Windscreen replacement cost and what to look for - any experience pls share

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  [Deactivated] on 13/01/2013 - 13:52

  +1

  Different costs for different cars depending on the windscreen shape but I've just been quoted $290 by NRMA (NSW) for my 12 year old Jackaroo with a tinted screen, so your quotes seem a little high. It's unlikely that you'll need it but reputable retailers will give you a "lifetime guarantee" which I doubt your tax avoiding local will do.

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  [Deactivated] on 13/01/2013 - 14:54

  +1

  I'd go with the guy in your suburb that's a pretty good price. You can try calling a few wreckers and see how much they charge just for the piece of glass and then figure out what the guy in your suburb is charging for labour. I think you will find it's a good price.

  • 

    berger on 13/01/2013 - 15:37

    +1

    I would use the local guy, and you won't risk having your insurance go up the following year. I'm not sure I would go to the trouble of finding glass at a wreckers, just go new.

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  voteoften on 13/01/2013 - 19:31

  +1

  Before you get too excited, make sure your insurer does NOT cover it. Mine did and I think a lot do.

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  durendal on 31/01/2013 - 21:37

  In 2008 I had to replace windscreen on my Hyundai Elantra 2004 model. I had made few phone calls and one of them was O'Brien. Their price was high, very high. So, I refused to get their service.

  But, funny enough, couple days later they called me back and dropped the price undercutting most of the competition. At that time I sourced legitimate service from western suburbs of Sydney. They come and replace your windscreen, you dont even have to be present. Very professional service and great price of $220 for the Hyundai's windscreen with green stripe at the top.

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  mysteryshopper on 24/01/2014 - 20:30

  My windscreen also had a crack in it.
  I didn't repair it right away as I thought it would just remain a small chip. (1-2mm circle)
  It was fine for many months until one hot day l parked at the beach.
  I came back later find a 300mm running crack from the heat!
  (Lesson learned - fix it while its still a chip = cheaper that replacing a whole windscreen)

  I now had to replace the whole windscreen as it was now obviously unroadworthy.

  I phoned around getting prices. O'briens was double to cost of most places in Melbourne.

  Then I got recommended, Capital Auto Glass in Dandenong. www.capitalautoglass.com.au

  Marty mentioned he would beat any price I was quoted.

  So I went ahead with his service.

  I booked it in the following week.
  I called up on the day (as you do) to be sure it was still going ahead as planned.
  Only to find Marty quite rude and saying, YES it is still going ahead. I mentioned
  what time approx would they get there? And he again quite rudely mentioned,
  They will get there when they get there! (my first impressions - not good customer service)

  Capital Autoglass couldn't even give me an approx time. Only a window of a 3-6 hour period.
  (Making it very hard to plan your day with a 3-6 hour approx start time)

  Anyways they did show up about an hour after my booked in time.

  They guy started working on my car right away.
  I had a feeling that my "next kilometer car service sticker" could go missing.
  So I took a photo of it incase they didn't put it back. So I'd have a clue of when to
  service my car next.

  After a while my windscreen was fitted. I was now glad that the large crack was gone.

  I paid the guy and he left. Later on when I jumped in my car to drive off.

  I noticed the all dodgy work!!

  -Missing "service car sticker".
  -Etag placed in a different awkward position.
  -Rear view mirror glued on with white glue!! It stands out against the black interior!
  And looks really dodgy from the outside where everything is black and you can see the
  now white glue marks. Original glue was black. (what were they thinking?)
  -Black silicon glue that had dripped on my interior carpet.
  -Black silicon glue that was left/smeared on my bonnet and surrounding windscreen area.
  -Large Gaps between the windscreen and plastic panel that sits ontop of the
  windscreen from being forced out.
  -And worse of all. My brand new windscreen had deep scratches on it!!!

  I send Marty photos of it straight away. He didn't reply.
  The next day when there was more sunlight. I send him more photos. He didn't reply.
  I took it to a Road Worthy Mechanic to get a second opinion and he said,
  the windscreen isn't roadworthy as it will eventually crack!
  The Road Worthy mechanic said to get a replacement.

  I rang Marty and asked him what to do. He said, it wasn't his fault
  and tried to blame the glass wholesaler. I said, I would like to get a new one installed
  without scratches. Marty then offered a part refund instead. I said, ok how much?
  He said $20. (Are you joking?) We negotiated to $60. (I wanted at least $100)
  He wanted to only give me $20. ($60 was way less than half the price of the windscreen.)

  I sent him my bank account details. Checked my bank account a few days later to find
  no refund appearing. I sent it to him again 3 more times. In the end, No reply or refund ever was received.

  So there you go…..

  Sometimes you can get the best price… but you won't get the best service!!!

  Infact shocking service and I'm back to square one with a brand new Unroadworthy windscreen.

  • 

    Geewhizz on 26/01/2014 - 07:09

    Why would you even consider negotiating a partial refund for an unroadworthy windscreen that is poorly fitted and likely to crack?

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  [Deactivated] on 28/01/2014 - 22:04

  http://www.truelocal.com.au/business/allan-jones-windscreens…

  can try allan jones (the battlers mate)based in boronia (vic)… quoted 180$ for sedan toyota been happy 6 months now..

  whereas others O'brien quoted over 500$ and RACV around 300$

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  Azn310 on 31/01/2014 - 10:06

  You have another option, DIY! Videos on youtube. You will need special tools and glues. Pprobably worth the experience if you are a car lover. Proceed with care tho.

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  nige0090 on 07/02/2014 - 09:50

  I've had 2 windscreen replacements by O'Brien with no problems. One free replacement per year is included in my insurance. Otherwise, it would have cost about $1000 each time according to O'Briens. Your experience may vary.
  I would worry about the quality of cheaply sourced replacements and the quality of installation (adhesives etc).

  Ensure any stickers (park passes etc) are transferred from the old to the new.

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  maybeamacy on 08/02/2014 - 00:37

  Apparently some cars have sound insulation or special acoustic properties to reduce wind noise in the factory windscreen? I read someone cracked their screen and brought it up with their insurer who refused to justify $1.6k for a factory replacement but speaking to a 2nd person they understood and granted them the replacement.

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  BewareOfThe Dog on 24/02/2014 - 13:46

  I Contacted a few large places for my Falcon, such as xxxxxx and they were @$4-500 plus.
  I contacted someone I know who dismantles/wrecks cars, and they sold me one for @ $150 (or so). Then they put me in touch with someone who does windscreens professionally (for a large company), and he did if for @ $40-50 cash.

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  PandaChan on 09/06/2016 - 10:13

  Thanks for this post, it helped me last night when I cracked my Corolla's front windscreen. Got a few quotes and the results are:

  Car Make: Toyota
  Car Model: Corolla
  Body Type: Hatchback
  Car Year: Oct 2007
  Damage Type: Front Windscreen - replacement
  Location: Brisbane

  Economy windscreen
  32753838
  $240

  RACQ
  131905
  $330
  $290

  Ezy Fix Windscreen
  www.EzyFixWindscreens.com.au
  $250

  Express autoglass
  0451180046
  $260 - ($245 when asked for a discount)
  Booked in for next day; $25 cancellation fees

  Quality windscreens
  qualitywindscreens.com.au
  $195
  Got back to me same night but just 30 minutes after I booked in a place already

  Novus
  32664276
  $290