Hi all. First post here.

To my horror, I just discovered that my new-to-me 1998 M3 (sil-blk/58k miles/like new/bone stock) has several rock chips in the windshield which have propogated into long cracks. These are all near the bottom edge on the black tint area and are obscured in part by the wipers and dash.

I'm going to need to replace the windshield, and my problem is that I'm a very talented mechanic-fabricator-restorer-painter etc. etc. and I'm really picky about people touching my car.

I view a windshield replacement as a pretty traumatic deal; you're violating the factory applied adhesive and sealent, probably not removing all of it, and then gluing in a new glass panel and rubber seals.

If it were retained by a rubber seal with a insert garnish or trim, I'd do it myself, but glued in glass is a last frontier for me.

After decades of building cars modified to the edge of being useless on the street, I looked long and hard for my perfect e36 M3 to find one that was utterly OEM, and I'm inclined to keep it that way, so, do I:
  • Go to a stealership, roll the dice, and hiope that I get OEM glass installed so it's just like as-manufactured?
  • Go to an independent repair shop that has a stellar reputation and have OEM parts installed
  • Bank on safety in numbers and have a guy from Safelite or one of the other big auto glass places do the work on the basis that it's all the guy does?
Any advice regarding a good way to deal with this is appreciated.

I look forward to meeting local chapter people at Auto-X events and track days.

Thanks!