Need A Rear Windscreen Replaced in Sydney - Any Suggestions?

• 

  dcep on 03/04/2018 - 15:51

  o'brien

  • 

    Sikarion on 03/04/2018 - 15:55

    Thanks phunkydude, I did call them up the first time but they wanted to charge me about $600 for an aftermarket. Not sure if that's good pricing at this point yet but if they are I'll give them a go.

  • 

    Daabido on 03/04/2018 - 18:56

    O'Brien has the instant brand recognition, but their prices are significantly higher than others. Your local state based organisation like RACQ will be cheaper. They will probably still use a subcontractor, but the work should be pretty good.

• 

  Ryanek on 03/04/2018 - 16:22

  +1

  I used Windscreen Repairs Australia a while ago but they were much cheaper than the others.

  • 

    Sikarion on 03/04/2018 - 16:47

    Thanks Ryanek, I just called them but they don't do rear windscreens :)

• 

  altomic on 03/04/2018 - 16:30

  +1

  start calling wreckers. check ebay and gumtree (loads of wreckers on both)

  • 

    Sikarion on 04/04/2018 - 21:39

    Thanks for the suggestion altomic. I did try calling a few around the area but turns out not many have spare parts for cars this age (apparently still too new?). Most had parts still for 2009 - 2011 models.

• 

  grocerygetter on 03/04/2018 - 16:54

  Had a similar problem recently. NRMA came in the cheapest (especially since I had their roadside assistance). I paid $280 vs O'Briens quote of $600

  • 

    Sikarion on 04/04/2018 - 21:40

    Thanks for the suggestion, I did call NRMA to find a quote and they weren't really competitive from what I got ~$550 mark. The only thing that I could say was they were able to fit me in sometime this week but I just used the time to shop around for better quotes.

• 

  pegaxs on 03/04/2018 - 17:16

  You are 100% sure it was someone that smashed it? You saw them? Someone else saw them? Car park operator won’t give you footage, and even if they do, it will be so inconclusive. Any road rage or beeped horns on the way to work that day? Parked under a ramp, could have been anything and the person who did it may not have even known. Flicked up off the ramp as they drove down.

  Anyway, I don’t know how much more help we could be other than saying “use google” and ring around.

  There is no problem using aftermarket glass in a car. A lot of the time it’s made by the same company that made the original glass if it’s and Australian car. Alto is above had a great idea as well, ring a few wreckers and see what they can supply one for and then ring around and ask for supply and fit vs fit only.

  • 

    Sikarion on 04/04/2018 - 21:50

    Thanks pegaxs. No I'm not a 100% sure that it was someone that smashed it intentionally. But I am 100% sure that whatever happened to it, someone saw or knew about it and went around to retrieve the item that caused the damage. There was nothing but a broken hole at the top of the windscreen (medium impact shatter about the size of a tennis ball) and considering the situation, I searched every damn inch of the area for anything resembling a rock that could've caused the accidental damage. With the hole that large, physics dictates that the offending item would've fallen into my car or be wedged on the windscreen itself.

    No, no beeped horns or ragey people. Quite frankly, no one really knows or talks to each other in the same complex so passive-aggressive behaviour is sometimes noticed but we parked in essentially the visitor space so no one really has any claim to it. And to add to that point, everyone is fairly chill except for one renter but considering he's just an overall general-purpose arsehole, we don't even know each other so highly unlikely.

    If I can get the video I can at least see if there was someone that walked up to my car sometime during the day and where they travelled to. If they walked back up the ramp then I can safely assume the bastard dropped something and get the police to have a look. I still want them to pay for the damage. From what I heard from people that are currently dealing with the said main suspect, he came around ranting about suing people and whatnot for whatever reason so I think he's fairly rattled at this point.

• 

  Richardc on 03/04/2018 - 19:38

  +1

  rear window has heating element, and rarely replace compare to the front, so usually cost more, try ask Aussie Windscreens Auto Glass, I use them before and was happy with their job.

  • 

    Sikarion on 04/04/2018 - 21:50

    Thanks chenrenchun, I'll give them a call tomorrow to see.

• 

  doctordv8 on 04/04/2018 - 18:43

  +1

  There is no aftermarket glass. There is no such thing as Genuine Toyota either. They are all made by only a few licenced glass manufacturers in Australia and under licence to show a few brand names. They are all the same.

  Try Yellow Pages/Google and simply find the best price and time / convenience to you. Different companies may have specials, and that may reflect in the glass or the fitting. All the standard installers, O'Briens, Instant Windscreens and the many others, are ONLY installers. The manufacturer only manufactures, and supplies to installers and car makers, and do NOT install.,

  NOTE * As screens form part of the structural integrity of the body shell, the fitting standards are extremely high and no one will cut corners to reflect a lower price. Do not even try wreckers, as although this is possible, it could take a few that you pre pay for before one comes out is a serviceable condition, plus install/install kit, plus no guarantee and the end price will hurt a lot more more often than not.

  A mate in the trade, any auto trade, can maybe get you a great discount. But back to basics, search and ask the question directly, and compare for yourself what suits best.

  There are a few stress related reasons why screens can implode/explode/crack with the vehicle just sitting, particularly on eg hot days, or badly repaired accident damage from the past. Another reason to consider if you do not find any foreign debris inside or other info on damage causes.

  • 

    Sikarion on 04/04/2018 - 22:00

    Great info doctordv8 and thanks for the walk through. I did ask around about the difference between them via the installers and the most common response I got was that glass from Australian larger franchises like O'Brien get their products sourced locally and meet the safety standards of australia. The 'aftermarket' units seem to be close replicas of these units and may have been manufactured overseas and can vary a little based on final polish and/or properties. They still follow the Australian standard and apparently pass all the quality checks but come in under cost due to cheaper manufacturing costs from their original source.

    There is a thought that it may have just been stress fracture for the glass but in this case, I don't buy it. There was a definitive impact circle where all the glass was pressure fractured compared to the rest of the panel. I've seen tempered glass shatter before and the reason why I can confidently say this is because unlike normal TG shattering into a million pieces, my window tint actually held the entire panel together still after the shattering. The only places where the glass had fallen away was right where the impact circle is so yeah, I can confidently say something rigid smacked it. Where or what it was, only the arsehole that did it knows at this point.