meilers

Well my windshield for my 02 WRX is starting to look like the surface of the Moon... I drive 45 miles a day on a highway with a FREAKING GRAVEL MEDIAN and there are giant trucks bouncing rocks off my windscreen all day long. I have three or four really big divots (big enough to fit the tip of a pencil in) and quite a few tiny chips.

My question is this -- do any of you have experience with chip repair on the windshield? Is this worth the money, or should I just start working on my insurance agent to get me a new one? I'd rather not go through the hassles of dealing with the agent, and chip repair seems cheap (I was quoted $35 for all three big chips) -- have any of you done this? Does it last?

blubaru

iTrader: (8)

Don't expect perfection, but should improve to the point where someone not familiar with the car should not be able to find them. Also reduces the chances of a crack starting at a chip. Good option if you have a deductable or no coverage. If you can get new glass for free though...

RoadSpike

If the chip is on the driver side its generally illegal to fix

meilers

Hm? Who's going to turn me in, the repair guy? That's an unenforceable rule, if I've ever heard one!

RoadSpike

no just the repair guys may refuse to do the work. I had that experience a couple times i'm sure you can find someone that doesn't care about their license though.

ImprezaVA

If the chip on the windshield hinders visibility to the driver that is when it's illegal to fix it. Diamond Auto Glass will come to your house a fix the chip, guarantee their work, and like someone above mentioned, to the novice it will not be noticeable.


-Charles-

sylencce

I just bought a new 04' WRX two weeks ago and the first week I was driving some friends to a Phillies game and I had a piece of plastic come up off the highway and crack my windshield in 5 different places on the passenger side.

I had a guy take a look at it, and there was no way to fix it, so after having the car for 4 days, I had to get a new windshield.

It was only $225 installed from a local vendor and they used PPG autoglass which is the best in the industry. Diamond doesn't use PPG and is generally a little more expensive.

If you have good auto insurance, your insurance will cover the chip replacement at no charge, and it's considered an incidental accident. But if the windshield has to be replaced, it's best you don't even involve the insurance company because it's only a few hundred bucks and your insurance won't go up then.

meilers

Thanks for your input. I'm still not following the logic of it being illegal to fix a chip that is blocking my vision -- how ELSE am I supposed to remove what is interfering with my view? If the law says that I can't repair the chip (which does work very well, in most cases) and must replace the entire windshield, that sounds like a law authored by the automotive glass industry (or at the behest of their lobbyists).

sylencce

Well, it depends on what state your in. Like if you're in FL and you have more than 3 chips in the windshield, then your insurance has to pay for a new windshield... but I have never heard of it being against the law to have your windshield repaired instead of replaced no matter where the chips are...

doesn't make sense to me, but then again, it is the law we're talking about...

Littleboyblue

In california; if there is ANYTHING that blocks or hinders the view of the driver, then it is illegal and must be fixed. A police officer is not going to pull you over for it, but if he pulls you over for something else, then he can give you a fix it ticket for it. My dad filled one of his cracks and had no problems with it. If its small and not really noticeable then I would just fill it. But if they're big I would replace the windshield itself. If your windshield is this bad from all the rocks, how is your paint?

meilers

Sadly, my front bumper is just as chewed up as the windshield; there are a few nicks so big you can see black plastic showing through.

I'm definitely going to have to replace the windshield by the end of the summer. I went out yesterday and cleaned it with Sonus cleaner and a microfiber towel, got it completely spotless in terms of dirt, and then looked at it in full sun at an angle; I was able to count over 10 chips or "stars" and more little defects than I could keep track of. Perhaps the bugs that end up on my windshield eat rocks for breakfast?

Littleboyblue

If you get the paint touched up, then I would get a clear coat bra on my car. This will help protect the paint from all those rocks!

kidatari

iTrader: (2)

My RS has 72k mi. on it, and the paint on the front bumper is tore up. I figure there's not much I can do about it, and it gives me a reason to upgrade to a V4 bumper