Lets Talk About Some Glass!

[BMW4LIFE]

Hey guys!

Just wanted to get some feedback

My windshield has a large crack in it and needs to be replaced...luckily my insurance will cover the bad boy for a 250 deductible

the company that my local BMW told them to go is called APEX Glass

not sure if anyone has heard of this but please give me some feedback if you have!

oh and was wondering if it would be cheaper if i go through the insurance or pay out of pocket?

[Tiger]

Safelite said $257 to replace your windshield. So, if you are getting OEM Sigla windshield, then it is worth going through insurance. If you are getting generic like Safelite, then you might as well pay out of your pocket.... insurance pay you $7 and increase your premium? Not worth it. However, there are alot of extras you need to complete the windshield install... clips and trims.

See what Apex will give you... if they can get you Sigla through insurance and $250. Go for it... remember there is alot of clips must be replaced and trims.. Get the full figure from Apex.

Some E34 owners is happy with generic glued on trims... they look close enough and work great.

[bubba966]

There's more glass companies that make OE glass than just Sigla.

PPG, Sekurit, & Pilkington all make OE glass. And I'm thinking that someone else does as well. Just can't think of them off hand right now.

You should certainly find out what all you're going to get from Apex. Like Tiger said if you can get an OE windshield, all of the clips & trim, and have it all done properly then doing it through your insurance w/Apex is probably a decent deal.

[Ross]

If you look around you'll find several posts/rants of mine regarding windshield replacements.
The number one problem is that installers don't use the correct clips to retain the moldings or completely discard the moldings in favor of a "universal fit"(my ass) flexible rubber and glue the whole stinkin' mess in place. If the moldings are temporarily taped in place when the installer leaves this is the reason.
There is a channel around the glass to allow drainage, when you block it with all the goop they use water and dirt accumulate and rust forms in the cowl which is the worst place to have it.
You will need to fight long and hard with most insurance companies to make them fork over nearly $800 to do it correctly* as they are accustomed to paying about a fourth the price for a quick and dirty job.
* Aftermarket glass does not have the clips(seldom reuseable) that retain the factory moldings and usually doesn't fit the countour of the opening as well. New moldings cost near $400 alone. If the moldings are currently glued in place their desrtuction is assured on removal.

[whiskychaser]

I have to pay the first £75 if my screen gets smashed and it doesnt affect my no claims (its protected anyway but thats another matter). The insurance company appoint a repairer and when the job is done I give them £75. The insurance pays the balance-whatever it may be. I have to sign for the repair and certainly wouldnt do that if the repairer did a crap job or broke any of the clips or trim and didnt replace them.
If the glass is just chipped the insurance pays for the repair and I pay nothing.

Must be having a stupid day but is USD 250 all you would get? I reckon the tinted screen would be about £250 without fitting:(

[BMW4LIFE]

Safelite said $257 to replace your windshield. So, if you are getting OEM Sigla windshield, then it is worth going through insurance. If you are getting generic like Safelite, then you might as well pay out of your pocket.... insurance pay you $7 and increase your premium? Not worth it. However, there are alot of extras you need to complete the windshield install... clips and trims.

See what Apex will give you... if they can get you Sigla through insurance and $250. Go for it... remember there is alot of clips must be replaced and trims.. Get the full figure from Apex.

Some E34 owners is happy with generic glued on trims... they look close enough and work great.

Okay so im pretty sure that these bastards are going to slap some glass in and glue it in

When i asked the lady at the Apex if they will order the molding she said that my car doesnt come with molding and that they were going to use a clear epoxy or some ****....and she made a big deal about it being clear like its a magic thing!

now im pissed cause i feel im getting ripped off by my insurance

they said that they have a ball park of what they pay for a job and if its bove the average then i have to pay out of pocket!

sorry for my french but **** TRAVLERS!!!

AAA was the BEST!

[Tiger]

I don't care what insurance it is... AAA has always been the most expensive insurance... why pay that? Just because by chance your windshield will crack?

Sounds like Apex is not a good choice. but you can fault that sales lady... she may be a new employee trying to earn a living.

Try this search... I came up with $200 installed. If your mouldings are in good shape, just go buy the clips at the dealer and have the glass installer put them in. If you can, watch the guy as he work. Installers are hard worker and they do so many cars so they appreciate anything to make their job easier.

http://www.windshields.com

[Russell]

If you look around you'll find several posts/rants of mine regarding windshield replacements.
The number one problem is that installers don't use the correct clips to retain the moldings or completely discard the moldings in favor of a "universal fit"(my ass) flexible rubber and glue the whole stinkin' mess in place. If the moldings are temporarily taped in place when the installer leaves this is the reason.
There is a channel around the glass to allow drainage, when you block it with all the goop they use water and dirt accumulate and rust forms in the cowl which is the worst place to have it.
You will need to fight long and hard with most insurance companies to make them fork over nearly $800 to do it correctly* as they are accustomed to paying about a fourth the price for a quick and dirty job.
* Aftermarket glass does not have the clips(seldom reuseable) that retain the factory moldings and usually doesn't fit the countour of the opening as well. New moldings cost near $400 alone. If the moldings are currently glued in place their desrtuction is assured on removal.

I agree. Advance Auto broke my windshield replacing the wiper blades. Don't ask. They wanted to do a Safelite generic replacement and I held out for an OE bmw windshield with the proper clips. They reused the trim. The cost was about $500 in 2003. At that time I knew nothing aout the clips or the cost of the trim. I feel lucky. Insist on a qulaity repair. No generic parts!

[BMW4LIFE]

I agree. Advance Auto broke my windshield replacing the wiper blades. Don't ask. They wanted to do a Safelite generic replacement and I held out for an OE bmw windshield with the proper clips. They reused the trim. The cost was about $500 in 2003. At that time I knew nothing aout the clips or the cost of the trim. I feel lucky. Insist on a qulaity repair. No generic parts!

ahhhhh finally after yelly screaming and just asking for the manager ;) i got almost what i wanted!

I got the glass Securine (spelling?) will all the OEM clip, mounts and center chrome clip from the dealer for 250 bucks without having my premium going up a cent!

I wanted the original BMW glass with the logo and all but I hear that securine makes glass for BMW just without the logo!

Hopefully thats a good deal cause if not im gonna feel like poop! :(:D

[Tiger]

Securit... from Apex?

[BMW4LIFE]

Securit... from Apex?

I told them that I didnt want cheap glass so they special ordered premium glass through their distributor and billed the insurance company! :D

[Tiger]

They would have tilled the insurance premium glass price even though you got the cheap one. Pocket the difference and call it a bonus for them.

[BMW4LIFE]

They would have tilled the insurance premium glass price even though you got the cheap one. Pocket the difference and call it a bonus for them.

dude please dont burst my buble...i had to battle the insurance company for like an hour to get my glass and all the mouldings and clips

if i find out they put in a cheap one...Ill just let my insurance company know and tell them i want my deductible back!

we'll see...i dont want to think about that right now!

Tiger you totally bursted my bubble! hahah =(

[Tiger]

I meant that the glass shop will bill whatever they can regardless of which glass they installed... insurance doesn't know unless they physically checked the work... which never happen.

You would know what they install... not trying to burst bubble... just FYI.

[632 Regal]

ready to get mine replaced due to 17 bullet holes and 7 cracks, both the insurer and glass hat have no clue what I want... This will be interesting indeed. Anyone have pictures of the said clips and moldings? I will have pics of before but will want to argue with evidence if they do what I specifically objected to.

[BMW4LIFE]

ready to get mine replaced due to 17 bullet holes and 7 cracks, both the insurer and glass hat have no clue what I want... This will be interesting indeed. Anyone have pictures of the said clips and moldings? I will have pics of before but will want to argue with evidence if they do what I specifically objected to.

i can take pics of the new items when I get them on wed if that helps?

let me know

[632 Regal]

i can take pics of the new items when I get them on wed if that helps?

let me know

definetly want to be armed with the knowledge that I want in pics, the local guy wants to "do me a favor" so I want to be ready for his cheap crap. I think my car has a good 10 years left and dont want to wear headgear to drive it.

[BMW4LIFE]

definetly want to be armed with the knowledge that I want in pics, the local guy wants to "do me a favor" so I want to be ready for his cheap crap. I think my car has a good 10 years left and dont want to wear headgear to drive it.

just a question regal...

Should I take before and after detailed pics of the window installation?

[BMW4LIFE]

just an update with the insurance and the whole gas thing

I ended up getting the BMW glass and all the OEM parts to make it look like a factory install

all you have to do is make sure the place you go to pushes for you and your car and the insurance will cave in sooner or later

they told me the best insurance companies to work with are;

1) AAA
2) Farmers
3) All state

that there 2 cents...im sure everyone has their own opinion but they said AAA is soooo much better than the rest

[632 Regal]

just an update with the insurance and the whole gas thing

I ended up getting the BMW glass and all the OEM parts to make it look like a factory install

all you have to do is make sure the place you go to pushes for you and your car and the insurance will cave in sooner or later

they told me the best insurance companies to work with are;

1) AAA
2) Farmers
3) All state

that there 2 cents...im sure everyone has their own opinion but they said AAA is soooo much better than the rest

Thanks for the update, everything here is still in stalemate, glass buddy says aftermarket glass is fine, I mention factory clips he says generic molding.... this is as bad as getting a good foreclosure attorney, non existent in these parts.

[BMW4LIFE]

Thanks for the update, everything here is still in stalemate, glass buddy says aftermarket glass is fine, I mention factory clips he says generic molding.... this is as bad as getting a good foreclosure attorney, non existent in these parts.

no way! dont do that generic molding crap...

what you should do is go to a new glass shop and have them call the nsurance...

when i went to pick up my car the guy told me that the old molding were unusable even if they HAD to because they are too brittle

what the glass shop should do is call your insurance company and explain that you have to get new molding! in this economy a glass shop will do what ever to get your business...if this one isnt working you should move to another

if i were i would do a search until i get what i wanted...i just got lucky with it being the first one :D

remember that you have the right to choose whatever shop you want!

of and i found out that when they were taking my glass off they chipped some clear coat off my car...i made him write that on the receipt...i will be going to a body shop to get a quote on that...

i feel bad to stick it to them after all they have done for me but hey...why should my car get f'ed up in the process..right?! :(

[Rick L]

I had my glass replaced three years ago do to a crack caused by me. I was changing the wiper blades during winter and accidentally bumped the arm without the bades installed! CRACK!!! :( I forgot which company I called but it was pretty cheap. I think I only paid around $200 or something like that. That price includes the guy coming out and installing it at your place. They installed PPG glass. Fit is perfect and the molding looks good too. So far so good. No leaks or wind noise...


Thanks for the update, everything here is still in stalemate, glass buddy says aftermarket glass is fine, I mention factory clips he says generic molding.... this is as bad as getting a good foreclosure attorney, non existent in these parts.

[BMW4LIFE]

did some research and i hear that pilkington or something like that is pretty good glass too...see if you can get that

they are making the glass for benz and audi these days!

[bubba966]

PPG, Pilkington, Secursiv (forget exactly how it's spelled), & Sekurit all make OE glass for BMW. Any of those will work great. There's a Pilkington in my M-Sport. Friends '95 Touring is a Secursiv. Both are still good. I think the one in her Touring is still the original.

[repenttokyo]

I had my glass replaced three years ago do to a crack caused by me. I was changing the wiper blades during winter and accidentally bumped the arm without the bades installed! CRACK!!! :( I forgot which company I called but it was pretty cheap. I think I only paid around $200 or something like that. That price includes the guy coming out and installing it at your place. They installed PPG glass. Fit is perfect and the molding looks good too. So far so good. No leaks or wind noise...

i broke mine the same way, had some pilkington glass put in reusing the factory clips and trim. the pilkington glass has been total garbage, I highly recommend against it.


did some research and i hear that pilkington or something like that is pretty good glass too...see if you can get that

It's terrible glass.

[632 Regal]

I specifically told the insurance and the glass rep that we're going to need clips and moldings and they told me that it will come with the glass... they assured me more than one time.

Glass man calls saying he is on the way, I asked if he had new molding and clips, told me no but we will use a universal across the top if we need it (I'm like WTF?) I reply "alrighty then".

Guess what? Cant do the glass because were going to need clips and moldings which he has no idea how long it will take to get. His boss said I need to call insurance... Insurance told me that "the company has to call for approval and they know that". So I'm waiting on a call back, glass man left since there is nothing he can do.

Inspecting the old glass I noticed it was at some time replaced, the gutter was sealed on one side which must have had water freeze thereby busting the glass. Anyways I have a Q now, on the below picture there is item #10, real oem does not list it and I do not have one of them under the old glass and feel I need this, any ideas?

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/u/o/10.png
The page is: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HE23&mospid=47406&btnr=51_0273&hg=51&fg=05 but 10 is not listed.

What where how etc. I'll see if I can find it on some other model but wanted to have a heads up.

PS the moldings have went down in cost a lot, both sides are around 72-80 each and the little clip in the middle is a few bux.

[Ross]

Jeff,
The factory galss does come with the clips, already attached in the proper spots. Don't move them, you will see where the moulding has spots to accept the clips.
The moldings do NOT come with the glass.
If you are present when the install is done you'll see why I'm so adamant about using all the factory parts in concert. The moldings pop right on and stay put without any silicone to obstruct the drainage channels.

[632 Regal]

Thanks Ross, I think I have to go original glass route. None of these chains know how to deal with this situation and I'm tired of calling them. I'll contact the stealer and see who they recommend.


Jeff,
The factory galss does come with the clips, already attached in the proper spots. Don't move them, you will see where the moulding has spots to accept the clips.
The moldings do NOT come with the glass.
If you are present when the install is done you'll see why I'm so adamant about using all the factory parts in concert. The moldings pop right on and stay put without any silicone to obstruct the drainage channels.

[632 Regal]

Weeeee.... The shop owner convinced me that they will save the old trim and only apply urethane along the edges and body so it will retain the stock look and function. I suppose this is one of the best options since I dont have a spare 150 to piss away. He said he will toss the clips in the deal too so I can't go wrong.

Guy comes out today with his handy dandy tools, real cool stuff. He succeeded in getting the glass out in several thousand pieces and sliced all my moldings in half, he even spared me the time of throwing away the little rain gutters for me. He let me keep the ultra useless shaved in half parts for nostalgia and admitted that the new molding that he will use will look like the stuff on a yugo or some crap. He said "it won't look that bad"

I need to fix a couple rusted areas and he will be back to "finish" the install probably Wednesday. I need to call his shop manager/owner to confirm the install day. I am kinda fvcked as this is my only car and the basketcase bike decided to not cooperate in the interim however it did backfire pretty healthily for me.

Anything of substance to end this wonderful experience so far?

[Grantus]

I read this thread when it was first posted, and thought what a hassle it would be if this were to happen to me.

WHO POINTED THE BONE AT ME?

On a 100mile trip down to visit my ailing mother I noticed a small but growing crack right above my sightline when driving. The winscreen patch guy says it cant be repaired so replacement is the only option.
I have no glass cover for this vehicle so will have to front for the total cost myself. Bugger!

[632 Regal]

Glass in the US is about 220 ferns now, you get the same person unless you ask for a few days between to fix rust damage. You need to care for the rust properly and at least prime and seal the sourround or it will breed more rust.

Some guy comes pounding on my door at 7:30AM today, I figure its the feds or some **** and grab my equipment and a couple extra mags in case **** turns bad. Peak out the side and its a different glass van. WTF! No feds around and no strange cars so I put the extra mags down, and open the garage door while still keeping an eye on surroundings.

All good I met the new dude. He went over the program as I explained my disgust, he looked at the moldings and said they were complete trash... but we can install this handy dandy molding crap, I was almost irate then. This dude had like 4 different kinds of Universal moldings, said he would get crap ready as I finished the paint body work on the surround (I was told to call in when ready to schedule the replacement to be installed) I told him I wasn't ready but could hack it together in about half hour. I did altho paint was not set.

We chose a mid wide general molding and set the glass to check, he was very accomodating. It kind of sits on the roof panel and leaves a drain track too, I'm thinking this isn't too bad. He loads the urethane up in a 1 inch high level and says lets lay it in... we did.

All in all it's not that bad. I am pissed that they didnt do as promised but what is.. is.

It's like going to a Brothel and setting your money down and being handed some biker dude, you have to be specific which I was but here in the US that makes no difference. Before bashing to ultimatum, I will say the generic molding as of today is OK. How it will perform I will need a highway trip to see wind noise and leakakage. I am sure nothing will be insured or honored here.

Anyways for what it is worth, if you can get the original glass do it, force the insurance to take the molding cost, that's less than a couple months mandatory insurance payment to have the car.

Whatever, it was a long day man.

Thanks Ross and others that shared the experience.

You guys rock!

[BMW4LIFE]

regal that is hilarious!

haha

as far as the molding goes I would go shop to shop to see which one wants your business the most...they can convince the ins to get the molding if they really tell them that its needed....mine did and i gave them my business

The economy sucks still so people will kill for $$$ shop around!

[632 Regal]

Nope, people don't give a sh!t at all. You may get a decent personality on the phone but once it comes to the drones doing the work they are paid by the hour and could care less about your 2 decade old car. I am just so glad that I don't rely on other people to do **** for me, I don't think I could handle it more than maybe one time per year or two. I have however acquired a buttload of extra magazines as they only hold 12 each :p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIO-0yc6RFU


regal that is hilarious!

haha

as far as the molding goes I would go shop to shop to see which one wants your business the most...they can convince the ins to get the molding if they really tell them that its needed....mine did and i gave them my business

The economy sucks still so people will kill for $$$ shop around!