I guarantee you the glass guy did NOT score or damage my paint in any way. I was literally looking over his shoulder the whole time
I guarantee you the glass guy did NOT score or damage my paint in any way.
It’s pretty much impossible to NOT damage the paint in some way when removing the windshield. That’s why they always add primer to cover up any scratches in the paint they might have caused. This is the paint on the metal UNDER the glass…NOT any paint that you can actually see when the windshield is in place.
My last installation was done in the dead of winter and the insurance company tried to steer me into using a mobile installer to do an outdoor installation when it was 18 degrees outside!!!
J N Phillips - one of the premier glass replacement companies here in New England can effectively replace the glass with one of their mobile units when the temps are down 15 degrees or above. Each of the trucks have on board heaters to heat up the adhesive. They can’t do it if it’s raining or snowing.
The after market auto glass business is a very mature industry. The last time I replaced a windshield was on a 1988 Chevy Caprice, and it cost all of $195. This shop could even get a wrap around for a 1957 Chevy, I was told at a reasonable price. Shop around; Hondas are all over the place and the high volume must justifiy getting the forms for after market manufacturing them.
I was watching the guy.
Over his shoulder.
He did NOT damage "the paint on the metal UNDER the glass"
I know what I saw.
What reason would I have for making this up?
I’ve seen MANY windshields repaired. If you say it wasn’t damaged…then fine…But I’d like to see how they did it. It’s not easy to cut the seal delicately.
I’ve had a few windshields replaced, but they did it in my garage in the winter not outside, or they did it in their shop. I didn’t watch them since I tend to leave people alone to do their jobs, but on my old Riv I was on about my fourth windshield and I was getting rust along the top edge and in fact was leaking. At any rate I had them remove the windshield, then took it home to repair the rust on the roof and channel, then back to the shop to replace the glass. None of the rust was on the edge of the channel but at the bottom. I don’t see how this could have been from previous glass replacements. Plus, I don’t think primer alone is going to be good enough if the paint is scraped.
I will diagnose your windshield for you. It is broken and must be replaced !
Next time buy insurance with full glass coverage.
@oldtimer11–"I will diagnose your windshield for you. It is broken and must be replaced !"
I don’t know how you came to your diagnosis so quickly. At the university where I was employed, we would have to convene a committee to do study the problem. The first meeting would be to elect a chair, vice-chair and secretary. At the next meeting, we would select a task force to go out and inspect the windshield and prepare a report. We would then have a committee meeting to study the report and ask the task force to revise the report for the next meeting. We could continue this process for at least 6 months. It’s great to be retired and in the real world where someone can make a diagnosis immediately.
@oldtimer11 Some regions have extensive winter damage to windshields due to crushed gravel being spread on the roads for traction. Where I live, Sears Allstate will not insure windshield damage here except for accidents. Other insurance firms make it so expensive as to not be worthwhile.
I have $5000 deductable, so my Corolla and Mazda windshields may not be covered. To get a $50 deductible for me would be prohibitively expensive. Whatever OP does, I would not go to the dealer to get an new windshield, unless the car is a new model with a special windshield. I recall when GM and Pontiac came out with their large windshield minivans in the 80s, the glass was $2000. It soon dropped as the vans aged, production increased, and the after market started supplying them.
P.S. That’s $500!!! deductible.
Some regions have extensive winter damage to windshields due to crushed gravel being spread on the roads for traction
Every windshield I had to replace was damaged in the summer…most of the time while driving through construction sites or on dirt roads.
@MikeInNH It depends on where you live. Our winters are so cold that salt or calcium chloride alone is not really effective. So they use a mixture called “pickle” which is and, finely crushed gravel, sand, salt and calcium chloride. The crushed gravel is flinty and does not cause large cracks, but mostly pock marks. No one I know gets these fixed regularly. We just wait till there are so many that forward vision becomes problematic, or a large crack suddenly develops when you take the car though a car wash in cold weather. We typically replace windshields every 5 years.
When you sell the car there can not be a crack larger than 2" within the swept area of the wipers. Many sellers just put on smaller wiper blades if the crack is near the edge of the swept area.
I’ve replaced them winter and summer. Several or more from sand blasting from winter roads where the small pits affect your vision in the sun. Also several from chips and cracks from rocks or whatever. One time the chip was in the fall but didn’t crack until cold in the winter. Roads are just hard on windshields but they protect your head.