choosing a company for windshield replacement

My son's 97 Subaru Impreza has a cracked windshield. Too big to
repair, it needs to be replaced.

A little googling showed me several companies that will come out and do
the replacement, with quotes in the $250 range. (The companies are
windshield.net, Autoglass National, and 89 Glass. I'm sure I can find
more in our local yellow pages.)

What should I look for to see if they are likely to do a good job?
Brand of glass? Are there differences in the way they seal the window?
And I imagine it's important how well they clear out any chips from
the old 'shield, which doubtless depends on who's doing it and how he
woke up that morning...

Mike McSwell

Ask your insurance company or agent for a list of recommended glass
shops.

Also, my experience with after-market glass has been not good - some
unevenness in the glass mostly. I would request that glass from the
car manufacturer be used even though it will be more expensive. If
your insurance company is paying part of this claim, the glass shop
will automatically use the least expensive glass, so be sure to ask.

On Thu, 12 May 2005 wrote:

> My son's 97 Subaru Impreza has a cracked windshield. Too big to repair,
> it needs to be replaced. A little googling showed me several companies
> that will come out and do the replacement, with quotes in the $250
> range. (The companies are windshield.net, Autoglass National, and 89
> Glass. I'm sure I can find more in our local yellow pages.)

Yes.

> What should I look for to see if they are likely to do a good job?
> Brand of glass?

That's one good indication, name-brand glass. Guardian, Safelite, LOF,
Pilkington, Sicursiv, Sekurit and PPG are some of the established quality
name brand. In general, what you're after is "OEM quality" glass (OEM =
Original Equipment Manufacturer). If your original windshield has an "(E)
43R" mark, look and ask for the "(E) 43R" mark on your replacement glass
as well. This indicates that the glass is ECE Type Approved. ECE
regulations aren't followed in North America as they are in the rest of
the world, but ECE type approval is generally harder to get than US "AS-1"
certification.

Be aware, though, that the Chinese love to counterfeit auto glass --
complete with name brands, (E)43R and AS-1 marks and all. So you have to
do your best to find a reputable company, not just a reputably-branded
piece of glass.

> Are there differences in the way they seal the window?
> And I imagine it's important how well they clear out any chips from the
> old 'shield, which doubtless depends on who's doing it and how he woke
> up that morning...

Exactly. Get some references. Find out which glass shop the local high-end
body shops use.

DS

wrote:

>My son's 97 Subaru Impreza has a cracked windshield.
>Too big to repair, it needs to be replaced.
>
>A little googling showed me several companies that will
>come out and do the replacement, with quotes in the $250
>range.

>What should I look for to see if they are likely to do a
>good job? Brand of glass? Are there differences in the
>way they seal the window?

The way the window is glued in place is the most important factor and
also the one that varies the most in quality. All surfaces have to be
cleaned very well and kept free of any oil from the skin (glazer must
wear gloves) and then coated with windshield glue primer before the
2-part urethane caulk/adhesive is applied. It's best to let the
urethane cure for several hours before driving the car again because
the car can flex enough on the road to break the glue line.

Avoid companies that claim you won't have to pay any insurance
deductible or that charge far more for insurance jobs than for cash
jobs because they're not only committing insurance fraud but also tend
to do shoddy work. One such company, Empire Glass (Nevada, Arizona),
replaced my company vehicle's windshield, contrary to my
recommendation, and the first time I drove it on the freeway in the
rain, water sprayed into my eyes so badly that I had to pull over to
the side and apply duct tape. When I took the vehicle back to Empire,
several other customers were there complaining of water leaks.

Insurance companies tend to not recommend the best shops but those that
will accept lower payments

John S. wrote:

>Also, my experience with after-market glass has been
>not good - some unevenness in the glass mostly.

That would mean Ford has installed aftermarket glass at the factory. I
once had a Tempo where the rear windshield had a 1.25" ridge molded
into it that resembled the tip on a cone of frozen yogurt. Ford zone
rep said it was acceptable. This was back when they advertised, "At
Ford, quality is job one."

John S. wrote:

> Ask your insurance company or agent for a list of recommended glass
> shops.
>
> Also, my experience with after-market glass has been not good - some
> unevenness in the glass mostly. I would request that glass from the
> car manufacturer be used even though it will be more expensive. If
> your insurance company is paying part of this claim, the glass shop
> will automatically use the least expensive glass, so be sure to ask.

My insurance company (California State Automobile Association) never
asks repair shops to cut corners. Every repair I've had included
OEM parts. When my '95 Integra was broken into, the replacement
driver's side window was Genuine Asahi glass made in Japan, complete
with an Acura TLC sticker. The corner did say "HONDA" while the
original glass was labelled "ACURA", but that didn't bug me.

It was hard to find a place that was open on a Sunday though.

"That would mean Ford has installed aftermarket glass at the factory."

JS> When did Ford come into the discussion? I was talking about
aftermarket glass sold by glass shops.