The following is posted as a warning / awareness raising excerise really... I picked up a stonechip on my windscreen a couple of days ago, that in a matter of minutes morphed into a 10cm long crack, which has since grown to nearer 15cm. No problem, I have windscreen cover included in the policy. £75 excess mind you...
The car is insured with LV, and LVs nominated windscreen repairer is Autoglass. Other repairers can be used, but the maximum claim is then limited to £100(!!) which won't get you much in the way of replacement windscreen I don't expect!!
All seems straight forward, except my car has a camera behind the windscreen, facing forwards from the rear view mirror area. It's definitely used for 'speed limit assist' which reads road signs and displays the speed limit on the sat nav screen and, annoyingly, briefly in the main instrument display. I assume it's also used for the 'Intelligent Light System' that controls the adaptive headlights and auto main beam.
Anyway, Autoglass were quick to tell me that the camera would need re calibrating after the screen had been replaced, and that they couldn't do that; instead it should be booked into the dealer. And by the way, the cost of that wouldn't be covered by LV!
Now, a repair that disabled (or at best made less effective) a standard feature of the car didn't seem terribly satisfactory, and had my car had been fitted with more advanced driver aids like adaptive cruise or collision prevention systems also had the potential to disable these safety features altogether. So I thought I'd call LV to see if that's what was intended. A call to the general customer service number confirmed that Autoglass were correct. I could make a claim for accidental damage and they'd fix it, but that wouldn't be a glass claim but a standard claim under comprehensive cover. It was only when I pressed the point and was escalated to a manger that they actually looked into the issue in any detail... Only to come back confirming that they did have specific guidance on this after all and they would in fact cover the cost. Simply forward a quote from MB to windscreens@lv.com and they'd comfirm cover and reimburse on production of a recipt. So all good in the end, though I think MB might be taking the p*** slightly at £99.33 plus VAT
So, all the above to say if Autglass say something isn't covered, and your insurers says the same initially, keep pushing!!
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I've also just noticed that Autoglasses booking conformation email has the following as the first thing in its footer!!
"By proceeding with your appointment, you agree that you have read and fully understood our Terms of Business.
If your vehicle has an ADAS camera that includes Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) or Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) or other functionality where the vehicle takes corrective action while you are driving and we have not discussed that with you at the time of our booking, please contact us so that we can check whether we think your camera is of a type that may need recalibration following a windscreen replacement. You can also check your vehicle’s owner manual for information on whether recalibration is required for your vehicle ADAS system"
Fortunately LV quickly emailed confirmation of cover:
"Thanks for sending over the estimate, I can advise that this will be fine to proceed with (Total £93.33 + VAT), please settle the bill with Mercedes and send us over a copy of the invoice once work has been completed and we will reimburse you for this.
I can confirm that the claim will all be dealt with as one windscreen claim, your policy has also been noted up to advise that authorisation has been given to proceed."
So in the end excellent service from LV, but it wasn't forthcoming immediately!!
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Excellent informative post Sir.
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A better bet it so get the windscreen fitted by a dealer, and reclaim the cost from your insurance company.
many aftermarket windscreen fitters are no more than animals.
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I did briefly consider that, but LV would only pay £100 in the event anyone other than Autoglass was used and I, perhaps incorrectly, assumed a dealer would charge more than £175 (£100 plus my £75 excess) to replace. Though I confess I didn't ask them for a quote. I'd also assumed MB would just sub out to Autoglass or equivalent anyway... Or do MB dealer technicians install the windscreens?
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There was a report in "Car Mechanics" about 6 months ago, of a Volvo dealer charging £400 (I think) to recalibrate the camera.
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Don't know about MB but my approved-used BMW has a minor windscreen issue, which the dealer is having fixed by a local glass specialist. No need to remove the glass or recalibrate anything, I hope.
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>> I did briefly consider that, but LV would only pay £100 in the event anyone other than Autoglass was used and I, perhaps incorrectly, assumed a dealer would charge more than £175 (£100 plus my £75 excess) to replace. Though I confess I didn't ask them for a quote. I'd also assumed MB would just sub out to Autoglass or equivalent anyway... Or do MB dealer technicians install the windscreens?
I would have argued with LV.
It would be more than £100.00, but the job would be done properly, I have seen MANY issues after work done by them, in many cases requiring another replacement screen to fix...
water leaks, cut cables, rusting of the mounting flange where the glass is bonded to, etc..
Dealer will often do in house, or subcontract to a local glass specialist that they trust.
Last edited by: swiss tony on Tue 23 Jun 15 at 06:54
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>> A better bet it so get the windscreen fitted by a dealer, and reclaim the
>> cost from your insurance company.
>> many aftermarket windscreen fitters are no more than animals.
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As opposed to the animals in the billing departments of main dealers ?
My wife's first lease car was in for its end of lease checks, new windscreen required apparently because it had a few chips. I saw it as fair wear and tear, it was a three year old car with 45,000 kms and had just been MOT'd with no advisories. I took photos sent them to my insurance company to let them know what the manufacturer was up to. I then told the garage to speak to my insurer and let me know when the work was completed and I'd pay my excess. I never heard from them again.
They wanted 1,175€ for a new windscreen. No cameras, two sensors for lighting and rain.
I had read some insurers were now removing windscreen cover due to the complex systems behind the windscreen now costing considerably more to recallibrate. Check your policy.
Last edited by: gmac on Tue 23 Jun 15 at 07:57
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I think I'd probably stomach the cost of an OEM windscreen and not use Autoglass, to be honest.
When I enquired with insurance companies about how to declare a claim for windscreen repair / replacement, I was told it couldn't be listed separately. So depending on your insurance company you're looking at a 30-40% hike in premium for 5 years.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Tue 23 Jun 15 at 10:22
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Well all the screens are made by the same few manufacturers aren't they? Albeit possibly to differing quality standards... And I don't remember windscreen claims having a noticeable impact on any renewal premium in the past, so given a (current) premium of sub £300 I'm not that bothered by the potential cost impact.
However it did then start me pondering on the relative merits of using the likes of Autoglass, who replace screens day in and day out, versus a dealer who I'd be surprised if they did as many as one a week. Who's likely to make a mistake ;)
Anyway, in the interest of completeness I've just asked for MB Chichester for a cost to replace the screen so will come back to you all when I have an answer. The fact they couldn't tell me straight away is an indication of the frequency with which they carry out the job though, is my interpretation!!
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And MB Chichester's (actually a Ridgeway call centre I think) response is:
"We use a company called National Windscreens for replacement – feel free to give them a call to discuss.
Alternatively, it would be our parts department of who could source the price of a windscreen for your particular vehicle."
Doesn't seem to be a huge appetite for carrying out the job, which wouldn't fill me with confidence if I had booked it in for the whole job ;)
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Sounds to me as I expected, the dealer is set up for fast turnaround routine servicing and the occasional mechanical or electrical repair. Windscreen replacement is seen as a specialist job like bodywork and subbed out. The downstream complications of new systems being fitted don't seem to have been considered.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 23 Jun 15 at 13:11
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In the good old days when Mercedes Guildford was owned by Tony Purslow they fitted a screen in my then E-class W211. They had it overnight to let the glue bond fully, and did an excellent job.
Conversely a Transporter I bought a few years ago had an after-market windscreen fitted and it leaked where the aerial cable entered at the top of the screen. I replaced it with a VW screen, fitted by Auto-screens (or some-such) and the leak was cured.
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So just to close this out, Autoglass replaced the screen this morning. Took around an hour and a half from start to finish, with an instruction not to drive the car for another two hours.
Cheerful fitter talked me through the job before hand, tested the wipers and lights (not sure why...) and showed me the screen he planned fitting to make sure I was happy with it. It looked OK to me ;)
On completion he inspected the screen with me - I couldn't see any difference in fitting to the original, and he said he hadn't disconnected the camera from the loom so in all probability the it probably didn't need re calibrating. But that I should check that everything worked OK. Since LV will pick up the tab anyway I will leave the booking with MB, but it does smell of a CYA / money making excercise...
Anyway, on the plus side the new screen means no residual sticky marks from the now obsolete and therefore removed tax disc holder :)
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Mercedes Benz E-Class W212 - Windscreen replacement - PeterS
