Well, it happened. At only a tad over 3 months of ownership (and only 2500 miles!), a chunk of concrete flew off the back of a cement truck and cracked the windshield on my 2008 Clubman S.

I was driving down a major highway near where I live, and I heard a loud "BANG!", and immediately noticed a semi-circle shaped crack along the driver's side A-pillar. I didn't see the thing that hit the windshield, and at first thought it might have been the windshield stress-fracturing. But when I got to work, I saw the gouge out of the A-pillar cover (that black plastic piece), and the remnants of the piece of concrete wedged between the plastic piece and the windshield. As the day went on, another crack developed, a straight one that headed towards the center of the windshield. BTW, the truck that caused the problem was on the OTHER side of the road, so he must have had crap just flying off his truck. Thanks, pal.

Anyway, I investigated having a 3rd-party shop do the replacement, but got a bit nervous since the Clubman is new, and there are very, very few MINIs in my neck of the woods. So I contacted the dealer (Otto's MINI of West Chester, PA), and the SA told me the charge to replace would be... $1,200!! Wow!

I called my insurance company, I have $0 deductible glass coverage (not expensive at all), and they authorized the replacement through the dealer.

Here's the breakdown of the charges, for those interested in such things (like almost everyone on NAM... ):

PARTS:
MINI Green Replacement Windshield : $299.96
Cover, Windshield (? don't know what it is) : $23.98
Windscreen Repair Kit (QTY: 2 @ $75.66): $151.32
Exterior left gasket: $17.20
Left Column A cover (the damaged A-pillar cover) : $41.27
Total Parts: $533.73

LABOR:
At their standard rate of $108/hour : $630!!!
So they're saying it took almost 5 hours to install a replacement windshield. Does that sound right to anyone? I really don't know, but I've watched other windshields get replaced in a couple hours, max.

TOTAL TO REPLACE: $1163.73!

This on a car that sells for the low $20s. Whew. You're definitely dealing with BMW here.

Anyway, I picked the car up on Saturday, and they did a good job. No windnoise, and it looks great. However, the seal along the bottom is not as flush as the original (the rubber stands a bit off the glass in places), and the passenger A-pillar cover (the one they DIDN'T replace) isn't flush - there's a bit of a gap that will surely let water in. Sigh.

So I guess for people that get a cracked/broken windshield, you now have some idea of what the dealer might charge for the replacement. Of course, I'll be interested to hear what others have paid THEIR dealer for such a repair!

 

So Otto's repaired it or sent it to someone off site to repair? May I ask what they've said about the flaws you've noticed? Whoever it is that did it needs to do it perfectly.

I feel terrible for you. My guess is that over on the other forum, you'd find some already existing threads with good info - take a look at this thread and see if it's helpful..I just found it on a quick search: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...acked+replaced

 

Well, you know they make basically nothing on cars, I think its like $500, so they make it up on service.

That's why I get rid of mine before the warranty is out. It doesn't take me 3 hours to change the oil and rotate the tires.

 

Don't tell me they make $500 on the cars...

Go to any of the sites that show invoice. They make a nice penny on the cars at MSRP. Now check invoice vs MSRP on a Honda Fit -- there's a car with very little difference over MSRP.

 

I don't know if I trust internet sites for MSRP anyways. I'm not saying they don't make money, but I don't think its like it was 20 years ago. I can tell by the quality of salesmen. It used to be a lifelong job. Now only the top guys stick around because of built in clientele, the rest turn over monthly. I had a good friend who was a sharp guy but couldn't make squat selling BMWs. He said he made nothing and just had to work on volume.

 

Two words "price gouging"

No that is not right by any means (except that it's a dealer and they charge what they want), my step-father works for an auto glass replacement company, and I have watched him do the windshield in my fiance's Chevy tracker in about 20 minutes top, this was with one other employee of the company who knew what they was doing, so about 40 minutes of work total, counting both of there time. I know that this vehical is by no means a MINI (believe me I know, I have to drive it occasionally) , but I have also had him replace the windshield in my first MINI, an 06 MCS. I helped him with this one, so I was really just an extra set of hands while he did all the rest, and it only took about 30 minutes to replace it.

Plus if you consider the fact that most dealers, of any make of car, don't do glass work them self, that they contract out the work to an outside auto glass company, then you start to see the real price gouging going on. The dealer shouldn't charge there customer any more for outsourced work than what they paid the contractor, but I would put money on the fact that the contractor didn't charge the dealer $108 dollars an hour labor, but thats what you (your insurance) was charged.

 

I wonder if the labor rate was based on them knowing it was an insurable claim with no out of pocket cost for you. If you were picking up the full tab, I would just bet it would have been lower (the rate, or total install time)

 

MINI windshields are nothing like those in a Chevy. It is bonded in place and must be set up correctly. (The factory kit mentioned contains the glue.) The windshield acts like a structural component as well.

I can't say that it takes 5 hours, but the removal requires the breaking of the factory glue as well. It's not like older American cars where you can use a cord and loop the windshield gasket and pop it out/ pop the new one in.

 

well I can tell you that it doesnt take 5 hours to install the glass, more like maybe 1 hour tops! The dealer is WAY overpriced. Here in Az we have glass replacement available in our insurance, and I replace my glass about once a year. It never takes the guy over an hour, no matter what vehicle it is. You can even request to have manufacturer glass if you don't want the cheap stuff from mexico.

 

just take it in and say you don't know what happened, but MINI USA said the dealer should cover it under the warranty.. ask for a copy of the manufacturer's recommended time for repair....tell them the engine seems to be slipping at low speeds and that the CEL comes on intermittently and the brakes don't seem to work and you are worried....all in all you don't just know what do do and wonder if it is safe to drive home?

 

WOW--an eye-opening thread indeed.

Good call on the $0 deductible and glad you weren't hurt!

 

Yes I went through this ordeal with my previous BMW, a 2006 M3 coupe. I was told the same thing about the bonding agent. It was also curious because my auto insurance refused to cover the whole cost (about $1200) because they have these mobile glass installers do windshield replacements for $400-$600. The catch-22 for me was that none of those shops would do my car because they all knew how detailed the work involved was.

 

If the $600 shops would not do it, seems the ins co should be obligated to pay the $1200 to someone who would.

 

Very true - I wouldn't be surprised if the insurance company ended up strong-arming the glass company to fix it for $600. (i.e. "Fix the damn car for $600, or we take you off our list of approved installers and stop sending business your way").

Seriously, though - you're right. If the installer that the insurance company recommended won't replace it for what the insurance company is willing to pay, go back to the insurance company, tell them what happened and ask for the name of another installer. Eventually, one of the mobile installers will fix it for a price that satisfies the insurance company, or the insurance company will finally cave and pay the $1200.

 

Pretty much all windshields are glued in (there might be a few from the 20's and 30's that aren't so I won't say all), including Chevys, and that glue needs all cleaned out before installing the new glass. Yes some use a one piece "gasket" (like my fiance's Chevy Tracker) and some don't (like my first gen MINI). But they all use a urethane based glue to actually hold and the windshield in and to seal it. The "gasket" doesn't really seal or hold anything, it's more just a trim piece to hide the edge of the glass and to hide the gap between the glass and body. MINI's use a one piece "gasket" along the top edge of the windshield and a 2 piece "gasket" along the bottom and then the A-pillar trim pieces to accomplish the same thing.

Having the car parked for 5 or 6 hours in the dealer lot to allow the glue to set should not induce labor charges, nothing needs done to it, it just has to sit there, and even the sitting there is really optional, I drove my MINI 10 minutes after the new glass installed with no problems, the one thing that I was told was not to use a high-pressure wash on the windshield for a day or two.

In all from watching my step-father do glass, the time frame is about like this for well versed installers with the right tools. About 5 to 10 minutes to remove any trim items (wiper arms, rear-view mirror, pillar trim, ect...) and another 5 to 10 for the broken windshield, depending on the vehicle and what all is involved. Another 5 to 10 minutes or so to clean up the old glue and spread the new. A few minutes to clean the inside of the windshield, then about 5 to 10 minutes putting the new glass in place and reinstalling the trim pieces, and cleaning the outside of the glass. In all 45 minutes tops total work time, split that between 2 installers that know what there doing and work well together, they can easily have a windshield replaced in 20 to thirty minutes. Even one good installer with an extra set of hands can replace a MINI's windshield in 30 minutes, I know I was the extra set of hands when my step-father replaced the Glass in my first MINI, and it had the rain sensor (which added a whole of about 2 minutes to the total work time).

 

Thanks for the info. Very interesting. My insurance company (State Farm) didn't give me a hassle at all about having the dealer do the windshield, and the dealer actually invoiced State Farm directly so I didn't even have to deal with payment at all.

I'm taking her back in on Tuesday to have them address the ill-fitting gasket and A-pillar cover issues. Hopefully these are easily addressed - I really don't like the idea of them having to re-do much of the work.

 

I am very pleased with my dealer, but glass is not their specialty. I would have taken it to a glass specialist. They did my wife's mini very quickly.

 

That cost sounds way out of line! I had a rock hit my Clubman windshield about two weeks after I picked it up. I took it to the dealer and they subcontracted for a total cost of about $500.

Jim