So, on Monday I went to move my car only to discover that my front windshield is all cracked up and I have a lot of questions.

April 30, 2008 9:14 AM

So, on Monday I went to move my car, after 4 days of being parked in the same place, only to discover that my front windshield is all cracked up and I have a lot of questions.

From my cursory internet research it looks like the damage is too extensive to be repaired. How long does it take repair/replace a windshield? Ballpark, how much will it cost to get it replaced? My car is a 2004 Hyundai Elantra sedan. Do all of the glass repair people really come to your house to fix or replace the windshield?

My deductible is 500, since I assume the windshield will probably cost less than that to be replaced, should I file a claim with my insurance company, Progessive, anyway? Will my rates go up if I go through my Progressive? Progressive likes to use Safelite "or an affiliate in Progressive's network of approved glass shops". Anyone know anything about Safelite?

What about going to a Hyundai dealer to get it done? My car is still under warranty. Is the glass you get at the glass repair shop as good as the glass you get from the dealer? My windshield is tinted at the top, will the replacement be tinted?

Should I file a police report? I have no idea how it happened or who did it. It happened sometime between 7pm Thursday and 10am Monday.

Anything I should look out for in this process?

posted by nooneyouknow to travel & transportation (21 comments total)

last time i had a windsheild done it was a couple hundred bucks, they cam right to my office and did it in the parking lot

no sense filing a claim, your deductible is more and you run the risk of paying higher rates or being "black listed" if you file too many claims. You have to have insurance, but god-forbid if you try to use it....
posted by Mr_Chips at 9:21 AM on April 30, 2008

"Is the glass you get at the glass repair shop as good as the glass you get from the dealer? My windshield is tinted at the top, will the replacement be tinted? "

The windshield will be functionally the same whether you get it from the dealer or an independent. In fact most of the dealers around here don't do glue in windshields; they farm it out to glass places. Depending on whether you need urethane or plain adhesive it takes about 1-5 hours to replace a windshield allowing time for the adhesive to dry. They can only do it outdoors if the temp is going to stay above 10C during the cure period.

"Should I file a police report? I have no idea how it happened or who did it. It happened sometime between 7pm Thursday and 10am Monday. "

Is your car parked on the street? Looks to me like a stone flew off a tire of a passing vehicle, the damage is extensive because the impact site was so close to the edge of the glass. The cops aren't going to do anything unless there is a pattern in the neighbourhood of glass getting broken.
posted by Mitheral at 9:25 AM on April 30, 2008

It might be worth a check with your insurance agent to see if the deductible is waived for glass damage. In my case, it is.

However, a few years ago when I had to have my windshield replaced I went ahead and paid out of pocket for it since I didn't want a claim on my record.

If you decide to pay for it yourself, make sure you tell whomever's going to replace it that you will personally be paying with no insurance company involvement. When I did this, their estimate and their ultimate charge was immediately revised several hundred dollars downward.
posted by imjustsaying at 9:30 AM on April 30, 2008

Because you have Progressive, I know you're not in Massachusetts... but in Mass, glass is covered under comprehensive and deductible doesn't even come into play. Is this at all a possibility in your case?

Yes, the glass companies come right out in their vans. My little brother did this for about a year when he was 19.

Don't file a claim and don't call the insurance people until you get some quotes. Quotes are going to vary depending on where you are. Call the dealership, call the glass companies and get some figures. Ask your questions about the tinting to the glass companies.

You could probably call the police non-emergency number and just ask if there's been any other cases of glass breaking in the area. If it's a random case, filing a report probably isn't worth your time.
posted by jerseygirl at 9:30 AM on April 30, 2008

The answer depends entirely on your insurance policy, which is (probably) subject to local (state?) regulations. Why don't you call your insurance company and ask them?
posted by thomas144 at 9:35 AM on April 30, 2008

I paid mine out of pocket as well (I broke it myself trying to scrape -- or rather, chisel -- 1/2 inch ice off it). Only about $300. And there's some support of imjustsaying's experience in the research -- if insurance isn't paying, the repairer will sometimes reduce the charges considerably.
posted by lleachie at 9:43 AM on April 30, 2008

Here also (Ontario, Canada) the deductible doesn't apply to glass.
posted by winston at 9:50 AM on April 30, 2008

A trusted, insanely honest mechanic once told me that there are variances in the quality of glass in windshields. He then gave me the number of a "better" windshield guy. I haven't followed up on this, but it sure sounds like something you're going to want to explore.
posted by user92371 at 10:04 AM on April 30, 2008

As everyone has pointed out, windshield replacement is pretty painless. We've had it done a couple of times. Definitely check with your agent about coverage. It certainly looks like vandalism. Your deductible might not apply.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:06 AM on April 30, 2008

As others have stated, the repair is likely covered by the comprehensive aspect of your insurance, not collision. This results in two things, both good. First, it is possible that there is little or no deductible. The second is that it is possible that filing a claim will not change your insurance rates, since incidents covered by your comprehensive coverage do not alter the likelihood of your getting into an accident. I suggest talking to your insurance agent to confirm. I doubt just talking will cause any problems, even if your insurance company does raise rates on comprehensive claims and does charge the same deductible as for collision, since as long as you don't actually file the claim, I don't think they have any basis for changing your policy. I know for my insurer, I don't have a deductible for comprehensive coverage nor do such claims affect my rates, as long as I don't have more than a couple of claims each year.
posted by EatenByAGrue at 10:14 AM on April 30, 2008

Just a note---the threshold for on-site glass change is between 50 and 60 degrees so the glue will set. If it's not that temp yet (and won't be maintaining that temp for a day or more), they won't do it. If they will, they're going to do a shoddy job.

The most expensive one I've seen was $259 (my employee who drives a VW bug, the new style), but my old jeep was a straight $110. They're really not too bad.
posted by TomMelee at 10:24 AM on April 30, 2008

Even if the insurance covers it without asking for the deductible, filing a claim may still count against you. I had my car broken into a couple years ago and had the glass replaced for free - and then my rates went up by more than it would have cost me to just replace the damn window myself.

So, I'm with everyone who says to just get it replaced without filing a claim. It only costs about $200, which isn't too bad as far as car damage goes.
posted by bassjump at 10:28 AM on April 30, 2008

First, it is possible that there is little or no deductible.

Yes, often glass is a special case on a comprehensive policy. I have a $500 deductible in general and $0 on glass. I'm not sure why, honestly.
posted by smackfu at 10:38 AM on April 30, 2008

I just had mine replaced last week for $340. A guy came and did it in my driveway, and it took around an hour. My insurance company (USAA) said my rates wouldn't go up if I claimed it (it wasn't my fault -- a rock hit the car), but I have a $500 per incident deductible, so it didn't make a difference.
posted by The corpse in the library at 10:42 AM on April 30, 2008

Thanks, everybody. I guess I should've metioned in the question, I did check with Progressive and for repair they cover the deductible, but for a replacement they do not.
posted by nooneyouknow at 12:54 PM on April 30, 2008

Oh, and the car was parked on the street, but the damage is on the side of the car that was next to the sidewalk/curb.
posted by nooneyouknow at 12:56 PM on April 30, 2008

Depending on what kind of insurance you have, it may not ding your rates for a glass claim. I know I took a stone chip and had to get it fixed (not a whole-window replacement, they did the epoxy thing), and my insurer said it would not affect my rates at all.

Actually, even when I had a comprehensive claim for a non-driving-related incident (tree fell on parked car), it did not affect my rates.

YMMV, of course; this was through USAA and it's for a policy I pay through the nose for and have had for years.

Anyway I'd call your insurance company and see what their policy is on glass. It's a common question, and there's no shame in asking (you're not going to get put on some sort of blacklist if you call up and ask and then decide to just go out-of-pocket).
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:18 PM on April 30, 2008

> I did check with Progressive and for repair they cover the deductible, but for a replacement they do not.

Ah, crap. I see you already checked. Oh, well.

Virtually all glass places will do the replacement in your driveway or at work, although I've heard it's not good to do it outdoors if the ambient temperature is below 50F or so (this is from CarTalk, IIRC) since the epoxy doesn't set as well and may spring leaks in the future as a result.

I'd just open up the Yellow Pages and start calling auto-glass places; see how much they charge, how soon they can do it, and how long they warranty their work for. (I'd look for "as long as you own" warranties on the workmanship at least.) You may want to start off with someone recommended by your insurance company, but they may not be the cheapest, best, or most convenient if you're paying for it yourself.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:22 PM on April 30, 2008

The cops aren't going to do anything unless there is a pattern in the neighbourhood of glass getting broken.

They're not going to know there's a pattern if nobody reports anything. Police like to know things like this. Tell them.
posted by Dec One at 1:39 PM on April 30, 2008

Although people already have said this, I can't stress it enough. Call around. I've had a few windows/windshields broken and it is amazing how much more some shops charge. Like 3x as much for the same glass.
posted by aspo at 4:03 PM on April 30, 2008

How much it is going to cost will depend on what kind of car you have and how big the windscreen is. The best place to figure that out is caling a glass repair place and asking them, they'll be able to look it up on their computer and give you a quote over the phone.

My boyfriend had to replace his a few years back because the old one was delaminating, and since he has a car with a really big windscreen it was going to cost about a thousand dollars as opposed to the 'standard' cost of around two hundred (this is in New Zealand so actual prices probably don't apply to you). The guy at the glass place was able to find him a second hand glass though, one which had been ordered for someone else then not used, and he had it all done for under two hundred. The glass was in perfect condition, wasn't used because it didn't fit the car it was ordered for I think, and six years later is still working perfectly. So ring around and see what you can do, there may be options out there to help with the cost.
posted by shelleycat at 5:01 PM on April 30, 2008