Cracked windshield - reasonable price?

My windshield is cracked. It obviously started with a rock and now the crack runs in two directions for about 6-10 inches each. Gotta replace it but I’m blown away that Safelite wants almost $600 for what I’m sure is cheap crap glass from China. I haven’t even bothered to call Toyota…if Safelite is $600, gotta be at least a couple thousand for OEM glass.

hoping not to have to file a claim with USAA. Only $100 deductible but really don’t want my premium to go up.

is $580 reasonable for a windshield these days? Should I be looking somewhere else for a better deal?

 

I just had mine replaced by Toyota dealer with Toyota glass and recalibration of camera. Amica covered it as I pay for glass coverage but I think it was over $1000 all in.

 

File the claim. Not sure how it works in your state, but here in the great state of Florida we have zero deductible on windshields if you carry comprehensive insurance. Plus they don’t ding you for a claim. They want you to get it repaired because it could cause you and your passengers bodily harm which would cost them a lot more. You don’t loose anything giving them a call.
Be Safe.

 

A windshield for less than $1000 is going to be cheap quality and likely mess with your camera/sensors. I'd bite the bullet and file the claim.

 

File a claim as mentioned. Do not use Safelite. They do use cheap glass and their installations are not the best either. Bad reviews from all over the country. Look for a local and reputable glass company. They have OEM equivalent glass. You dealer can also tell you who.does their glass replacements.

 

I have "full glass coverage" with my insurance but the fine print says OEM glass is not included!!!! Wtf so my wife's Highlander windshield cracked and when the guy showed up to install it, it was a generic "replacement glass". I said no to the China glass and demanded oem glass. The company said I would have to pay the difference between the China glass and OEM or pay for the other "full glass coverage" which includes a premium price and OEM glass... I paid $600 over the $500 coverage for the difference between the China and OEM even though I have "full glass coverage". F@cking insurance companies are the biggest thieves!!!!

But the OEM glass is definitely the way to go if you're keeping your vehicle.

 

Ditto in staying away from Safelite unless for simple crack repair. Double check your comprehensive coverage. Most insurance companies will not pay for an OEM windshield. Keep in mind that many aftermarket parts can meet or exceed OEM specs. In many cases, quite easily. Same goes with windshields. Yes there are certainly windshields of less quality glass than OEM but....there are also decent alternatives out there. Due diligence.

 

Thanks everyone. USAA apparently pays only for Safelite. You can go anywhere by law but apparently I’m on the hook for any cost beyond the max they’ll pay for Safelite, which is $600.

calling Toyota dealer tomorrow to see what their price is. I’m guessing it’d be 1000-1100.

I hear the only way USAA would cover is if Safelite doesn’t have any in stock and it’d be several weeks for them to order it.

On the upside, under California law, they can’t use this to raise premiums.

 

Extended warranty covered $1400 @ dealer, TX

 

Seriously?! For a windshield crack? Maybe I oughta check that out. I wouldn’t have thought my extended warranty would cover such a thing.

 

I’ve had to replace mine a couple times. I use a local glass shop that will only use Toyota branded OEM glass. I have GEICO, and they don’t flinch at it. I pay my $100 deductible which covers the windshield and sensor calibrations (about $1400).

 

For the future if you can catch it when it's still a chip and get it repaired professionally it'll save you the headache. The DIY kits can work, but a pro uses a pretty big vacuum pump to get the sealant into the layers of the glass. My guy is pretty old school and finishes it off with a little heat from a Bic lighter on the inside while it's under vacuum. The last rock chip he fixed for me was pretty big (pencil eraser sized) and the repair has held up for over a year. You can still see it, but it beats the hassle of a new windshield.

 

I bought the factory glass for my 2017 about 15 months ago. Just the glass. $575 from Joseph Toyota of Cincinnati. Dealerships don't do their own windshield replacement. They bring someone (Safelite??) in to do it.

 

Dealers here use independent glass companies. Safelite sucks. I don't think they will install glass that wasn't bought through them.

 

I used to work for a business that supplied glass to automakers. I can answer most questions you have.

I bet Safelite is more expensive. They have to buy the mark up windshield from the OEM. I would bet that AGC makes your windshield. We have worked with them in the past and they make good quality products.

It is not uncommon now to see windshields and roofs on new cars in the $2000 range. The glass requirements for these cameras and sensors is absurd. They essentially need them to be perfect so the systems don’t read bad data.

With your 2018 you have the safety sense. I would bet the $600 includes calibration. I’d call safelite back and see you can get the break down.

And if you don’t mind, if you send me a photo of the windshield manufacturer. Should be bottom corner on the driver side I can tell you if it’s a shit product.

 

Hey folks. I ended up filing an insurance claim with USAA. It is considered comprehensive, and under California law, they cannot raise your rates for a comprehensive claim. (I’m sure there’s a bs wiggle room allowance like raising it for frequency of claims or something. But I do have a clean driving and am not too worried about filing other auto claims.) $200 deductible.

I went to safelite because they are USAA’s preferred contractor. I looked at some others nearby but they were all significantly more expensive and I’d be on the hook for the extra.

Safelite charged somewhere in the $800 neighborhood for everything - glass, material, install, and recalibration. I paid an extra $76 to get Toyota OEM glass instead of their OEE aftermarket stuff. I think insurance should pay it but they won’t and I am not planning to fight it with them.

Problem with OEE glass is that clarity of the windshield affects the safety sensors for lane detection and departure warnings, and collision avoidance systems.


The windshield literally is a structural support mechanism for the truck. It provides structural integrity in an accident, especially roll-over and head-on collisions. It’s also pretty important to a truck that can twist more, such as when towing a heavy load. I don’t want such a critical safety part installed that is manufactured to unknown standards.


They meet Dept of Transportation standards - but that’s a minimum standard just to be able to sell here in the U.S. They do not meet that of the truck’s manufacturer — who also manufactured the safety systems whose efficacy and reliability depend in large part on a windshield meeting their exacting manufacturing requirements, tight tolerances, and rigid inspections.


You get none of that assurance with an aftermarket windshield.


Aftermarket glass can literally be the difference between life and death if the safety systems cannot be calibrated to “see” and perform to Toyota’s standards through the glass.


Insurance is also supposed to make you whole after something happens. That’s the whole point of insurance. A windshield that does not meet the same exacting standards as the truck was built with cannot be considered making it whole.


Who decides the quality of the glass? There is no standard for that, unless you’re buying OEM parts under contract between the car company and the part manufacturer. A windshield might be sized to fit and cut to the same dimensions, but there’s no way to know if the quality, clarity, thickness, and durability matches the original standards. They can claim it does, but there is no verification or inspection standard they have to meet. So an OEE provider is literally asking me to take their word for it on a part that is of enormous safety consequence.


Satellite especially has a bad reputation for this.

Yeah. I think I’ll pay the 76 bucks to get the real thing.

 

I had to deal with Safelight & other chaines at my job I just retired from for a fleet of about 700 vehicles statewide. They were way overpriced and the quality was questionable. If you are able to pay for it yourself, you will get the best quality and price from a body shop in most cases. When I asked my personal dealer about getting them to do my personal car, they said they could do it, but that they outsourced to a local body shop that does glass. I went directly to them instead, and that's what I've done ever since. They do great work. Additionally, they have a way of doing it that they rarely have to recalibrate the cameras or sensors and so I have never been charged for that and I've never had a problem with the systems. You might try that instead if you don't want to use USAA and Safelight, but it sounds like it will cost you. A 2018 Tundra OEM windshield and seal is $500-600, but they can usually get aftermarket for about half that and it will be fine. As long as you trust the shop to get quality glass, I would not have, and have not had, any problem with non-oem. But I would trust my local body shop that has been here 50 years to get quality non-oem far more than I would trust Safelight.