guitrs&cars59

Had a rock kick up and put a pea size gouge on the passenger side of the front windshield. I had Safelite do a repair, but the gouge on the windshield is very obvious. I am going to replace the windshield but the insurance company will only use aftermarket glass. If I want OEM, the upcharge will be $550.00. Not sure I want to use aftermarket glass. Anyone have thoughts on this?; anyone use aftermarket glass and if so, any problems?

snagitseven

I have been there. I made a point of explaining to the insurance company that I did not want to accept anything other than OEM glass for my expensive car. They finally relented and allowed the OEM replacement. Try to escalate to a higher authority at the insurance company if necessary.

As a side note, be sure the installer replaces the inexpensive gel pack. Some installers will forget to do so and will render the rain sensor wiper function inoperative.

AMDG75

Been there as well. Fortunately for me, my cousins own an auto glass repair facility and service one of the local Audi dealers. To humor me, they showed me two aftermarket items and the OEM (from the dealer). These were made by PPG, Pilkington and Saint Gobain/Sekurit--but I do not recall who made the particular OEM. Audi uses glass from all three. Ownership of same may also have changed over time. They said at one time, Chinese manufacturers were supplying glass that was inferior (not as thick; many call backs for cracks, etc) but now quality is improving.

Comparison of the three:
The reason for the near double cost is that you have to get the OEM from the dealer;
Using micrometer from the tool/die shop next door, there was no difference in thickness.
There was no difference in weight.
There was no difference in tint/coloration/'waviness".
The only differences were that the VIN window on two aftermarket glasses was slightly askew from the VIN on the dash - perhaps this is intentional as not to violate any potential copyright (who knows) AND the 'edge trim' was slightly lighter than the dark black that was in my car and like the dealer glass .

They installed the St.Gobain glass, but when attaching the mirror (with the Gel pack), the bracket affixed to the glass broke (they said that was a first !), so we ended up putting in the glass from the dealer after all that.

After all that, about three months ago a rock hit my glass resulting in a small ding into which they squirted some sort of polymer to hopefully prevent cracking......maybe I should use my $500 dieselgate dealer card to purchase glass now as rocks seem to find my windshield......

Wind up: as Snagnit suggests, lean on your insurer but if they won't budge or you do not want to pay the difference, the aftermarkets made by the better glass companies that make glass for Audi and others will be fine......

my two cents

snagitseven

Different opinions from reliable sources apparently. I too had a chance to discuss this with a knowledgeable retail auto glass owner. He said even some of the name brand glass is sourced from China (these they try to avoid even though they are less expensive). While Audi does use glass from a few of the major manf., all are made to Audi's specs which can differ from non-OEM versions according to him. Like anything else, there are different grades of glass quality even within a brand. While they may appear the same to the eye, weigh the same, etc., they may have different properties with resistance to chips and cracks over time. This is one of those things where I'll stick to OEM. Brakes not so much (Akebono for me this year).

tenspeed

If you have the heads up display, the wrong windshield will show a double image.

radarguy

Pretty much what snagit said. Whenever I called MetLife to talk about a glass claim I was automatically switched to a SafeLight agent who did not insist on using SafeLight, but did insist that the SafeLight price was the maximum claim. It took two calls before I realized that I was not talking to a MetLife agent. After I was connected to a MetLife agent, I was able to get approval to go to my dealer after the dealer called MetLife to agree on a price.

It's not only a question of glass quality, but installation. SafeLight was willing to replace it in my driveway. They said I shouldn't go through a car wash for 24 hours and I'd have no problems. The dealer kept it in their heated garage for 24 hours in order to let the adhesive cure in order to avoid leaks and wind noise. The dealer had to recalibrate the cameras on the rearview mirror housing. SafeLight said no calibration was necessary. Finally, both the dealer and SafeLight warranteed against leakage. Only the dealer warranteed against damage caused by leaks to the electronics under the dash.

There was a two to one difference in price. Just be aware of what you're getting.

snagitseven

My experience over the years indicates there are plenty of good specialty auto glass shops that have installers that are fully qualified and capable of changing out an Audi windshield (have replaced four over the years in my Audis by glass shops). Having it done at home or while at work is a convenience worthwhile to many vs. one or two trips to the dealer (some of which farm glass replacement out to other shops anyway).

I had mine done in my driveway with OEM glass by an auto glass shop assigned by my insurance company and all went well - no leaks in a year since (waiting 24 hours before washing is not a major deal beaker). Better that I can drive the car than it sitting at the dealer or elsewhere).

No camera realignment was necessary - the mirror housing that holds the small camera snaps right off and can't be snapped back on incorrectly. I can't imagine why a dealer would have to realign it since the camera position is fixed in the housing, the housing is also fixed in the bracket which is not attached to the windshield- it's attached to the roof. The housing is removed to access the top of the winshield and change out the gel pack.

KevinGary

My carrier replaced my windshield with OEM. You should escalate discussions with your carrier.

subterFUSE

You also have to be very careful if your car has the HUD or any of the cameras in the windshield, like the NightView.

A Safelight installer can screw those cameras up and you'll have a bigger problem on your hands. I was at my Audi dealer recently and the customer in line ahead of me at service was there because the glass installer screwed up the cameras in the window. The service advisor was on the phone with the insurance company or the glass company explaining how they had screwed up and how expensive it was going to be to fix it.

Sounded like a bad situation. The takeaway for me was.... if you get your windshield broken, go to the dealership.