Windscreen replacement

xcessive · 2 Mar 2006 at 18:33

Hi

A couple of weeks ago i heard a rather large bang whislt i was driving along.
When i got home i realised the bang was caused by a stone being flicked up by the car infront and it hit my winscreen just above my tax disk holder.
The damage is a small 'spider' crack. It is very small but just to be safe i went to both Autoglass and RAC to see if the crack was repairable.
They both said that if they tried repairing it, it would probably cause the crack to grow. They also said that the crack is very small and it probably wont grow or if it does it would crack towards the center of the windscreen.
They both advised i leave it till it got worse as apparently the crack is in the 'strongest part' of the windscreen (not in the area where the wipers would go over it).

For the past few mornings there has been quite a bit of frost on my car and i'm a little concerned about whether the crack would grow.
Basically i want to know what to do when i replace it.
What would be the best option?
Asda (my insurer) have a £60 excess on windscreen replacements. If i go through the insurance am i likely to lose my NCB ?
What would be the price of a new windscreen if i didnt go through insurance?

This has never happened to me before.

Thanks

geiger · 2 Mar 2006 at 18:41

No need to replace it really as its of no danger to you. A very small crack outside of the windwiper sweep is not going to fail the mot, I forget the exact dimensions allowable though.

60 excess is your best bet, it wont affect your NCB AFAIK and the cost normally would be about double that, privately.

Down a scrappy, a secondhand fit would be about 20 parts and 30 labour so you might as well go with the excess, its part of the advantage to your comprehensive cover so you might as well.

Bear · 2 Mar 2006 at 18:48

I had the same problem not long ago but the crack started to creep across the screen on the outside layer. You dont lose you no claims so if you feel its a bit dodgy, just get it done for the £60

L0rdMike · 2 Mar 2006 at 18:48

If you go through your insurance you shouldnt lose any no claims and will be the cheapest option im sure.

thedazman67 · 2 Mar 2006 at 18:56

I don't know if this is just marketing talk just to get you to buy a new windscreen but heres what i pulled off Autoglass website about cracks in your windscreen and your MOT

http://www.autoglass.co.uk/repair/mot.html

thedazman

xcessive · 2 Mar 2006 at 19:04

The crack is on the passenger side and is about the size of a 5p coin.
I'll leave it for the time being but if it does stay cold in the mornings i've got a feeling it will grow.
My car passed it's MOT recently (beginnning of January) so no worries about failing MOT.

AndrewP · 2 Mar 2006 at 19:43

Just had a new windscreen fitted to my Xsara after some over-zealous defrosting by my dad caused a crack right down the centre, was ~£170 (he paid). Probably more for tinted/heated/rain sensing ones though.