I had a cracked windshield and fought with insurance on the dealer vs Safelite. In the end, I went with Safelite due to me having to pay the ~$400 difference if choosing the dealer and they outsource the job anyways. The windshield safelite installed is the exact same piece of glass with the exception of the Land Rover logo. It is from the same manufacturer (Pilkington sp?) and has the heating element, manuf. logo, etc. Everything works same as it did before and if you can part with the logo, probably makes sense to just go with cheaper option, IMO.
Cracked windscreen
- Thread starter Stealther
- Start date
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umbertob
Full Access Member
My insurance company (Mercury) paid for the OEM glass with the Land Rover logo - minus my comprehensive deductible of $250.00. As I recall the bill was well over $1K for the heated screen version. Safelite was contracted by my insurance to install it in my office parking lot, very convenient and hassle free for me. Dealerships usually outsource the job to Safelite anyway, at least around here.
The Safelite technician did tell me at the time - about 3 years ago - that Pilkington was the only manufacturer making these windshields, one with the Land Rover logo and one without. Only difference was the LR logo itself, and the 40% higher cost of the LR stamped one. There were no other "aftermarket" windshields you could buy for the LR4, although I am not sure if things have changed since then.
The Safelite technician did tell me at the time - about 3 years ago - that Pilkington was the only manufacturer making these windshields, one with the Land Rover logo and one without. Only difference was the LR logo itself, and the 40% higher cost of the LR stamped one. There were no other "aftermarket" windshields you could buy for the LR4, although I am not sure if things have changed since then.
samcarloso
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Things have changed a bit. I have replaced my windshield with satellite both times. with progressive I have an additional insurance on my windshield (nothing out of my pocket). The first glass was replaced with a pilkington glass and was no problem. The second time around i requested they install pilkington and they said they would not due to insurance not wanting to pay. So they installed FY Glass which has a green hue to the glass from the outside and looked cheap. aside from it looking cheap, the automatic windshield function would not work. So i took it back to safelite and the installer said that FY is a cheaper glass and they would have to order the pilkington and reinstall a week later since the glue needs to cure in order for them to remove the existing one. Long Story Short, Request they install with pilkington or go somewhere else.
Dropped it off today and just like silvajt and mpinco, they said they had a local glass shop do all their glass work. I just told them I wanted Land Rover glass and they said they would have to order it in and it would be ready Monday or Tuesday.
With past bad experiences of cheap glass replacements used for my Ford Excursion I know there can be a difference in quality from manufacturer to manufacturer (in some cases aftermarket could be better) but absent any solid info I figured it would be safer to opt for OEM glass, especially since either way I would only be out the $250 deductible.
Good to know there is a quality option available at a lower cost for the inevitable next time! I'm curious if any windshield protective films are any good. There is this stuff called clearplex but I'm not sure if its any different than the film used for smartphones.
With past bad experiences of cheap glass replacements used for my Ford Excursion I know there can be a difference in quality from manufacturer to manufacturer (in some cases aftermarket could be better) but absent any solid info I figured it would be safer to opt for OEM glass, especially since either way I would only be out the $250 deductible.
Good to know there is a quality option available at a lower cost for the inevitable next time! I'm curious if any windshield protective films are any good. There is this stuff called clearplex but I'm not sure if its any different than the film used for smartphones.
Yikes samcarloso, sorry to hear about that. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I've been there before. Good to know that Pilkington glass is available and a good replacement for our windscreens.
how bad is the crack? I had a chip that during repair cracked about an inch or so. I let them finish the repair and plan on having the windshield replaced after the winter. The heated windshield was quoted about $1100.
I only notice the crack when the sun hits it just right.
I only notice the crack when the sun hits it just right.
It was about 12" by the time I brought it in
