[Phil Craddock]

Has anyone replaced their windscreen yet and what did it cost you, as I got hit by a truck with a massiffffff rock yesterday (see attached shot)

Spoke to my dealer and they have quoted me as:
£100+vat for the screen
£200 labour
=£330.00 'ish for the job.
They tell me that it is a specialist job that takes 3-4 hours as all the trim around the side of the screen needs to be removed, obviously , and I think it may be better that BMW/MINI do it rather than an Autoglass type person. Not wanting to offend any Autoglass peps out there.

and more

[Dom]

Phil,

My friend works for Auto Windscreens, and an Autoglass type person will be doing your screen. Your dealer will simply call one of them out. It shouldn't cost that much though as I thought it was covered on insurance and didn't effect no-claims.

If you want to pop down to Swindon, you can call AutoWindscreens out during the evening and then be sure that my friend will do a professional job - he's done plenty of chips on my screen!

Dom

[Phil Craddock]

Dom, cheers for that. I'm going to call my insurers, AXA this afternoon as what you say sounds about right cus when I spoke to my dealer they said " hang on a min. the windscreen guy is in today...." so it does sound like they farm the work out. Anyway I'm covered on my insurance so perhaps it won't hurt so much in the pocket.
Can we start a campaign to ban trucks from our roads please Paul

[smiffy]

Claim on your insurance, a windscreen claim doesnt effect your no claims bonus

[mr.bill]

That's a nasty rock pit. It's a bad feeling when you see a rock bouncing straight toward you and there is nothing you can do but hope it misses your windshield. Drivers complained for years about the gravel trucks on the 605 freeway in L.A. The state finally forced them to cover the beds tightly with a canvas tarp and install improved gravel guards for the rear wheels. That helped a lot. You'll never get the trucks banned because commerce generates revenue and revenue generates taxes. The guvvies care more about that than your pitted windshield.

[Dom]

It does make you think about how strong windscreens are considering the force that these 'boulders' hit them at!

Dom

[Cooper i Do]

Hey Phil,

Why dont ya drive around with this screen and get a new one when the heated windscreens get available?
Thats what i will do. Get my screen broken the first year and than let CarGlass install a heated one. I know i have to pay for the difference but its cheaper than get it installed by youre dealer.
Go to the car graveyard and ask them for the power transformer (dont know if this is the right word ) of a Ford Mondeo or Escort, Buy a lose switch from the Mini parts dep. and there you go .

Catch Ya Later,
Cooper I Do

Still Counting!

[kjs]

Phil

Looks pretty much identical to the chip from the boulder that did for my windscreen a while ago. I got mine done by Autoglass. Cost me 50 quid on my insurance excess and no leakage. But......

If it were to happen again, I'd definitely get it replaced at my dealer, even if Autoglass came to them to do it, and even if I had to pay another 50 quid on the excess.

Why??? well, I'm not 100% happy about the way that the job has been done - it was obviously the guys first attempt at a MINI, the finish is nowhere near as good as it was around the top plastic strip and the rubber strip in the bottom corner of the windscreen. I had to go into the dealers a few days afterwards anyway, and they took a look over it and there was also something that hadn't been tightened properly(somewhere between the door and the side of the windscreen at dashboard height). Also, I feel like the road noise has increased since the new screen was fitted and I noticed this morning that the chrome bit in the middle of the screen at the bottom is a bit loose.

Basically, I think it was just lack of experience on the fitters part. NOT, I hasten to add, at fitting windscreens, just at fitting windscreens to MINIs. At least at a dealer the windscreen fitter can look at the other cars there to get an idea of what goes where and double check with the service people there.

happy motoring!

kjs

[MrCooper]

Bad luck Phil - and after us taking the mickey out of Martyns dealer the other week after he got his windscreen chipped! Doh!

Anyways, I hope it doesnt cost you too much to get it replaced/fixed.

[Phil Craddock]

Yeah thanks for all the comments - just a quick update, Indie is booked in @ Sytners this coming Friday ( and I get a MINI ONE courtesy car ), for the fitting of a new screen. My Insurance company says that they will reimburse me all costs -£60 excess which I am v.v.happy about.

Thought about the heated screen as I had one on my Focus and they are a god-send in the winter, but as Indie lives in the garage overnight and it don't take that long to demist the inside of the car with auto climate control I'm gonna pass.

See ( ) ya all later.