Car windscreen repair.

[Cranfield]

My wife got a stone on her windscreen on Thursady coming down the M20.

It resulted in a chip, right in the line of sight for the driver.

 

I telephoned the Insurance Company (Marks and Spencer) and there were no problems, chips are free , replacements mean I have to pay the £50 excess, but the "no claims" is not affected.

They asked me if the mark could be covered by a 5p piece and I confirmed it could, this meant it would probably only need repairing.

They made me an appointment at their approved windscreen repair people local to me (in Ashford).

 

I took it there on Friday afternoon and all went well, it was quickly repaired and you couldn't see it from the outside at all.

However, from the inside all three small cracks were clearly visible and glinted evilly in the sunlight.

I showed the Repairman and he agreed you could still see it, but thats the best he could do.

If I wanted the windscreen replaced , they could still do it on the Insurance, but I would need to make another appointment and pay the £50 excess.

 

I decided to take the car home and think about it.

By the time I got home (having been irritated by the ruddy cracks all the way there), I decided the windscreen should be replaced.

I telephoned them and made an appointment for next week.

 

The point of all this is, why should such small cracks be made invisible from the outside, but show clearly on the inside and is that acceptable as an "invisible repair" ?

Why do I get the feeling that the Repair Centre intended me to have a new windscreen from the start ?

Should I contact my Insurance Company again ?

 

I would mention that I have only had one windscreen repaired before and that was on a Vauxhall Senator, right in the middle and you couldn't see the repair from the inside, or outside.

[tulkyuk]

sounds like they are trying to get you/your insurance company to pay for a new screen, even though it may not need 1

 

Ask Autoglass to take a look

Edited February 24, 2008 by tulkyuk

[Lord Geordie]

Because the SUN don't shine from IN your car

 

There is NO light to refract from in the cockpit so you wouldn't notice it

 

The Light YOU see is possibly refracted light rather than cracks

[Cranfield]

Because the SUN don't shine from IN your car

 

There is NO light to refract from in the cockpit so you wouldn't notice it

 

The Light YOU see is possibly refracted light rather than cracks

 

Nope, I am seeing cracks, the same cracks that were there before the repair.

[blackthorn]

had a few stone chips done, and you could not se the repare, the last one i had done you could se, it was low down so it dont bother me

[BSA Shaun]

A friend at work has had 7, yes 7, windscreens replaced on his PT Cruiser in about 8 months.

 

Those things are made from rice paper I reckon

[J@mes]

when i had an invisible repair done on a chip on my windscreen, the techie told me that they could not sort the cracks as they cannot force the resin into them like they do with the chips. he told me before he started, and i was happy for him to do it anyway as my MOT tester had told me it would pass anyway.

[Hunter]

A center near me repairs windcreen chips for £15-20 each off the book. Much better then getting insurance involved and he does a good job

 

Hope it gets sorted out properly. I would take it back if there were visible marks still.

[Cranfield]

when i had an invisible repair done on a chip on my windscreen, the techie told me that they could not sort the cracks as they cannot force the resin into them like they do with the chips. he told me before he started, and i was happy for him to do it anyway as my MOT tester had told me it would pass anyway.

 

This could be close to the answer.

Its a pity the repairman never said this to me.

[BSA Shaun]

you can usually find guys like this demonstrating in supermarket car parks, take a look around

[codling99]

maybe it s the angle the cracks are,thats why you cant see them from outside

[poontang]

I used to repair windscreens, many years ago now, but same principles apply. It sounds to me like he hasn't left the resin in long enough to fill the cracks before curing. The resin is cured under a uv lamp, but sometimes if the repair is not shielded properly from the sun it can cure prematurely, before the resin has had a chance to completely fill any cracks. It sounds like a 'starburst' type of damage (as opposed to a 'bullseye' type) in which case he could have drilled the tips of each crack to stop them spreading under the pressure of the resin. At the end of the day you shouldn't see the damage from the inside of the car. It could, and probably should fail the MOT (depending on size and location). Hope this helps.