posts
- 381
- Location
- Daventry,Northants
i had a screen done last week by autowindscreens and the heated screen is guaranteed for life
Glassman
New Member
- Posts
- 10
- Location
- Greater London
Auto Windscreens = three year warranty on fitting; Autoglass; lifetime.
Datatek
Well-Known Member
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- 44,163
- Location
- Near Poitiers SW France
But life is like life on the gearboxes, until it fails, at which time it is judged to have reached the end of it's life
