Jack Kramer

Thought I would relate a story so the rest of you can possible avoid some hassle.

I recently got a stone chip in my windshield. It developed a crack and grew to a several inches in length. My PCA buddies advised me to ask my insurance company if I could get Porsche glass.

I called my insurance company and they said the would cover the "going rate" charged by independent glass companies. If the dealer was more, I had to pay the difference.

Independents were charging $800, the dealer was $1200. Glass is glass right??? I chose to go to an independent that I had used to replace the glass in my RX-7 race car.

That turned out to be a huge mistake. The independent did a crappy job. Took it back twice to solve the problem. Each time, the situation got worse. I ended up with a crappy installation, fine scratches in the clear coat all around the windshield, and a couple of door dings.

I contacted the insurance company and explained the situation. The claims department told me that I had already done more than most clients by giving the independent a couple of chances to get it right. They told me to take it to the dealer and have them rectify the situation. The claims agent emphasized to have the dealer document the shoddy work by the independent and to describe the corrective action they had to take.

Took it to a dealer, they installed a new windshield and wrote a letter explaining that the independent basically did a crappy job. Took that letter, the dealer invoice, and a few digital pictures of the crappy job to the claims agent and walked out with a check for the full amount of the dealer job - $1200.

Obviously the insurance company is playing the numbers game. They lost on this one.

The dealer treated my car like it was a Porsche. The independent treated it like any other POS they get.

Learn from my experience. If you need a new windshield, push your insurance company for a dealer job!

Terry Adams

I had a different experience with a windshield independent recommended by the independent mechanic I have relied on for the past 14 years and 200K miles of Porsche ownership. OEM glass, perfect installation by the owner of the shop, $1100.

max911

I have the previous owner's reciepts of several trips to the dealer to rectify a shoddy install by said dealer. I think it all depends on the experience, knowledge and ability of the human (technician) doing the job.
That particular windshield is starting to pit quite badly, (German glass?)
and now i have a crack from a stone in the top corner.
So, i will be going down the new-windshield road soon. not looking forward to it.
max

Jack Kramer

I should clarify. The dealer outsourced my replacement job to another independent glass shop. These guys obviously knew what they were doing and had established a reputation with the dealer for high quality work. They did an excellent job.

I did not mean to degrade the work of independent shops as I am sure many do a great job. Just do your homework and don't allow your insurance company dictate where you get the job done.



Take care

Derrick B.

Thanks for the heads up Jack. I have a small chip in my windshield and am dreading getting it taken care of. I was more afraid of getting the infamous squeaky windshield than getting my car trashed, though.

STLPCA

It's pretty silly to generalize from a single incident. If you check the archives you'll find several posters (incl me) have successfully had their windshields replaced by skilled independents for as little as $400:

Jack Kramer

Dan,

That's interesting cause it was a Safelight shop that did the crappy job on my car. Not only was it a terrible job, the manager was defensive and tried to convince me it was as good as anyone could do.

Guess the lesson here is to do your homework and talk to others in your area to determine a shop that will treat you and your car as they should be treated.

Take care,

KOAN

When my last 911 ('87) windshield broke, my insurance company sent me to Safelite as well. It took 5 trips to get it so it wouldn't leak, and finally, I insisted on watching the last repair in person, while they put a different windshield and gasket in.
On my 993, with squeeks and pitting, I wasn't sure whether I should have been happy or sad when I caught a stone at Mid Ohio and cracked the windshield. I insisted to my insurance agent that the P-dealer do the install, after they tried to get me to go to Safelite again. The dealer took his time and did a great job. It was very expensive, but I only paid my deductable.
The new windshield doesn't squeek or leak, but has pitted pretty quickly, after about 3k track miles.
The 993 has an older style gasket on the windshield. Newer glass is much easier to change, and Safelite probably does OK with those, but I'll never take any car to them again after the @*$# job they did.

Chuck

B-Line

Just for the record,

I went through the same exact thing. A bad install of windshild glass. This was on my X5. (You might remember, a basketball hoop broke and smashed the windshild.) This happened the day before I was to drive from Miami to L.A.
The glass company my insurance company called came out and did a **** poor job. I had drive 3000 miles with wind noise and a windshield that prevented my V1 from working.
When I finally arrived in L.A. I contacted customer service (State Farm) and they knew this problem all too well.
They replaced my windshield with no second hesitation with OEM glass.
GREAT !!!!! New glass. And it was all paid for.
I pick the car up on Friday and took a roadtrip to San Francisco. On the way to S.F. some car kicks up a rock and breaks the brand new windshield that was less than a day old.
Now California does not have a $0 deductible like Florida did on front glass so I had to pay for a new one ($500 deductible).. So i had gone through 3 windshields in just a few days..
lol

mike cap

Jack and others....

Thanks for this post. I'm planning to replace my windshield this winter, because it's go a couple of chips and mild "sandblasting" I'll do this while the car is in winter storage anyway. My shop in Syracuse reccomended a local independent (Diamond AUto Glass) and I spoke to them. They have one tech only that will do a 911 and I spoke to him. Sounded very knowledgeable about our cars.

My Syracuse shop (CanTech) offered to me to let them do the w/s while the car is at CanTech for tune-up, shocks, etc. this fall/winter. They offered to "keep an eye" on the job for me.

I normally "prep" my car before taking it in for service, removing the trunk liner and stuff, pulling the fender liners, that sort of prep. The shop appreciates it and I enjoy doing it.

Anyway, my question to you w/s replacement experts is what needs to come off the car (besides the exterior w/s rubber trim) in the interior, before the w/s guy attacks?

- Dash pad?
- Pillar post trim?
- Rubber trim around inside of w/s?

Any help would be appreciated.

Straight Coupe

You get what you pay for, right?

TheOtherEric

Mike-

I just had my windshield replaced this morning at Safelite and although I had taken out the black defroster vent strip, they told me I didn't even need to do that. To get the antenna connected he just reached thru the trunk apparently. Other posts have said to remove the dash but that's not necessary if you have an experienced tech.

By the way, I paid $480. Apparently Safelite is no longer making 993-sized glass and they had a hard time locating glass for this price. Verdict is not yet in on the install quality. I did notice he scratched up the A-pillars and covered the scratches with primer to prevent rust. I don't know if that says poor quality or high.

STLPCA

Not always - as evidenced by the constant whining on the board about very expensive, but poorly done, dealer service.

Mike
If the tech is experienced w/the job, you need not do anything. As I had posted, the guy who did mine took a bit over an hour. The only prep I did was the removal of the pop-off cover at the rear of the trunk to show him the antenna connection which had been posted as a pita. It was unnecessary - he knew all about it & told me by removing the support strut at the top he could reach the connection.
The oem (soft) imported glass is an expensive part - far more than the labor cost. The biggest difference in the price charged by independents is lower priced (& harder) aftermarket glass.
Many Porsche dealers sub out glass replacement to the same auto glass shop you might use directly, sometimes at a lower cost. Ask your dealer who they use.

Ray Calvo

Had mine done by a Safelite shop. Beautiful job; no scratches in the paint and no glass squeaks (which others have complained about).

TheOtherEric

Dan is exactly right; the Safelite I went to also does a lot of installs for one of the big Porsche dealers in town. I was much happier to pay Safelite $480 directly (for U.S. glass) than to pay the dealer $1,100 to have the same guy do the work with German glass.