As we all know the windshield on these cars are chip/crack magnets. So after 18 months the windshield finally cracked from a tiny chip. I was so excited to have it replaced. Now I do not have to look through the starfield of chips. George from Safelite in Nanuet, NY came out to do the work in my driveway.

I have glass coverage with my insurance company so I did not have to pay out of pocket for this. But if I did, it would have been a pretty modest $402.57 plus tax. This is the breakdown:

Glass - $279.94
Install kit - $22.00
Labor - $80
Some misc. part - 20.63

Here is a picture of the crack after it had spread a bit.



And here are the pics of the repair

 

Is it OK to when I see your MINI like this?? I've got a Chip, but so far it has not spread much, still > 1/10in., if it gets any bigger though I'll have to think about getting it replaced. Looks like the Guy is doing Great Work!!

 

He did a nice job. Nice guy too. I have yet to drive it though. Lets see what happens when it rains.

 

My thoughts exactly, I just didn't want to 'jinx' you!!

 

I got a small chip from a stone flipped up by a pickup truck with the big knobby tires that was jacked up and looking pretty stupid. The insurance company sent a guy that put some type of sealer on the chip so the glass would not crack. The chip is not in my line of site and is very small. I figure if I get another couple of chips I will get the whole windshield replaced but for now the repair is OK with me.

I was doing 75 on I-4 and the pickup had to be doing 90+ when he passed me. At least justice was done when the cops pulled him over a few miles ahead of where he passed me. I had heard the stone hit but I did not notice the chip until I got home and was cleaning the glass.

 

Hmm. I did not realize that they need to remove the wiper cowl to replace the windshield. How well were the wipers adjusted after he put them back on?

 

The guy that did this work was a pro. He told me he has been doing auto glass for 13 years. I have had zero issues so far. No issues with the wipers. I have not been out in the rain yet so we will see about that. But I am confident I will continue to have no problems withe the install of this replacement glass.

 

Yes. OEM BMW/MINI glass. One of the pictures above still has the BMW sticker on the car. I specifically asked for OEM glass.

 

Are u in NY who did u have do the work? I noticed the BMW tag on the window still I would ask for oem glass as well.

 

good man/woman

:D

 

how much does a windshield run?

I have a number of small chips, and one slightly smaller than a dime right in my line of site. Might be worth replacing if it isn't too expensive.

 

Glass - $279.94
Install kit - $22.00
Labor - $80
Some misc. part - 20.63

 

Check with your insurance company. Most or I should say 99% of them will cover a windshield at no charge to you at all. It will not raise your rates and they will actually send a repair person to your house to replace it.

That is if you have insurance to start with.

 

I have State Farm Insurance and it costs only my $100 deductible to replace the windshield. A couple summers ago I did both the bride's Audi and my '03 JCW. I had Safelite come out and do the Audi in the driveway - the guy was very professional and really knew what he was doing - it took a little over an hour and it was perfect.

I took the MINI to the dealer, and let's just say, the job was less than perfect.....

Lesson learned. I mean, who's gonna know better how to do the job, the guy who does 10 of 'em a day, or the guy who does 1 a month? Next time I'll let Safelite do it.......lesson learned indeed!

Oh, and you don't realize just how badly your windshield is pitted and chipped till you get a new one!

I now consider my windshield to be just another consumable, like brake pads, and budget for a new one every couple of years - I'd rather be able to see clearly - especially at night or when driving into the sun...

 

Or when you get a loaner from the dealership on a service day. Sometimes I almost think it's a fair trade being able to look through a pristine windshield instead of having the turbo. … then again, last time I had a loaner some truck on the freeway threw a rock and chipped its glass within 10 minutes of leaving the service bay.

 

Well, I think I must have gotten the rock magnet package on SJ without being aware of it! The windshield on mine cracked about 2 weeks after I brought it home from the dealer (nothing hit the windshield, it just cracked). I was going to pay to have it replaced but I mentioned it to my MA and he had me bring it by for Service Manager to look at and they decided it was a manufacturer defect and replaced it at no charge. The morning after I brought her home from that repair, I was passing a slow moving PU with a trailer and somehow it managed to throw up a stone and chip my new windshield . I paid to have the chip repaired out of pocket (~$100 at Safelite). Now yesterday on the way home, yet another stone dropped out of mid-air and left me a small chip about 1/4" across . I'm going to watch it and I guess if it starts growing, I'll call Safelite again and once more pay for the repair. I know I can get GEICO to pay for it with no deductable, but I'm saving that card to play for another time. I know its not supposed to raise your rates, but I don't really trust these insurance companies and I'm a bit too lazy to shop around if they would raise my rates. I had to file a claim with GEICO a couple of years ago when an idiot pulled in front of my Mustang while I was minding my own business and of course she waited until the last minute so that I didn't even get a chance to slow down much and ended up demolishing the 'Stang (both air bags deployed in a most amazing display of talcum powder). I filed the claim online at 8:00 PM when I got home and by 8:00 AM I had two calls from GEICO and they settled the claim within 4 to 5 days so I was quite pleased. I love driving SJ but these windshield chips are getting annoying! In my decades of driving, I've never had so many windshield chips. If they made an after-market deflector shield like the Millenium Falcon has, I would purchase one in a heartbeat!

 

Let me ask a quick question to those that have had the windshield replaced. Was the wiper cowl moveable at all after everything was said and done? I just had some body reapir work done along with a windshield replacement and it seems like that piece is a little more moveable than it should be. But I never tried moving it around before so I don't know what's normal or not.

 

Once the weather striping is back on it should not move too much. It should be clipped back in. Same goes for the plastic upper bulkhead panel which is just below it. Try pushing on it in various places to see if the tabs will "click" back into place.

 

2nd replacement windshield in 8 months.

Well that did not last long. Driving down the Garden State Parkway this afternoon trying to avoid all the trucks and SUV's that do not clean the snow and ice off their cars; when a loud smack comes from the windshield out of nowhere and I have a chip a bit larger than a quarter.

Called Allstate and they transferred me to Safelite. I will bring my car in this time since its winter and its not cool to have a guy freezing his butt off in my driveway replacing my windshield. Hopefully the guy George that did the repair last time is still there.