[Jon D]

Has anyone had a screen replaced by Auto Glass and, if so, were you pleased with the work?
My insurer (LV) stipulates Auto Glass for full payout less excess. Of course, I can use BMW, but LV will only pay £100 and with my replacement cost of £1170 I don't really have any other sensible option.

[sylonien]

Autoglass "attempted" to repair a 1cm ish chip on my windscreen, but it didn't work. He did say that it might not work cause its near the edge and the size, but I gave it a shot anyway. Paid a tiny bit and my insurance paid the rest for the attempted repair.

I can opt for a replacement screen for £70 excess?

Bit more info on my original thread http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=711355

[SteveC]

Satisfaction depends more on the skill of the technician delivering the service than on the company who does the admin and receives the cash.

I had a screen replaced by Autoglass. The technician came to my home and performed the replacement in my garage. Now I'm pretty anal, but he was in another league. He protected everything inside and out (even put a clean soft cloth underneath the more robust bonnet protection, did a perfect job of preparation, went over the job minutely at the end checking for defects. It was quite a complicated prcedure and I stood looking over his shoulder the whole time (he didn't mind at all)....he'd been fitting screens for 20 years and it showed.

I gave him a good tip at the end since he did such a nice job looking after my car. He had a nice car of his own so appreciated my concern.

So perfectly satisfied, because they sent me a highly experienced technician who took pride in what he was doing

[IanS100]

The main complaint is usually the use of none BMW glass & the effect it's had on the light sensor for auto wipers etc, although BMW don't make their own glass & it's probably all made by the same company.

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by IanS100

The main complaint is usually the use of none BMW glass & the effect it's had on the light sensor for auto wipers etc, although BMW don't make their own glass & it's probably all made by the same company.

My original screen is Pilkington and I think AG use the same; only difference is that there's no BMW roundel.

[Hotcoupe]

I've used AG twice,once when the screen had to be replaced due to a crack,and then two weeks later,when a stone put a chip in the screen.

I was well fecked off!

Both times the Guys were very professional,courteous and very competent in what they did/do.

The replacement screen didn't have any BMW markings,and the auto wipers worked as before, all in all, a good experience.

[Glassman]

Originally Posted by Jon D

but LV will only pay £100

This is utter rubbish coming from them and puts them on very thin ice for doing so.

They will pay more than £100 and have done so without question. There are a couple of suggestions why they have restricted you to one supplier, but the reality is, you are not.

Choose your own supplier. You can either pay it and subsequently reclaim the cost (less your excess) or your supplier can invoice them directly (or via a Supplier Invoice Control Program which is a sister company to the same company they want you to go to in the first place).

[Kerr]

£1170 for a windscreen. Gulp.

Is that on the new car already?

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by Glassman

This is utter rubbish coming from them and puts them on very thin ice for doing so.

They will pay more than £100 and have done so without question. There are a couple of suggestions why they have restricted you to one supplier, but the reality is, you are not.

Choose your own supplier. You can either pay it and subsequently reclaim the cost (less your excess) or your supplier can invoice them directly (or via a Supplier Invoice Control Program which is a sister company to the same company they want you to go to in the first place).

I had several phone conversations with various people, including supervisors, at LV and followed up in writing, but I was repeatedly referred to the terms of my insurance, which clearly state that, if I want them to pay for it, I have to use Auto Glass - I don't think I have any choice.

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by Kerr

£1170 for a windscreen. Gulp.

Is that on the new car already?

It's the special glass required for the HUD that makes it so expensive.
Going into AG Aberdeen on Tuesday.

[m@rk]

Originally Posted by Glassman

This is utter rubbish coming from them and puts them on very thin ice for doing so.

They will pay more than £100 and have done so without question. There are a couple of suggestions why they have restricted you to one supplier, but the reality is, you are not.

Choose your own supplier. You can either pay it and subsequently reclaim the cost (less your excess) or your supplier can invoice them directly (or via a Supplier Invoice Control Program which is a sister company to the same company they want you to go to in the first place).

I have seen this with a few insurers now. They are clearly specifying this in large letters on the policy.

It clearly states that you MAY use somebody other than their approved supplier BUT they will only pay out a maximum of £100 (less the excess) which makes it all but worthless.

Having said that, the one time I needed a replacement and did go down the BMW route (because I wanted to be sure that the rain sensors etc would still work), I wished I had just gone to Autoglass.

Apart from my insurer (Zurich) taking months to pay out the £770 is cost, my car was never the same again with the auto lights coming on far to early and the rain sensing wipers coming on far too late. Even after many trips to the dealer and a FULL software reload on the car, it was never the same again

Next time I will be going down the insurers preferred route and if they break it then they can pick up the tab to fix it

[NotNormal]

Originally Posted by Glassman

This is utter rubbish coming from them and puts them on very thin ice for doing so.

They will pay more than £100 and have done so without question. There are a couple of suggestions why they have restricted you to one supplier, but the reality is, you are not.

Choose your own supplier. You can either pay it and subsequently reclaim the cost (less your excess) or your supplier can invoice them directly (or via a Supplier Invoice Control Program which is a sister company to the same company they want you to go to in the first place).

100% correct

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by NotNormal

100% correct

That may well be the case, but the fact remains that the wording of the policy states that AG have to be used if I want LV to pay for it.
Other than resorting to legal advice, which would probably do nothing more that to reiterate that clause, I can't see any way out of it - if you have any practical suggestions I'd welcome your thoughts.

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by Jon D

That may well be the case, but the fact remains that the wording of the policy states that AG have to be used if I want LV to pay for it.
Other than resorting to legal advice, which would probably do nothing more that to reiterate that clause, I can't see any way out of it - if you have any practical suggestions I'd welcome your thoughts.

You could always post up the wording Jon,oh hang on

LV Policy - Section on:

Section 5 WINDSCREEN AND WINDOWS
If shown on your schedule, we’ll cover damage to the windscreen or window
glass and any resultant scratching of the bodywork. As long as there’s been no
other loss or damage, a claim under this section won’t affect your NCD.
If your windscreen or window glass is replaced, an excess may apply as shown
on your schedule.
If our approved window glass supplier isn’t used, there’ll be a maximum amount
we’ll pay, full details are shown on your schedule.

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by Hotcoupe

You could always post up the wording Jon,oh hang on

LV Policy - Section on:

Section 5 WINDSCREEN AND WINDOWS
If shown on your schedule, we’ll cover damage to the windscreen or window
glass and any resultant scratching of the bodywork. As long as there’s been no
other loss or damage, a claim under this section won’t affect your NCD.
If your windscreen or window glass is replaced, an excess may apply as shown
on your schedule.
If our approved window glass supplier isn’t used, there’ll be a maximum amount
we’ll pay, full details are shown on your schedule.

Appreciate your input, but it's not me who's disputing this.
My original question concerned the quality of work at AG and, seeing as I haven't had any adverse comments, I'll take it in as scheduled tomorrow and stop worrying about it.
Cheers,
Jon

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by Jon D

Appreciate your input, but it's not me who's disputing this.

That point hadn't passed me by!

My experience of AG was very positive

[NotNormal]

In my experience, both personal (trade policy) and with some of my customers, yes they have it in print, but if you call the insurer and get authority they will usually give you clearance to have a genuine screen

They print the above text on policy's to encourage you to use their recommended supplier as they a ridiculous pricing structure in place.

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by NotNormal

In my experience, both personal (trade policy) and with some of my customers, yes they have it in print, but if you call the insurer and get authority they will usually give you clearance to have a genuine screen...

I can only reiterate what I said earlier in this thread:
"I had several phone conversations with various people, including supervisors, at LV and followed up in writing, but I was repeatedly referred to the terms of my insurance, which clearly state that, if I want them to pay for it, I have to use Auto Glass - I don't think I have any choice."
As I said to another poster offering similar advice - if you have any practical (as opposed to theoretical) suggestions, I'd welcome your thoughts.

[zltm089]

Originally Posted by SteveC

Satisfaction depends more on the skill of the technician delivering the service than on the company who does the admin and receives the cash.

I had a screen replaced by Autoglass. The technician came to my home and performed the replacement in my garage. Now I'm pretty anal, but he was in another league. He protected everything inside and out (even put a clean soft cloth underneath the more robust bonnet protection, did a perfect job of preparation, went over the job minutely at the end checking for defects. It was quite a complicated prcedure and I stood looking over his shoulder the whole time (he didn't mind at all)....he'd been fitting screens for 20 years and it showed.

I gave him a good tip at the end since he did such a nice job looking after my car. He had a nice car of his own so appreciated my concern.

So perfectly satisfied, because they sent me a highly experienced technician who took pride in what he was doing

wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....this is brilliant service!!!...hope you kept his details!!!

[alzieboy]

Different insurance Co I know, I'm with Admiral their recommended windscreen Co. is National Glass, spoke to Admiral prior to having the new windscreen fitted stating I wanted a genuine BMW windscreen, all they said was make sure to tell the glass people that is what you want and to check it before fitting it .They done a very good job replacing the screen, but I must confess I wasn't looking forward to having it done

[m@rk]

Originally Posted by alzieboy

Different insurance Co I know, I'm with Admiral their recommended windscreen Co. is National Glass, spoke to Admiral prior to having the new windscreen fitted stating I wanted a genuine BMW windscreen, all they said was make sure to tell the glass people that is what you want and to check it before fitting it .They done a very good job replacing the screen, but I must confess I wasn't looking forward to having it done

There's a difference though between getting AG to use genuine glass and getting a main dealer to ft it.

To be fair, if AG are going to fit it then as long as the glass system Pilkington on it, I int think I would care if it didn't have the BMW logo on it.

[Jon D]

Had the screen replaced by Auto Glass today and very pleased with the job.
HUD and auto-wipe working perfectly and, what's more, the speed limit display, which was erratic and unreliable is now just fine.
I'd have absolutely no hesitation about using AG again.