Autoglass info

[er-minio]

Big enough stone hit the car's windscreen and cracked it fairly bad (beyond what it's considered fixable with resin injection).
Considering claiming it via my insurer (Admiral), that uses Autoglass for the replacement.

Before going ahead I wanted to ask whoever had experiences with them before (it's a first for me ever) regarding quality of the work and also what happens about cameras and sensors re-calibration when the glass is swapped. And also general quality of the replacement parts.

Essentially I want to weight in if it's also an option to cough the money myself and have the screen replaced at the dealer or if is unnecessary (even though the dealer outsources the job 99% of the times).

Or, is it possible (paying more of course) to get OEM parts via Autoglass?

As usual thanks for any pointers

 

[littleade]

Check your insurance policy as many include windscreen replacement without effecting your NCD though you may have to pay an excess and there could be exclusions, e.g. an upper cost limit or things like heated screens not being covered

 

[er-minio]

Yes, when I say claiming via my insurer it’s exactly this.
I have windscreen cover and doesn’t affect NCB and I also have protected NCB (10+) just in case.

It’s a new car (turning one year old now) and I don’t want a botched job or ending up paying more on the long run (re-calibrating, bad/distorted glass, etc.) that’s why I’m evaluating and asking for previous experience.

 

[Gavla04GS]

I’ve used auto glass lots of times and always very happy with their work.
Earlier this year I booked a chip replacement service via my insurance.
There’s a lot of faff taking pictures of the chip and uploading to their site via hyperlinks etc.
I used a £1 coin in one image to prove scale and was sure it fitted under 4mm for their max size of chip repair etc, I even had a tape measure in shot.
Booked the appointment and Tech turns up to car at work and says can’t fix that mate, you need a new screen.
He phoned up and arranged this, bypassing lots of on-hold time etc but I had to go to a depot for screen fitting as they need to calibrate all the sensors etc

 

[Wapping]

and I also have protected NCB (10+)

The NCB is just a percentage discount, it does not prevent the base premium (to which the percentage discount is applied) from going up. For example:

Base premium 2024 £100 less 20% NCB = £80 premium paid.

Base premium 2025 £200 less 20% NCB = £160.

Autoglass replaced the very badly chipped / cracked windscreen in my Cayman, including its rain sensor and integral aerial, using a genuine Porsche windscreen, excellently well. All we had to wait for was a warm dry day, as they did it at my house.

 

[er-minio]

Thanks Richard. They say glass repair shouldn’t affect the premium, but I don’t really believe it.
This would be my first, ever, claim on insurance - hence why I was slightly dubious
It's not clear if they class the windscreen thing as a proper claim or not. Anyway, I'll survive a policy increase.

 

[JH]

Yes, when I say claiming via my insurer it’s exactly this.
I have windscreen cover and doesn’t affect NCB and I also have protected NCB (10+) just in case.

It’s a new car (turning one year old now) and I don’t want a botched job or ending up paying more on the long run (re-calibrating, bad/distorted glass, etc.) that’s why I’m evaluating and asking for previous experience.

When my windscreen required replacing after a stone chip through Admiral I did a bit of research.

I can't find the article now as I'm heading to work, but essentially it was written by a guy who was a windscreen repairer, In short the windscreens they use are not quite as good as the OEM, hence why they are cheaper. He stated all of the facts and figures, but they are much cheaper than the OEM. However, he suggested with a new car, >1year, customers should seek an original replacement and most companies will acquiesce if asked. He also suggested actually seeing how much a non OEM screen could be sourced for. With windscreen excesses now in the region of £75-£100 it might not be that far off if you look hard enough.

Admiral did not affect my NCB, nor when I changed companies did the quote I got at renewal time change upon declaring the windscreen claim. The screen was fitted without too much drama but there was a few weeks delay in getting a screen and appointment. I was unlucky as it was during the plague so options were limited, but after I found that it could have been swapped out for not much more money. FYI.

 

[er-minio]

Thank you JH. I think I read the same article when researching.

I asked them if it was possible to pay more and have an OEM screen, but they didn't say.
As I have to travel again to France with the car very soon after my return to the UK (I'm abroad now), I booked just to be on the safe side. I'm considering that if the screen turns out to be visibly bad (I doubt to be fair) I can then replace it with an OEM part later on this year (dealer timelines where longer) without a rush.
The excess was 120.

I also found an article stating that Autoglass might install OEM windscreens on my car model as it is not a super common vehicle and there are no aftermarket ones, but I think that's some online forum BS. I guess I'll discover it when I see it in the flesh.

By the way it cracked so easily, the original windscreen wasn't that good either and, again while searching, I found quite a few people online stating that it cracks very easily on those cars.

 

[Wapping]

Autoglass might install OEM windscreens on my car model as it is not a super common vehicle and there are no aftermarket ones

That was certainly the case with my Cayman’s windscreen.

 

[er-minio]

Ok, so not so much BS

 

[diplomaticdanny]

I had a new screen on my E Class which at the time was around 6 years old, Autoglass in Coventry were superb, did another 100,000 miles in it after that, would never have known it was changed. No issues with all the sensors, heat refracting etc.

 

[Neil W]

Neighbours had a few issues with Autoglass (mainly turning out and not doing the job for spurious reasons), needed a couple of screens replaced and went to a local independent and paid myself as my insurer offered free windscreen cover BUT even though your no claims was not lost it was still a recorded claim and could result in a loading being put on at renewal.

The independent was very good and 1/3 price of getting it done via the insurance , they did mention that they had employed a couple of ex Autoglass employees and both were let go of as their work was not up to scratch , suppose though it is down to individual in branch training

 

[Berin]

Thank you JH. I think I read the same article when researching.

I asked them if it was possible to pay more and have an OEM screen, but they didn't say.
As I have to travel again to France with the car very soon after my return to the UK (I'm abroad now), I booked just to be on the safe side. I'm considering that if the screen turns out to be visibly bad (I doubt to be fair) I can then replace it with an OEM part later on this year (dealer timelines where longer) without a rush.
The excess was 120.

I also found an article stating that Autoglass might install OEM windscreens on my car model as it is not a super common vehicle and there are no aftermarket ones, but I think that's some online forum BS. I guess I'll discover it when I see it in the flesh.

By the way it cracked so easily, the original windscreen wasn't that good either and, again while searching, I found quite a few people online stating that it cracks very easily on those cars.

I had a windscreen replaced by Autoglass on a Disco and it was OEM as there were no pattern ones available. I checked with them beforehand and they told me it would be OEM. If your car is decent and quite new I’d want OEM, if you trade it later it may affect the value

 

[er-minio]

I think that'll be the plan. I'll just check if I get and aftermarket or OEM one.

 

[mikeyboy]

I had a quote from auto glass to replace the screen on my Citroen berlingo van,
It was over £1k
Got a local independent fella to do it,£220
Make of that what you will

 

[er-minio]

Replaced this morning.

It's an aftermarked glass. Quality seems like the original. They were quick in doing it, including ADAS recalibration.
The matting around the rear view mirror is slightly less "dense" than the original screen... now this little detail will do my head in... until I forget about it, in about two weeks time

 

[Pukmeister]

When a cement mixer chucked a stone at my VW T5 van whilst overtaking it on the Chichester bypass, I had a huge windscreen crack that could only mean a new screen via my insurers.

The guy contracted to replace it needed a hand to fit it (bloody big piece of glass !) so I gave him a hand when fitting and we got chatting. He did a top job, the old screen wasn't original but he could tell it had been done previously by autoglass and I had rust starting in the corners of the aperture which he sorted. He said it had a previously shit installation which the previous windscreen fitter should have been ashamed of.

No idea if this new screen is OE or not but it has been perfect since, I'd wager that VW have several windscreen suppliers as they make the vans in several locations.

 

[er-minio]

Resurrecting the thread.

The NCB is just a percentage discount, it does not prevent the base premium (to which the percentage discount is applied) from going up. For example:

Base premium 2024 £100 less 20% NCB = £80 premium paid.

Base premium 2025 £200 less 20% NCB = £160.

Had this in the back of my mind all this time somehow, and was expecting an increase.

I just got my renewal quote from Admiral for the car.
20 quid less than last year, despite the screen replacement. I'd say fair. (Just a bit more than the road tax )

I've used almost exclusively Admiral for my 4 wheelers over the years, and they are decent to deal with and the policy is too.
Credit where due.

 

[Neil W]

Yes, when I say claiming via my insurer it’s exactly this.
I have windscreen cover and doesn’t affect NCB and I also have protected NCB (10+) just in case.

It’s a new car (turning one year old now) and I don’t want a botched job or ending up paying more on the long run (re-calibrating, bad/distorted glass, etc.) that’s why I’m evaluating and asking for previous experience.

Be careful , I had a broken window on our Audi and had free windscreen cover and protected NCB, popped in to local insurance brokers office and asked regarding the procedure of claiming to be told that although it did not affect my NCB it would still be recorded as an incident and could result in a loading on my insurance at renewal. In the end I got a local specialist to do the job at 1/4 of the cost that Autoglass were quoting.
As an aside a month or so later went in to renew the insurance on my Polo and the insurer stated that there would be a loading on the policy as I had been involved in a reported incident although no claim had been made .
Went apeshit with them pointing out that I had not reported an incident or made a claim and that I had merely enquired about the procedure of making a claim should I need to do so at a time in the future .
They backed down but since then I have just paid to have a couple of screens replaced rather than f*gging about with insurance

 

[er-minio]

Yep, that's what I was worried too, but see post #18