I've got a chip in my windscreen...

ailuro2

if you wait till it get's to freezing it might spread and cost a few hundred to replace the windscreen - look out for a cheap deal and get it fixed.

Remember the windscreen is part of the support for your car, is designed to help protect you etc. in event of an accident.

http://www.consumabulbs.com/files/bdet.php?id=618 is a DIY kit, but I'd be dubious and probably keep my eye open for that special offer deal.

Silaqui

Thanks everyone. I am going to give the insurance company a ring later today.

I think my plan of action will be to ask them if I can get windscreen cover firstly, and if that's not possible I'll see how much it would be to go fully comp NOW as opposed to at renewal. I can make a bit of a judgement then whether to do something with the insurance or pay the 60 odd quid for a repair.

Just worried in case it means a replacement as it's quite close to the edge. I can't afford to pay the excess till June!

To make things even more annoying the pump for my windscreen washer has stopped working! I have to keep a bottle of screenwash in the car and tip it down the screen while the wipers are going! A trip to halfords is in order tomorrow I think...

Thanks everyone again
x

Chippy_Minton_2

Silaqui wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I am going to give the insurance company a ring later today.

I think my plan of action will be to ask them if I can get windscreen cover firstly, and if that's not possible I'll see how much it would be to go fully comp NOW as opposed to at renewal. I can make a bit of a judgement then whether to do something with the insurance or pay the 60 odd quid for a repair.

WHY?

You already have the damage so any change to your policy will not include this repair.

The repair compainies ask you when the damage occurred.

The only said on the news the others day that insurance fraud was on the up and here's another example of it.

vaio

dacouch wrote: »

……… for some unknown reason the ones that do only let you add it on when you first take the policy out or when you renew the policy

I suspect the reason is because people will only add windscreen cover during a policy if they want a cheap windscreen.

OP, you have a chip that isn’t covered, either do the honest thing and pay to get it repaired/replaced or just leave it. Mine has a chip that has been there for maybe five years and it hasn’t changed at all since it happened

dacouch

Thanks vaio, that is exactly why they do that, I was playing with words

Volcano

ailuro2 wrote: »

if you wait till it get's to freezing it might spread and cost a few hundred to replace the windscreen -

Does anyone know if this actually happens? Or is it an advertising lie to shift windscreen repairs? My experience has always tallied with:

vaio wrote:

Mine has a chip that has been there for maybe five years and it hasn’t changed at all since it happened

dacouch

It does sometimes happen but in most cases it will just stay as a stone chip.

Its worth remembering that if the chip is in certain parts of the windscreen it can fail an mot, personally for the £20 ish it costs I woudl get it done for peace of mind

Silaqui

I'm not trying to commit fraud Chippy! I didn't realise that that would be the case, I mentioned earlier about whether there is a time limit on claiming were I to add the cover.

I have rang Endsleigh and there isn't windscreen cover on the insurance, I asked them on the phone whether existing damage would be covered and they said no.

When I get paid I'll probably go to one of those stalls you get in supermarkets and get it done there.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I don't think it would fail an MOT as it's tiny and can't even be seen from the driving position (it's hidden by the rv mirror) but I don't really want to leave it if theres a slight risk that it might end up cracking or whatever and causing a danger or a lot of expense.

Ta,
S
x

ozvaldinho

Some motor factors do glass repair kits for about £20, I've never tried one but they do appear to have the same basic equipment as the auto windscreens people use.
As far as chips spreading, a lot of it is down to luck and exactly how much stress /tension is on the area of the screen affected. I recently had to replace a very large windscreen on a sprinter van which had a chip just where we sick the satnav. It cracked wide open when we stuck the satnav on.

asbokid

one of the big windscreen companies had a van outside the local Halfords offering to mend screen chips Free of Charge... Maybe keep an eye out, perhaps they offer something similar near you...

Not sure what the ruse was.. maybe they have discovered that n% of freebie customers buy their windscreen insurance, out of a sense of moral duty..