Replacing windscreen for safety reasons? Insurance?

[petesimcock]

Hey guys, bit of a random one really but here goes...

My windscreen is stone chipped so badly that when driving into the sun it is just plain dangerous. You cannot see out of it. There are tiny little chips all over the screen (literally thousands of them) and it is very hazy. the car has done a lot of motorway miles which is why I think it's so bad. I have just driven up the lane to my house into the sun and had to lean out of the window to be safe to proceed at anything other than 5 mph. There are 2 bigger chips also (still only <10mm across) that i would consider getting repaired if the condition of the rest of the screen wasn't so bad. So i wondered if anybody knew where insurance companies stand on replacing windscreens for safety to protect against a possibly much bigger claim in the future. I'm insured with admiral currently and have glass cover, the excess is £70 i think and i wouldnt mind paying that much but I'd rather not have to cover the whole cost of a new screen. Also, if i do get it replaced, will the new one have the tinted strip at the top or can you specify or what? Cause i like my little sunstrip :p

Anybody have any knowledge?

Cheers, Pete

[mr rooney]

I think your insurance would replace that screen no problem as it would fail the mot. Not sure about the sun strip. You could just by a new one ? Is it a green one with your names on it? Lol

[petesimcock]

Yeah, it's green with pink polka dots and my name in massive gold letters.

But seriously, just the tinted one and it's not a deal breaker, I just wondered.

I'm not sure if it would fail an MOT. It's been like it since I've had the car and only had an MOT 6 months ago or so.

It would be nice if admiral would actually help me out for a change before I switch in November. And i'd rather not have to think about damaging the screen myself cause that would be fraud...

[gadgetman]

A glass company would only repair 3 chips per screen anyway.

[petesimcock]

I think i'll give admiral a call and see what they say, hopefully my next post will be telling of the wonders of a fresh screen must remember to get wipers before i get it too!

[petesimcock]

In the words of the nice lady on the phone

'If you want a replacement, you shall have it'

Result!

[Keijax]

You just need to tell them that the original had a top tint and they will replace like with like.

Little hint here, if you don't have the top tint, just tell them it has one anyway and they will provide a new screen with top tint, did this 2 months ago on my BMW!

[petesimcock]

New screen fitted, just waiting to be allowed to drive it now. cant wait to be able to see where I'm going!

[martinch]

In the words of the nice lady on the phone

'If you want a replacement, you shall have it'

Result!

That's good - I'd was expecting them to say that it had to be broken to be covered!

If you're interested (for future reference or for others here), an OEM Octavia windscreen was £130 (parts only) the year before last

[anewman]

I can't believe a screen can have so many chips to make it difficult to see out of. Such an amount of damage would strip your car's paint entirely. A good thorough clean with a glass cleaner, and some glass polish, would sort it I'd have thought?!

[AlpineWhite]

I can't believe a screen can have so many chips to make it difficult to see out of.

Try a car that's done 130k on the motorway. Loads of tiny tiny chips, low sun, bit of dirt on the inside of the screen.... yeah, definitely impairs your vision.

[anewman]

Dirt on the inside is easily handled with glass cleaner, polish (e.g. http://www.halfords....tegoryId_165651 or http://www.halfords....tegoryId_255225 ), and some effort. A great deal more effort required if driven by a smoker - consider it a downside of a dirty habit. Changing the pollen filter as regularly as specified by the car mfr can also help prevent build up of foreign matter on the windscreen.

Apparently you can polish a windscreen with Cerium Oxide http://www.detailing...ad.php?t=153788

In any case, OP has a result they're happy with. I'd hate for someone to find this post and shell out over £100 on a new windscreen if they didn't have insurance, when they could have used a cheaper alternative.

Edited 13 July, 2012 by anewman

[AlpineWhite]

Yeah, I keep it polished, but always point the fans at the screen and feet, don't like air at the face.

The DW link is interesting, but I have a feeling that buying a polishing machine and all the gubbins might a tad more expensive than a new machine?

[AlpineWhite]

Or rather, a new screen!

[Seedy Jay]

It's definitely not just you, Alpine White. My old Octy had exactly the same problem, literally hundreds of tiny chips plus a couple of big 'uns (most from a previous owner). Thankfully (?) one of the big chips (the only one that occured while I owned the car) turned into a foot-long crack one hot day (remember them? ) so I had it replaced. Needless to say, the difference was immense!

[Brun747]

Try a car that's done 130k on the motorway. Loads of tiny tiny chips, low sun, bit of dirt on the inside of the screen.... yeah, definitely impairs your vision.

Try a car with 173k miles mostly m'way miles and no such problem - i can't be trying

[rwbaldwin]

The best way to get the windscreen done under these circumstances, is to go direct to the approved glass company or the insurer's glass helpline. They will determine that the windscreen needs replacing and just do it.

Some insurers will treat 'unusual' windscreen damage as a non-glass claim.

[AlpineWhite]

Try a car with 173k miles mostly m'way miles and no such problem - i can't be trying

Fair enough, I tend to travel as the sun is coming up.... definitely noticeable for me.

[petesimcock]

Yeah, the car is nearly at 170k.

Honest to god the chips were so bad that if I put autoglym glass polish on it and wiped with a microfiber it stayed in the chips. And the rest of the car is very stone chipped. I need to get the front end resprayed. The glass bloke was suprised at how bad it was. I keep the inside nice and clean as I smoke.

The new screen is deliciously smooth and I've been and got some valeo wiper blades today. My last ones were for a LHD fabia (thanks halfrauds!) with the spoiler on the wrong side. Paired with the screen they were very noisey! Loving my beautiful visibility now!

[VWD]

New screen fitted, just waiting to be allowed to drive it now. cant wait to be able to see where I'm going!

Don't know if other screen places have them ,but RAC windscreens have sets of stickers as a temporary fix for stone chips. Sticking one on quickly keeps water & crud out of the chip, making the fix a lot better .

[petesimcock]

Haha. I don't think all the tape in the world could have fixed my issue

[Jim H]

I asked how much my screen would have cost if I bought it when I had a new one fitted. I'm sure he said something like £350 new! I'm glad I only had to pay £70 of it.

When I was ordering it they asked me if the insisting one had a sunstrip. Autoglass fitted a Pilkington windscreen and you can't tell a difference between it and the original one. I had it replaced dues to a crack in the corner around the tax disc.