problems with autoglass

[JohnW]

Any advice please. I had my windscreen replaced 4 weeks ago by autoglass. My insurer LV only pays 100 towards cost unless autoglass is used.

First problem the contact centre totally messed the booking up as it was not confirmed by email as promised I phoned the local depot .
the woman there corrected the booking and a date was set.
Car delivered and window replaced( the crack was 9 inches across ). i went to work and they were supposed to call and confirm job completed. this did not happen. I collected the car and all seemed ok.

The next day i noticed that the cover/scuttle at the bottom of the new scree did not fit well. I contacted the depot and was informed some one would call me that day. this was after my insistence as the depot manager made a comment that these trims often don't fit. I pointed out the car is 14 months old .
I received a call and a fitter was arranged 10 days later to inspect and repair or report back to contact centre. Who would then contact me.
I asked for a refund of phone costs for the failed booking - avoided the issue.
the named fitter was booked for 9 - 12. another fitter was contacting me at 8.00 . He arrived around 8.15 at work. he claimed the trim was ok and would sit correctly with the sun on it. i replied that was not acceptable he then messed around removing and refixing the trim but did say maybe refitting the screen may help. I agreed that if the screen was not fitted correctly then this should be done. he was to report back I would wait for acall that day. he claimed he was informing the depot manager who was not handling the call.
i did state that if they could not provide a satisfactory solution i would ask BMW for their opinion.

I contacted autoglass who now expected me to get a written inspection from BMW.
I have informed LV that autoglass is their contractor not mine and its not my job to ret a report of autoglass shoddy work.

verbally the local dealer has looked at the job and stated its neither the screen nor the trim is fitted correctly. In fact the screnn is not square in the frame. the trim is not fiited as expected. the chap i spoke to commented that I should ask for my money back .

I have told lv i want another screen fitted by bmw as autoglass have failed to rectify the job. I am not being heard.

what are my rights?

apologies for the long message but wanted to get salient facts across.

john

[swanbourne]

I don't know whether your car has auto wipers and lights but you should check those if it has, non-original replacements are known for the windscreen sensor not working correctly.

Eddie

[pluseditor]

I don't know whether your car has auto wipers and lights but you should check those if it has, non-original replacements are known for the windscreen sensor not working correctly.

Eddie

Agreed. I had a chipped BMW screen replaced by Autoglass but found that the auto-wipers never worked properly afterwards. I complained and to their credit, they replaced it with a 'proper' version and all was well.
Stick to your guns and refuse to accept their work until it has been done to your complete satisfaction.

[Yeti]

I asked for an original Audi screen to be put in mine and auto glass didn't have an issue with this. The fitter did say in older cars they try to fit an aftermarket glass as obviously the branded manufacturer ones cost more to buy in. Anyhow, I will always demand an original glass if possible.

[stooo]

Given that a windscreen is a structural element in a car these days, I'd say you have a right for it to be fitted square in the aperture.

[bloater]

Honda also have problems with the cover and rather than fitting body coloured ones the glass companies tend to fit after market black ones.

Audi have a reinforced section for the rear view mirror if the new screen doesn't have this than the rear view mirror falls off.

I used to book a lot of vehicles in for glass work, in a previous job.

[Beanie]

I would suspect that the glass fitted is not OEM, and was made in, say, China. It may not be of the same quality as the original and may have fit issues, or it may just be that you got a poor fitter.
In any event, is your insurance contract not with LV? They should repair your vehicle to your satisfaction. They need to be reminded of that and I would expect them to ensure their sub contractor (Auto glass) puts it right.
If you persevere with AG, I would expect the refund of your excess as a minimum.
Good luck.

[mart broad]

Is your car still covered by Manufacturers Warranty? if i suspect it is I would book an inspection with an approved dealership for a report and place this squarely in the hands of your insurers as Autoglass are their approved sub contractors. the consequences of a improperly fitted windscreen could even be fatal.

[catch21]

What's wrong is that both Autoglass and LV seem incapable of accepting that things go wrong from time-to-time. They spend all their energies trying to blame someone else and/or claim there's nothing wrong (when there blatantly is).

World would be an easier place to live in if people were more ready to accept the obvious, and the inevitable fact that things do go wrong occasionally.

[kite444]

I have had 2 screens fitted by Autoglass in my Audi.
I have always insisted on having a genuine screen fitted, which they have done.
My reasons for this is that Audi have a 12 year corrosion warranty and a pattern screen would invalidate said warranty.