Evening all,
Just returned from a road trip to the French Alps and come back with a small but apparently non repairable stone chip in the windscreen.
Autoglass are my insurers fixer of choice and just wondered if anyone had any experience of replacement windscreens especially with non OEM parts.
FWIW the car is a 12 month old Porsche Macan S with heated windscreen and usual rain sensors.
Is there anything I should be thinking about before allowing them to replace with their non OEM windscreen. Direct line don’t cover OEM parts.
Cheers.
Chris
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Have you spoken to Porsche as it's still under warranty? I know OEM will be expensive, but I don't think I'd want a non-OEM one fitting to my Macan. Bear in mind P are notoriously slippery when it comes to warranty claims and can find non-approved parts and it may affect its resale value if it has to go through a 111 point check for a new buyer.
As I understand it depends on your insurer.
Autoglass will need your insurers permission to use/fit OEM. On a friends car insured with Admiral years ago, they agreed to fit OEM as the car was only 2 years old and still under manufacturers warranty.
Edited to add that they only agreed after my friend had specifically requested they use OEM, and Autoglass had to confirm with the insurer before proceeding.
It's just a matter of time...
Thanks. I'm waiting for local Porsche service centre to call back to discuss just that kind of thing.
Also messaged my original salesman to see if he had an particular perspective on this.
I insisted on an OE screen from Autoglass, funnily it wasn’t in stock and they made me wait two months, in that time they called me three times pushing a patent Pilkington replacement, saying it was identical.
Had a similar issue with a new M5 a few years back. Given the technology in/on the screen I insisted it was replaced at BMW and not by Autoglass who they wanted to send out.
Direct Line refused but I held firm and after a week or so it was resolved I’d pay BMW and Direct Line would send me a cheque for the repair, which they did.
Personally I’d hold out for a new windscreen from Porsche. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for you to do so on a car like that.
Given the potential issues with Porsche Warranty (having had experience of this) on a 12 month old car I would insist on an OEM screen.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Had a similar issue some years ago with a two week old BMW. Insurer wanted to use Autoglass and I wanted BMW to fit it.
Spoke to the BMW service manager who explained that Autoglass fitted many more windscreens than his team but if Autoglass fitted it and there were any issues with the sensors for auto wipers, auto lights etc then they wouldn’t be covered by BMW warranty and I would have to take it up with Autoglass.
I ended up getting BMW to do the work and paid the extra over the Autoglass price that the insurance covered.
Thanks for that. What kind of surcharge are we taking about?Originally Posted by smalleyboy1
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Definitely go for the official Porsche windscreen. Had to wait for one for my Macan as Autoglass ordered the wrong one initially.
It needs to go in to one of their depots that can calibrate the front facing camera as it can't be done by a mobile fitter (this was a few years ago mind)
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I had something similar many years ago with a Porsche 944 (or possibly a 924).
Insurance company said that I could get Porsche to supply and fit the windscreen, provided that I paid the difference between the Autoglass price and the Porsche price.
Bizarrely, the Porsche price was cheaper than Autoglass, so I had no problem getting the insurance company to agree it. (No, they didn't refund me the amount that they had saved!)
Think it was circa £130
The only non Porsche company I would use is Paul at Glasstec https://glasstecpaul.com/
OE glass and pay the uplift to get original.
I had to replace the windscreen on a Volvo XC60 which had all the modern driving aids etc plus the heating elements - auto glass replaced it and in conversation the fitter mentioned that he’d been at the local Volvo dealership the day replacing the screen on a new car that had been damaged - he actually stated that if I’d taken it back to Volvo he’s have fitted it with the same screen. I thought all windscreens were generic tbh.
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Interesting conversation with Porsche South London today who in one breath said "its absolutely fine to get Autoglass to change the windscreen" but in the other that "if anything related to the windscreen didn't work during the warranty period that I'd have take it up with Autoglass".
So we are back to the position that others have stated that I need to try and argue the warranty point with Direct Line and if necessary the surcharge.
Thanks for the tip. I've messaged him and see what the advice and cost is.
I've had two new windscreens on an Audi through Autoglass and both were OEM as they didn't even have other options. If you have certain safety systems with sensors attached to the windscreen then those have to be re-calibrated which is either done at the dealer or a specialist Autoglass centre.
Apparently Audi (like some others) have lighter windscreens now which in my case seems to mean that if an insect hits it at 70mph it cracks....
I found that on some em, more exclusive vehicle we’ll say, that only oe windscreens are available, worth checking and saving all the hassle you might be creating.
Thanks and yes that had crossed my mind. There was always the chance I would just open up a 'can of worms' for no reason.
At the moment I'm quite tempted to just leave it as the crack is so small and not in my field of vision.
You (obvs) run the risk of the crack spreading.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Perhaps you mentioned it already, but isn't it repairable with spot-repair? You cannot keep on driving like this. Ultimately, it will crack; often when there's cold rain pouring down on the outside and you've cranked up the temp inside the car for comfort and demisting...
Apparently not. The Autoglass man says there are two different impact points which means they can’t repair it.
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Don't do that. For the safety of yourself and others, just get it replaced.
Spoke to Direct Line who stuck to the script of insisting they won’t cover OEM screens and the only difference is branding…….and of course that pesky Porsche warranty I pointed out.
I’m allowed to get Porsche to change the screen and maintain the warranty but they will only offer me £125 towards the cost which seems grossly unfair.
My next line of negotiation will be to ask how much Autoglass will charge to change it and ask Directline to match it with me making up the difference.
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Have you asked Porsche how much they'd charge for the replacement?
I have a first generation Macan and whilst it's been trouble free, I know it's likely to need the transfer box replacing at some point (£4k+) and a cylinder head oil leak is an engine out job to fix. I have a Porsche warranty and will keep it as long as I have the car due to the known issues with the transfer box etc. However, keeping the warranty does entail buying into the warm feeling you get when the dealer shafts you for servicing, brake pads, oil changes etc. On the plus side, you get a nice cup of coffee whilst they run through the bill.
So, personally, I'd want an OEM windscreen if I was in your position. It's a bit like replacing the crystal on your Sub with a non-Rolex one and I'd also have concerns that the tint might not match your front windows either. Porsche are like nothing else when it comes to warranties and re-sale values, particularly as yours is only a year old. If the windscreen was a grand for Porsche to replace, personally, I'd probably suck it up and put it down to the cost of owning such a lovely car.
What is the risk?
Modern windscreens are laminated, so obviously it won't craze like the old toughened ones used to.
I wouldn't have thought there was any great risk driving with a small crack out of the sight line (that one seems fine by MOT standards), but I'm happy to be better informed.
M
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
I once got a stone chip just outside Eastbourne whilst on my way up to Yorkshire. By the time I reached Birmingham it was a crack the full height of the windscreen. Being laminated and only the outer pane damaged, I wasn’t worried, but it does indicate that you can always just leave it.
When Autoglass replaced the screen on our (at the time) under one year old GLC, the replacement was OE.
Well I wondering the same thing. But I'm assuming its more of matter of inconvenience or timing if the crack spreads widely maybe on a longer trip and then does become distracting and therefore dangerous?
If you decide to live with crack I'd get it done somewhere else (even use a DIY kit) which should lessen chance of it spreading.
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