Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Options For Windshield Chip Repair

Isn't life great? Everyday brings the opportunity to learn new things. Yesterday, after a rock chipped my windshield, I suddenly needed to know all about windshield repair.

My first thought was that I no longer have glass insurance. I took that coverage off when I went down to only liability. Ideally I should have been saving the money that I save in a car repair fund but I didn't do that. So, I checked out the cash prices for windshield repair and replacement. Safe-Lite is the one that came to mind first. I hate their commercials. Their little jingle makes me dive for the radio when I hear it. Of course, someone has to pay for all of that advertising. A repair estimate was easy to get. They have a nice user friendly web site. Repair price $95. Replacement price $204. They seemed to be having a sale on replacement service. Regular price was closer to $350. If I had to use Safe-Lite I think I would just wait and see if my chip turned in to a crack. It is worth the risk if a repair costs $99! That's outrageous.

Next, I found some local glass repair places. Although I asked for a quote from 4 places, only one, Speedy Glass, responded. They have mobile service as did Safe-Lite, and gave me an estimate of $50 for the first chip and $10 for any additional chips. I'm not sure if they would consider my damage one chip or two. It was only one rock!

After I told a coworker about my estimates, she told me that her husband buys the kits sold at the auto parts store. I looked them up and they only cost $8. I decided that for $8 it was worth a try. Unfortunately, I had to work late this evening so by the time I got to the auto parts store it was getting dark. Upon reading the instructions it said that sunlight was required in order to cure the glue. Ok, I'll wait until tomorrow. My rock damage looks just like the picture on the packaging so I am expecting fabulous results. Stay tuned...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good luck with that kit. I've never had anything like that so can't advise. Does the window stand the chance of just shattering totally?

Auto Glass Repair said...

The do it yourself kits STINK.

Larry Diesbach
FixMyWindshield.com

Auto Glass Girl said...

If you have comprehensive insurance on your vehicle your insurance company in most states will waive your deductible to have your chip repaired. This could save you a good amount of money and headache.

Sharon
WindshieldRepair.com

Anonymous said...

Oh Wow! Windshield spam, lol

Daizy said...

I'm flattered that my little post attracted spam :)