[satisfiedmind]

Of course with my run of luck I already have one rather large chip and a 3" crack in my windshield. I called Crystal Glass who MINI recommended but they said they would not repair my crack as crack repairs don't work. I thought I would turn to these trusty boards and find out if crack repairs work and if they do who in Calgary would do them for me? I really don't want to replace my windshield after less then a month of owning my car.
Thanks

[RS3TURN]

Well had my windshield replaced on Saturday at Cal-Alta auto glass. Quote was $235, total came to $275 b/c they had to replace the upper molding. I went to the North Location. They did excellent work. Hopefully this windshield will last a little longer.

Call Cal-Alta. Crystal glass said they could not help me, and could not source an aftermarket PPG windshield. Cal-Alta has done work on a lot of MINIs (talked to the owner) including a replacement of ALL of the factory glass on one particular MINI.

Here are some opinions of them I got on a local board.
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.p...hreadid=110809

I have also had cracks repaired by Apple Auto Glass. Also recommended, however I agree that crack repairs do not work that great. Hit or miss. They will drill a small hole to stop the crack, and then fill the hole. Often times the crack will continue in a different direction from the hole. You are better off replacing the entire windshield. $235 aint bad.

North Location
8-3927 Edmonton Trail NE
(2 blocks south of McKnight Blvd.)
Calgary, AB T2E 6T1
Phone: 403-291-7020

South Locations
9827A Horton Road SW
(2 blocks west of McLeod Tr & Southland Dr.)
Calgary, AB T2V 2X5
Phone: 403-252-5050

Bow Trail SW
Phone: 403-217-8952

[xtremepsionic]

I think you're better off getting a new PPG glass (CLiVE on North American Motoring did, post a message there!) as they are reportely a little stronger than stock.

I had a fairly big rock hit my windshield 3rd week into my MINI ownership and it created a 3/4 inch star. I filled it with some windshield repair kit glue thing I got from Walmart ($15 or so) and it didn't get any worse. The kit says that you can repair cracks up to 12 inches long IIRC. Give those repair kits a try, if it works, great, if it doesn't go get a PPG or something.

On a side note, I think that windshield repair glue thing I got needs sunshine to activate, so I don't know how this is going to work for you now that we're deep in winter.

[RS3TURN]

yes. I had mine replaced.

rs3turn = clive

[xtremepsionic]

Quote: Originally Posted by RS3TURN

yes. I had mine replaced.

I remember you said it was PPG right? How much did it cost?

[RS3TURN]

Quote: Originally Posted by xtremepsionic

I remember you said it was PPG right? How much did it cost?

In my post above. The PPG windshield itself was $235. With the upper molding and GST it came to $275 all in. Cal-alta has the lowest quote by far. They have been dealing with PPG for 25 years now, so they get decent discounts.

Others quotes were in the $350 range. Dealer wanted $800+.

[British SD]

Once cracked more than 3-4 inches you are definately screwed. It can't be fixed and will just keep running.

I had my glass go last year and since I have full replacement value insurance on the car and glass coverage, my insurance company replaced it with MINI O.E. glass from the dealer (not aftermarket PPG). They did not like the high install costs at the dealer so agreed to get Speedy Auto Glass, Crowfoot to install it. Did a great job and fixed a couple of chips since for free!

On a footnote, Speedy said they were impressed with the clip kit and stuff that came with the MINI O.E. windshield. Figure that's a good thing! get enough rattles already.