Windscreen replacement – Porsche Centre more than twice the price 'like-for-like'!

[Jonny McCann]

So, my gardener’s apprentice was weed whacking / strimming my pebbled drive, and a heavy stone flew into a sweet spot on my windscreen, under the wiper and above the hood / boot – and caused a 36-inch curved crack in my windscreen!

The windscreen is heated, and the car has augmented reality head-up display.

My insurer’s preferred windscreen replacement supplier is Autoglass, which I believe is related to Safelite in the US. Autoglass has quoted around £1,504 ($2,010) including tax for the complete replacement, including full calibration. My local Porsche Centre has quoted £1,983 for the windscreen plus £810 for the calibration, which including tax totals £3,352 ($4,480).

I understand that Porsche would be fitting a genuine (Saint-Gobain?) windscreen, and that Autoglass (so it claims) would be fitting an OEM-standard, Porsche-approved windscreen. I also get that Autoglass benefits from economies of scale – but how could it be that Autoglass is less than half the price when it claims to offer a decent quality like-for-like part and at least the same level of skill as the Porsche Centre?

Porsche has confirmed that using Autoglass will NOT affect my car’s warranty. My insurance excess / co-pay is £600 ($800), and my gardener has liability insurance.

Is there any logical reason for not using Autoglass? Have any other contributors to this forum experienced anything similar?

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[ChrisFromUK]

I used Autoglass to change the windscreen on my previous car, a Mazda CX5. The black dot pattern around the rear view mirror wasn't the same as the original and didn't look quite right. Other than that it was glass and kept the wind and rain out. They also insisted on changing the wipers and the autoglass supplied ones were noticeably chunkier and didn't look too good but they did work OK.

 

[2P168S]

These things may be different in the UK vs US, but when I went through this with my Taycan, Safelite did not have the tools to calibrate the driver assist modules. They said sometimes they need recalibrating sometimes they don't and only the Porsche dealer can do it. So I just took my car to the dealer to avoid any potential headaches.

 

[macanchan]

Bummer! I'd give my gardener a break if it was an accident and you intend to keep them working on your property.

 

[JohnnyRoaster]

If it's a lease I would go with the OEM windshield. I had a Q7 and got the windshield replaced by Safelite. They said it was aftermarket but just like Audi's factory glass. The camera never worked even after a couple recalibrations from Safelite. When I traded the car in, the dealership wanted 2700 for a new windshield because it was out of spec. You may be able to find an independent glass shop that will use factory glass for less than what the dealership wants.

 

[Fun TC Driving]

Very useful information about lease return potential consequences.

 

[PrudentOcean]

But even if the independent shop can get a hold of the OEM glass, they won’t have the tools to do the calibration.

I have two friends who had windshields replaced, one on an SUV by a third party, and the other on a Taycan by Porsche. Both vehicles required calibration for the cameras/sensors. The guy with the SUV had to go back to the dealer for the calibration and in the end probably didn’t save any money by going with a third party glass replacement/repair company.

 

[PrudentOcean]

Very useful information about lease return potential consequences.

Fortunately for my friend with the Taycan, the lease includes $5000 of windshield repair/replacement as part of the Porsche Protection Plan. If you have that then there is no reason not to go with the OEM glass.

 

[jwatte]

I'd give my gardener a break if it was an accident and you intend to keep them working on your property.

Sure, but the gardeners liability insurance should still pay for the entire replacement -- if the original poster files on their insurance, and just has the gardener cover the co-pay, then this could count against the OP when insurance renewal time comes around.

 

[Jonny McCann]

The car is owned by my employer, and I may take-up the option of purchasing it in the future once the investment has been amortized.
I don’t wish to cause any hassle, distress or loss for the gardener, as it was certainly not intentional. He does however have liability insurance.

 

[BigV]

So, my gardener’s apprentice was weed whacking / strimming my pebbled drive, and a heavy stone flew into a sweet spot on my windscreen, under the wiper and above the hood / boot – and caused a 36-inch curved crack in my windscreen!

The windscreen is heated, and the car has augmented reality head-up display.

My insurer’s preferred windscreen replacement supplier is Autoglass, which I believe is related to Safelite in the US. Autoglass has quoted around £1,504 ($2,010) including tax for the complete replacement, including full calibration. My local Porsche Centre has quoted £1,983 for the windscreen plus £810 for the calibration, which including tax totals £3,352 ($4,480).

I understand that Porsche would be fitting a genuine (Saint-Gobain?) windscreen, and that Autoglass (so it claims) would be fitting an OEM-standard, Porsche-approved windscreen. I also get that Autoglass benefits from economies of scale – but how could it be that Autoglass is less than half the price when it claims to offer a decent quality like-for-like part and at least the same level of skill as the Porsche Centre?

Porsche has confirmed that using Autoglass will NOT affect my car’s warranty. My insurance excess / co-pay is £600 ($800), and my gardener has liability insurance.

Is there any logical reason for not using Autoglass? Have any other contributors to this forum experienced anything similar?

I used Safelight to replace the windshield in my 911, and had to sign a waiver to not hold them responsible for malfunctioning sensors, and recommended I have the dealer recalibrate it. Safelight recalibrated my older Macan, but refused to even look at my 911. BTW, Safelight replaced the windshield with a third party manufactured glass, the OEM replacement would have been slightly less than the Porsche dealership price.

 

[Pingechoreply]

I think I dodged a bulllet when I caught a stone on my Macan three months after delivery. My insurer "preferred" Safelite, but in the US, we have the option to have it repaired at the shop of the insured's choosing. I wanted the OEM glass, and felt that Porsche would recalibrate more accurately, so insisted on that. Glad I did...on as nice a car as this is, I really didn't want to start replacing parts with random manufatutrer's stuff. One of the reasons I insure with my current company is that they are (were?, haven't checked recently) one of the last insurers to use OEM parts in collisions repairs, rather than generic replacements. Given the small numbers of Porsches on the roads, though, it's not clear how much ersatz stuff is out there anyhow.

I think the right answer is to replace with OEM part on an essentially new vehicle, especially where on lease return or trade in anything less will ding the value. Feel bad for the gardener, but it's not up to you to eat potentially large amounts of money for others carelessness.

 

[skshimer]

I used Safelite to replace the glass in my Tesla Model S. The glass was a blue-purple color and didn't match any of the other glass. It took me about 3 months of fighting with them before Safelite and Progressive insurance finally agreed to replace the windshield with OEM glass with not extra cost to me.

 

[Chilipalmer]

I had this on my previous car, an X5. First time it happened I went the Autoglass route but had problems right from the off with the HUD not working properly. Autoglass said they couldn’t fix the problem and the BMW dealer blamed the fitment of a non OEM item. Fortunately I then got another crack that required a replacement screen and although it was twice as much from BMW as Autoglass my insurer Admiral agreed it, albeit reluctantly.

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