BEZ06

I had a couple large chips on the windshield of my 2006 Z06. Then about a 6 inch crack developed in the lower right corner, and I couldn't even see any chip that it was radiating from - but it was definitely time for a new windshield!!!

So....I looked around on the forum and saw that several members had used Safelite. I called their toll free number on Tuesday and the guy took care of me with about 5 minutes of info. He asked who my insurance company was, got them on the line, and in about 2 minutes I was done with them, and had an appointment to have their guy come out the next afternoon to my house to do the replacement!!!

My insurance company said that in the state of Florida windshield replacements are not subject to any deductible at all, so the replacement cost me nothing at all. I have read here on the forum that some states will charge you your comprehensive deductible - so I guess it varies according to your state's laws.

When talking with the guy on their toll free line, he asked if I had HUD and I said "yes", and he asked if I had GPS and I said "yes" because I have a Nav system, but I told him the GPS antenna was inside the car and had nothing to do with the windshield.

When we were done and he had not asked anything about OnStar, I told him that I did NOT have OnStar, and that if he was confusing that with GPS then the correct answer was that I did not have any kind of antenna on the windshield. He said he would put that in the notes to the local installer and that they would call me if they had any question about what windshield to bring.

So....the guy came out the next afternoon and the windshield he brought had a plastic piece with some clips sticking out bonded to the upper right of the windshield - he had brough the wrong one!!! I should have gotten the number of the local guy and talked with him the day before. Oh well, he came back out the next day (today) and had the correct windshield with him.

He had asked if I specifically needed a GM windshield. He said they're made by the same company, but some will be labeled GM on the glass and some won't. I said that if he had a selection of them and one said GM that I'd take that one, but if it didn't say GM I didn't care. He brought one that did not say GM on it, but it sure looks exactly the same as the old one we removed.

Below are some pictures of the installation. He did an outstanding job, and if all Safelite guys are that good, I highly recommend Safelite.

He got here at 1:00 and was done exactly an hour later at 2:00. He said he has done a number of other Corvettes, and when he went to work it was obvious that he knew exactly how to attack the job.

Overall, I highly recommend Safelite, and if you can't get a windshield that says GM on it, I say don't worry about it, just take whatever they can get for you - they won't bring you junk, and like my installer said, they're all probably made by the same company.

Bob








This is the bottom of the windshield where it says "HUD", so this windshield was manufactured to properly reflect the HUD in it:





The picture below shows the windshield. The "HUD" in the previous photo is in the black section at the bottom (out of view). If you have OnStar there would be a plastic strip with clips bonded to the inside of the upper right of the windshield - my '06 Z06 doesn't have OnStar. The nut looking thing bonded to the top of the windshield is where the rearview mirror attaches:




The next 2 pictures show the wipers are removed and the plastic tray trim piece across the bottom is removed:








Here Jim is pulling loose the rubber trim/seal from the pillar. He has special tools that he can work in between the pillar trim and seal to strip it out of there without damaging it all:





Jim had to remove 3 or 4 screws that hold the trim piece to the pillar:





After the pillar trim piece was loose he just had to pull it clear of the side edge of the windshield - it didn't have to be removed completely:





Here the old windshield is removed and Jim is cleaning off all the old sealant/adhesive before putting down a bead of new stuff to hold the new windshield in place and completely waterproof it. You can see the rearview mirror hanging by its wire harness, and you might be able to make out the circular area that goes over that "nut" looking thingy that you could see bonded to the windshield in an earlier picture:





An hour after beginning, the new windshield is installed and it looks as good as new!!! Jim said some installers and the factory use a sealant that takes 48 hours to set up completely, but the stuff Safelite uses will be completely all set up and ready to go after 2 hours:

C-INRED

I recently had mine replaced also and had a long initial conversation with the shop about GPS or lack thereof. Apparently their catalogs or computer databases specify 'GPS' and not 'OnStar.' I told the guy that I do not have a NAV system but that I do have OnStar and that there is a OnStar box attached to the windshield. I don't think he believed me but before we hung up I told him to double-check on this. When he called back he said "I learn something new every day" and that his 'GPS' designation was, indeed, OnStar. Then to his credit he added, "but you already knew that." All turned out well and I now have a new windshield with no cracks and no pits, at least for awhile.

Here's the thread on mine....

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...placement.html