Hit a bird and it cracked the windscreen and i am trying to decide if i should report a claim to insurance.

Has anybody had a windscreen fixed for less than $1300 bucks...this is the quote from the local glass shop.

Thanks for the input!

 

You might want to check with Safelite Auto Glass. There on line quote is $372 installed with rain sensing sensor.

 

Thanks for the info Dave.......I am going to look into this!

 

I believe mine was $825 at a dealership.

 

I had the windshield of my R50 Cooper replaced about two years ago by Glass America http://www.glassusa.com/. It's a regional chain serving much of the Eastern half of the US I believe. I think they service IL. At any rate, after checking rates from all sort of places here in Indianapolis, they came in the lowest at $199 installed. My car did not have the rain sensor, so if yours does, it will probably be higher. They did it on-site in my garage just like safelite does and did a great job. No complaints at all. The windshield was NOT a genuine MINI part, however, the quality was good and I could not tell any difference in color or anything else (and I'm picky). I always thought that the MINI windshield was soft and pitted rather easily, so it not being genuine MINI glass is not necessarily a bad thing.

I will tell you, though, that it is likely that one of the A pillar covers is likely to break. Most places will not replace it for free and it will be an added cost. The guy who came to replace mine told me when he called before hand that if the garage was not nice and toasty (it was cold out at the time) that the plastic would probably be brittle and it may crack when it was pulled off and it was not covered in the cost of the replacement. I think safelite works this part into their cost or as I recall they state that there is a trim piece that "may" be needed at an extra cost. At any rate, don't be surprised if one or both of them break when they try to pop them off. They are about $30 a piece if I remember correctly.

good luck.

 

Had mine replaced this fall. Total charge was $375 with Farmer's Group, I've got $100 deductable so that's what it cost me then I gave it a good soaking in GlasGard. $800 to $1300? Somebody is ripping off the public and/or insurance companies. Another indication of skyrocketing insurance premiums.

 

Here's a link from our library (see post #6) that you may want to review. If the installers are aware of this procedure it may prevent mucking up an A pillar. I know when my time comes I will ensure the installers are aware of this. PS--here's another link that shows the R and R in better detail. Good luck.

 

That is for their cheap glass which I don't recommend. I had two replaced in a row because they are so cheap. Ask for Pilkington or PPG glass.

 

I had mine replaced with PPH glass but that was six years ago. At that time, the cost was a little over $300.

 

So is it weird that in FL our windshields are free? I have lived here all of my life and a broken windshield has never been a big deal, call and it is repaired/replaced and no charge.

 

My MA insurance covered my windshield on an old VW I had at no cost, I don't see why they would charge me for the new car (that I pay more to insure as well).

 

Yes it is wierd, but don't we like it! Florida state law requires windshield replacement by insurance to be done with zero deductable, no matter what deductable the insured carries, IF the insured carries coverage on the glass. For MOST folks glass is covered under comrehensive so in FL it does not matter what your comp' deductable is - a FL insured gets new glass free. I believe there are other states that have this.

Back to OP

Why NOT tell your insurance? This is a no fault issue, and this is what insurance is for. If your insurance tells you they will raise your rates cuz of a claim like this you need to find new insurance. I've replaced probably 12 windsheilds over the last 20 years and my rates never went up because of it. Now if I had 4 in the same year there might be a valid arguement . . .

Above does assume you are covered however - for most companies windshield is under comprehensive altho some have a completely sep' glass rider. You need to ask....

And while you are asking you may want to consider this. When I lived outside of FL I had a few cracked windshields and paid my $200 deductable to have them fixed. One day I decided to call the insurance company and ask what it would cost to change my comp' deduct' to zero - this was on 3 cars with a teen boy driver and a little red sports car. My cost to change from a $200 deductable that had cost me $200 a year for the last several due to rock hits on the glass was about $20 a year . . . .

stupid me . . .

never hurts to ask . . .

+++++++++++++++

my insurance has SAFELITE as a partner and all insurance glass claims are routed directly to them

They have done a dozen plus glass replacements for me and with one exception (not MINI) I was happy

The one problem I had, they came back THREE times with entirely new glass with NO arguement - I said I wasn't satisfied and they scheduled a replacement call. The problem was in the gasket btw .. not the glass.

 

i just got a crack that i didn't notice until yesterday, but i called my insurance and they sent safelite out to try to repair the crack. unfortunately, mine was at the edge so it's pretty much going to run, but i asked the guy how much it would be to replace and he said it would have been $524 for non genuine w/ the rain sensor.