So a tiny stone hit the windscreen just about at wiper height and now I an the owner of a six inch long crack. Does anyone know a good place to have it replaced in the East Bay? I want the best for my baby.

 

I had the windshield on my 07 MCS busted by a small rock at 1800 miles. It happens.
DON'T use the dealership. They just outsource the job and mark up.

I used an old school hotrodder, Bob Watkins, at Tri-K Auto Glass in Santa Rosa. 707 528-3810. You're probably too far out for him mileagewise, but he's a total pro and does all his work himself, right in your garage. You'll be sold on him when you see his van and meet him. Any of you northbay guys ever need glass, Bob is your guy.

And for those who might think Minis are "prone" to windshield breakage... a friend of mine just bought a Toyota Yaris hatchback as a commute vehicle (he's been getting 44 mpg even driving way beyond the speed limit!) and had a small rock bust his windshield on 101 the other day. 2400 miles on the Yaris. It happens.

 

I've had two replaced on my 06MCS by Safelite which is a National Co.
They did a great job on both. There has been threads on this in the past and several posts were down on Safelite so I guess it all depends where your at. I live in central Ga. and I would use them again if needed. A dealer in the Atlanta area quoted over $800.00 to replace a windshield. Safelite did it for $231.00 and came to me.

 

My windshield was taken out at 41,800 miles, prior not a chip on it. Thanks to a spud truck with rocks all over the conveyor belt in the back. Rock hit exactly where my wiper would have been if it hadn't been raining. The local Windsheild Doctor has the exact windsheild the dealer uses for 1/2 the price. 225.00 vs 550.00. A lot of places use the exact glass, no sense of spending double!

 

i got a small rock hit my car at only 250 miles. its a real tiny speak in the glass about the size of a needle head. is it me or does it sound like my windshield is constantly being hit with pebbles.

 

My 04 Cooper had a stress crack and was replaced under warranty. My 06MCS was hit by a rock with only 750 miles on it. It was repaired but after a couple months a large crack appered and it was replaced. About 6 months later got hit by a large rock off a gravel truck. I could see it coming and it sounded like a bomb when it hit. It put a huge star right in the middle of the driver side. Scared the hell out of me. I haven't had a problem since but I think MINI windshields attracts rocks because of how upright it is, but that's just my humble opinion. All I know is that I've spent almost $500.00 on winshields in less than two years which could have been used on more important things.....like mods!!

 

Thanks for the info, Santa Rosa isn't that far. I'm not sure if my insurance will let me use him, but I'm certainly going to ask. Did your Mini have the rain sensor on it? Not sure if that makes replacing the windscreen a lot more difficult.

 

The rain sensor makes it more expensive to replace and appearently it takes different glass. I know that when I had the glass replaced on both our '05 and '06, the glass place asked if I had the rain sensor. I had both of ours done at a ProStar glass place to get PPG glass as I don't think much of the original MINI glass. Good luck with yours!

 

Theres a Prostar glass place a couple of miles from where I work, I've just filled in the on-line info to get a quote. Thanks for the advise.

 

My MCS does not have rain sensors. You can have anyone you want fixing your windshield do the job. Your insurance co will have a list of "approved" people, but you can use whoever you want (it's the law), pay them, and just submit the paid reciept, minus your deductible. That's what I did with Bob at Tri-K.