I was driving to work yesterday and got a chip in the windscreen on the dual carriageway. The chip is about half a centimetre across. Is this dangerous and should I have it fixed straight away? I've heard that some windscreen companies can fix chips as an alternative to a new screen altogether, any idea who does this and how much it costs? If its anything like £50 then I'd be as well getting a whole new 'screen and paying the insurance excess, but I don't want to unnecessarily bump up all of our insurance premiums by doing that!!
Thanks
TGM
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Don't know who your insurer is, but of the 3 that I've been with since driving have offered free repairs to windscreens, and any claims have never affected any no claims bonus discounts or premium increases.
It is best to get it repaired as the glass is now weakened at that point. Water can get in, and at this time of year can freeze and turn the chip into a crack in no time.
*Any* windscreen company should be able to advise on whether it is repairable or not, but check with your insurance company first to see who is on their list of approved repairers.
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Just had Autoglass round this morning to repair a chip (two 'stars', maybe 1 cm across in total) on the Mondeo. Direct Line organised it for me, I paid nothing and have been assured it will not affect my NCD (documented in policy, but I did check).
Would recomend getting it done - windscreen not perfect, but would not pass MOT as it was, and was a distraction to me when I drove. My view is that I had already paid for it in my premium, so was as well to get it done!
Jono
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Hi,
Bear in mind that having a chip fixed is not risk free.
I had a chip which had been sitting there happily for about a year and had not got significantly larger in that time. Thought I'd get it fixed (at no cost to me) by RAC Auto Windscreens. They cracked it and I needed a new screen. Their price was so astronomical (£392) that my insurance wouldn't cover it. Got it done by the Rover main dealer for £190 including lifts to/from work.
I wonder why windscreen companies spend all that money promoting a service (fixing chips) which does them out of business (new screens). Could it be that chips and small cracks really don't cause as much of a problem as they would have us believe? Perhaps they're just genuinely nice people.
By the way, regarding paying for it, although you won't lose NCB for doing this (or in fact many glass claims) this does NOT mean it doesn't increase premiums. The money comes from somewhere - where do you (all) think insurance companies get money from?
Cheers,
Mark
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Mark,
Re: NCB - I accept that an insurer could load my premium in light of the fact that I had made a windscreen 'claim', even without explicitly doing it through my NCD. However, at a global level, my guess would be (and it is a guess) that insurance companies make a provision for this within all premiums (if this is a service they offer) and therefore we are all paying for it, whether or not we use the facility.
Yes, insurance companies get their money from us, and the majority of it is 'risk' based (i.e. based on us and the vehicle we drive). However, windscreen repair is rarely a matter of our own doing, and they may well recoup this money from all policy holders broadly on an even basis.
Appear to have dropped off technical here - sorry.
As to why windscreen companies promote fixing of chips - chipped windscreens are not as strong, and the resin fix, while not being invisible takes away a lot of the distraction and makes the screen (almost?) as strong as it was before. If they didn't do it, someone else would!
Jono
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I had one done last week. Phoned Autoglass at 11:15 and it was done by 14:00.
My Liverpool Victoria fully comp insurance gives free repairs or £40 excess for replacement windscreens. NCB unaffected. In fact they used to give out clear "plasters" to put over chips to stop moisture and muck getting in.
Autoglass say that if the damage can be covered by a 5p piece it's repairable. There is some risk as they put a vacuum pump onto the screen to clean out the wound but having said that what's the worst that can happen? Free repair turns into £40 excess payment. Hardly the end of the world. Autoglass handle all the paperwork too!
My last repair job (on a much larger chip) lasted 2 years and suddenly cracked on a bitterly cold morning when the hot air got to it.
Terry
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Thanks for all advice.
Called Direct Line and they gave me an Autoglass freephone number to call. Autoglass came round to my work and fixed the chip in about 30 mins, no charge.
Cheers
TGM
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In reply to Mark Smith:-
I wouldn\'t insure my car with a company that had a ceiling on the cost of replacing a windscreen! There is nothing in my policy about the cost of a replacement being subject to a limit, just a £40 XS. I should think that many windscreen cost over £400, particularly if they are heated and have rain sensitive areas for windscreen wipers. Who was the insurer who refused you a replacement?
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Hi,
Well the insurer was Sabre, but that's not the point really - the points were 1) that there was a limit on the policy, and 2) that Autowindscreens et al overcharge enormously.
Cheers,
Mark
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