Free Windscreen Repair

[crizzle]

Good Everning, I was wondering if anyone could tell me what is involved in repairing scratches on the windscreen, will I need to get the car washed? Is it a long process?, ie take 24hrs.

[DaveSR]

Another question I have is ...... is it really free ?

[crizzle]

What do you mean by that? Its free with my insurance. What could I be expected to pay

[Demonic Angel]

I know repairing chips is normally free with fully comp insurance.... not sure about scratches though.... not sure if they'd be classed as chips!

I doubt its a 24-hr jobby, I had my whole windscreen on my Matiz replaced in less that 45 mins by Autoglass - I didnt need to wash my car for that, but I think they recommend some form of shelted, such as a garage or something, incase it starts to rain.... that was for a replacement though... not a repair....

[Stu8]

Really you shouldnt drive your car Em after having your windscreen replaced.

As it takes atleast 24hrs for the glue to bond properly.

Idealy its best to do it summer; but in winter they use heatguns to help speed up the proccess.

As for scratches, I dont know if there classed as chips?

I'd say the windscreen bloke would have to be mighty unfair to say there not.

As a general rule chips are free and replacements have an excess charge of £50.

Also phone your insurance company "some" might fix the problem for free but they count it as a claim!

(wrong i know; but some do!!)

[Demonic Angel]

Really you shouldnt drive your car Em after having your windscreen replaced.

I never said I did drive my car after.... waited 2 days before doing so! ;) I meant that I doubt the whole job would take a day.... as it only took my guy 45 mins.... but obviously you dont drive it for a day or two....

[earpl]

i waited 2 hrs before driving mine + it was fine, if its just scratched + they wont repair it cause its not a scratch, do what i did and give it a good belt in the bottom of the passenger side :) give em a reason to replace it :)

[Al J]

They repair chips with a resin which cures under ultraviolet light. They have a UV light with them just in case they aren't working on the one really sunny day we get each year.

Scratches are a different matter altogether though and I doubt they'd be treated as a free repair. One way to find out though, phone 'em.

[Kev Mc]

I think they repair any chips smaller than a pound coin for free providing you've got fully comp insurance. My dad was getting a chip fixed on his car outside the office & I mentioned mine to the person who did it & he did it there & then. It still looks chipped from the inside but it feels smooth from the outside.

[crizzle]

If its still visible after its repaired then its no good as it is in my line of sight.

[Karma Supra]

I would like to watch them do it too......

I have seen so many mkiiis get a bubble of rust on the A pillar where some windscreen tard has chipped the pain inder the pastic trim to replace the winscreen, they don;t protect it afterwards resulting in rust few years later... to fiss it poroperly, you need to take the windscrren out again, buy new trims etc etc....

[Kev Mc]

If its still visible after its repaired then its no good as it is in my line of sight.

You might need to get a new windscreen then, my chip was in an easily-ignorable part of the windscreen on the passenger side so I'm happy with a repair

[sotal]

If its still visible after its repaired then its no good as it is in my line of sight.

You might need to get a new windscreen then, my chip was in an easily-ignorable part of the windscreen on the passenger side so I'm happy with a repair

Even if they do treat it as a chip I'm guessing there will be too many anyway. I phoned the other week to get my chips done (all MOT passable) and They refused to do them because I had more than 3.

It sounds like it's a new windscreen job

[Blue84]

I work in Motor Insurance and we now do payments to windscreen companies in our Office - we've recently been given the task so we issue the payments. If it is just a repair job then you won't pay an excess but your Insurance Co will still get billed for the cost of repairing the windscreen. If it's a replacement and you pay a £50/£60 excess and the rest gets billed to the Ins Co.

As for scratches, if they are minor then I would assume they would be a repair but then I'm not an expert. I would call up RAC (or whoever) and ask them. Either way I doubt it would count as a claim on your Insurance as it's damage to the glass and there is no point.

I'm off work sick at the moment, I will be back on Thursday so I will try and ask our Windscreen Department what it would be termed as.