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My windshield is micro chipped all to 'hail' and I'm looking for a replacement. In Massachusetts, are there better folks than others, do 3rd party reps carry sekurit, who have you guys used?
My only recommendation is make sure who ever you use has done a bunch of them before. There are specific seals that should be used top and bottom, and depending on the condition of your A-post seals, they too might need to be replaced. I got taken to the wash on a replacement that left everything off and used generic crap or nothing at all. Fortunately, the glass didn't break coming back out to make it right. Over and above the cost of glass\labor, you might expect to pay upwards of $180 for seals if all are required.
Not to my knowledge. The lower provides sealing with cowling. The upper is more than a strip of rubber and can effect wind noise. The A-pillar pieces have to come off. If the rubber is brittle that don't seal. If the rubber on your cowling is shot, it's a good time to place those 2 pieces as well.
Make sure they seal the window right and don't destroy the A pillars. Here is what to look for. Make sure they know what they are doing and use the correct glass, OEM or equivalent. Make sure they don't damage the A pillars.
For a reliable source ask you local insurance carrier. They won't deal with slipshod or fly-by-night operators. And, while you're there have them add windshield coverage. It usually comes with $100.00 deductable including road hazard.
I've used SAFELITE for new glass on 6 of my cars at least, over the past 20 years including 3 times on MINIs
ONCE I was not 100% happy and one phone call brought them back the next day to do the entire job over from the beginning, no questions, no arguing .... MANY I'm sorry's
My insurance sends all glass claims direct to SAFELITE ... I'm free to use anyone else I choose, but they recommend SAFELITE and I've been very happy
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glass is typically covered under comprehensive coverage ... if you have comp with a high deductible you may want to ask about lowering it. I had a $250 and lowered it to ZERO for about $20 A YEAR .... for 4 cars. That's $20 total ...
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in some states, so long as you have glass coverage (comp in my case) it does not matter WHAT your deduct is. The state does not allow the insurance to change a deduct' for front glass SO LONG AS you have coverage on the glass. Florida is such a state
{if wondering, my deduct' lesson happened while living in VA and have since returned to FL}
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there are only a handful of companies that make automobile glass ..... they stamp many different 'brands' on them . . . MINI does NOT make glass. Search on windshield and start reading from 2002 ... you'll find LONG LONG LONG discussions and a path thru the recommended suppliers .... at one time PPG was supposed to be the best, AFTER OE of course .... made by?
SATELLITE ended up repainting the front of our motorhome after an installation gone wrong.
They were in a hurry and cut the paint in the windshield channel, and didn't seal them their damage, Suddenly started getting rust.
Anyway... they wouldn't be my first choice.
Before you have it replaced make sure its someone reputable/knows what they are doing.
I had smallish rock hit my windshield and left a pretty good sized crack. Called up the insurance company and they had Safelite come out to replace the windshield. In the process the A-Pillar Cover cracked and broke into several pieces. Had to drive around for about a week with blue tape holding the pieces onto the car. Safelite replaced the pillar cover and I was good to go, or so I thought. A few weeks went by and a day after a heavy rainstorm I got into the car and noticed the headliner was sagging and there were streak marks on the inside of the windshield. Inspected the headliner and discovered the entire thing was damp. Ended up going through two windshields, new a-pillars, and a new headliner. Safelite didn't give me any issues about making it right, but it was still a pain.
In my area Safelite was only marginally cheaper than the MINI dealer, and if you had Safelite use OE glass the cost was almost the same.
Fortunately there are 2 dealers within 20 miles of each other; one a full service independent (with their own body shop) the other owned by Penske. That might be why dealer pricing for some things is so reasonable.
Has anyone changed the bottom windshield seal? Mine is cracked and falling apart. Went to dealer and they tell me I need to buy the WHOLE cowl. But my cowl is fine I just need the rubber seal.
Has anyone changed the bottom windshield seal? Mine is cracked and falling apart. Went to dealer and they tell me I need to buy the WHOLE cowl. But my cowl is fine I just need the rubber seal.
The seal is part of the cowl. Pretty cheap, really. My dealer carried the parts and I see ECS has them, too ($80).
Make sure they seal the window right and don't destroy the A pillars. Here is what to look for. Make sure they know what they are doing and use the correct glass, OEM or equivalent. Make sure they don't damage the A pillars.
A Pillars, take off the door gasket then take out the little screws, then pry near the clips and remove the trim. Be careful not to break the clip or the A-pillar trim
A Pillars, take off the door gasket then take out the little screws, then pry near the clips and remove the trim. Be careful not to break the clip or the A-pillar trim
If you have a Mini Dealer nearby ask the service dept who they contract out to do their glass work, it should be nearby. They almost never do it it in-house. If you can squeeze that information out of them you should able to get a pretty good price to replace the windshield since you won't have to pay the Dealer's price.
Looks like it, I know they changed the spec on the Gen 3 MINIs and the factory glass has a MINI dog on it. But the older MINIs dont have that.
I decided to pass on it. The installer said it was spec, but made in China and not as good as what I had on the MINI. Decided I'd bring her to the dealership's body shop Monday. They replaced the last one 4-5 years ago and it was good until last Saturday.
08-25-2014, 06:54 AM
