My posh tinted rain sensitive windscreen has an 8 inch crack in it. The insurance policy says my excess is £50 but only if I use Autoglass or Auto Windscreen. If I don't use them, insurers only pay £150 towards the cost.
My question is, will Autoglass replace like-for-like, or will they just supply a windscreen minus the bells and whistles?
Also, if I go back to BMW, whats the likely cost for the full monty?
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My question is, will Autoglass replace like-for-like, or will they just supply a windscreen minus the bells and whistles?
I would expect them to fit a screen of the same nominal specification as the original but it may well not be a genuine item. I understand that whilst some replacement screens are from the same manufacturer as the original (but do not carry the car manufacturer's markings) others are pattern parts, i.e. copies from a different manufacturer. I think the only answer is to ask Autoglass. I would at least TRY to get either a genuine replacement or one from the same manufacturer.
This reminds me that I must go back to the company that replaced my Ford Quickclear heated screen ~ when it's steamed up and I switch it on it's obvious that some of the elements have failed and it looks a bit like a bar chart until it's fully cleared!
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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Where else would you take it? If you take it to BMW they will call in ,....... Autoglass or Auto windscreen.
As long as you specify what your screen is, teh glass comonay will fit one technically the same, with the same function. It just might not be the same make. BMW dont make them anyway so whats the problem?
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As long as you specify what your screen is, teh glass comonay will fit one technically the same, with the same function. It just might not be the same make. BMW dont make them anyway so whats the problem?
I just refuse to believe that copies from a different manufacturer will be as good as a genuine replacement or one from the same manufacturer as the original. Without access to the drawings no company can copy something exactly. You can analyse as many samples of genuine parts as you like but you'll never be able to make an exact copy. For a start you will never know the drawing dimensions, including tolerances, or the material specification. You may get close, but will never be exact.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I was concerned about this when the screen on my daughter's Seat Ibiza took a hit at 1 mth old.
RAC AutoWindscreens told me that the screen would come from the same factory but would be marked with the manufacturers name, rather than 'Seat'.
In fact it turned out to be a 'pattern' windscreen - but it looks perfect from any angle (no 'rippling' across the screen) and (the thing I was most worried about) the distictive green colour match is, as far as I can see, perfect.
I have a Merc with light sensor and the fitter did say that cars with rain/light sensors, the sensor 'usually' comes ready attached to the screen and those screens 'usually' only come from the original manufacturer.
I do wonder what the warranty implications are of having a pattern screen fitted, especially with bonded screens being an intrnsic part of the structure of the vehicle? The insurance companies must be happy about it or they wouldn't authorize it in the first place.
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<< The insurance companies mustbe happy about it or they wouldn't authorize it in the first place.
I'm not sure that insurance companies vouch for (or in fact could be expected to) the integrity of a replacement part.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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<< The insurance companies must >> be happy about it or they wouldn't authorize it in the >> first place. >> I'm not sure that insurance companies vouch for (or in fact could be expected to) the integrity of a replacement part.
Of course they do - as long as you use an authorised repairer. They don't (generally) if you insist on taking the car elsewhere.
So, I guess, you could be in difficulty if you insisted on (for example) a BMW dealer organising the fitting of a replacement screen, rather than leaving it with the insurer's recommended company.
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"For a start you will never know the drawing dimensions, including tolerances, or the material specification. You may get close, but will never be exact."
Yes you can BMW issue these specs to the OEM screen suppliers, Indeed BMW will have more than one supplier for the same screen,
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I had a replacement windscreen put in my Corsa. I rang round and got the cheapest one I could. It only cost me 90 quid but was just as good as the original.
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A car manufacturer (assembler is closer to the mark these days) will source their screens from various manufacturers during a model life. All screens have to carry the appropriate "e" mark to confirm it meets the required legislation on build and material quality.
To insist on a "BMW" screen, for example, is like going to Micheldever and insisting on a BMW tyre or Motech and insisting on a BMW alloy. They don't make them. They don't make fuel injection pumps, they don't make air filter, they don't make windscreen wipers....
But as long as people think they do, they do make..... a fortune.
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Oh, and one part of getting a screen "e" marked is that it has to fit properly. Screens are an important part of the structural integrity of the car, carrying much greater loads in the event of a crash than you might think.
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"For a start you will never know the drawing dimensions, including tolerances, or the material specification. You may get close, but will never be exact." Yes you can BMW issue these specs to the OEM screen suppliers, Indeed BMW will have more than one supplier for the same screen,
I was referring to companies that COPY parts, not approved suppliers that manufacture to approved drawings. During the last 28 years of my working life I assessed countless copies. I've seen castings in which even the original manufacturer's logo had been copied and included in the casting. I've seen boxed items where the writing on the box was close enough to the genuine article to fool someone who only glanced at it but didn't look properly. For example I've seen brake linings with the box labelled Dirling ~ at a quick glance the unwary would think it read Girling. I shudder to think where, and to what standard, some of the replacement windscreens have been made.
The next time I have a screen replaced I will insist that it is either a genuine part or one made by a supplier approved by the the car manufacturer.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I've just done a whole-web google on the manufacturer and brand name marked on my current replacement windscreen and it came up blank!
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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what is the manufacturer and brand name on your screen?
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what is the manufacturer and brand name on your screen?
Solarshield Safevue
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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>> what is the manufacturer and brand name on your screen? >> Solarshield Safevue
Other markings:-
E11 (in a circle)
43 R-00087
DOT 122 M39 AS1
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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"http://www.safevue.com/"
You using a fake OEM google? ;-)
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"http://www.safevue.com/" You using a fake OEM google? ;-)
I googled for Solarshield Safevue and that must have confused the issue. Anyway, it's nice to know that my screen was possibly made by a company that at least claims to be reputable.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I assume that as its south african it was set up to service the requirements of the car plants there, ie VW and Mercedes. In theory the products should not be STM
A new Back room acronym.
STM = sweary thing material.
A term of abuse that would not pass the sweary thing filter
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In theory the products should not be STM
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if you meant crap, i think that is allowed by the stf.
this post will either prove or disprove it.
btw, rf : loose and lose are not the same. do a search on this forum under your name for "loose" and you may see what i mean.
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Well of course Autoglass and Silvershield (amongst others) are going to pick up their screens from any old bloke and not take deliveries direct from accredited manufacturers.
Did the sarcasm come across ok in that sentence?
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Well of course Autoglass and Silvershield (amongst others) are going to pick up their screens from any old bloke and not take deliveries direct from accredited manufacturers. Did the sarcasm come across ok in that sentence?
I didn't mention Autoglass or Silvershield nor in fact did I refer to any other particular windscreen replacement company. Sarcasm, by the way, is the lowest form of wit.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I didn't mention Autoglass or Silvershield nor in fact did I refer to any other particular windscreen replacement company.
So in the context of insurer-approved screen replacement you meant back-street joe and his glazing factory. Naturally.
Sarcasm, by the way, is the lowest form of wit.
Some subjects deserve no other form.
Actually I have to take issue with this as I firmly believe that anything shown by ITV and BBC1 between 18:00 and 20:00 on a Saturday is invariably the lowest form of wit.
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Sarcasm may well be the lowest form of wit. It is very satisfying and soothing to the soul tho.
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Sarcasm may well be the lowest form of wit. It is very satisfying and soothing to the soul tho.
Couldn't agree more! ;-)
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I had my Rover 75's windscreen replaced by Autoglass a couple of weeks ago (on a Sunday morning after reporting it at about 7pm on the preceding Friday to my insurance co who diverted my call to them). The girl who took my details specifically asked whether it was rain sensing (it was). The chap who replaced the screen tested the rain sensing function and went over the whole car checking for scratches and other faults which I then I to sign as being present before he started work. No problems with the replacement. All in all a very professional job I thought.
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I suspect that the market for fancy BMW screens to be replaced is so small as to put off anyone making pattern copies. It is not like knocking out brake pads or clutch parts, so even if not marked BMW it is likely to come out of the same factory.
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