Glass guy here and windshield doesn't fit! Help!
07-09-2007 | 12:02 AM
#31
Rainman
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 45,606
Likes: 674
From: Nashville, TN
07-09-2007 | 12:23 PM
#34
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 11,034
Likes: 25
Originally Posted by kevincnc
Do yourself a favor, and don't use Safelite. I've had nothing but problems with them. You get what you pay for, don't let them train glass installers on your car.
-Darwin
07-09-2007 | 01:25 PM
#35
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,812
Likes: 22
From: New Hope, PA
I don't mean to defend them (Safelite) but they are a chain of indie garages and company owned facilities as far as I know. So the quality will vary depending on where you are and who you get.
I just had a windshield installed a few weeks ago because of a crack in the center down low (yes, I did it myself taking my wiper assembly out - don't ask, I'm not done spewing profanities about my own stupidity). They were supposed to be out in 2 days, and called on the moring they should have shown up to say they couldn't do it because they didn't have the glass in stock. They apologized for the confusion, as they got the dispatch in the evening before from corporate (I ordered it online).
I had specified the non-airbag late model with no antenna. When they did show up, on time (for the re-schedule) the guy said they sent him because it was a Porsche and he had the most experience with glass, yet had never done one of these cars before. So I asked if he wanted to see the factory manual, which he compared with his instructions from Safelite - they pretty much matched. He carefully removed the old one and then took out the one he ordered. It didn't have a gasket on it and there was no way at all it was going in properly without one. He said "I can build up the epoxy around the sides and make it fit - but I don't think you want me to do that" as he pulled another windshield out of the truck. It was a non-airbag with antenna. It had the gasket, it fit properly. I told him to just put it in - I wanted to drive the damn thing.
So when it came to the bill - it was supposed to be $265 for the non-antenna, which is what I was expecting to pay. I didn't even want to know how much the one was that was in the car, as all the writing on the sticker was in German, and said something like San<blah>-Sekurit on it, not FW404 or whatever the numbers were that I had heard of. It was supposed to be like $460. He said his manager would probably let him go down on the price if he called and said I was going to tell reject what he had and make them get the right windshield, so he did that (as if he hadn't put it in the car yet). I got it for $340. I can deal with that.
So, sometimes it pays to be nice to the installer - get him a cold drink, offer help but don't be a hovering and annoying twit, and don't be an ******* customer if something doesn't go exactly right.
Oh - I should mention, the old windshield was improperly installed and there was some surface rust in one section of the frame. He asked me if I wanted to take care of it before he put in the new windshield and just hung out while I prepped and PORed the section.
I just had a windshield installed a few weeks ago because of a crack in the center down low (yes, I did it myself taking my wiper assembly out - don't ask, I'm not done spewing profanities about my own stupidity). They were supposed to be out in 2 days, and called on the moring they should have shown up to say they couldn't do it because they didn't have the glass in stock. They apologized for the confusion, as they got the dispatch in the evening before from corporate (I ordered it online).
I had specified the non-airbag late model with no antenna. When they did show up, on time (for the re-schedule) the guy said they sent him because it was a Porsche and he had the most experience with glass, yet had never done one of these cars before. So I asked if he wanted to see the factory manual, which he compared with his instructions from Safelite - they pretty much matched. He carefully removed the old one and then took out the one he ordered. It didn't have a gasket on it and there was no way at all it was going in properly without one. He said "I can build up the epoxy around the sides and make it fit - but I don't think you want me to do that" as he pulled another windshield out of the truck. It was a non-airbag with antenna. It had the gasket, it fit properly. I told him to just put it in - I wanted to drive the damn thing.
So when it came to the bill - it was supposed to be $265 for the non-antenna, which is what I was expecting to pay. I didn't even want to know how much the one was that was in the car, as all the writing on the sticker was in German, and said something like San<blah>-Sekurit on it, not FW404 or whatever the numbers were that I had heard of. It was supposed to be like $460. He said his manager would probably let him go down on the price if he called and said I was going to tell reject what he had and make them get the right windshield, so he did that (as if he hadn't put it in the car yet). I got it for $340. I can deal with that.
So, sometimes it pays to be nice to the installer - get him a cold drink, offer help but don't be a hovering and annoying twit, and don't be an ******* customer if something doesn't go exactly right.
Oh - I should mention, the old windshield was improperly installed and there was some surface rust in one section of the frame. He asked me if I wanted to take care of it before he put in the new windshield and just hung out while I prepped and PORed the section.
