Since last fall, we’ve been going through windshields like popcorn in our house. I’ve put two in my F-150 and one in my wife’s Jeep. The Jeep’s w/s is cracked now, so we’re looking at 4 since last fall.

My truck has windshield coverage, but State Farm has been kind of pissy lately. When the one I put in last October was cracked in less than a month, I ate the replacement cost of another.

That brings me to the point of this thread. I believe I made a big mistake in accepting a Brand X w/s from Safelite. I could have had an OE, but I made the mistake of accepting their’s instead of ordering in OE.

State Farm dropped windshield coverage on the Jeep a year or two ago. The cost of OE vs. Brand X is substantial. Once again, her’s was cracked within a short while.

I talked to a neighbor with a similar experience and we’re both convinced that non-OE replacements are thinner glass. The rock chips at the origin of the cracks on both my truck and the Jeep were very small. Should never have produced a crack.

Similar experience out there? Maybe a warning to other Forum members. If you have coverage ALWAYS go ahead and wait a couple days for an OE windshield. If you do not, seriously think about springing for the additional cost of the OE glass; I think it’s less expensive in the long run.

Anybody in the business who can convince me that the “thinner glass” theory is wrong?

quote:

Safelite. I could have had an OE, but I made the mistake of accepting their’s instead of ordering in OE.

State Farm dropped windshield coverage on the Jeep a year or two ago. The cost of OE vs. Brand X is substantial. Once again, her’s was cracked within a short while.

If I remember correctly, I’m not sure I had a factory option. I went with PPG(?) and it seems pretty equivalent to factory in terms of visual quality and durability. But not sure about the e rating.

The OEM windshield on my truck got busted when a right of way contractor dropped a limb on me as I was being waved by.

They sent Safelite out to replace it.

It cracked not two weeks later when hit by a tiny pebble from a dump truck driving over 70mph with his gate banging open. His company denied the claim as I "was following too closely" as he blew by me at excessive speeds. Camera footage be damned.

The OEM would have laughed the pebble off.

Cummins had us use the cheap windshields on our service trucks from Safelite but found we were replacing more windshield with the cheap ones than with OE. Now we use strictly OE.

We live in the WS ding, Capital of the Country. DOT here uses GRAVEL to sand the roads. So ANY trip on especially a 2 lane hwy, from October to June...there is gravel on the roadway. Montanans seem to replace annually, every Summer. Unless theres a crack across line of sight, but we usually wait until gravel season is over.

There is NO doubt in my mind the cheap replacements are vastly inferior. My oem in the Honda Pilot lasted 3-4 yrs with MANY hits and only a few small dings that I had fixed.

When replaced by Safelite I had hundreds of small spots within a few months. Seemed ANYTHING that hit the WS left a little spot, where It busted through the coating.

Back in 2010 I bought a new VW GTI , on its second trip I was hit by a 1" diameter rock that fell off a trailer with a back hoe. The rock damaged my hood, then took out the WS. Had less than 80 miles on the car. I demanded an original VW WS. Happy I did , as it lasted much longer.

There's a reason the glass shops make money...they replace with garbage. Demand OEM.

We replaced annually on the cop cars and the State demanded OEM.

Good post, Constable. Wyoming also uses gravel rather than salt.

There is definitely a difference in OEM and other replacment windshields. I am not sure it has to do with the thickness. I think it has to do with the manufacturing process and quality control.

I had a scratch in my OEM windshield and inquired about having it buffed out. The worker explained that it could be done, but that it would cause distortion in the windshield glass. She went on to say that windshield glass is inherently softer. Trucks hauling material without a covering are a huge problem here.

Not sure how accurate this site is but I believe my cars came with Asahi glass which are generally excellent.

http://www.elsie.com.ua/eng/manufacturers2.html

Replacement was PPG (which seems to be owned by Asahi now); I've been pretty happy with the glass. Like factory, many dings without a mark save one that sounded like a bullet when it hit (surprised the windshield didn't collapse the sound was so loud).

We've had good luck with non-OEM replacements at work, and I've had one OEM windshield replaced with a non-OEM by Safelite, with no problems.

The best thing I've done is keep one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-St...ield+chip+repair+kit

in every personal vehicle. The only reason I needed to have that one OEM windshield shield replaced was because the crack spread before I could pull over and start the chip repair.

Over the years I’ve had a fair number of cracks & stars fixed. WI is fairly lenient, 5-6” or so, MI was the size of a quarter, last I checked.

I guess you have gone beyond the little crack? Our insurance, USAA has always been good about fixing for ‘free’. The last may of been 4 or more years now, may of changed.

We only accept OEM glass. We always take the cars to the dealer as the dealer will only use OEM. Replaced maybe 8 over 30 years in arizona. State Farm has never had an issue with the dealer doing the work. They always suggest their guy and I tell them that the car is a lease and needs OEM glass (may or may not be a lease).

I got Guardian which is way better than the factory Subaru glass that came in mine.

I've had windshields replaced by safelite as well as some of the smaller shops. I found that the major ones like safelite use a cheaper glass that will crack and run with the smallest rock. I've talked with several of the individual owned glass repair guys and they confirmed that there are several different manufacturers and there are different qualities. Most of the time they have a preferred brand based on their experience. What I found is 9/10 their preferred brand is just as good a the oem.

When my wife's car needed a new windshield, I stopped by Safelite. Bad feeling about the place as soon as I walked in. I ended up going to the dealership and got the OEM glass. Insurance paid in full with no deductible.

"Like Kind And Quality" windshields aren't. OEMs are better. I've been an insurance adjuster for almost 30 years. OEM is definitely the way to go.