Yes I am !!! Actually with the effect of all the pot holes, and the road surfaces breaking up, I don't think it'll be long before I end up with a chipped windscreen anyway. Last week within the space of 10 minutes I was hit by three stones, but of course sod's law, nothing happened. My wife's brand new car was hit by a chunk on its second day. She had to join a two week waiting list at Autoglass.
I wish I could, but the instant I push the washer button, off go the blades !
Almost certainly I expect, why do you think Autoglass(*) are so keen on replacing rather than repairing? They are probably on a fixed price per job plus "cost" of glass. The fixed price covers the call out and a couple of hours labour, they can then make their money on the difference they can knock the price of the glass down to and what they can hike it up to with the insurance company.
(*) Not just Autoglass either I expect the insurers take the word of all the windscreen replacement companies.
No, it's not.
Three reasons:
More and more insurance companies now impose an excess for windscreen repairs - perhaps only 10 or 15gbp, but >0.
You'll have to declare the claim for up to 5 years when you're looking for new insurance, or when you're a named driver on another policy. Most companies seem to ask about "any" claim, not just ones you think are really important, and even have a line in their pull-down box for "windscreen repair or replacement". Sure, most won't bother about one claim, but it's one step nearer a number they *will* bother about.
The repairs are useless. All this guff about special equipment and vacuums and drawing special resins into the crack is rubbish. I was foolish enough to let Autoglass have a go at some stone chips in my Range Rover, and they made virtually no improvement. Their process was a quick clean of the chip, a drop of clear resin from a sachet, a wipe over with a flexible blade, and a polish. Less than two years later, the edge of the resin is clearly visible and can be felt with a fingernail.
And as for it miraculously stopping a chip turning into a crack...
Dave Liquorice wrote on Jan 26, 2010:
Well, yes - that's what I'm afraid of, but as I said, I was wondering if anyone actually knows from experience.
I remember a neighbour of mine who used to come out on frosty mornings with a bucket of steaming hot water and empty it over the screen. I would be terrified it would just shatter, but it never seemed to. (He did own a garage so perhaps he actually knew what he was doing.)
Calvin Sambrook wibbled on Tuesday 26 January 2010 23:30
I've not had any arguments from the one in Tonbridge. Had a couple of chips done and one glass replacement which was warranted (the scratched one). YMMV apparantly.
Kevin Poole wibbled on Wednesday 27 January 2010 08:34
Unfortunately, it sounds like you had craphead do yours.
Mine was definately vacuumed out and resin applied under vaccum - I was watching the whole time.
No, it didn't totally obliterated the chip but it greatly reduced it and turned it from a MOT fail to a pass (MOT done a few months later at a main dealer).
Usenet Nutter wibbled on Tuesday 26 January 2010 23:07
I rue having the washer control as the last click on the stalk. Means the wipers are running before the water's got up there. Stupid design...
The rules are quite strict and clear about windscreen damage and the MOT.
However I wouldn't put much on the MOT being done a Dealers above any other MOT station. My car went for a service amongst other things: Frayed seatbelt sir, MOT failure sir, that'll be >=A3200 sir. It is a bit furry along the edge on your shoulder but nothing to impair the integrity of the belt. Month or so later took it to same dealer for an MOT without doing anything about the seatbelt. It passed... They also wanted >=A350 for a horn. It has two, it still made a noise when the button is pushed. I bought a horn from them for
Aye, same here. Two repair in mine. One is almost invisible unless you know it's there. The second isn't quite as good, but still a massive improvement.
Both times it was done with a vacuum pump gadget and then cured under vaccum with a UV light. I was sceptical but it does seem pretty effective (if done properly :))
Darren
I do that all the time. Hand hot is about as warm as I go. It warms the inside of the screen so it helps to stop condensation, unlike de-icer sprays which cool the screen down and make condensation a problem.
As for damage.. I have seen cars where the rubber was ripped out of the blades after it was frozen to the screen. I have also seen a bent arm. I don't know anyone that left the thing running long enough to burn out the motor but I expect there are some people around that have done that. I had a linkage break when I tried to remove the snow, but I expect that was more to do with 10 years worth of wear than the inch of snow. Sods law says its the drivers side that doesn't work when you do that BTW.
I think a good part of the problem is that when you use the wash-wipe on many cars the wipers move before the screen is wet thus dragging a whole lot of dry grit across the screen.
This certainly is the case on our Astra on which I try to avoid using the wash-wipe unless the screen is already wet. On the other hand, I can get the screen really wet on my MGTF before using the wipers as the wash is separate from the wipe.
In message , D.M.Chapman writes
We'd had a repair done some years ago in our old car, not noticeable and the reapir was still sound when the car was scrapped last year.
Yup, ditto.
Ins co's aren't known for throwing money around. I doubt they would pay for the repairs if they didn't think it was worth it in terms of saved replacement costs
Intelligent design separating the functions. The kind of thing we had decades ago before the tossers in marketing decided wash wipe was a good idea.
It's the same people that decided that drizzle always requires an intermittent wipe every 6 seconds. Then they decided automatic wipers were an even better idea as they could make a hundred quid profit on a quids worth of electronics.
Yes... but given the nature of the group, find the relevant wire, cut it and add your own switch dangling out of the dash? :-)
I've got no intermittant (by design) on the truck, and no washer either* (by way of all the rubber pipework being fubar :)
cheers
Jules
Jules wibbled on Wednesday 27 January 2010 16:54
20 years ago maybe.Now it would probably involve a trip over to comp.arch.embedded and reprogramming or at least reconfiguring the firmware in some random blackbox ;->
Heh! Plug your laptop into the car's USB port, VNC into the copy of Windows running on its computer, and it's all point and click with the mouse from there... ;)
I f&%^ing hate modern vehicles :-(
I've done that for years, never a problem, but I tend to just run the hot and cold into a bucket and use it at the mixed temperature. It clears all the windows, and prevents them steaming up inside, unlike the sprays. The downside is the possible ice on the ground around the car, but very rarely, if ever has it been a problem.
the hot water instantly becomes cold water.
Its a very good trick.
The Natural Philosopher wrote on Jan 27, 2010:
Yes, but some types of sheet glass *will* shatter presumably due to sudden localised expansion. Specially tempered glass like pyrex obviously doesn't. Are we to understand that *all* windscreen glass has, and always will have, the necessary properties to withstand this hot water treatment?
It's tempting fate mentioning windscreens and their longevity but my experience with Autoglass is similar. The blackout film on the inside of the screen at the top corner was wrinkled and partially separated from the glass when the screen was replaced after an accident repair. It was at the time the only screen available in the dealer network without waiting for a new batch to be manufactured which could have been months away. It's a low volume vehicle so next to nothing is off the shelf and for a number of years only one manufacturer was capable of making the glass, all of which went to the vehicle manufacturer.
A few years down the line I got a number of chips on wiped areas of the screen and Autoglass came out. Their first comment as they saw the screen was that they wanted to replace the screen as it would 'fail the MOT' as it was 'cracked' I already had a photocopy of the MOT testers manual with the visibility areas to make sure the chips were of a suitable size and location not to require complete replacement. I also said this defect that looked like a crack but wasn't had been in exactly that state for the previous eight years and the car had passed the MOT every time without a problem .
The Autoglass bloke started repairing the chips but I could see him deliberately leaning on the top corner of the screen (it's a convertible) to try and get the 'crack' to extend. I nipped inside, got the video camera and started filming. He asked why I was taking a video of him and said it's for when you break my screen and so I won't have to pay the excess. He stopped and his face went bright red.
Unfortunately I found out after renewal this year that my car insurance is now more or less useless for windscreen repairs, an absolute limit of 500 quid and you *have* to use their appointed repairer. This is still Autoglass, the windscreen costing the last time I checked around 400 quid 'trade' But windscreen replacements, as confirmed in writing by the technical department of the manufacturer of the vehicle are at many points during the procedure a dealer only process, ok, some of that is covering their backs and a bit of protectionism, but the sticking point is that after windscreen replacement there is a need for quite complex realignment of the door pillar seals that cost just under 300 quid for the pair (parts only price) They cannot be removed and replaced without damage.
Time for a new insurer that has a clue on these things!
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.