That was cash. Had I said insurance was involved it would have been higherThey certainly went up in prices. They quoted my over email something like $285 last week. Gonna keep an eye on it and see how my nail polish fix holds up.
Bad Luck with cracked windshields
- Thread starter SammyChevelleTypeS3
- Start date
SammyChevelleTypeS3
$50 site donor 2023
I too can attest to Safelite know what they are doing! They are good and fast but a bit expensive like everything else these days.OP, you are not special, not at all.
On a serious note, I feel your pain. I've had the worst luck on the FL turnpike. I think the layout causes debris buildup. Driving my Jag convertible and sticking my hand up is really enlightening on the turnpike. Pelted with debris, constantly.
Not long ago a passing dump truck dropped a rock on to my windshield. That caved it in about 3 inches. Ka-BAM.
The folks at Safelite know me by name. I pay cash and they swap em out.
My BOSS. Mrs Cathy rides way too close behind other for me. I hardly ever ride with her driving she scares the heck out of me.
I keep telling her maybe her vehicles would not have so many rock chips if she learned to back off. Followed by the often spoken
response: "You ARE NOT my daddy!"
Hard to realize since I only been watching out for her near 50yrs. We are at 48yrs ofwedded bliss!
SammyChevelleTypeS3
$50 site donor 2023
I 'd say you were very lucky on that one. Could have killed you. We too have all kinds of debris along the main highway thru town. I see at least one to two wrecks a week on this stretch of road and they always seem to leave, miss it or push lots of the broken glass and car parts on the shoulder to cause other dangers to drivers later. Not sure who is dropping the ball on the clean up after accidents.OP, you are not special, not at all.
On a serious note, I feel your pain. I've had the worst luck on the FL turnpike. I think the layout causes debris buildup. Driving my Jag convertible and sticking my hand up is really enlightening on the turnpike. Pelted with debris, constantly.
Not long ago a passing dump truck dropped a rock on to my windshield. That caved it in about 3 inches. Ka-BAM.
The folks at Safelite know me by name. I pay cash and they swap em out.
SammyChevelleTypeS3
$50 site donor 2023
Heard of that happening with new model vehicles. The girl at the dealership told me something like : you may be sorry if you pass on this extra windshield protection plan we offer as a new one may cost you over $1200. I do not plan to change it out anytime soon and I hope she was exaggerating some. In all fairness, the purchase of this one was the easiest we have ever experienced. It was a Saturday around noon near the end of the month so they were ready to deal. Plus the fact we were sent there by a couple families and a young single friend of the wife's, all who had recently bought the same exact vehicle we ended up purchasing.
It is totally possible to make a good windshield. Dad’s 1972 Dodge Dart lived a very long time, and the car went all over the country with the original glass. We have a 2009 Mazda 5 that has 170K on it and has been on many high speed trips with the original. Not a single chip or crack. My 2018 F-150 seemed to have good glass while my RAM after seemed soft and prone to chips.
My All Track suffered from stone chips on the front of the hood. Went to a body shop and had a layer of bedliner put on the front (very nicely done, by the way. They repainted the entire hood and right over the bed liner and it looks like it came that way from the factory! CHip problem solved. Won't help windshields but is can save your hood.
Not sure about today, but back in the 90s and probably early 2000s, Honda did something similar. They put a rougher surface I can best describe as undercoating with paint over it on the lowest few inches of the side sheet metal - the part that curved under the car that would catch a lot of rocks flung up. Seemed to work well.
Vehicles with a low hood, what slopes upward, and a large windshield, have a higher incident of windshield cracks. Any stone that bounces high enough to hit the front of the hood, would move backwards and hit the glass. This photo shows a windshield damage prone vehicle that I have personal experience with...
The phenomenon explained in post #30 is why people install "leading edge of the hood" deflectors.
Did they really work? They seemed to go away with curb feelers years ago. And they mostly existed on pickup trucks and large SUVs. I think maybe some heavy trucks had them as well.
Like anything else physical, I suppose some stones were light enough to blow over the roof and others were not.
What I can relate to is the high number of vehicles I've seen with the forward edge of the hood heavily pockmarked.
The number of cars with curb feelers I've seen can be counted on one hand.
How about the 'top of the window' shades? [the ones where you can leave your windows open during a rain] ?
Are their sales drying up?
This is exactly why I pay for full coverage ($1000 deductible) insurance on a 2006 Chevy Aveo with 270K miles. So I can get full glass coverage (deductible does not apply).
I was driving along 84 in New York behind an untarped semi pulling a dump trailer. The thing was shedding stones and one cracked my windshield. I saw a state police parked in the median. Stopped and walked up to the car. The cop continued the casual conversation he was having with his wife without even looking at me. After five minutes when the truck was way down the road he finally acknowledged my presence. Our tax dollars at work.
I was driving along 84 in New York behind an untarped semi pulling a dump trailer. The thing was shedding stones and one cracked my windshield. I saw a state police parked in the median. Stopped and walked up to the car. The cop continued the casual conversation he was having with his wife without even looking at me. After five minutes when the truck was way down the road he finally acknowledged my presence. Our tax dollars at work.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
I lost count - but fortunately the gravel mining has slowed some as the acreage is dug up … Landman Quartz is aging …
I think there are differences in glass. The original windshield in our new Volvo developed a number of cracks. Hear any kind of minor "ding" on the windshield and it chipped and cracked. When it was about 8 years old I had it replaced with a Volvo branded windshield. Over the next 10 years that new windshield had a few chips but never cracked. And I drove it over similar roads.
Could be just luck but over such a long period that seems unlikely. My best explanation is that there was something different about those 2 windshields.
Could be just luck but over such a long period that seems unlikely. My best explanation is that there was something different about those 2 windshields.
Depending on the new vehicle you purchased, $1200 might be an understatement. My co-worker has a top of the line 2023 Toyota Highlander Platinum with all of the automatic driver assist safety systems. He nearly fainted when he took it in for a cracked windshield and was given a final bill for over $4500! Apparently, on this model, an optical safety sensor had to be replaced as part of the process and all of the sensors required precise re-calibration to work properly after windshield replacement. I guess it should be expected on a $56,000 SUV.
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Yeah I was quoted about $1500 for windshield on my Tesla. It will just stay chipped for now until the lease is up at which point I may have to have it fixed. Surprised the Toyota costs 3x as much though.
Hmmm……….
Actually, double hmmmmmm……….
I have a 2023 Highlander Hybrid Platinum; the level above the Limited.
The windshield and the front side windows are slightly thicker than on other trim levels to reduce interior noise. Allegedly.
And the windshield has a head up display (never used) and a heated lower area for the wipers.
After taking what sounded like a .300 Blackout round to the windshield just above the cowling, in went the ride for a new windshield.
Three weeks later I had a new, re-calibrated OEM windshield with all of the appropriate markings in the lower left corner.
Cost? $1,200…………
Something is amiss in Virginia besides your co-worker’s wallet.
