I do windshield repair as a side business, so I want to help clear some things up.
Rock chips happen. Any make, any model.
Correct.
its gotta be weak...at least mine is. over 25 yrs of driving & the only 3 rock chips & crack i ever got are on my x that ive had for 3yrs. funny too that the smallest chip is what cracked. it was right in the center about 3" from the bottom...went up a few inches, hooked a left and went straight thru both tags.
And for 25 years, it's likely pure luck. How many times have you had a flat tire that you got while driving somewhere? I've had flat tires, but never had to change it while I was on my way somewhere. I've been driving since 2000. Weak? Could be. Depends on who made the glass. PPG and Pilkington are two names that come to mind that have been known to be of the best quality standards in the glass industry. My gut tells me you will never see one in any car you own because they cost a lot more than the chinese imported stuff that A LOT of companies use. Every penny counts these days.
Size of damage may or may not be relevant. Every time a windshield cracks/chips, etc, it is never the same. You should see some of the images of them under a high powered microscope. It's beautiful! (ok got a little too giddy there) but the
usual culprit of a windshield cracking after it's been damaged is none other than moisture freezing and expanding. Another factor is the pressure created inside your cab that pushes against the window. Got any idea how much force is created on a scorching day and you slam your door closed without the window open? :ahhhhh: A small chip with a hairline crack could go the entire length of your windshield faster than you can blink.
Another factor is also how the vehicle is designed aerodynamically. Have you ever noticed some cars windshields are angled much more steep towards the driver, (F-Body GM's) than say a jeep wrangler? The jeeps windshield is like a wall where the more angled windshields have less resistance and usually just aid in letting debris roll right over it.
Gotta love living in Florida!
By FL Law, if you have full coverage, they do full windshield replacements with NO DEDUCTIBLE charge!! And State Farm takes it a step further and replaces ANY glass that way - I had a sunroof replaced 100% free.
The BAD thing is that the damned glass shops set up in side car washes and inspect cars as you go thru. Then they bug you saying they can replace it 100% free to you (but hit your insurance for the $$) Reeks of ambulance chasers if ya ask me!!
Great state law!!!! :biggrin:
But not really. Imagine you provided a service to people but instead of you setting the price, the insurance company tells you that they're only paying X amount of dollars. The average windshield repair I do is $50-$75. Average replacement is $200-$300. So in FL I would be getting paid at a fraction of what the real retail cost is. Would you be performing your best work and using the best supplies to get the job done if you ran a business? So in reality, you are getting sub-par product and services by this law that was made to make you feel good. In my opinion, it actually makes you more at risk for the windshield to not be installed correctly and lead to bigger problems, like flying out of the car in the event of an accident. Yes, it has happened.
People that run successful windshield repair and replacement businesses would never go to Florida because we couldn't charge what WE want. The gypsies and national companies (like Safelite) rely more on volume and could care less about quality. They might even fudge the installation to milk more money out of the insurance company, blaming you for something. But that good ol' state law says they gotta pay if you have full coverage right?
I have been lucky in the damage department. I did replace it because the glass was getting old. After we set the original next to the new one the original had changed color. The tint strip on the top of the glass was turning brown. I did have the noise problem before and that was fixed under warranty
Sounds like U/V radiation killing it like it does everything else. Not all glass companies are going to use the same color/hue to that tint strip though. Some don't even have a tint strip at all.
