ARGH! Just when everything seemed to be okay FINALLY! I got my first stress crack. How does this work? Will the dealer do it there or do they have to send someone out? This is so annoying. Its a big one too.

 

Congratulations Ant!

Sorry to hear about all of the problems with your car. I PM'ed you about a CD Changer you were selling. Do you still have it?

Thanks

Cabbage

 

Nope sold.

 

How many miles do you have on your car Ants?

 

just to clarify: stress crack in your windshield? :???:

 

>>just to clarify: stress crack in your windshield?

 

I have 12K on my car...anyone know what the policy about this is?

 

Somebody in another thread recommended putting packing tape over the crack so you don't get a stone chip near it. If there's a chip near the crack they'll blame it on that. Good luck!

 

>>Was that meant to be funny? Are you saying Ants finally "cracked" due to "stressing" about his MINI?

He could be talking about lots of things: coolant tank, brake pads, windshield, subframe, random weld, wheels, rotors, foglight and the like, the leather upholstery...anything!

I don't want to assume anything, that's why I ask

 

Rye whats the status of your car...fixed yet?

 

Ants,
Here's how it works:
1. You take car to dealer
2. Dealer says the rock word
3. You call insurance, pay deductible if applicable
4. You call insurance and lower deductible

That's how the majority of us have been "taken care of" I went all the way to the Regional Warranty Rep with no acceptable resolution. To add insult to injury dealer wanted $612 for the replacement work, after-market glass company wanted $274

Recommend you do a little light reading here at MCO and the other boards about the windshields. Here is the Roll Call post
Cracked W/S Line up and here is one about the options PPG vs. OEM and finally here is MINIDivision almost saying that they could kind of have a problem, well maybe a concern about a possible issue with the windshield, I'm sorry, so sorry


Good luck and make sure you tape the hell out of that crack to protect it from the rocks that all seem to hit the glass at the same two places.

 

Stop me if you've heard this one....you'll have to call the dealership....sorry, I couldn't resist. I don't think it's likely they'll send someone out or hook you up with a glass shop at their expense if you're asking them to consider it a stress fracture and therefore a warranty repair. This is because they won't take your word for it if there's a chance they might be able to find an excuse to call it something else. They'll therefore want to inspect it themselves before making their ruling and if you argue the service manager will have to get involved....I'm sure he doesn't make housecalls.

I can't fault them for acting this way after my own first "stress crack" experience. I had a crack that appeared to come up from under the seal below one of the wipers. I therefore "knew" it was a stress crack and told the service rep so. They told me I had to come in (50 miles) for a warranty claim which pissed me off just enough to convince me to go out and look very closely so I could argue more intelligently. I found a very obvious rock chip fracture hiding just uder the wiper and above the seal.

Unfortunately, some service folks will go to any lengths to find the slightest perturbation in the smooth line of the crack and call it a rock chip.

I've also seen some outrageous prices charged by dealerships to repair windshields with breaks deemed to be non-warranty (seems like I saw one over $900 in SoCal - mine was just over $300 in Annapolis). I'd call a local glass shop and ask for their price before going to the dealer. That way if the dealership says they won't cover it and their price is higher you'll already know you have a good alternative. You may also have the option at that point of getting the apparantly slightly thicker and more durable PPG glass rather than the problematic factory glass (another thing to ask the glass shop). What I don't know is whether MINI will cover a legitimate stress fracture if it develops months from now in non-MINI glass installed by a non-MINI shop.

I get to following this same advice myself next week since I also have a new crack. This time I've already inspected it carefully and I'm pretty sure they'll cover it, but I'm still going in armed with an alternative....just in case.

 

Ive taken a closer look and lifted the wiper blade.....sure enough there is a pit mark! Looks like I am gunna have to eat this one. Now lets just hope the people my insurance sends to fix this, dont break my pillars on the sides of the windshield.

 

Dude! What's next!?! Other than maybe DiD and DavBret, I think you've have more trouble with the mini than anyone on here.

You've done good in keeping your composure on this latest incident.

If your dealership won't fix it, call the insurance and have them recommend you a glass company...


Dominic

 

>>
>>If your dealership won't fix it, call the insurance and have them recommend you a glass company...
>>

That's an option, but just in case they'll actually listen to you (the customer), I'd call a glass shop you think you can trust before calling the insurance company. That way if they want to "recommend" a shop that might be the cheapo route you might still win if you can say you already have a trusted, convenient glass shop, price quote, appointment, etc.

When I got my second rock chip I saw the rock coming and knew what was going to happen the split second before it hit. I was already on the road so I drove straight to my local shop without even bothering to stop and inspect it (took 5 minutes). I stood at the counter and called my insurance company from there to tell them I was about to have it repaired and about to hand the phone to the service writer so they could arrange payment. There was brief hesitation but there were no objections. Alright, maybe my insurance company is more customer-friendly than most, but I think there's something to be said for being prepared even if it does mean doing part of their job for them.

 

Ants,

please tell me you have zero deductible windshield coverage on your insurance! If not, GET IT NOW!!!

BMW is not going to pay for it if they see a pit mark anywhere near it. The dealer here partners with a company that specifically uses OEM windshields and works on high end cars. I watched them replace mine. took 20 minutes. They're even paying to have it re-tinted b/c i had a strip of tint on the upper part.

Good luck with it. Sorry to hear about your troubles

haf.