THSCC Forums

The windshield on my wife's Dodge Intrepid has a crack that's growing like weeds in the spring time. I need a recommendation on a company that can replace the windshield.

Have any of you have good success with the mobile glass services where they come and fix it at your work or home?

Thanks!

Miles

http://www.thsccforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1490

I used the place recommended by Todd for the E30 and was happy. I only price-shopped 3 or 4 places and they were competitive.

Miles if you find a good and cheap place ask them about a discount on 2. Kendra's Passat needs a windsheild, and I would come over to your house if we could both get a $50 discount or something.

While we're on this topic ... any good insurance companies in NC have zero-deductible glass policies? I'm looking to fire Allstate.

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

AllState does if you complain well.

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Rich
http://www.v8mongrel.com/

Thanks Mike. I was looking for that thread earlier but couldn't find it...

Miles

I called Glass Doctors to see when they could do it. They are planning to come tomorrow (Friday)... so I can't argue with 24 hour service.

I have a zero deductible comp policy with State Farm, so that will cover it at no cost.

Thanks guys. This club rocks. Anytime you can ask 300 car enthusiasts an automotive related question... somebody is going to have an answer! (or at least an opinion!)

Mike W, I sent you an email with some details.

Thanks for the info.

Miles

I have been doing auto glass for eight years. You might want to ask the installer from Glass Doctor if he is doing a full cut or close cutout. When you do a full cut you remove almost all of the old adhesive. This also allows you do a better job priming any scratches from the reomoval procedure. A close cut is where you cut the windshield out of the bed of adhesive and lay a small bead of adhesive over the old adhesive. This is quicker and cheaper to do. This can also lead to leaks and stress cracks. Sometimes the leaks happens years later because of rust that started in the scratches. Most close cutters do not do any priming. Another short cut is to not remove the cowl. This saves time. But it also means that you cannot lay the new glass straight into the bead. You have to slide it down into the adhesive. This tends to cause leak issues and can leave the cowl glued to the windshield. I have had to almost break the cowl off of a car after one of these bang up jobs.

Also there are only two PPG prostar shops in Raleigh. I am one of them at Ever Ready Glass.

I have State Farm with $100 deductable on comp. With the rates I got I would save the $100 in premiums every 2 years over $0 deductable.

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George Bright Member # 141
One of the youngest of the old farts.
Yes I voted against you joining the club.

I used to have a $100 deductible with State Farm. That is, until I had 3 windows replaced in about 18 months. Go figure!!

Now I have to replace the windshield in the Mustang again (Damn construction trucks droping gravel!!) and get chips repaired in the van and the Miata. That should just about empty the bank account!

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Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza

George, should I call them and ask them if they are planning to a full cut or a close cut? If they are planning the latter should I refuse to let them do it and insist on finding someone that will do a full cut (like your shop for instance?) Can a full cut be done by a mobile service in a driveway, or does it have to be done in a shop?

Thanks for the info!

Miles

Miles,
Full cuts can be done mobile. If you call the shop and ask questions they will probably just tell you what you want to hear.

I have followed behind Glass Doctor on a number of occasions. The jobs I have seen were all quick and dirty close cuts. But then I may not have been following behind thier good installers.

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George Bright Member # 141
One of the youngest of the old farts.
Yes I voted against you joining the club.

Glass Masters wavies the deductible.

Yes they wave the deductable on certain high profit windshields and only up to $100. They are also the king of quick and dirty jobs.

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George Bright Member # 141
One of the youngest of the old farts.
Yes I voted against you joining the club.

George,

I did call the shop and talked to the guy who oversees the place. He did a great job of convincing me of just what I wanted to hear... which is what you said he would do. He said that they only do proper full cut installations to industry standards, bla, bla.. etc. He said if he ever caught one of his guys doing a close cut installation, he would fire them on the spot. He wanted to know if a competitor was bad mouthing him and if so, who it was. Of course I didn't even address his question, but I could tell this was not the first time that someone had asked him about this issue.

I've read some articles on the Internet... and I think I understand in concept the difference between the two. However... I have to admit, I'm not sure if I was standing there watching the guy if I'd be able to tell.

Can you give me some hints of things to watch for? Not that I intend to stand over the guy's shoulder the entire time, but I would like to at least be aware of some signs that he's either doing it the right way or the wrong way.

One thing I have learned is that an improper installation, among causing some obvious problems like quickly over stressing the new glass and causing leaks, is that the hidden rust which builds up behind the glass for a few years can even cause significant structural weakening of the windshield pillars. This is not a good thing if you are in a roll over.

Miles

Miles,

Here is a hint...have George do it

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Jim Pastorius
2008 Silverado VortecMax
1992 Camaro CMC#92
2002 BMW R1150R

2009 3rd Place CMC Mid-Atlantic Championship
2009 CMC Hyperfest Winner

I got the same hint! Miles you're a little slow aren't you?

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

Yes, I'm very slow, in more ways than one. The problem is I waited too long and wanted it done before a long road trip.... And wasn't smart enough to research it to death like I do most things before hand... And I'm really busy this week and just didn't have time to turn in into a PhD research project before making a decision. We'll see how it goes. Hey, it's going on a Dodge right.. the car will probably die long before the windshield fails again.