Cracked Windshield

[Deleted-User]

After being stuck in traffic on 280, the freeway gods decided my windshield needed to be sacrificed. At first it was just a small crack, most likely repairable... but a day went by and the crack is now across the entire windshield.



I believe my insurance wants me to go through Safelite. —Do any of you have any experience with having your windshield replaced? Do they do a good job? Do they use the exact same BMW part?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. —Thanks.

[tooshay]

Safelite replaces my windshield a year ago. They did okay. I hear the wind more after replacing the windshield but no water leak.

[Bazooka173]

Originally Posted by netinvader

After being stuck in traffic on 280, the freeway gods decided my windshield needed to be sacrificed. At first it was just a small crack, most likely repairable... but a day went by and the crack is now across the entire windshield.



I believe my insurance wants me to go through Safelite. —Do any of you have any experience with having your windshield replaced? Do they do a good job? Do they use the exact same BMW part?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. —Thanks.

Let me know how it goes please. Mine needs replacement and I am reluctant to do it.

[AW BMW]

Originally Posted by netinvader

After being stuck in traffic on 280, the freeway gods decided my windshield needed to be sacrificed. At first it was just a small crack, most likely repairable... but a day went by and the crack is now across the entire windshield.



I believe my insurance wants me to go through Safelite. —Do any of you have any experience with having your windshield replaced? Do they do a good job? Do they use the exact same BMW part?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. —Thanks.

Safelite replaced the wind shield on my Tacoma, you have a choice of OEM glass or aftermarket glass. They did a good job as I do not have any extra wind noise or other issues after replacement., I went with OEM glass so it cost a few hundred more. My 2015 M3 also got the wind shield replaced at BMW and I heard they had safelite do the job, but not 100% sure on that. Anyway, I had good experiences on both occasions.

[s0211]

I recently got a bad one on the 5 and just filled it for the time being.

I asked how much it'll be to get it replaced at BMW and they said about $2000 for parts and labor. They also mentioned that if you take it to a shop, you'll still have to bring it back to BMW to get the sensors recoded—that is if you have sensors on your windshield. Also, if your car is a lease, OEM parts only.

If you don't ask for OEM parts, they won't use it. Whichever direction you choose to go with, be specific.

[bmrwrld]

Yes Safelite is good and they come to you. The glass is the same maker as the OEM but you will not have that little BMW Logo.

[Deleted-User]

Originally Posted by bmrwrld

Yes Safelite is good and they come to you. The glass is the same maker as the OEM but you will not have that little BMW Logo.

Thanks, this is exactly what I wanted to know.

Should I go through the dealer to make sure I get the BMW logo?

[arashir]

Safelite is not good and does not necessarily use same glass manufacturer as OEM. Watch out for glass manufactured from FY (Fuyao) (cheaper, not good) instead of Pilkington (good, oem for HUD windshield) for example. Safelite will not automatically tell you they are giving you FY glass, you have to know the manufacturer of the glass to know you are getting a good product. Neither will have the bmw logo. The bmw logo does not matter afaik.

[Deleted-User]

Originally Posted by arashir

Safelite is not good and does not necessarily use same glass manufacturer as OEM. Watch out for glass manufactured from FY (Fuyao) (cheaper, not good) instead of Pilkington (good, oem for HUD windshield) for example. Safelite will not automatically tell you they are giving you FY glass, you have to know the manufacturer of the glass to know you are getting a good product. Neither will have the bmw logo. The bmw logo does not matter afaik.

Thanks for the advice. As long as it’s the exact same brand glass that came with my car, I’ll be content. And correct, it’s Pilkington across the board on my M3.

[RRedline]

Safelite will not use OEM glass nor will they replace the rain sensor unless you demand it...and they still may not do it.

Went through this last year and my insurance agent was able to get an alternate "preferred" shop, recognized by Allstate, that came to me, used OEM glass and replaced my rain sensor.

Shop was Glass West. They ordered both the windshield and the rain sensor from BMW of Mountain View and showed me the invoice to prove it.

[Deleted-User]

Originally Posted by RRedline

Safelite will not use OEM glass nor will they replace the rain sensor unless you demand it...and they still may not do it.

Went through this last year and my insurance agent was able to get an alternate "preferred" shop, recognized by Allstate, that came to me, used OEM glass and replaced my rain sensor.

Shop was Glass West. They ordered both the windshield and the rain sensor from BMW of Mountain View and showed me the invoice to prove it.

Thank you 🙏 I really appreciate you sharing this info with me.

[RobbyMack]

Originally Posted by arashir

Safelite is not good and does not necessarily use same glass manufacturer as OEM. Watch out for glass manufactured from FY (Fuyao) (cheaper, not good) instead of Pilkington (good, oem for HUD windshield) for example. Safelite will not automatically tell you they are giving you FY glass, you have to know the manufacturer of the glass to know you are getting a good product. Neither will have the bmw logo. The bmw logo does not matter afaik.

FWIW Fuyao is the manufacturer of the OEM glass on my m3. I'm pretty sure it's whether or not you have HUD. I don't have HUD.

[bmrwrld]

Originally Posted by netinvader

Thanks, this is exactly what I wanted to know.

Should I go through the dealer to make sure I get the BMW logo?

LOL, yeah that little "BMW" logo coast $700 plus.

It's the same glass maker "Pilkington" my insurance covered it threw Safelite. It will coast over 1K for the same glass with the Logo and you may end up paying out of pocket for the difference. It could crack again in the future so why pay for a logo if you know what I mean.

[Caliboy951]

Safelite did mine before and they did a good job except the installer had super dirty boots and made the biggest mess inside and stood on that part of the car you see when the door is open.
My advice is to "bird dog" the guy to make sure all is well.

[RazorM4]

I just had mine replaced by Safelite. They have OEM glass for about $200 over their own brand. I got the OEM, with the logo and part numbers a perfect match. If u have the driver assist package there is an extra charge to recalibrate the sensors....and they have to do it at the shop rather than come to you.

No leaks or additional wind noise on mine.

[Kbueno]

I've replaced due to pitting on the original with the oem Pilkington brand...its crap. I'm not sure if it's because the car is so low or what...seems to get pitted in no time. Anyone find any aftermarket glass that's less soft?

[arashir]

I'm relying on other reports about FY being worse quality, I don't have specific first hand knowledge of that, my bad for not stating that caveat up front. But when I was pricing windshields it was cheaper vs. Pilkington.

Also FWIW other things I have read elsewhere include that the Pilkington glass is particularly soft and that's why it chips more easily, but that there is something about that manufacture that is necessary for the HUD to function with it.

[A4W]

Originally Posted by RRedline

Safelite will not use OEM glass nor will they replace the rain sensor unless you demand it...and they still may not do it.

Went through this last year and my insurance agent was able to get an alternate "preferred" shop, recognized by Allstate, that came to me, used OEM glass and replaced my rain sensor.

Shop was Glass West. They ordered both the windshield and the rain sensor from BMW of Mountain View and showed me the invoice to prove it.

Thanks for this great info. I've only had my car for 4 months but already have a chip. Maybe it's all the construction on 101 plus the bad roads falling apart but I get so many rocks flying at me.

[MadZarBMR]

I am going through the same issue days before turning in my lease and State Farm referred me to All Star glass who will use OEM glass from a local dealer (I had to ask). They used my VIN to get the exact part. Estimate came in at just under 1400 including recalibrating and programming all systems which is $900 under what the dealer wanted, but insurance would not pay. All I have to pay is my comp deductible.

[Deleted-User]

Hello, everyone. Thanks again for all the responses.

Per RRedline’s suggestion, I went with Glass West. They’ve ordered the original windshield from Stevens Creek BMW and I’m scheduled to have it installed on the 31st since I’m currently traveling.

My insurance (Wawanesa) pre-authorized the OEM glass and any other necessary items that need to be replaced. It’s all covered, aside from a small deductible.

I must say, so far I am very impressed with Glass West and their top notch customer service. Matthew, the owner, is incredibly knowledgeable and his professionalism has exceeded any sort of past experience I’ve ever had with any car-related shop. I feel like I’m in good hands.

I’ll report back once it’s installed

[Deleted-User]

Originally Posted by bmrwrld

LOL, yeah that little "BMW" logo coast $700 plus.

It's the same glass maker "Pilkington" my insurance covered it threw Safelite. It will coast over 1K for the same glass with the Logo and you may end up paying out of pocket for the difference. It could crack again in the future so why pay for a logo if you know what I mean.

I plan on keeping this car. I don’t look at it at some disposable item and having the original replacements is important to me. I own a 1987 e30 and it gets the same exact treatment, albeit finding 30 year old parts can be a challenge sometimes!

One thing to note, when I first insured my M3, I had to ask Wawanesa to add an OEM endorsement to my policy. Ends up being about $32 a year but well worth it in this particular case.

[Deleted-User]

Originally Posted by A4W

Thanks for this great info. I've only had my car for 4 months but already have a chip. Maybe it's all the construction on 101 plus the bad roads falling apart but I get so many rocks flying at me.

Sorry to hear that man.

I try to avoid 101 like the plague, but 280 hasn’t been any better when it comes to rock chips —especially during the rain.