<p>We seem to be having bad car karma these days. First, s#2’s car gets demolished in a car accident about 2 weeks ago (he’s fine, car is a goner, and it was not his fault). Then DH’s convertible blows a hydraulic hose, so he is in a rental car while it is in the shop. So S#2 has to take my car to the SAT IIs yesterday, and on his way back up the highway a rock its the windshield! Unfortunately there are 3 cracks, going out in 3 different directions, sorta like the letter “Y”. </p>
<p>OK, here’s my question. We called the insurance company, who is sending out a glass company (Safelite Autoglass. I believe it is a nationwide company. Anyone had any experience with them??) Anyway, I digress. The company says if the cracks are less than 6" they might be able to fix it (no charge-- the insu. co. pays for it as a free service). Otherwise I will be paying for a new windshield. It is a pretty close call on the length/directions of the cracks, and I want to do all I can to keep them from spreading before the glass guys show up. I didn’t drive it today (its in the garage). They are coming to my office tomorrow afternoon to look at it. Someone told me that if the car is in the sun, this makes the cracks spread. Is this true or a wives tale? If it is true, there is no shade in my office parking lot. Should I put a piece of dark paper over the cracked area, or will that just make it hotter under it and cause the cracks to get worse?? I certainly wouldnt want to do that. HELP! Any experts out there?? Time is of the essence.</p>
<p>My cracks did get worse in the sun, BUT it took several months before it happened with my car. Crack was on passenger side and I was too busy to do anything for awhile. The original crack was too large to repair so I had to get a new windshield anyway.</p>
<p>Thanks, lamom. I am not sure if I am imagining it or not, but one of the cracks looks like it is a little longer than it was yesterday. It looks like a bullet hole! And, it is on the drivers side, of course! How did you know your windshield had to be replaced??</p>
<p>The size, it was rather large(long), like a bullet, husband hit it with a ladder he had just bought. He was using my car. When I commented about the spreading months later-he told me it was the heat. I work very close to the dessert and car sits in the sun 9 hrs+/day. Mine was $200-$300, closer to 200. from a windshield place. It is a Lexus SUV. I found cheaper but was worried about problems later.
Husband replaced his windshield when his car was just a few months old.($500+ by BMW dealer) A month or so later, another rock or? hit the new windshield. The “new” crack is low and near the edge of the driver’s side-husband didn’t repair because he doesn’t see it when he drives. He drives a lot and figured it would happen again.</p>
<p>Just remembered a girlfriend had a “repair” and it worked well.</p>
<p>Hmm, my windsheild had a small chip right in the middle, not in driver’s view (yet) but likely to go there if it cracked. We took it for chip repair before the winter cold and darn, but it cracked all the way across and we had to buy a new one…should have left the chip alone, so you just never can tell. The next month a rock hit another windshield about 1 inch in from the edge and it is cracking big & ugly so it will need to be fixed.</p>
<p>What a darn waste of money :(</p>
<p>We have, though, had chips repaired successfully before, it’s just a matter of luck as to how it chipped and how vulnerable it is to cracking. I think you have to replace it if it is in the driver’s line of sight</p>
<p>I don’t know about the sun, I was warned to fix the chip before cold winter weather spread the crack</p>
<p>Thanks, lamom and somemom. I’ve been reading a few places on the web, and it does say that extremes in temperature, hot or cold, can make it worse. So I have to remember to leave the windows open a bit tomorrow. It also says not to slam the car doors, as thi can cause pressure that will make the crack worse. The hole/cracks are on the drivers side, but low down and dont seem to be in my line of vision. So, I will keep my fingers crossed.</p>
<p>It seems odd that the insurance company wouldn’t pay for a replacement windshield unless your deductible is too high. </p>
<p>The problem with cracks in windshields is that over time they can spread and get much worse. I’d seriously consider getting the windshield replaced but maybe the best bet is to have the windshield company give you their assessment and recommendations. If they think they can repair the crack I assume they give some warranty with it such that the windshield gets replaced if the repair doesn’t hold.</p>
<p>I think Safelite is one of the biggest companies in that business.</p>
<p>jym, we dealt with Safelite after Hurricane Wilma, when the roof of the patio in the back yard of the 2-story house across the street came loose and sailed OVER that house and landed in our driveway. A huge 2 x 4 came off of the roof and went through the back passenger window of our car. We have USAA insurance (love them!) and they sent Safelite to replace the car window. They did an excellent job but it took about a week for them to get around to us because so many cars were damaged in the storm that they just couldn’t handle all the calls.</p>
<p>Sorry I don’t know the answer to your questions about cracks, though - never had that happen.</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad -
With 2 teenage/young adult boys driving cars and 4 cars in the family, insurnace is rather expensive in our house. So, we upped the deductible to $500. That’s why it will be coming out of our pockets.</p>
<p>And patsmom,
Yes, we are dealing with USAA. Glad to hear that safelite is good. And the 2X4 sounds like a frightening experience!</p>
<p>All but s#1’s car have had “issues” in the last 6 months. This is getting crazy!</p>
<p>Insurance is high enough with two girls driving so I’m sure it’s a bunch worse with boys. Sometimes people have a lower deductible on comrehensive than collision and I think broken windshields usually come out of the comprehensive but I’m sure you’ve already checked this with the insurance company. </p>
<p>Good luck with it. You’ve had your share of car issues so I hope it gets better from this point.</p>
<p>A few years ago, I had a company replace my windshield wipers along with my oil change. They cracked the windshield. I did notice it until later that day. The mechanic denied having cracked it. We have been customers there for years. They did not offer a repair, but had a glass company replace it. The cost was about $500 and they wanted to split the cost of the repair. Frankly it was so long ago that I don’t recall whether we split it, or insisted that they pay the full cost.</p>
<p>merdesfilles-
Wow! $850! Yikes! What kind of car was that?? We do have some special windshield that has a rain sensor in it, that controls the automatic windshield wipers (I am not too fond of this feature, but it came with the car) so I might be looking at a lot of $. If so, insu will kick in after deductible.</p>
<p>UCSD<em>UCLA</em>DAD- I think our deductrible is that same for collision and comp.</p>
<p>NEM-
Oops!! Gotta hate that! I hope they paid for the repair in full. They have insurance for that kid of stuff</p>
<p>jym, yeah, one of life’s smaller annoyances. I kinda got curious and asked my dear H if we ended up paying for half, and we did not. They reluctantly paid. Frankly, we have been customers for over 21 years (probably around 15+ at the time of this incident). It was worth it to them to make “good” on the situation. My guess is that it did not cost them $500 anyway.</p>
<p>I was just about to post about insurance because I know they pay for that if you have comp. on your policy. I have a $100 deductible on mine so it wouldn’t be too big of a deal if something like that were to happen… but I don’t know about with a $500.</p>
<p>How long do you intend to keep this car? We had the chip repair done to 2 cars by 2 different companies due to gravel hitting our windshields when we lived in Denver. Both cars then moved to Texas and sat outside in the sun, so the resin that makes the “invisible” repair eventually baked out and the cracks were visible again. Worse, they became “active” again and one tiny star shaped crack zoomed across the whole windshield in one day. (We won’t go into the fact that son’s gf’s toeprints were on the windshield.)</p>
<p>dragonmom-
The car is only 2 yrs old. I hope to hang onto it for quite a while. The sun can “bake” this windshield too, as we are in a warm climate too. However, no toeprints expected in my mommy-mobile! I did read on one of the glass repair websites that the glass will crack more if put under pressure. Hmmmmm. My mind has some very vivid images dancing it it about now—</p>
<p>For future reference, full glass coverage is usually available as a rider to your policy at a very minimal expense. I’ve had it forever, replaced 6 or more windshields over the years as well as a large operable window on the Suburban tailgate. Never paid a penny out of pocket, including deductible, nor had policy increased because of a glass claim. (I remember three replacement windshields in one year across three different vehicles.) In the Northeast corridor where we live, it seems to happen quite frequently. It doesn’t take much for a small pebble kicked up at interstate speeds to cause damage at the proper angle of impact.</p>
<p>violadad, we have the same coverage. I just had a windshield replaced and didn’t pay anything. jym626, I didn’t know I had that coverage until I called the insurance agent and inquired how much it would cost to replace and how much my insurance would go up if I made a claim.</p>
<p>I have a friend who is a single mother and not a lot of money. I don’t know if you could do this as your car is only 2 years old. But she bought a windshield from the junkyard cheap and paid the glass company to replace it. It was much much cheaper. Just a suggestion.</p>
<p>Also if you call an auto glass company, they are pretty helpful about the insurance. I get calls and there are advertisements that they will replace your windshield and waive the deductable. I live in the upper midwest, maybe cracked windshield are more common here.</p>