So we went to Lincoln to do some refurbishment type work on our house. Lovely drive up, but I had to have the top up for most of it.
On our street, we have to park on the kerb, and I was worried about scraping bottom, but I didn't have to worry about that - I got something else for my troubles.
I think because the kerb is fairly high, the poor car was twisting like mad when climbing up or down from it. I ended up with a crack in my windshield, starting from the bottom left, working its way up to the mirror. Yikes.
I hate things like this. It just makes me worry about extra money spent on something I hadn't planned for, and I don't really like that!
I contacted Autoglass and spoke with a very pushy bloke, who quoted me £425 pounds - but if I booked now, I could have it done in two working days for £299!
I told him I would look elsewhere - he didn't like that very much, and told me that with my insurance, I could have it done for just the cost of the excess of £75. I'm not keen on having my insurance go up, so I didn't want to do that. Pushy as he was, I refused the fix.
We went to the local B&Q, as there was a chap there who repaired glass chips. I knew he wouldn't be able to repair it, but he might be able to recommend. He gave me a card for another guy who used to work for Autoglass but had started his own company. His price? A princely sum of £120, done the next morning.
Paid him cash.
He did a great job installing it, it looks great, and as an added bonus, I now have a windscreen that has no wiper marks scored into the glass - clear view all the way!
I didn't get any pictures of the crack or the install - my camera was miles away, but I'm happy with the results.
If you need a windscreen, I think it's worth contacting the 'small guy', the local chap who depends on your business - stay away from the big companies like Autoglass! I got a very good deal, and I'm quite pleased.
As a side note, be sure to tell the guy exactly what type of windscreen you need - apparently there are several different versions. I got one that has a boss installed for a glass-mounted mirror, but my mirror is mounted on the frame (not noticable, but worth mentioning!).
I'll post a pic when I get round to it....
