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there's one thing I hate more than going to the garage...


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...and that is having my windscreen replaced.

 

I got "shot in the head" by a massive stone chip a month ago.

Auto Windscreens are my insurer's "provider of choice".  Can't get anyone else to do it unless I just want a £150 contribution from the insurers - less the excess of £75!

They can't get a new screen onto the car for a week.

"Big day" comes, fitter calls to say he'll be there in a couple of hours.  3 Hours later another call to tell me he's just destroyed someone else's car, that guy is kicking off at him, and that he isn't able to come today.

Phone "HQ"... next appointment is in a week.

 

Guy turns up with a screen - a dusty old piece of "UKG" glass.  All delaminating in the corner.  Luckily I saw it before he fitted it.  Back in the van, another week to wait.

 

Guy turns up with a new Pilkington screen (same as is on it - reasonable quality but still not like the factory one).   Fits the screen without much incident (other than leaves the rain sensor gel with a bubble in it, and the black mastic is outside the edges of the glass under the trim strip, one wiper mis-aligned, the cable covers clipped poorly and the car full of bits of old mastic) - once the screen is on I see two 3-inch long scratches down the front of the screen.  We'll call you back to sort another screen.

 

Next week arrives, no call.  To add insult to injury, the excess has been taken by them.  Eventually they agree to get someone out today (now week 4 from the incident date).  Another Pilkington screen.  At least this one doesn't look to be damaged, and, look, the guy has a seat cover...

Anyway, fitted again, I hear this guy is a relief fitter because there are only two fitters for the area... Screen goes in reasonably well but I clock him installing the cable cover upside down, and the sensor gel is covered in fingerprints (!).  In fairness he swapped the generic gel for a genuine VW gel he had, and gave me a spare, and another wiper mis-aligned.

 

To cap off my woes, tonight I went to sort the dodgy wiper alignment and caught my watch strap on the scuttle trim - cracked in half (I've had it on 5 or 6 times without incident, go figure).   Looks like I've got a trip down to TPS in the morning.

 

>and deep breath out< GRRR!!!

 

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I know the feeling.

 

I tend to get pinholes that cause air noise.

 

On a previous car they came back three times to try and fix it and ended up sending two guys to take the screen out. (again)

End result was about 100kg of mastic all round the screen.

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Yup it's like hell! I've had my Skoda and Clio vandalised and windscreens cracked across whole screen! "Yes sir we can get the repairers out in 5 weeks at earliest" well what the hell am I meant to do I'm trying to sell this Clio and I've got no car to use so works have very kindly let me use the van but I shouldn't have too! Grrr too

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GAAAHHHH and now I see, on closer inspection, that one of the clips on the scuttle trim was left off (luckily it was in the plenum chamber still), that the channel which holds one of the side mouldings has received a bit of "loving attention" from the cutter they use to take the old PUR adhesive off, and that one of the rain channels at the side of the screen is 90% blocked by excess mastic at the top corner.

 

New scuttle trim £18 from TPS (old one looked horrible and grey anyway, I guess they did me a "favour"), fitted in 15 minutes, and the wipers straight.  The first trim TPS gave me off the shelf had a crack in it too (wish I'd seen before getting home).   Masked off the glass and pillar and cut out the excess PUR from the rain channel.  And now I'm there, I can see the ghastly mess they've made of the rain channel with their cutter.  I'll have to get some paint on that...

 

I know I could get them out again to "fix" it... but you just know that this time something else is going to get broken...

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My new-ish screen already has two chips in it.  The first one arrived within a week and the second one has a 1" crack which will undoubtedly grow.  Both are in the driver's wiper arc but low down and in the centre of the screen.

 

This little gem was the reason it got replaced and was bang in my line of vision:

 

IMG_3146_zpsd0e8b7eb.jpg

 

But I had quite a good experience with the fitter, who was a nice chap and very careful, even forewarning me the plastic would probably break - he was right.

 

IMG_3154_zpsb2c530a7.jpg

 

Gaz

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I must have been lucky with the scuttle trim in the past - had it off 4 or 5 times without incident. In fairness to the guys I don't think they set out to do a bad job - even the VW procedure lists repair paint operations as part of the procedure, so I guess it is expected. What makes me most cross is knowing that the amount of money the insurance company will have ended up paying would have almost certainly covered to cost of a genuine screen, properly fitted. At the rate I am racking up the miles I hope this screen will outlive the car's usefulness to me

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I have had a lot of screens over the years as I do a lot of driving in a company car.

Due to the insurance having a £500 excess we just tend to pay for fitting rather than claiming.

The last time I needed a screen in my Superb they said it would take a week to get one so I rand around and TPS had them in stock,

anyway I called the insurance recommended fitters and asked how much it would be and the quoted just over £500 for the screen and fitting.

I called my local Skoda dealers to be told the screen was around £175 and could be ordered for next day.

 

I had the dealers get the screen and had a fitter they use fit it for an extra £50.

 

Just shows how much mark up the big boys put on for their own cheap poor quality glass.

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Am tempted to do that next time - it will cost me a couple of quid more but at least I'll get a good screen.  None of the ones which have been on the car so far have been a patch optically on the Saint Gobain original that the car came with.  I read some interesting posts from a windscreen man measuring genuine vs pattern screens for various cars - all the pattern ones were smaller and thinner.

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