Windscreen chip, pay myself or put through insurance?

[steve and lisa]

I have quite a large chip appear on my windscreen so on Friday I contacted Comfort to see what u o do as Autoglass said to contact my insurer. Anyway Comfort said although there is no excess and it won't affect my NCB they did warn me that it may affect my renewal premium and I would need to declare the claim on any other insurance quote.

Not sure what to do now! Anyone know how much a chip repair cost?

 

[Stoneybroke]

I have a couple of chips on my windscreen. I did some DIY repairs using an over the counter kit, which, hopefully had stopped them worsening. They are not in my line of sight, and frankly, I think there is too much disturbance to repair at this stage. There are also earnings on the forum on non-VW windscreens being sub-standard, so watch what they put in, if they can't just repair.

 

[motacyclist]

We also had a chip in our previous van which I repaired myself. As @Stoneybroke points out, I didn’t want the windscreen replaced with an aftermarket one. The repair kit did quite a good job, it could still be seen but just looked like a squashed fly mark. It was picked up on MOT as an advisory though, not a fail.

 

[Jay586]

Mine got a massive crack, it's the heated screen so at the moment, only VW supply them and they are like rocking horse poo. Took weeks to sort. If the chip is larger or in a zone in front of the driver, it may need replacing, as you probably already know...

 

[steve and lisa]

Thanks for the replies, it is about the size of a 5p (maybe smaller) and it is on the passenger side, ours is also a heated screen. Am I best calling Autoglass or let the insurance deal with it?

 

[motacyclist]

Mine got a massive crack, it's the heated screen so at the moment, only VW supply them and they are like rocking horse poo. Took weeks to sort. If the chip is larger or in a zone in front of the driver, it may need replacing, as you probably already know...

Unfortunately mine came heated, hope I don’t get the same problem.

I can’t even figure out how to switch the heating elements on!

 

[motacyclist]

Thanks for the replies, it is about the size of a 5p (maybe smaller) and it is on the passenger side, ours is also a heated screen. Am I best calling Autoglass or let the insurance deal with it?

I would definitely just try to sort it with a kit first, if it doesn’t work you can claim on insurance (Autoglass will do that for you anyway). Or Autoglass could do the repair for you through the insurance, but the kit I used was easy enough.

 

[Jay586]

Let your insurance deal with it, I think, if it needs changing. I had a moan on the T6 forum and people said the screen was an expensive item and I had kittens as I have a limit on my windscreen cover. This will be fixed at the next insurance renewal.

The size is important as it can be bigger elsewhere on the screen. There's info on Autoglass's website with the technical details.

Think you live near me, Motocyclist. Look for the little heated screen button, on mine, it's in the middle of the dash. I've used it once!

 

[Jay586]

Your insurance may use a different screen company too, mine used Autoglass, who were excellent.

 

[motacyclist]

Think you live near me, Motocyclist.

Yes, near Chester and alternate location at Llanddulas.

 

[Jay586]

D'oh, Auto Windscreens!

Was walking the dogs in Llanddulas this morning

 

[motacyclist]

Your insurance may use a different screen company too, mine used Autoglass, who were excellent.

Depends on who you get to do the job. My wife locked herself out of her Golf with both sets of keys inside.

Called RAC who broke the rear quarter light to gain access. On the Golf, the door skin has to be removed to replace it, the Autoglass bloke mixed the screws up and put long ones where short ones should go and they went right into the door skin! Second Autoglass bloke who came out was very good, sorted the problem and also changed the quarter light glass the previous bloke put in for the correct tint (we hadn’t noticed it was wrong).

 

[motacyclist]

D'oh, Auto Windscreens!

Was walking the dogs in Llanddulas this morning

We have a lodge on “The Beach”, maybe you walked past us!

 

[Jay586]

I also had that conversation (the don't damage my van further one) as they videoed the entire van before touching it. I'm more referring to the 6 weeks of discussions & the endless patience & good humour displayed by the call booker, who had to talk to me, as I got increasingly distressed.

I also had major discussions with vwcs.

Is that up the headland, blinking lovely!

 

[motacyclist]

Is that up the headland, blinking lovely!

It can be bleak sometimes, or it can be like the pic below .... sorry a bit

 

[DG1]

When I tried to get the Caravan and Motorhome Club insurance their cheapest insurer actually turned me down as I declared I had had a small windscreen chip on my car repaired through my car insurance (to stop it getting bigger). So something to bear in mind...

 

[stephen watson]

I've got the heated screen and have now realised I haven't mentioned this to the insurance company when I took out cover. Have other folks with heated screens informed their insurance when taking out cover? Anyone tried to get a replacement heated screen without having specified it on their cover?

 

[WelshGas]

I've got the heated screen and have now realised I haven't mentioned this to the insurance company when I took out cover. Have other folks with heated screens informed their insurance when taking out cover? Anyone tried to get a replacement heated screen without having specified it on their cover?

If it was a standard VW Option then it should be covered and shouldn't need to tell Insurance. What about all the other Options you chose?

If it is Non-Standard then Yes.

I've never had the Premium go Up or NCB affected with a Windscreen repair or replacement, but then I rarely go for the cheapest insurance cover.

 

[stephen watson]

Thanks WG. It was an option and I didn't tell them about that or any of the others. Realised I probably should in future, but on the other hand how many owners would list the following common options I've got when taking out insurance: awning, vw privacy glass, reversing camera, acc, tow bar?

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks WG. It was an option and I didn't tell them about that or any of the others. Realised I probably should in future, but on the other hand how many owners would list the following common options I've got when taking out insurance: awning, vw privacy glass, reversing camera, acc, tow bar?

My insurance told me that whatever was on the Original Invoice was covered. Anything else was not, unless they were informed and there might or might not be a Premium Change.
Now this was with the Caravan & Motorhome Club. Might not be the cheapest but I have had first hand knowledge of how they deal with a claim.
Cheaper Insurance is cheaper for a reason. Less covered of the vehicle, less milage, area kept, Drivers etc and even options over and above the Base Vehicle.

 

[18hunts]

I got a chip driving down to our son's in Peterborough last Saturday week.
Checked my insurance Sunday (LV) to confirm I was covered and it was repaired by Autoglass last Tuesday.
Excellent service, no effect to No Claims.
Chip had 'star lines' making it about 1cm in size right in front of my forward eyesight.
You can just see it if you look for it but when driving you don't see it.
After all you should be looking through the screen, not at it.
I wanted it repaired before a 130 mile journey back home to stop it spreading.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Your insurance may use a different screen company too, mine used Autoglass, who were excellent.

I’ve been waiting 7 weeks for Autoglass to replace my front screen.
Had to cancel a European trip this week because the repair still hasn’t been done.

It all started when I requested original VW glass. Autoglass fit aftermarket.

Last week I had major arguments with Autoglass, when they tell me my screen is on back order with Volkswagen, but they can’t give me ETA on the glass. That’s after a 7 week wait.
I have since spoken to my local dealer who say the glass can be delivered anywhere in the country in 2 days...???

I have just contacted Autoglass HQ and my Insurance company and am waiting to hear back today.

 

[Jay586]

As discussed in other threads, you need to chase it through VWCS. There's a problem with the parts numbers & suppliers, Autoglass are just going on what TPS are telling them.

Get onto VW, tell them you need this escalated...

 

[Jay586]

My screen was eventually delivered to my local VW dealer & picked up from there by the fitter on the morning of fitting.

My sibling has just returned from the Dura & a random dude on a campsite started to moan about their screen...they said "say no more, I've heard all about it."

 

[soulstyledevon]

My screen was eventually delivered to my local VW dealer & picked up from there by the fitter on the morning of fitting.

My sibling has just returned from the Dura & a random dude on a campsite started to moan about their screen...they said "say no more, I've heard all about it."

Hi Jay, thanks for the info.
Autoglass got back to me today. It’s being fitted next Tuesday