I got a rock chip in my windshield this weekend. Just 4 months into having my car. I've been driving my other car for 8+ years and never had a rock chip. Oh well, I guess it was just my turn in the barrel. What sucks is that my insurance company won't fully cover an OEM windshield. I'm going to get one anyway. But here is my real dilemma. I have PPF on my windshield. Should I replace it when I get my new windshield? I'm 50/50 on this right now. I still want to protect my windshield against sandblasting and the pitting that comes with that over time, as well as the smaller rocks that can scratch the glass.

Thoughts?

 

Chip? That looks like a major divot! Sorry you've had to endure that.

I would definitely go with an OEM windshield. As for PPF on a windshield I've never had it so have no experience with it. Good luck.

 

Thanks Mike. It is certainly a divot.

 

Instead of PPF you can put Exoshield on for much better protection.

 

How loud was that when it hit? I never PPF my windshields...just roll the dice baby.

 

i can’t tell where the divot is, but if it’s not in your direct line of sight, i’d check if it could be filled. i’d rather have even an imperfect fill than go through the hassle of a new windshield.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll take a look into that as well.

The way that I'd describe the sound is, it was like dropping a marble on a tile floor. Without the bounce.

It's certainly in the driver's line of sight. I thought about a fill but I've done that on a previous vehicle and while it certainly repaired the "reverse bowl shaped" hole in that particular windshield to the point where you couldn't tell from 5 feet away, I could see the repaired spot every time I looked through the glass. This time around the damage is different. it has those small "spider leg" cracks around the impact area. I don't believe that the liquid injection would properly fill those. I could be wrong though.

 

I imagine all the windshields for these cars are OEM, because the 3rd party companies don't produce glass for low volume cars.

 

I just did an AI search. There are some 3rd party auto glass companies that aren't OE suppliers. Your assertion does make me wonder who insurance companies and Safelite use for 3rd party repairs, though. I'm sure they go with a true 3rd party, as the costs are very different. Even if Safelite could go direct to supplier for Porsche I don't think the difference would be (in my case) basically 1/2 price to consumer.

 

When I needed a new windshield on a BMW, I found out who the dealer used for their work (they farm it all out) and went to that shop directly, instead of Safelite. They took the insurance.

 

I took a rock to my hood on the way home 15min after I left my dealer. Thankfully the chip is only in the clearcoat.

 

That divot may be too big for chip repair, and it looks to be right in line of sight. But if you're going to replace the windshield anyway you might want to try learning chip repair on it for the inevitable next time one of your vehicles gets a chip. I got a chip in my 6 month old 911 windshield, and don't have glass protection on my insurance (USAA is great otherwise but doesn't seem to even offer it). Looking at a couple grand, or attempt it myself (and then spend a couple grand if I failed). So I watched this YouTube head-head competition on windshield crack filler brands. This guy's channel is random tool tests, but he's awesome:

So while the #2 option was $13, I watched a few "pro" windshield repair videos and really for crack filling, tools and experience are what make a pro a pro. Interestingly it's air in the cracks that is what mostly makes them spread, so pulling out the air with vacuum and filling the crack lines with UV-curing filler are what will save the windshield. So I got the $300 kit off Amazon that won the competition, and that the pro Project Farm hired in that video said was "pretty much what they use". I studied up all I could, and figured this was the price of one Safelite repair (actually, safelite doesn't list Porsche as an option when I checked their site).


Here's what I started with, and the result:





Cracks almost invisible now


Final result

For my first repair, I'd give myself a B-. Would be an A- except the damn dremel wandered the second I pressed it to the glass and made that tiny circular pit an elongated scar about 2mm. But the cracks are gone, and haven't returned after a couple spirited drives. And I'm now equipped for 199 more repairs. The YT videos were a huge help, and the tips like using a lighter on the backside of the window to get the filler to spread and using a mirror inside the glass (I used my iphone selfie camera) to see how the repair is coming from both sides were game-changers.
If my day job doesn't work out, I'm equipped to start my own chip repair company now with a whole "one" experience level. Anyway, I feel this kit was more than worth it and I got a real sense of accomplishment from this. I recommend anyone that has an interest to give it a shot. Worst case, you still need a new windshield.

 

I got a chip 1 year into my 992.1 thru the $450 windshield film (don’t remember brand). Took me a year to get up the nerve to replace the windshield because I was worried about the replacement not being factory installed and I have heard people complain about non OEM windshield clarity. But after the $1000 deductible on a $3000 OEM windshield, it was perfect when done by the dealer (don’t know if they farmed it out).

I did not reapply the film to the replacement, and it’s been fine for the 20k limited highway miles since the replacement.

I am, hopefully, tariffs willing, picking up a 992.2 in a few weeks and will put on full PPF but won’t put on a windshield protector this time. It was nice having a new windshield anyway for clarity so if I keep the next one for many years, I will just budget in a windshield or two.

 

I didn't know that about USAA. Noted. Thanks for sharing this information! Not a bad job for your first time! I'm starting to think I should have tried to get it repaired before ordering a new windshield. Since my car is pristine I think it would have bothered me though. Also, I have PPF on the windshield. I would have to get that peeled off before any repair, so I imagine that would be an additional charge. I'm fairly handy but all this seems like more that I would want to take on. I hope your post helps someone though.

 

I thought about that as an option as well. It's a gamble at the end of the day. The cost of the PPF. If the windshield will be damaged again. If so, will I pony up for more PPF at that point? How much will a new windshield cost, even after my deductible? If you believe that your windshield will be damaged in the near future, and if you have the room to store one, if you're going to budget for a new one anyway, perhaps buy one preemptively. Windshields for first year cars are notoriously on back order with no delivery date in sight. I have a 2024 992.1 and I'm hoping that my glass will be in in a couple of weeks.