cagotzmann

Car is a 2010 Grandsport Convertible.

I got a rock crack in the windshield. Insurance company is cheaping out and won't use a OEM replacement. After reading post on this forum about cars with onstar & HUD the after market windshield are very bad.

A lot have complained about the HUD looking like @#&^ with after market replacements.

Anyone have some real experiences with this ?

If you are happy with the non OEM what brand did they use ?

NashvilleGrandSport

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...indshield.html

unixcorn

Pay particular attention to the post by Dcasole. I believe he mentioned that this is his business in a previous thread.

I have used Safelite and they have asked the right questions and provided the correct windshield the last two times I have needed a replacement.

Landru

IF your carrier allows you to select who'll do the replacement?
Try contacting shop before order's placed, offer pay the difference between the junk & OEM. They'd likely agree.

FWIW devil's always in the details w/ auto insurance carriers.
Policies, by law, will state OEM will not be used.
W/could've been worse had body panels etc been required.
Now, you know...read any policy, carefully.

In your shoes I'd fire present carrier the instant another carrier was found who does permit/pay for OEM & states so in their policy. YMMV

cmonkey713

Do you have head-up display? If so you need to demand a GM replacement windshield. Non head-up after market windshields will not provide a sharp image projected on the windshield. Head-up or not, I would still demand a GM windshield.

cagotzmann

Yes HUD and OnStar in wind shield. So here's the insurance point of view. Since the car is older than 3 years or has more than 60k kms. They do not have to replace using the OEM part or glass. There is an endorsement that gets removed from all insurance claims for glass after the above is meet. And yes I can pay the difference.

So here is how I might be able to get around the issue.

1. First get a quote approved from one of the Glass shops.
2. Then speak to your local dealership and explain that you want to have a insurance claim for the wind shield replacement and provide a quote. In my case once the dealership knew the situation (insurance claim) they had a process to change the charge rate for the OEM windshield and provide me a quote. Which was lower than the glass shop.

Even though the insurance company still insisted on NOT USING OEM GLASS then looked bad when the quote was less than what they approved from the glass shop. They had no choice but to accept my new quote.

The extra cost to me is the difference in labour costs vs the glass shop. They only allow $180 for labour and sealant. The dealer charges ~ $50 more since they sub out the work to the same glass shop.

So in the end I expect to pay the $250 deductible + $50 extra for installation VS the $1100 extra the glass shop wants to charge for OEM glass.

And yes the dealer parts group also said the non OEM windshields can make a difference with HUD quality. The do receive complaints from some after a windshield replacement with non OEM parts.

The work has not been completed yet, but we will see how it works out.

Seems Canada Insurance companies don't have the same rules as USA claims.

I guess you really never know how good your insurance company is until you need them.

cagotzmann

Yup they are done, unless in Canada they might be all the same.

They still have not provided the clause in the contract stating the facts as you described, but since I found away around it am not going to insist they provide it until after the dust settles.

Fly-N-LOw

I have used Safelite for two replacements they were both aftermarket and worked with the HUD. There was no difference whatsoever from the original OEM Safelite does a better job than most glass shops. The weather strip fit perfectly. They only have to know if you have a HUD so the put in the proper glass.

jrose7004

I had a non HUD windshield in a HUD equipped C5 and the windshield worked just fine. No blur, looked at good as the HUD windshield.

Dcasole

Thanks UnixCorn ...

1- OP , no need to go OEM .... as I mentioned in many posts just ask for the APTECH branded glass as this IS the OEM manufacturer ... no sense in paying $300 to $500 more for a windshield just so it says GM

2- Also , Pilkington branded windshields are a good choice and a very hi quality piece. under no circumstance accept a XY brand , pure Chinese junk

3- And a 3rd point ... I challenge any "LAY" person to state that they can actually tell the difference between a "HUD" windshield and a "NON HUD" windshield . I am in the business and I am hear to tell you that the refractive properties of the interlayer are so close ......it this has nothing to do with how sharp an image is projected either as this is also pure urban internet legend

So if you want to save money ... go with a non HUD APTECH or PILKINGTON brand glass

........................................ ........OR.............................. .......

If you just want to throw money away .. go with a HUD OEM GM original piece of glass ....

Dave

PS - my own car has a NON HUD APTECH and I bet I am pickier than you when it comes to cars

Dcasole

Cmonkey with all due respect what data do you have to back up such claims ?

now this is how internet urban legends start ..........

what qualifications do you have to make a statement like this ....?

Non HUD or aftermarket will not provide a sharp image ... really .... do you know what the difference is between a Non HUD and a HUD windshield ?

do you know what constitutes a OEM and an OEE windshield designation

I do and it has absolutely nothing to do with a sharp image quality ...

Do you really think GM has a bunch of glass gnomes bending windshields and sidelites or do you think they subcontract it out to "Aftermarket" companies who put the GM branding on the part ?

For that matter do you think any Manufacturer is making their own glass parts ?

these "aftermarket parts" such as AP TECH for our C6 cars are made with the same tooling and go down the same bending lines as the OEM part ....
Quality parts that come from manufacturers such as Pilkington , reverse engineer their tooling from the OEM parts .....and even some of the Chinese parts coming in are of very high quality .... just not XYG

if I was to put an OEM , An AP TECH and a ZY part next to each other on a rack or installed in a vehicle I would bet you 100.00 that YOU could not tell me which was which ......let alone if i put a HUD part next to a NON HUD part ....

please join me in stopping internet urban legends lol

Dave

cclive

And of course we know that GM is not a glass company and doesn't manufacture the windshield.

Naldinator

Because I know you so well I just read this in your voice. LOL

No one here wants to go head to head with Dave on auto glass.

Dcasole

cagotzmann

(Canada) I don't have the same options as most when it comes to glass choice.

Well the new glass is in. It is OEM GM Part which I was happy with. Had I not made a visit to my Chev parts department I would have been stuck with the glass companies choice. Chev dealer was very good dealing with the insurance company and I didn't need to pay extra to have the OEM GM Part installed.

I didn't have a option for APTECH after market and the brands the glass company offered I couldn't find other than "pilkington glass" and the glass company said it isn't as good as the factory OEM GM Glass for the corvette.

Now the factory OEM Glass is made by "AP Technologies" (this is the same as what my car came with from the factory)

Which I believe is APTECH ?? so I would think APTECH Aftermarket would be the same as the OEM GM AP Tech glass.

So all worked out for me.

LowRyter

aren't windshields all the same? I'll bet GM uses the same supplier.

I'd rather go with pro windshield guys vs a dealer any day.

Dcasole

see my post above , it's all explained , the OEM supplier for the C6 is AP Tech.. there are other suppliers that bend this part

Very few dealers install glass , they sub it out .....

Dcasole

it's just their opinion ...Pilkington makes the highest quality glass out there and is the OEM supplier for many car manufacturers
.

you are correct, glad it all worked out for you

Dave

zzjakect

I had a claim for wife's 325I. I requested an OEM windshield from BMW. Insurance carrier refused. Safe light did two windshields. Neither worked correctly with auto wipers. Insurance company then sent me to BMW dealer. Got OEM windshield. Worked perfectly. I bet they saved a bunch on that mess. I've used safe light on other vehicles and they've done a fine job. But it is not the same as OEM.

Dcasole

Guys let me dispel all the myths about glass if I may .....

Glass is glass , there are not softer glass or harder more resistant glass , the tint is all the same color as there are only a few interlayer manufacturers, and it all is the same thickness as there are very strict DOT standards that all manufacturers have to adhere to

The only difference is in the fit and finish of the finished product and the accessories that mount to the glass

Cheap glass is made with tooling that does not have high tolerances or furnaces and temperatures that vary to much that produces a product that either does not fit or has distortions and waves . they also might use a cheaper or apply a thinner ceramic coating (black frit around the glass that protects the urethane adhesive from the ultraviolet rays of the sun which would break it down ) The accessory mounting brackets also might be poorly engineered

Only some manufacturers such as XYG are a concern and should be avoided
but almost any other branded glass such as PILKINGTON , ZY, APTECH etc all produce a fine product !


The BMW rain sensor issue is a well documented problem that many are trying to solve but it is a rare outlier and one of the few cases where I would absolutely recommend OEM only

With the BMW you use the same gel pack mounting as the OEM and the sensor is mounted with the same bracket as the OEM ,looking thru the same portion of the glass as the OEM , and also thru the same interlayer but yet it refuses to work ...... has a lot of people scratching their heads right now ........

Dave