Replacement Windscreen

[Simon F]

Having just picked up a nasty vertical crack at the bottom of my windscreen (almost right in the centre of the screen) I am now looking to get this replaced via my insurance companies preferred supplier. Over the phone I told the supplier I require an OEM Porsche stamped screen (although the supplier tried to say their screens are a like for like without the stamp....) Could/ would this affect Approved Warranty down the line? Any thoughts or advice is appreciated as I am slightly apprehensive about letting anyone other than an OPC work on the car and am not sure if I can go back to the insurance company and request that this is done at my local OPC?

Thanks

 

[Motorhead]

Sorry to hear about that Simon. I can't speak from experience but I wouldn't have thought it wouldn't be a warranty issue but best to check with your PC beforehand. The best thing to do is to get the PC to supply and install the screen - they usually have a "tame" screen fitter that they can call upon. Of course, it'll probably cost you extra if you don't use the insurer's preferred supplier. Good luck. Jeff Edit: Where abouts are you? A few months ago I was talking to one of the chaps at the Cambridge PC and he mentioned that there are some procedures which need to be followed for a satisfactory installation and he recommended that a screen be fitted by someone with the appropriate experience.....but he would say that wouldn't he?

 

[Dylan1]

depends on insurance company sadly.in my experience-i was with aviva and they wanted to fit some autoglass stuff so i paid £700 for an OEM windscreeen and they graciously gave me 450 towards it-so 3 months later i changed to porsche insurance who will fit proper porsche screens.more premium but you get what you pay for is my sad experience

 

[Mark Elder]

Simon, I'd have thought, given normal Porsche policy on non-original parts and warranty invalidation, they ought to be willing to make a clear statement to your insurance company "OEM or your client loses our warranty". I'd have thought any insurance company is going to have a hard time refusing a claim that is necessary to put car back in a state of being up to the manufacturer's standards!

 

[Buddy]

There was someone on the forum in the past few months who went to Autoglass and got a quote then went to his OPC and got a much cheaper quote. He then called his insurer and they agreed to the OPC doing the job. Talk to the dealer concerning warranty, get the two prices and discuss with the insurer, if they don't agree straight away for any reason ask to speak to the underwriter. I found the previous thread and pinned it to the top of the forum, useful info.[]

 

[Simon F]

Thanks all for the help and advice this came in really useful today although I am going to have to compromise and will have my fingers crossed until the screen gets replaced... I got quotes from the insurance company, Admiral's preferred supplier National Windscreens (£580 fitted) and Reading OPC (£780 fitted) then spoke to Admiral and explained 18 month old car, approved warranty etc etc unfortunately told (all be it very politely and with what sounded like genuine sympathy) that as per the policy wording that going outside their Glass Repair network then all they would be willing to pay would be £50 escalated and asked if I could even pay the difference between their supplier and OPC but with no joy... However Admiral agreed to call National and ensure that the replacement screen is OPC supplied so will take 4 days for order and delivery and the part number quoted matched both the part number in the Cayman Catalogue on the FAQ section (great info) and my OPC quote so a feeling marginally more reassured. As it turns out I've been told that Porsche no longer stamp their Glass (checked my car and rightly can find anything other than glass manufacturer details) and therefore will need to carefully check the replacement screen before they start. Decided that given the corner i am forced into and that for the extra £75 I will try the approved repairer first (really hope i won't regret this) planning to document the car, the fitting of the scuttle panels and wipers before they start. I'll make the fitters a cup of tea and talk them through the job, check the replacement screen before they start etc then if this doesn't work out then I'll be off to Reading OPC anyway and with a good argument for Admiral to sort any issues out... Thanks again for the advice and wish me luck.... I'll post an update on how it all works out []

 

[flat6]

I suggest you ask the fitter to carry out the work at their workshop. When it happened on my previous car, the windscreen fitting company (a very large one) suggested they do that because they'll have the most experienced guys on hand and they don't do these types of cars often. Can't be appealing getting it done on your drive in this damp weather with the fitter in a rush to beat the rain as he works with the glue and tries to fit the screen dead centre[:-] Make sure the windscreen has the antennae in it if yours does.

 

[Simon F]

Also great advice... will definately set that up tomorrow, Cheers

 

[Buddy]

Now I find a small crack straight in front of my eyes! Request for a quote sent off to Porsche Sheffield prior to contacting my insurer SAGA. I'll see how they respond once I have the quote.[8|]

 

[Buddy]

So far, Sheffield OPC came back with a quote of £521.79 + VAT fitted by National Windscreens but call Saga Glassline and that is the AA Windscreens line. Anyone had them fit one? On the plus side, the OPC told me that it will not effect my warranty if a non-Porsche screen is fitted.

 

[Simon F]

Hi Kevan, Really sorry to hear that, I know how much of a pain this is as I was just going to update how I got on with my replcement last week. In the end National Windscreens fitted my replacement screen and I was pleasantly surprised with the overall results. I did manage to secure a Porsche supplied screen based on the fact the car's age and the tight warranty conditions - this was supplied through National Windscreens with the help of Admiral (I would definately recommend calling your insurance company directly to authorise the supply of geniune parts [] rather than just accepting the standard "ours is just the same") as I had a new 'special order' and offical Porsche stickered (direct from OPC) windscreen turn up with the fitter. I know this is not for everyone but I ended up helping throughout the 2.5 hour install (and let's be honest snagging the entire job) to ensure it was done right. A couple fo things I would definately recommend to watch out for are: 1 ) Stripping down of the scuttle panel and most of the battery covers, my fitter taped up the rear edges of the bonnet right across the car prior to starting to protect the bonnet leading edge paint as the main scuttle panel was a pain to remove as this is easily a two man job to make sure it doesn't scratch anything as it is pulled out (and replaced) over the wiper arm spindles. 2) The removal and replacement of the internal A pillar covers - Nothing for it but 'careful' brute force pushing the plastic (on mine) trim towards the centre of the car until they start to release and could then be freed from the rear hatch plastic cover (three vertical push/pop fittings on the leading edge of the rear trim). As good a job as the fitter made of putting these back and not damaging the small inbuilt windscreen radio and PCM aerials on the left and right hand sides, it's a fiddly job and requires some patience and time to line up (blindly) the mutiple 'arrow' headed metal retaining clips and then push this trim back into place correctly and I suspect will takes a few goes to get all the clips located successfully. Ultimately I now have 12 clips on order from Reading OPC (5 for each A pillar and two of the smaller sized rear hatch trim ones (as spares) - all in approxiamtely £6) and I'll remove and refit both A pillar trims myself at the weekend as there are couple of clips that got squashed trying to refit them and they are now rattling. 3) Ensure the fitter removes all the old factory sealant prior to preping the frame to receive the new screen - glad I was there to snag this although the first attempt was pretty good. 4) Tiny almost invisible fragments of glass that invaribly end up on the dash and heading towards a lifetime of rattles in the dash vents and speaker covers, despite the use of dust sheets and the fitter hoovering it first.. I ended up using his hoover to give the car my own valet as there were bits of glass everywhere - on the seats, door hinges, sills and even under the floor mats... (I would definately cover and tape up the top dash vents and speaker grills myself if I ever had to get this done again) Hope this helps and that any other unfortunate replcements go as smoothly as mine... Cheers, Simon

 

[Buddy]

Thanks for the update Simon, I had a quote from the OPC who say that they use National windscreens for any work so they have someone who knows Porsche screens and there's not many places can claim that! The OPC supply the glass so as the crack is only small so far I'll call the general claims line and hope to speak to someone who appreciates what is involved or at least appreciates that it's not as simple as the unknowledgeable appear to think. I'll hope to get it done at the OPC without having to pay for the whole thing which isn't as expensive as expected. But I pay for insurance and that is one of their risks, the job needs to be completed correctly.