I have a white 07 S Coupe. The other day I had the windshield broken by a rock. Rotten luck...nice day so I went for a drive. Started as a chip near the bottom of the window and is now cracking. I am in the process of arranging a replacement. Here is my question to any glass guy out there: Is aftermarket glass OK? Turns out that the aftermarket glass is nearly as expensive as the OEM ($1005 for the aftermarket and $1062 for the Porsche glass) I plan on getting the OEM just on principle, but was wondering if there really is a difference? I have insurance and I will pay only $100 for the replacement. I might have to pay the additional $57 if the insurance company says the aftermarket is all I get. Is glass just glass? Both aftermarket and OEM have same features and tinting. I don't know if I can believe the glass shops as they are trying to sell me glass. Anyone?

 

OEM.

 

1 - OEM glass.
2 - Replacement should be done at a dealer, under their supervision by someone they have used before.
3 - Car must not move for 24h after glass replacement.

 

I went through windshield hell a couple of months ago.

I was out of town, 500 miles from home. A rock had cracked my windshield and I only had a couple of days to get it fixed before driving home. Safelite said "no problem" we have the glass. It wasn't OEM - it was "made in China." The installer who came out said "Don't put this crap windshield in your car. You'll just have to replace it again in a few months."
Obviously HE wasn't working on commission. So I drove home with the broken windshield and took it to the body shop that had just replaced it a few weeks earlier. (Long, terrible story.)

It turns out the body shop, although they'd used OEM glass, had misinstalled it. With repeated efforts their glass guy could NOT get it in properly. He even broke the replacement windshield in the process of taking it out to try again. The body shop finally threw in the towel, paid for ANOTHER windshield and had the Porsche dealer install the replacement. Since then - no problems.

Moral of the story - ADias is right. Get OEM. Have it done at a dealer by their experienced Porsche glass guy.

DMoore
'11 GTS
'10 Panamera 4S

 

Keep in mind that Porsche installs their things with a robot. It's such a precise thing that only a robot can be entrusted to do it consistently from car to car.

Try hard to get the OEM. These things are very complex because you probably have the radio antenna as well as wiring for things like the GPS/nav system in there to be rehooked up.

Most dealerships have Safelight do theirs because Safelight does so many. Be demanding after it is done. If you are getting wind noise, take it back.

Dan

 

You may want to look at Clearplex or Premier window film to help prevent rock chips from spidering. Cost around 300 or so.

 

I did exactly what Adias listed and am very satisfied with the the replacement. For piece of mind I did clearplex my replacement windshield for $300.00.

 

I have had two windshields replaced on our M-B. The first was done at the dealership with no problems. It sat for one day and I then picked it up. By the way, dealers do not do glass. It is basically farmed out to a glass company. The second time I had it done in my garage. I actually helped the guy put it in... uneventful. The car sat for two days and I had no problems with that install either. Just don't let them send an idiot to do the job. I have heard of horror stories where they come to your place of work and intall the windshield in the parking lot. A number of folks report air and water leaks. I have actually seen such an install where the new windshield was lying on the hood of the car ( without protection)just before it was set into place.

Currently, I have a nasty star in the windshield of my 911. It was repaired with acrylic resin but after one year it doesn't look so invisible. I still think I will wait until the next "event" before replacing it.

 

I've had two of my 911 windshields replaced by Safelite. Insurance company/Geico paid for OEM replacement glass.

I watched the same, very experienced installer do the repair in my home driveway both times. The job takes about 45 minutes and the car was ready to drive immediately. Watch out for shattered glass inside the car when they are removing the existing windshield. Also look out to make sure interior A-pillar panels are restored to their original positions as wells as the rubber moldings around the doors.

I've had no issues with either windshield replacement.

Insist on OEM replacement glass and try and find an installer who has done 911 windshield replacements. Enjoy your new windshield.

 

Would recommend reading up on windshield replacements.
This is a structural component.
And there's just a ton that can go wrong.
Something as simple as handling the glass with bare hands or the wrong gloves can ruin everything.
I would absolutely insist on supervising the install myself.
Good luck.

 

depending of insurance carrier it may be a pain. geico always pushes to get work done withtheir crappy 'authorized' sweat shops. get car to a dealer, let them do the work and let service manager call insurance so you will not be sent to a local sh$thole to get this job done by an illegal immigrant with a sledgehammer.

 

My replacement windshield experience was with my Mercedes wagon, and it did not turn out well. I've been considering a replacement on my C2S but I wonder if the same issue applies to Porsches.

My wagon was in for some body work and I decided to have the (relatively minor) cracked but badly pitted windshield replaced under insurance. The body work was done by the dealer-recommended shop just down the road from the dealership (there were multiple MBs in their lot, so they were legit), and the glass replacement was done by their recommended experts, who do all the MBs that come in. No one talked to me about the job, I was told that it was routine and would only cost me the $100 deductible.

Upside: beautiful clear windshield. Major downside: intermittent wipers no longer work.

I took it to the dealer to see if a sensor adjustment was needed. They found that my sensor was faulty (which it hadn't been before, but anyway), replaced it, but then determined it would not synch with the windshield. They attributed the problem to the non-OEM glass, end of story. Had I known that such non-OEM glass would deactivate the intermittent function, I would have paid to get the OEM part, but that was not an option. So now I live with manual wipers. But the glass is sparkling clear!

My 911 also has a very pitted windshield which I'd like to replace at some point, but I won't if wiper functionality will be compromised. Anyone else have that problem?

Gene
_________________________________________________
05 C2S cabriolet, arctic silver/black/full leather/chrono plus/nav/bose/tooki/sat/SRX = exhilaration
01 MB E320 4Matic wagon, midnight blue/beige = winter driver/summer hauler

 

Two months ago I replaced my windshield with OEM Porsche glass. I have intermittent wipers, sat radio, automatic rain wipers - everything works A-OK after replacement. Just make sure it's OEM Porsche glass.

DMoore
'11 GTS
'10 Panamera 4S

 

I concur with the above sentiment. Had mine replaced with OEM glass at the dealer. Looks great, no problems. Worth the extra cost.