Small Stone Hit windscreen - 5p sized crack..

real1314

...it's fairly small, about 5p sized, certainly less than a £1 coin.

Any idea what the cost would be for a repair ?.....but....

it's a heated front screen (2005 Ford Fiesta)....can it be repaired, accepting that the filaments in that area may not work any more?

TIA :cool:

custardy

windscreen cover?

s_b

i suggest you go and cover the hole now with some sticky tape to keep the damp from getting in and phone your insurer first thing to see if you have windscreen cover
i had this on the wifes ford and had it repaired next morning
these screens arent cheap if you are paying i was quoted £400
a repair by the boys is usually £25

Quentin

Before contacting your insurer (who will log your inquiry as a loss on your record that you will have to declare to other insurers even if you decide not to make a claim), find out how much a local independent will charge for a repair if possible or a replacement if necessary.

THey charge far less than the national names, and if you get it done privately it could save on premium loadings/excess that you will have to pay your insurer.

They aren't really "free" repairs even though autoglass say they are! They have to be paid for.

Premier_2

real1314 wrote: »

...it's fairly small, about 5p sized, certainly less than a £1 coin.

Any idea what the cost would be for a repair ?.....but....

it's a heated front screen (2005 Ford Fiesta)....can it be repaired, accepting that the filaments in that area may not work any more?

TIA :cool:

http://www.autoglass.co.uk/Windscreen-Repair.187.0.html

It doesn't matter that it's a heated screen.

There's normally no charge for a windscreen repair (assuming you have comprehensive insurance with windscreen cover)

Don't worry about making a claim (for either repair or replacement) as windscreen only claims do not affect your NCD already earned.

Notmyrealname

Had that happen on my MK4 Mondeo when I'd only had it a month. Had to have a replacement windscreen because it was in the swept area of the wipers so would fail an MOT. Fitter said had it been anywhere else it could have been repaired with a resin injection.

Mine was also a heated screen. The one they fitted looked exactly the same as the one that came out but without a Ford logo in the corner. It cost me the same £60 windscreen excess as a non-heated one.

colino

I've never heard of a loading on later premiums, just because you've had a repair and I've had loads of screens replaced or repaired under personal car insurance over the years.
I'd actually prefer, if you have a choice, to get the original screen repaired nowadays as I think that the replacement spec. is often short of OEM quality.

chezbabes

Below is an email I am attempting to send to Churchill Insurance:
In approximately October, I had a chip on my windscreen, so I called your appointed windscreen repair people, Autoglass, to make an appointment for them to come out.
When the fitter arrived, he took one look and told me it wasn't possible to repair the chip, it would need a new screen, costing me my £75 excess, I said it would have to wait as, at the time, I could not afford it. He also advised me that the chip would cause my car to fail its MOT.

On Friday, we saw a small stand in the local supermarket car park offering windscreen repairs, we stopped and asked if it was possible to repair, and were told yes, it would repair easily. However, we decided to go to a reputable company just to be on the safe side.

Yesterday, me and my partner, who is a qualified mechanic with many years experience, took the car to an Autoglass centre, to get the chip repaired.
When we were eventually seen by the manager, he examined the chip, using a small device and said it was not possible to repair. We were again told it would fail its MOT. His attitude really was very poor, he could just not be bothered with us at all, when my partner told him we would go somewhere else, he just said, alright and walked off.

The Autoglass website, for checking if chips can be repaired states, 'Is your chip larger than a £2 coin? - we clicked NO. Is you chip in the main drivers area? - we clicked YES, their website states, we can repair your chip, call us to make an appointment.'

We then went to National Windscreens. The guy we saw, said that we couldnt have it done through our insurance, because Churchill only use Autoglass.

He said the chip was repairable, and it would cost us £30, so we had it repaired. He also said that it would now sail through its MOT.

We have just got back from having the car MOT'd, and it passed, no advisories at all.

I am absolutely furious with the service and attitude I have received from Autoglass, your approved repairers. It would seem that they make their money through new windscreens being installed, not from repairs.

We have had policies with Churchill for a few years now, and currently have car and home insurance with you, but I am appalled at the level of service, offered by your so-called approved companies.

You will see that I have attached a copy of the invoice for the repair, to prove that I have had this work done, by a 'Reputable Company'.

I feel very strongly that you should investigate this matter, and look into other claims where people have been told to replace instead of repair. Luckily for me, I have a partner, who knows the guidelines for such things, otherwise I would have been convinced I needed a new windscreen.


Please be aware that fitters appear to be on bonus for replacement screens not repairs.

I have just got off the phone from Autoglass, logging a complaint about this, and even the girl I spoke to was at a loss for words when I said the car had passed its MOT with no advisories given.
But just how many people are fooled into spending unnecessarily on a new screen.

Nilrem

Chez, I suspect different companies that do the repairs have different equipment and quality standards.

For example a company doing the work for an insurance company might opt for a replacement rather than repair for two reasons.
1: It's not going to cost the customer any more, and can be a better option (if you search around you'll find people who have had repairs fail).
2: It can be a much better option for the company based on their experience with that sort of chip (or even the repairers own experiences) - they don't want people going back to the insurance company stating "your guys repaired my windscreen and it failed it's MOT/the repair failed".

Also bare in mind the replacement cost of a screen might not be ma huge amount more than the cost if they may have to repair it twice for the same fault.

Most repairs of virtually anything are a matter of opinion by the person doing it* - you might have two people from the same company, with roughly the same problem come to different conclusions about if it should be repaired, or is better to replace.
Much the same way if you go to one MOT test center you might find you get some strong advisories for work to be done, whilst at another you might get soft advisories.
IE your tyres are at 3mm, one test center might note you did 20k miles last year and know that your car with those tires will likely be at the legal minimum within a month so put "tires worn, replace soon", another tester might not know that, or notice your average mileage, and just put "tires worn".

*For example my Sony 505 was looking a little battered and it's battery was failing, I had the option of repairing it or replacing it. I spent £20 to repair it (new batteriy and case), as in my opinion it was the better option as all that was wrong was the case and battery, if it had had problems with a button, or I'd been less sure I could get it back to "nearly new" operation, I would have spent the 60, 90 or 120 to get either a Kobo, Kindle, or newer Sony (the repair cost as it stood was a third of a new one by a different company).

s_b

QUOTE=chezbabes;52801305 wroted

Below is an email I am attempting to send to Churchill Insurance:
In approximately October, I had a chip on my windscreen, so I called your appointed windscreen repair people, Autoglass, to make an appointment for them to come out.
When the fitter arrived, he took one look and told me it wasn't possible to repair the chip, it would need a new screen, costing me my £75 excess, I said it would have to wait as, at the time, I could not afford it. He also advised me that the chip would cause my car to fail its MOT.

On Friday, we saw a small stand in the local supermarket car park offering windscreen repairs, we stopped and asked if it was possible to repair, and were told yes, it would repair easily. However, we decided to go to a reputable company just to be on the safe side.

Yesterday, me and my partner, who is a qualified mechanic with many years experience, took the car to an Autoglass centre, to get the chip repaired.
When we were eventually seen by the manager, he examined the chip, using a small device and said it was not possible to repair. We were again told it would fail its MOT. His attitude really was very poor, he could just not be bothered with us at all, when my partner told him we would go somewhere else, he just said, alright and walked off.

The Autoglass website, for checking if chips can be repaired states, 'Is your chip larger than a £2 coin? - we clicked NO. Is you chip in the main drivers area? - we clicked YES, their website states, we can repair your chip, call us to make an appointment.'

We then went to National Windscreens. The guy we saw, said that we couldnt have it done through our insurance, because Churchill only use Autoglass.

He said the chip was repairable, and it would cost us £30, so we had it repaired. He also said that it would now sail through its MOT.

We have just got back from having the car MOT'd, and it passed, no advisories at all.

I am absolutely furious with the service and attitude I have received from Autoglass,your approved repairers. It would seem that they make their money through new windscreens being installed, not from repairs.

We have had policies with Churchill for a few years now, and currently have car and home insurance with you, but I am appalled at the level of service, offered by your so-called approved companies.

You will see that I have attached a copy of the invoice for the repair, to prove that I have had this work done, by a 'Reputable Company'.

I feel very strongly that you should investigate this matter, and look into other claims where people have been told to replace instead of repair. Luckily for me, I have a partner, who knows the guidelines for such things, otherwise I would have been convinced I needed a new windscreen.


Please be aware that fitters appear to be on bonus for replacement screens not repairs.I have just got off the phone from Autoglass, logging a complaint about this, and even the girl I spoke to was at a loss for words when I said the car had passed its MOT with no advisories given.
But just how many people are fooled into spending unnecessarily on a new screen.

i cant for the life of me understand how partner can be a mechanic but doesnt understand what can and cant be fixed by a windscreen repair tool
how does he bring cars to mot standard?
is he just a fast fit fitter?

You really need to remove this line or its a waste of time sending it.
Tell them he knows nowt about cars, before you mention the constipation claim you are looking for.

Premier_2

chezbabes wrote: »

Below is an email I am attempting to send to Churchill Insurance:
In approximately October, I had a chip on my windscreen, so I called your appointed windscreen repair people, Autoglass, to make an appointment for them to come out.
When the fitter arrived, he took one look and told me it wasn't possible to repair the chip, it would need a new screen, costing me my £75 excess, I said it would have to wait as, at the time, I could not afford it. He also advised me that the chip would cause my car to fail its MOT.

On Friday, we saw a small stand in the local supermarket car park offering windscreen repairs, we stopped and asked if it was possible to repair, and were told yes, it would repair easily. However, we decided to go to a reputable company just to be on the safe side.

Yesterday, me and my partner, who is a qualified mechanic with many years experience, took the car to an Autoglass centre, to get the chip repaired.
When we were eventually seen by the manager, he examined the chip, using a small device and said it was not possible to repair. We were again told it would fail its MOT. His attitude really was very poor, he could just not be bothered with us at all, when my partner told him we would go somewhere else, he just said, alright and walked off.

The Autoglass website, for checking if chips can be repaired states, 'Is your chip larger than a £2 coin? - we clicked NO. Is you chip in the main drivers area? - we clicked YES, their website states, we can repair your chip, call us to make an appointment.'

We then went to National Windscreens. The guy we saw, said that we couldnt have it done through our insurance, because Churchill only use Autoglass.

He said the chip was repairable, and it would cost us £30, so we had it repaired. He also said that it would now sail through its MOT.

We have just got back from having the car MOT'd, and it passed, no advisories at all.

I am absolutely furious with the service and attitude I have received from Autoglass, your approved repairers. It would seem that they make their money through new windscreens being installed, not from repairs.

We have had policies with Churchill for a few years now, and currently have car and home insurance with you, but I am appalled at the level of service, offered by your so-called approved companies.

You will see that I have attached a copy of the invoice for the repair, to prove that I have had this work done, by a 'Reputable Company'.

I feel very strongly that you should investigate this matter, and look into other claims where people have been told to replace instead of repair. Luckily for me, I have a partner, who knows the guidelines for such things, otherwise I would have been convinced I needed a new windscreen.


Please be aware that fitters appear to be on bonus for replacement screens not repairs.

I have just got off the phone from Autoglass, logging a complaint about this, and even the girl I spoke to was at a loss for words when I said the car had passed its MOT with no advisories given.
But just how many people are fooled into spending unnecessarily on a new screen.

Classic! - you are writing to your insurers to confirm to them that you have knowingly been driving about with a chipped windscreen for the last 6 months.

I wonder what they will make of that...

If you really couldn't afford £75 then you need to rethink if you can afford to run a car.


Edit: BTW, according to Churchill, you are under no obligation to use Autoglass. The same excesses apply, however the most Churchill will refund towards a repair by another company is £40 or for a replacement £125