MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Tiny couple of chips in the wife’s 10 year old fiesta windscreen. Winter is coming! Should we bother getting it filled whatever or is it just a scam pedalled by windscreen fixing people? We are third party only.
It should be free on your insurance. And doesn't affect NCB.
Get it fixed
If no windscreen cover, you can get DIY kits. Never tried one, but it didn't look difficult when Autoglass repaired a work car I had.
It's potentially an MOT failure and the windscreen is an integral part of the car's structure so will impact the cars safety. It's not a scam. It's pushed by the insurance companies to recuse the injuries in RTA's that they pay out for due to loss of structural integrity of the car. Also if its not repairable then you will need to replace the windscreen for the reasons stated above, so at least for piece of mind best to get it checked out.
If it's free give it ago.
My experiance is . Replace it or leave it.
Any I've had fixed have still broken eventually propagating from the same place and equally it's never invisible as it is in the advert and distorts light from oncoming cars.
Wouldn't waste my own money.
Insurance company's want it done as it's cheaper than replacing your windscreen but it's not the same quality of repair.
Son got a chip done that subsequently broke within a 100 miles, to be fair the company replaced the windscreen (and he only paid the lesser excess) as they had taken it on as repairable.
I bought a kit on ebay for a couple of quid, as long as you follow the instructions its easy to do.
and the windscreen is an integral part of the car’s structure so will impact the cars safety
I have it on email from Autoglass that this isn't the case, and that it was ok for me to drive around for 12 weeks with a 20cm crack across passenger side of the windscreen. They were insistent that the 'structural' bit is just marketing that means they get more sales.
I had same reply from our 'insurers', which actually transpired was Autoglass embedded in the insurer and using the phone number and email of my insurer.
Apparently a V70 windscreen was 'very unusual' and 'shipped individually from Sweden after Volvo have made it to order'.
Then when they (eventually) fitted the screen, they had to do it twice and there is still loose trim.
The email from them and insurer was repeated after all this debacle, that the glass isn't a structural part...
Utter shambles of a company
I use the home repair kits and also bought some for the fleet of works vehicles and work really well. Over the year I have done about 20 repairs , which may have saved a few screens. Which when they are £400 a transit screen gets a big bill we dont want.
It should be free on your insurance.
Might not affect your NCB but when I renewed I noticed that you now have to declare windscreen claims (repairs or replacement) so you'll pay for it anyway. Probably cheaper in the long run to get it down via Autoglass and pay for it yourself.
If they're tiny chips and not in the drivers main eye line I'd just leave and monitor them, any sign of spreading and I'd get a repair done on insurance. Actually had to have my windscreen replaced a few days ago (via insurance so £115 excess), only hassle was the first free slot was 5 days away (and the damage meant the car was undriveable).
It was done by Autoglass and I have to say they seemed good to me (easy booking system and updates on the morning with the guy showing up within 5 minutes of the scheduled time), chatting with the guy who replaced it he said most of his jobs are replacements rather than repairs which surprised me.
I drove from Malaga to Oban with a spidersweb windscreen.
This is no guarantee you won’t die.
I was told I was fine to drive with a cracked screen as 'they never break'
Years ago when I was third party I was phoning round to get a corsa screen replaced, all the big places were wanting 2-250, little independent down the industrial estate quoted under a hundred. I asked him why the difference and he said the big boys are only interested in insurance work and charge a fortune for it.
I've bought an ebay DIY kit and will give that a whirl first!
Similar to sweepy
I was quoted north of 500 from autoglass for an iveco screen when a repaired chip failed.
200 quid at local mob.