Fixing Windshield on Car

[Dale]

Tonight, Murphy's Law hit ... more like a big rock hit my car driving around the airport. Good size ding with the spiders coming out of the hit on the windshield of my freshly detailed car!!! Now, what are my options? It's right at eye level, which means, very obvious!!! I heard that insurance companies may pay for 100% of the repair, but this is the first time that I am attempting to deal with this.

I believe my options are to replace the entire windshield, fix the ding, or let it be. I don't think letting it be is a good option, but I really don't have the money to replace the entire windshield, but if I have to, I have to sort of deal.

Thanks for any tips anyone can give me here. This board has been an excellent resource for anyone living and trying to make ends meet in Hawaii!

[Miulang]

Re: Fixing Windshield on Car

Tonight, Murphy's Law hit ... more like a big rock hit my car driving around the airport. Good size ding with the spiders coming out of the hit on the windshield of my freshly detailed car!!! Now, what are my options? It's right at eye level, which means, very obvious!!! I heard that insurance companies may pay for 100% of the repair, but this is the first time that I am attempting to deal with this.

I believe my options are to replace the entire windshield, fix the ding, or let it be. I don't think letting it be is a good option, but I really don't have the money to replace the entire windshield, but if I have to, I have to sort of deal.

Thanks for any tips anyone can give me here. This board has been an excellent resource for anyone living and trying to make ends meet in Hawaii!

Check your car insurance policy to see if you have the kind of comprehensive coverage that allows for windshield replacement. If you do, and if the crack hasn't started to "spider" badly, taking it to a Novus or an equivalent will cost you nothing (you do have to get permission from your insurer first, though). If the ding has already started spreading, the only recourse will be to replace it, which won't be cheap (although it is cheaper than replacing a side window...go figure) unless you have glass breakage coverage.

Miulang

[Surfingfarmboy]

Re: Fixing Windshield on Car

If you're feeling adventurous, it is possible to replace a windshield on your own, that is, by not going to one of the pros, and of course, if you can find a decent, non-dinged windshield at an auto part salvager. I, along with my roommate in college, replaced many windshields on autos and trucks while in attendence at Southern Illinois...my roommate at SIU was a certified SAE mechanic (diesel and gas). I was lucky to have him as a roommate as he could do repair anything on my car for merely the cost of parts. My roommate loved working on cars...either on mine, where he could work on it without a shirt in hopes of impressing the two cute co-eds who lived next door to us, or on disabled vehicles of co-eds so he could meet them ...he procured many a date and female friendships through his ability to get automobiles on the road again!

Anyway..it really isn't that hard to replace a windshield. All you need is the replacement window, some strong piano-type wire for cutting through the old rubberized sealant that's holding in the windshield to be repalced, razor blades for trimming out the old sealant once the broken windshield has been removed, and a couple tubes of new sealant. (We never had any of the fancy heating gizmos for breaking through the old sealant. It certainly would have been easier to replace the windshields we did had we had one at our disposal though.)

The one thing you have to be careful of when replacing a windshield is the handling of the new windshield, as they are fairly easy to crack..they can't be allowed to flex anywhere when be handled...if you can find a third or even fourth person to help you seat the new windshield in place, so much the better, though my roommate and I nearly always ended up seating them by ourselves, without ever cracking one.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone at a big auto parts chain store could give you tips on replacing a windshield. Like I said, they aren't all that tough to replace...it's kind of like replacing a pane of glass from a window, just on much larger scale.

I just noted...this is kind of strangley co-incidental...my roommate's first name was Dale!

[Dale]

Re: Fixing Windshield on Car

Check your car insurance policy to see if you have the kind of comprehensive coverage that allows for windshield replacement. If you do, and if the crack hasn't started to "spider" badly, taking it to a Novus or an equivalent will cost you nothing (you do have to get permission from your insurer first, though). If the ding has already started spreading, the only recourse will be to replace it, which won't be cheap (although it is cheaper than replacing a side window...go figure) unless you have glass breakage coverage.

Miulang

Thanks for the info. I looked up Novus on google and found out there are no Novus dealers on Oahu! Aya! They look promising, but no Novus people here!

[Dale]

Re: Fixing Windshield on Car

If you're feeling adventurous, it is possible to replace a windshield on your own, that is, by not going to one of the pros, and of course, if you can find a decent, non-dinged windshield at an auto part salvager. I, along with my roommate in college, replaced many windshields on autos and trucks while in attendence at Southern Illinois...my roommate at SIU was a certified SAE mechanic (diesel and gas). I was lucky to have him as a roommate as he could do repair anything on my car for merely the cost of parts. My roommate loved working on cars...either on mine, where he could work on it without a shirt in hopes of impressing the two cute co-eds who lived next door to us, or on disabled vehicles of co-eds so he could meet them ...he procured many a date and female friendships through his ability to get automobiles on the road again!

Anyway..it really isn't that hard to replace a windshield. All you need is the replacement window, some strong piano-type wire for cutting through the old rubberized sealant that's holding in the windshield to be repalced, razor blades for trimming out the old sealant once the broken windshield has been removed, and a couple tubes of new sealant. (We never had any of the fancy heating gizmos for breaking through the old sealant. It certainly would have been easier to replace the windshields we did had we had one at our disposal though.)

The one thing you have to be careful of when replacing a windshield is the handling of the new windshield, as they are fairly easy to crack..they can't be allowed to flex anywhere when be handled...if you can find a third or even fourth person to help you seat the new windshield in place, so much the better, though my roommate and I nearly always ended up seating them by ourselves, without ever cracking one.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone at a big auto parts chain store could give you tips on replacing a windshield. Like I said, they aren't all that tough to replace...it's kind of like replacing a pane of glass from a window, just on much larger scale.

I just noted...this is kind of strangley co-incidental...my roommate's first name was Dale!

... and did he get his front windshield dinged up too? Haha.

[Surfingfarmboy]

Re: Fixing Windshield on Car

... and did he get his front windshield dinged up too? Haha.

He drove a refurbished concours condition '70 Ford Mustang with a 428 Cobra Engine he installed aftermarket...don't quote me as to the actual C.I.D.; I think it was a 428. That car was his pride and joy. I have to say, that if he ever had a dinged windshield when I knew him, and he could have found a replacement, I most certainly would have been out there helping him replacing it...except instead of being shirtless in an attempt to impress the cuties next door, I most likely would have been in my overalls!

I do wish you the best in getting that glass replaced. I know it cost Dale and I on average about $60 to replace a windshield...a completely perfect common windshield from an auto salvager cost about $50 at that time..the other $10 was for the sealant and wire. I know going to a pro costs a heck of a lot more. Have you checked the Pennysaver for possible discount glass repair? That might be a place to look in the event you don't want to mess with it yourself.

[cezanne]

Re: Fixing Windshield on Car

Go to the yellow pages and look up "windshield repair". Depending on the damage, it's possible to repair it without replacing the whole windshield. My wife's car had a ding with the webs going out about 2 inches and the guy fixed it in a few minutes. He was a mobile guy... I think he goes by Charlie Puka something.

[pzarquon]

Re: Fixing Windshield on Car

Where were you near the airport when your windshield was cracked? If you were under the viaduct, know that the DOT has had problems with concrete falling to Nimitz Highway below...

[Dale]

Re: Fixing Windshield on Car

Where were you near the airport when your windshield was cracked? If you were under the viaduct, know that the DOT has had problems with concrete falling to Nimitz Highway below...

I was on the top, H-1, right before the H-1 cut off.