Mazda 3, doors autolocked

psnowden23

on the hottest day of the year my son had taken his 2 year old daughter for a walk, returned put her in the car along with the small rucksack he was carrying which contained keys, drinks etc. He closed the door went to open the drivers door and the car had locked itself. In a panic he had to end up smashing the windscreen and climbing through to get to his daughter. He had tried all side windows but not succeeded. Fortunately his daughter was fine although very upset and extremely hot by this time. He rang the insurance, explained what had happened and they told him he wasn't covered as he had done it himself. Mazda have said this shouldn't have happened, but of course it is just out of warranty! Had he lied and said a stone smashed the windscreen there would not have been a problem. Has anybody else had a similar problem and succeeded with insurance? Now he is stuck with the car on his drive, windscreen people will not come out because it is a "2" man specialist job and want him to take it to a centre over 30 miles away which obviously he can't as it would be illegal to drive. Any ideas?

DCFC79

psnowden23 said:

on the hottest day of the year my son had taken his 2 year old daughter for a walk, returned put her in the car along with the small rucksack he was carrying which contained keys, drinks etc. He closed the door went to open the drivers door and the car had locked itself. In a panic he had to end up smashing the windscreen and climbing through to get to his daughter. He had tried all side windows but not succeeded. Fortunately his daughter was fine although very upset and extremely hot by this time. He rang the insurance, explained what had happened and they told him he wasn't covered as he had done it himself. Mazda have said this shouldn't have happened, but of course it is just out of warranty! Had he lied and said a stone smashed the windscreen there would not have been a problem. Has anybody else had a similar problem and succeeded with insurance? Now he is stuck with the car on his drive, windscreen people will not come out because it is a "2" man specialist job and want him to take it to a centre over 30 miles away which obviously he can't as it would be illegal to drive. Any ideas?

You can put some cardboard/plastic over the opening and use parcel tape to secure it.
Have you any other car window firms ?

penners324

Usual fee is about £85 to replace a windscreen. Just get hold of Autoglass and get it done....

TELLIT01

There are many mobile windscreen repairers.  It's not necessary to drive 30 miles to get it fixed.  If it's illegal to drive, how did he get the car home?

roddydogs

He couldn't smash the side window? £85 seems rather low, where?

frederick1950

Totally agree , why smash a laminated windscreen  when you cud more easily smash a side window and still drive ?
Dont know the actual  age/spec of the car but most Mazda 3 are rebadged Ford Focus so will most likely have heated windscreen as standard so cost will be a lot more if he wants to preserve the cars specification.

chrisw

How did he manage to drive back from the walk with the smashed windscreen? Find a local installer within driving reach.

psnowden23

Attempted all side windows before resorting to windscreen, none of them would budge. Yes he knew he shouldn't have driven home but it was in the town centre and 3 miles from home so risked it. Replacement screen companies are saying its a 2 man job and will not come out. If it hadn't have been so hot chances are alternative solution could have been sought but with the heat he was panicking as his daughter was so distressed.

rs65

psnowden23 said:

Had he lied and said a stone smashed the windscreen there would not have been a problem. 

He would have had a different problem

rs65

It would be a nice gesture if the insurers agreed to pay but they are not obliged to as it was a deliberate act

MovingForwards

When breaking glass, it's the weak point to go for, that's not the middle of it.

As the insurance company won't pay / repair the windscreen he has three options:
1. Phone round all the mobile / local windscreen fitters and see if any of them can do it.
2. Wait for the 2 man job company to do it.
3. Have a non-heated windscreen put in for now.

All will need to be paid for by him.

On a side note, any deliveries I've had where it's two people required, one arrived in a van, the other a car.