sroach

All,

I have a major crack in my windshield, which showed up the next day after the wiper motor was replaced by the dealer, Yes I am working with the service manager to try and get them to replace it.

Anyway, I called my insurance company today to find out my options in case I am responsible for the replacement, they told me that they deal with safelite to have windshields replaced and I was wondering if anyone has had any experience dealing with them.


My first question to them is will they use an OEM windshield..

tonymac

I used them here in el paso and they did an ok job. They do use OEM minus the BMW emblem (BTW, it was the half the price compared to going through BMW). I had to bring it back to them because there was an air leak that cause a high pitched whistle. They replaced that one and I have no issues now. And they gave me a year warranty and let me in the back to watch the process.

acuteperformance

I've used Safelite a few times and I'm always very happy with their service. With that said, if I recall, you can tell them you want to use OE windshield or 3rd party.

Michael
Acute Performance

e60oholic

I battled my insurance company and got an OEM windshield. They didn't want to pay but I got the company that does all the work for my local dealer to get on the phone with us and she told them how it was. Safelite didn't even stock them in my area. I got a new windshield, rain sensor, and all the trim way over my 500 glass limit! Got to be careful! I just had a e46 come in with a safelite window and they butchered the rain sensor.

ktlocklear

My insurance sent me to Safelite for my E60. Although they used an OEM windshield per my request.....they SUCK at the install portion.

1st windsheld: They broke the plastic cowel piece that covers the bottom of the windshield, plus there was an air leak afterwards.

2nd windshield: They replaced the windshield with another OEM windshield and flipped the bill for a new cowel piece, and installed it. Air leak was still there.

3rd windshield: They replaced the windshield with another OEM windshield, and broke the trim piece that covers the left side of the windshield. Air leak was still there.

At this point I was pissed and called my insurance company, which in turn sent me to my local BMW dealer who replaces windshileds in-house by a BMW tech. They replaced the windshield once again along with the trim piece. Air leak....GONE

In my opinion, Safelite has no buisness replacing BMW windshields.....in fact I wouldn't let them replace a windshield on a golf cart to be honest.

My wife had a windshiled replaced in her Trailblazer by Safelite when we lived in Norcal, and she had an air leak.....so that issue is not isolated to this area.

Good luck with it....I would try and talk to your insurance and see if there are any other options beside Safelite....I'll pay out of pocket before I'll use them again.

jay bimma

you guys have to realized it's not safelite...it's the installer. you may have a replacement go perfect by one person but completly the opposite by another. personally i have used them twice - once with my E60 and once with my previous benz. both times i asked safelite to send out their most experienced installer who has worked on high-end vehicles. on my E60 i saw the guy take extreme care and time with removing every part. he obviously knew what he was doing so i tipped him. he even got me new clips installed on the outer a-pillar plastic trims. this is where alot of the "wind noise" comes from when people replace windshields as some of the clips break and are usually not replaced.

mrich1353

Like mentioned earlier, there are good and bad installers.
My experience years ago was poor. The vehicle was almost new at the time and I had freshly detailed the car before going to their shop. The installer must have positioned the windshield by "leveraging" the windshield on his elbow which was positioned on the vehicle hood. It left a dent which they of course adamantly denied but eventually paid for the repair. The windshield sealant adhesive was applied poorly and actually covered the VIV, so it also had be be replaced. No sorry or sympathy from anyone at the company for my troubles.

DesertE60

I too had a poor experience with Safelite here in Phoenix. They did the replacement for my wife's Lincoln Navigator. Installer had royally screwed up the install. From a distance it looked ok, however I was late for an appointment while waiting for him to finish so I did not have enough time to inspect. Later I returned to take a closer look. What a mess, the trim on passenger side was just sitting in place due to the entire windshield being off center. The liquid rubber used on inside of the glass was pushed into the cabin and smeared all over one of the pillars. The rearview mirror was barely hanging on and was unusable while driving due to vibration. There was also hand smear marks all over the cloth surrounding the pillars from tech. I called Safelite back and they said they would fix it, and sent tech out a few days later to correct. Re-install was much better. I will never use them again. My E60 will need a new windshield soon, but I am going to try and have the insurance approve the dealer to do it this time.

sroach

Arrrggghhh.. Looks like I better start arguing with my insurance company now..

Jay Bimma, I hear what you are saying but the more you research safelite its like 90% bad review and 10% good reviews, I just would rather not deal with the headaches.

Sluis530

Safelite auto glass is the primary windshield replacement vendor for our company. We have a fleet of 9,000 cars in upstate new york. As far as service and quality of work I would rate them a 9 out of 10; compared to our previous primary. Any problems are fixed immediately and they have an overall GREAT reputation .... just my two cents.