Windscreen repair advice

NeoVo

NeoVo

NeoVo

Associate
Joined
2 Feb 2009
Posts
1,007
Hi,

Picked up quite a large chip on my windscreen, about 4mm wide, not too deep (lorry overtaking a broken down car on central reservation on a newly resurfaced road..).
My MOT isn't for 5 months and it's not in my peripheral vision but I'd still prefer to deal with it sooner rather than later.

I took this to a place I stumbled on, via google on the way home. Guy took a look and said it want's doing as soon as (of course he would, but I agree with him). He said it is a repair job opposed to a replacement which I would have have hoped.
My insurance policy has windscreen repair and replacement cover.. This company charges £50 for the repair, then my insurance pay me £25 back, effectively £25. I was told that they can come to my house, or even my work place without issue.

Is this common procedure or am I correct in saying that Autoglass for example would do this entire process for free?
I was told that it would not affect my no claims bonus and renewals. Is this true?

Thanks in advance.
 
2 things apply here. Check your policy for repair excess. Check if your policy covers any company or will only pay full amount for non-approved work.

Generally a repair doesn't count as a claim. No one does it for free.
 
Thanks, checked the policy; no mention of preferred bodies, just the following.

If you make a claim for windscreen damage, and have windscreen cover
(automatically included with comprehensive cover), the following excess applies:

£75.00 replacement
£25.00 repair

I guess the only way would be to query with my insurance company; always a bit weary because heard stories of them hiking renewals for asking such questions, even though it's not a NCB claim.
 
Some insurance companies require you to phone them first and they put you through to their approved repairer, some you can just go straight to the repairer. Make sure you read the small print, they very often hide it. Mine certainly did.

They wont count a repair as a claim. Sometimes replacement can be counted or they give you so many per year before they count it as one.
 
Just do it yourself, the kit is £10 from Halfords. It takes no more than 30 minutes, even quicker if you have a UV lamp to help the drying (I used my wife's one she uses on her nails).

I've done 3 now with one being 15mm wide in total and they came up perfectly. Ever since it was noted on my insurance renewal I had a windscreen claim I only go through the insurers if it needs replacing now.
 
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Thanks for the advice!
Wasn't aware of the rainx repair kit, I quite like some of there other products so might give this a go! The chip does have a bit of black in it but this might be miss-interpretation of the chip.

Will let you know how it goes at the weekend if weather permits; will borrow a UV lamp from the lady.
 
Yep I've fixed 5 on my windscreen and 2 on my wife's car's windscreen myself using the RainX kit. I'm either extremely unlucky with stone chips/cracks or it's just because of my mileage but anyway. It's done a good job of all of them - including one chip that turned into a round crack the size of somewhere in between a £1 and £2 coin. If you look closely you can see them but at a casual glance you wouldn't notice - which is just the same as it'd be with an Autoglass repair anyway. So in that regard it's done a great job and over a year on, it hasn't spread at all.

One of mine also had what appeared to be something black in it but after injecting the resin into the crack it's gone so clearly there wasn't anything there after all.
 
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Do you do any drilling out with the diy kit?

The windscreen man who mended mine drilled out the chip to give a larger surface for the resin to key into.

Don't really fancy going at my windscreen with a drill.

My repair was free btw when using insurers approved repairer.
 
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