Windshield repair/replacement question

[olgagel]

Hello,
I have a 2008 Mini Cooper S and a couple of days ago my windshield finally became the victim of the Wilson Bridge construction project. I have a crack at the bottom of the windshield between the wipers. The crack is shaped like a right angle and can barely be covered by a dollar bill. I called my insurance company and they will cover the repair or replacement.
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a good glass repair shop in Alexandria, VA.
Also, I know that I absolutely have to get the OEM glass, so does anyone know a good way to tell that the repair shop is really replacing my broken glass with the OEM one?

thanks so much,
Olga

[mcoupemindy]

Hello,
I have a 2008 Mini Cooper S and a couple of days ago my windshield finally became the victim of the Wilson Bridge construction project. I have a crack at the bottom of the windshield between the wipers. The crack is shaped like a right angle and can barely be covered by a dollar bill. I called my insurance company and they will cover the repair or replacement.
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a good glass repair shop in Alexandria, VA.
Also, I know that I absolutely have to get the OEM glass, so does anyone know a good way to tell that the repair shop is really replacing my broken glass with the OEM one?

thanks so much,
Olga

Typically, if an insurance company is covering it, they need to make the arrangement at the shop that they provide services through.

[John in VA]

Check with Steve Cheney, a BMW owner from the 2002 days:
http://www.virginia-glass.com/

[olgagel]

Check with Steve Cheney, a BMW owner from the 2002 days:
http://www.virginia-glass.com/

Thank you! I called them today and set up an appointment. They will come out and replace the windshield for me. they also turned out to be one of the preferred shops of my insurance company.

[John in VA]

That's great to hear. Glad it worked out.

[kcbxt8]

Any recommendations for window tint, have to do it before summer

[John in VA]

Try a search - this is discussed every spring! There's currently a thread at the bottom of "Recent Threads," on your left.

[Reach]

olgagel - if you are still checking this board, can you report on how happy you were with their service and the replacement glass? Was it the exact same-as-original piece?

My M3's windshield took a fatal blow on the Pennsylvania turnpike this weekend and is out of commission until it can be replaced.

[bimmernupe]

olgagel - if you are still checking this board, can you report on how happy you were with their service and the replacement glass? Was it the exact same-as-original piece?

My M3's windshield took a fatal blow on the Pennsylvania turnpike this weekend and is out of commission until it can be replaced.

I had mine done last yr @ Passport for an OEM windshield for $344.42 + 45 for the rubber seal + 150 for labor = $539.42 w/o CCA discount. When I told them I was a CCA member, they said when I came in to let my CA know and they would apply the discount for the parts.

My SA is Stephen and the parts guy was Dirk. Bogdan also works in the service dept.

[Reach]

My windshield part alone was $405 retail. Available for $324 from Tischer (20% discount). There is also 2 pieces of molding that would need to be replaced and 2 tubes of special BMW sealant needed (which is of course different and more expensive for the M3) which adds another $64 to the price.

Ended up talking to Virginia Glass and Steve was indeed helpful with options and talked me into submitting a claim to GEICO which he will then handle and bill. I will be responsible for my deductible but that's still hundreds less than any other option. Since its a claim filed under the comprehensive coverage my rates are supposed to be unaffected. We will see about that in the long term, I have a deep seated mistrust of all insurance companies.

Thanks for this thread and the recommendation for Virginia Glass. I am confident things will work out from here and will report back with the result, hopefully by the end of the week.

[John in VA]

Glad to hear Steve could help! I need to talk to him about replacing the 24 year-old glass in my E30 - certain angles of the sun make visibility impossible.

[Reach]

Had my windshield replaced today by VA Glass. After working with Steve since Monday via phone, and being allowed to view glass examples at their location this week, I had the install done today. Their technician Mike came out to my home in a VA Glass truck, and was professional and friendly the whole time. Most importantly, he did a fantastic job. I can't recommend them enough after this experience.

The only negative in the whole thing was GEICO. I don't know why I expected any better, but they refused to pay a dime (for what I wanted). Since there was an 'oem equivalent' piece available which cost less than my deductible ($500) they determined that it would be 'good enough', which it was not in my book, and thus were unwilling to pay for even a part of the 'dealer glass' upgrade.

Next time I have any glass issues, I'm just calling Steve and leaving insurance out of the equation. If they're just going to deny claims, I'd rather they not even know of any issues.