[Vikas Arora]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

1) Due to the change in the curvature of the windshields the wipers now open up like any other car while cleaning the windscreen. They look a bit outward too.
2) I noticed that on the side where the VIN number is seen I see that some water does seep through. It eventually drains off but after washing the car (no pressure wash) there is some water there. I am just worried that the water that seeps off runs off harmlessly down to the ground or evaporates. Anyone who replaced a windshield notice anything like this before ?
What is usually done to plug the leakage ?

Hi Ambivalent,

Were you able to resolve these issues? Even i have to get my Vento's windshield replaced. Got a quote of Rs 6400/-from W.E and around 11000/- from VW-A.S.S. The breakup is as follows:
4400 for the glass
800 (W.E)/5000 (VW-A.S.S) for sealant: This is truly surprising.
1000 for labor charges

Thanks,
Vikas

[ambivalent_98]

Originally Posted by Vikas Arora

Hi Ambivalent,

Were you able to resolve these issues? Even i have to get my Vento's windshield replaced. Got a quote of Rs 6400/-from W.E and around 11000/- from VW-A.S.S. The breakup is as follows:
4400 for the glass
800 (W.E)/5000 (VW-A.S.S) for sealant: This is truly surprising.
1000 for labor charges

Thanks,
Vikas

I got mine replaced from W.E at 7500 inclusive of labor etc. The job was done quickly and efficiently. I recommend you get it done by WE. You could also explore the insurance route as they offer quick service with insurance folk as well. I got mine quicker because I took the cash route as it came out quicker.
Always remember , as a rule of thumb any auto company charges much much more for non-mechanical parts such as lights , mirrors , glass etc. For mechanical parts the owners have little choice and it is safer to use genuine parts.

[Vikas Arora]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

I got mine replaced from W.E at 7500 inclusive of labor etc. The job was done quickly and efficiently. I recommend you get it done by WE. You could also explore the insurance route as they offer quick service with insurance folk as well. I got mine quicker because I took the cash route as it came out quicker.
Always remember , as a rule of thumb any auto company charges much much more for non-mechanical parts such as lights , mirrors , glass etc. For mechanical parts the owners have little choice and it is safer to use genuine parts.

Thanks for the quick response. Even I will pay cash for this repair. I will end up losing more in terms of NCB if I opt for a insurance claim.

I read on a different thread that some policies have NCB protection for certain types of damages. I will go through my policy document (BA Drive assure elite) in case it has a similar clause.

[joybhowmik]

I had a very positive experience at the Kailash Colony branch of Windshield Experts.

The break on my windshield was approximately a centimeter long arc shape eyesore, that had started expanding in response to my sheer laziness to attend to it.

Here's what happened at the shop step by step:

1) The repair technician assessed the break, and told me there may be a mark left over as the resin won't penetrate all through the extension. Estimate provided Rs 1500/- - if I show my insurance paper, else Rs 2000/- (quirk of their billing software). I was asked if I wanted to claim insurance in which case my payout will be less.

Original break


2) The car was pulled into the bay, and the break area wiped clean both from the inside and outside. A few pictures were taken.

3) I was ushered into the office and served tea while I waited, but I chose to remain with the car and watch the show.

4) The repair technician used a steel pick to grind away the area of the break. The idea is to round the edges so that the spread of the crack is arrested.

Grinding the break with a pick


5) Once done, a suction cup attached to a vaccuum pump was affixed over the break. At its center is a hollow steel cylinder in which resin is poured and then the top of the cylinder is screwed shut.
As air is evacuated from the area, the resin seeps into the fissures - basic physics. This part of the process takes about 20 minutes.

About halfway through the fix process the suction cup lost vaccuum, and had to be re-implanted - thus losing another 20 minutes.

Fixing the suction cup


Suction cup


Vaccuum pump


6) The suction cup is then removed and a thin plastic film is applied over the treated area.

7) A lit candle is applied to the area from inside the cabin. The heat causes the resin to harden.

A lit candle is the heat source


8) Excess hardened resin is scraped off using a Topaz blade. Any resin drops are removed using colin spray.

Topaz blade


Colin Spray


9) A few pictures are taken of the "After" side of the story.

After Repair


While I waited, I took note of the kinds of cracks that can be repaired by them.

Different kinds of repairable cracks


A couple of other customers also walked in - they had significantly more damage to their windshields, so had to go for complete replacement.
The manager offered to do the insurance paperwork for them, and was upfront about telling them that although the glass is the OEM (Asahi) product, but it won't come with the vehicle manufacturer's labelling. They also offer 1 year warranty on their work. From prior discussions with the dealer and windshield experts for an Innova's windshield the dealer's quote is approximately Rs 2000/- more. The glass replacement process is relatively quicker here (2 hours, dealer had quoted 6-8 hours) , and professionally done, with the required safety gear.



Call it setting low enough expectations , and then exceeding them with ease or whatever.
As you can see in the "After Repair" pic , there's a couple of tiny pin-prick marks on the glass , which makes it evident a repair was attempted.
The manager knocked off Rs 500/- from the bill because the repair turned out to be less than perfect in his opinion.

Personally, I had gone with zero expectations. To have gotten this result, and having 33% of the estimate knocked off - was icing on the cake.

[NOX]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

Always remember , as a rule of thumb any auto company charges much much more for non-mechanical parts such as lights , mirrors , glass etc.

I got my 3 month old Polo's windshield cracked when I was driving down the highway and a stone came off a bus in front of me.( my darn luck )
I already talked to the VW Sundaram Chennai people and they asked me to come over this weekend. The crack is way bigger now since I left it unattended for a while now. By the stuff I read its the installation martials costs that are not claimable by insurance. VW is known for its surprises when it comes to service and replacements, so I just don't want to be caught off guard. Can you place a price tag for the replacement of the windshield under insurance from VW? or did anyone else have any bad experience on this and would recommend Windshield experts to me. Any suggestion would be helpful.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by NOX

I got my 3 month old Polo's windshield cracked when I was driving down the highway and a stone came off a bus in front of me.( my darn luck )
I already talked to the VW Sundaram Chennai people and they asked me to come over this weekend. The crack is way bigger now since I left it unattended for a while now. By the stuff I read its the installation martials costs that are not claimable by insurance. VW is known for its surprises when it comes to service and replacements, so I just don't want to be caught off guard. Can you place a price tag for the replacement of the windshield under insurance from VW? or did anyone else have any bad experience on this and would recommend Windshield experts to me. Any suggestion would be helpful.

I had a good experience with windshield experts recently. They do all the insurance work as well. All you need to do is carry the relevant documents and they will take care of the rest and the charges are lower than the Authorized center.
They also do repairs if the windshield is not completely damaged,instead of a full replacement.

[ambivalent_98]

Originally Posted by NOX

I got my 3 month old Polo's windshield cracked when I was driving down the highway and a stone came off a bus in front of me.( my darn luck )
I already talked to the VW Sundaram Chennai people and they asked me to come over this weekend. The crack is way bigger now since I left it unattended for a while now. By the stuff I read its the installation martials costs that are not claimable by insurance. VW is known for its surprises when it comes to service and replacements, so I just don't want to be caught off guard. Can you place a price tag for the replacement of the windshield under insurance from VW? or did anyone else have any bad experience on this and would recommend Windshield experts to me. Any suggestion would be helpful.

I got my VW Vento from Windshield experts. They did a good job and the windshield has lasted OK. I think Windshield experts is part of AIS which is a leading wind shield manufacturer. So go ahead and get it replaced. Reparability is not an option. The approx price tag should 8 to 9 k. There is a facility to claim insurance but it takes time since the Windshield expert will send the pics to the company online and then get approval. Usually this does not take time. I went the cash way and got my work done quickly.

[nitish.h]

Just wanted to share my experience with Windshield Experts, Bangalore and Windshield World, Bangalore.

A couple of weeks ago while on the NICE highway to work, a stone hit my Ecosport's front windshield, thanks to the monster tires of the XUV5OO (no offence to the XUV5OO owners though). A chip, shaped like a clover leaf was the result of it with a very minor (approx 2mm wide) crack on the outer layer. Earlier this week, I noticed that the chip was spreading very slowly and leaving behind tiny broken pieces, I'm guessing due to the flexing as a result of driving on bad patches of roads. The size grew from about 3X3mm to about 5X5mm. Decided to get it fixed and fixed an appointment online for today morning with WSE Basavanagudi branch. Got no confirmation whatsoever about the appointment. Waited an hour and then called them up. I was asked to drop in at 9.30 in the morning and as I did this morning.

I reached 15 minutes early and waited. Doors opened by 9.30 but I was asked to wait longer for their experts and for one of the people I had spoken with, yesterday. After another 30 minutes, they came in, took a 10 second look at my windshield and told me that it could not be fixed and needs a replacement. The reason was that their technique involved a micro drill and the drill would result in the cracks radiating from the chip and that the chip had already developed. I was quoted 7350/- for the replacement as I did not want to lose the NCB on my Insurance. Also, the glass they had was Asahi and not Saint Gobain. They put their transparent printed business sticker on both sides of the glass and told me that it should not create a problem for a couple of weeks to a month until the cracks grow and the glass would have to be replaced. Funny thing is, it was a regular sticker like the ones they stick on headlamp clusters for branding, and I was told that these stickers will prevent the cracks from increasing for up to a month.
I was obviously not very convinced with the response and decided to go for a second opinion.

Went to Windshield World at Electronic City, which I had noticed several times on my way to work. There was a technician at the shop who told me that it could be repaired, but not at that branch. He asked me to WhatsApp a couple of pics of the chip to the franchisee owner who sits at BTM Layout branch, so that I get a confirmation from the owner whether it could be done and how much it would cost. Waited for about 30 minutes and called up the owner and he said he hadn't looked at it yet. 5 minutes later, he replied on WhatsApp and told me that it could be repaired. He asked me to drop in at BTM Layout branch within 2 hours.

Dropped in at the BTM Layout branch 45 minutes later. The owner and a couple of their folks looked at it and told me that it could be repaired, but since the chip was big, it would not be completely seamless. They assured me that the cracks will get filled and the chip or the cracks won't increase. Only that the finish will still have a tiny crater in the area. The only other option was to replace the windshield. Decided to go with the repair.

They placed a small channel over the chip, held by a framework and vacuum cups, inserted a resin through that channel using a syringe. Then, they used a tightener in that channel to screw-in and out every couple of minutes to apply pressure over the resin and drive out any air bubbles. They continued this process for about 20 minutes or so. Then the channel was removed and a small transparent film was placed. They lit a matchstick from the inside of the car and heated that area from behind to let the resin expand in the cracks and dry. They let it dry for 5 minutes and the job was done. I was asked not to apply pressure on the chip or put water over it for an hour. They also asked me to clean the area after an hour to remove the residue from the surroundings.

Came home and cleaned it up after about an hour. The chip looks firm and sealed now, just like they promised. I can see and feel a small crater in the area, but it doesn't look like it's going to develop more.

The technician guys could have been better. They accidentally splashed a couple of teeny tiny drops of the resin on the upper part of my bonnet while pushing the syringe, and it seems to have eaten through the factory clear coat. Only noticeable to me though. Also, I expected the guys to clean the full glass before/after doing the job, considering the dirt and dust that had settled on it from yesterday morning (I was scared to wipe, thinking the chip would increase), but they didn't bother cleaning even the area surrounding the chip. These were the only things I was unhappy about.

Overall, the experience was good. I was charged 900 bucks for the filling and got a bill for it with One year warranty on their repair work and assurance of peace. I saved spending 7k at WSE. I think it was the right call to get a second opinion from Windshield World.

If any of you guys have a second thought about the offer from WSE, try getting a second opinion from Windshield World or anyone else who deals with Auto Glass Repair. You might sometimes get lucky, like I did today.

Edit:
Here's a link to Windshield World's website:
http://www.windshieldworld.in/


OT:
They were getting started to replace the front windshield of a PY Registered Mercedes ML350, which belonged to the Consulate of Ethiopia, just as I started to leave. The glass had suffered a coconut tree attack. The quote given to the owner/driver of the car was 85k and Insurance was ready to pay some 79k.
85k for the Windshield at a third party vendor?
Methinks that coconut will be cursed at least for a week by the Insurance provider.

[Sujoy Mukherjee]

Hi,
The front windshield of my Corolla Altis - 2015 recently cracked due to a combination of heat and pebble hit (earlier which seem to have had weakened the glass).

I have enquired with Windshield Experts(WE) Kailash Colony(Rs. 13,500) and Uttam Toyota Noida Sec 62 (Rs. 15,000) @ Noida. I will not be claiming any insurance as I have a 50% NCB which I got transferred from my old car and forgot to take the NCB protection for it..

My queries
1) Is there any advantage of going to the dealer vs WE? What questions should I ask about the glass?

2) The last time I used WE - Kailash Colony for the front windshield for my Zen, vertical wavy lines with purplish tinge appeared after around a month of using the glass. This is only visible only if looking at it from an angle and not visible straight on. Is there any way to inspect the glass beforehand to figure this out.

3) There are RFID stickers which are stuck on the windshield by the Delhi RTO. the WE guys have told that they would be able to remove and reattach them while the Dealer has said it will not be able to do it, and even if they could, the RFID tags will stop working. Which is true? and if so, how do I get replacement stickers and is there any law for the same?

4) The Rear view mirror seems to be stuck on the windshield by some kind of glue. Are there any precautions needed while it is being removed and stuck back on the new windshield.

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by Sujoy Mukherjee

The front windshield of my Corolla Altis - 2015 recently cracked

Replies as below.

1. I prefer dealer. Couple of years when I was searching, I found out that WE uses slightly thinner glass compared to Toyota A.S.S.; make of glass is also different.

2. No idea, no first hand experience. Better to check glass against sunlight from all angles & from inside as well as outside.

3. RFID tags known not to work after removal. Don't know about any replacement process, dealer should be aware about this.

4. It's pretty easy removal, even accessories folks know how to remove & fix it back correctly.

[ToyotaFan]

I am in a similar dilemma. My 2015 Jazz has a crack due to a tree branch falling on it. Honda ASS is quoting Rs 9500 while WE is quoting 6200. I also don't want to use my insurance due to the 50% NCB. Help will be appreciated.

[OSH]

Originally Posted by Sujoy Mukherjee

My queries
1) Is there any advantage of going to the dealer vs WE? What questions should I ask about the glass?

2) The last time I used WE - Kailash Colony for the front windshield for my Zen, vertical wavy lines with purplish tinge appeared after around a month of using the glass.

1. Prefer going to the dealer in your case as the difference in price is very minimal. The dealer will do a better job as he knows your car inside out. Also lately have not heard any good reviews about WE, the dealer will give you an OEM branded glass which is doubtfull in case of WE. You can relax about them not fitting the IRVM properly as dealerships will use the right tools and technique.

2. I have seen that on many cars, maybe it has something to do with the way the windsheild was cleaned, some chemical cleaners etc ? You can inspect the glass under direct sunlight as the purple tinge will showup only under such conditions.

[Rahul Rao]

I recently got a quote for replacing my Polo's windshield, and asked the workshop owner about the reason behind the discount.
He replied that the glass is OE, but they use 3M silicon sealant and not the Manufacturer's specified one and that is the major reason behind the price difference.

Rahul

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Sujoy Mukherjee

I have enquired with Windshield Experts(WE) Kailash Colony(Rs. 13,500) and Uttam Toyota Noida Sec 62 (Rs. 15,000) @ Noida. I will not be claiming any insurance as I have a 50% NCB which I got transferred from my old car and forgot to take the NCB protection for it..

For a Rs 1500 difference I'd always choose the dealer over WE. I've seen the local WE workshop which is a short walk from my residence and I am not too impressed by the way they work. They are a far cry from the trained by Toyota techs at the dealership.

1) Is there any advantage of going to the dealer vs WE? What questions should I ask about the glass?

The dealer uses the correct parts i.e. the windshield and silicone sealant approved by Toyota. The car must be put thru a rinse test to check for leaks. Since the windshield contributes to driving safety please go to the dealer.

2) The last time I used WE - Kailash Colony for the front windshield for my Zen, vertical wavy lines with purplish tinge appeared after around a month of using the glass. This is only visible only if looking at it from an angle and not visible straight on. Is there any way to inspect the glass beforehand to figure this out.

I was told by the WE person that they use Asahi India or other OEM windshields.

But remember they compromise on the sealant and less than optimally trained labour to save money and pass on a part of the savings to you. Make no mistake, the sealant is very important as it holds the glass in place, plus it allows the windshield to absorb chassis flex as the car moves. It also prevent leaks.

3) There are RFID stickers which are stuck on the windshield by the Delhi RTO. the WE guys have told that they would be able to remove and reattach them while the Dealer has said it will not be able to do it, and even if they could, the RFID tags will stop working. Which is true? and if so, how do I get replacement stickers and is there any law for the same?

TBH I am not sure if these can be removed without damaging them.

4) The Rear view mirror seems to be stuck on the windshield by some kind of glue. Are there any precautions needed while it is being removed and stuck back on the new windshield.

If you give the car to the ASC you wouldn't have to worry about these things.

[Sujoy Mukherjee]

Thanks a lot for your responses. I will go with the popular opinion of going with the totyota dealer. I will update on the stickers(RTO) as soon as I am able to get more information.