I had Safelite replacing my camry windshield and had no problem with extreme cold and hot conditions.

 

Shouldn't be a big deal, and neither is unique to BMW...

 

Yeah....rain sensor just sticks on the glass behind the plastic mirror cover....no biggie
I agree.....installing a windshield in a bmw should be no different than anything else.....but obviously there must be more to it. My SA said a lot has to do with the thickness of the bead of sealant that is used. He said bmw uses a really thick "continuous" bead of sealant all the way around to have one joint, where as safelite uses a thin bead with several joints. I did see the safelite guy stop and make 4 different joints......one in each corner. My SA said the thickness plays a role in the aerodynamics.....if the windshield doesn't sit high enough it creates a turbulent spot when air goes up and over the roof at the top of the windshield.....all makes sense.
In any case damaging trim pieces and breaking clips shouldn't happen regardless

 

First, sorry to hear about your issues and I'm glad it has been amicably resolved.

You said the following:
And it got me thinking: either ALL glass installers have to know how this, or insurance company has to cover an OEM BMW job completely. Otherwise, if your insurance company sends you to some imbeciles who aren't fit to work with Lego pieces - let alone a high-precision aerodynamic features - the insurance company cannot claim they provide a "complete" coverage. I guess what I'm trying to say is, based on this experience, you should be able to get your insurance company to pay for an OEM job if this ever happens again (hopefully, it won't, of course). IDK does this make any sense?

 

V, most of the the dealerships don't do glasswork themselves, even if you took you car to a dealer they will usually farm the work out to a local glass specialist. While the parts may be OEM, it's rare that a dealer would ever change glass themselves. Thus, assuming OEM parts, there's really no difference between a dealer/"OEM" replacement and a good independent.

 

A BMW tech did replace mine.....and according to the SA, that's all he does. Maybe it depends on if the BMW dealer has their own collision center....i dunno. It may be rare, but if they do it at the dealer in B-ham, AL I would think they would do it in other cities as well.

Only GOOD thing I will give Safelite a "thumbs up" for is, I didn't hassle with them at all about sending me to the dealer....it was a decision made directly by their customer service Executive Team.....and I was shocked when they approached me about it It may be that their policy is if they can't get it right in 3 attempts, they send you elsewhere and flip the bill for it.

 

The dealers out here generally do outsource it - and I believe both of the closest to me use the same independent.

Mind you, it wouldn't surprise me at all if a dealer represented that they did it themselves but did in fact outsource it. They'll charge you more than they pay to the independent.

 

I am assuming, though, that when they contract it out to a local glass specialist, they also give the local specialist the BMW spec describing how to replace their windshields. Is there anyone here who works for a dealer who could confirm this?

 

here is the email I sent my SA back before they did the work....

"Shannon,

Do you have a BMW tech that replaces windshields?or do you source it out? My insurance told me that most dealers source it out.

Thanks,

Keith"

His response.......

"We do the work here. We have a tech trained in glass replacement with over 20 years of experience. Sorry about the hassle but we can certainly fix the problem. Send them my info and we will get you fixed up."

 

+1.. i had no problems either. my guy looked young and was playing LaMega on the radio while he fixed it. did a good job for me. im sorry you had to deal with such shit.. it certainly gets very frustrating when people cant do things right that there supposed to be trained in!..