Cracked windscreen

[Jillygumbo]

I had a call from Autoglass today. They had to refer back to NIG because of the cost of the windscreen and there's a limit of £500 on my policy. They said the windscreen costs £766.28 and I would have to pay an addition £191.68 after taking into account the £75.00 excess I've already paid!!!!

I queried this with the lady on the phone. She said that the majority of windscreens cost in excess of £500 and some insurance companies have limits of £750 or even £1,000. She said it's not exclusive to the Bongo.

I saw no way out but to agree to pay.

Would be interested to hear from others ...

[northerntaff]

I would query this Jilly - We're with NIG and had the windscreen replaced by autoglass - we only had to pay the excess.

Only difference I can see so far is the colour of the tint!

[swerve]

Just for info... I just got a quote from Lifesure, they checked the windscreen cover and with AXA it's unlimited.

[Jillygumbo]

I would query this Jilly - We're with NIG and had the windscreen replaced by autoglass - we only had to pay the excess.

Only difference I can see so far is the colour of the tint!

Mmm! Think I'll do that in the morning! Autoglass are coming round tomorrow afternoon to do the job. I'm going to Cornwall on Thursday morning - timing, eh? Means I can't even pack the Bongo tomorrow until it's done.

[Jillygumbo]

Well, I rang NIG and was told to ring Lifesure. I rang Lifesure and they told me that they've heard of a couple of instances where Autoglass have quoted over and above the £500 limit. They suggested I ring around to see if it would be cheaper to source it from elsewhere, eg one of the other Auto Windscreen companies. I would then have to pay for it, and claim the bill less the £75 excess back from NIG/Lifesure. I see from this site that I could possibly buy one from AVA, etc. Money is tight at the moment, hence my querying this proposed cost.

Mmmm, I thought. If I did this, would I get charged a cancellation fee from Autoglass? - and I had already paid the £75 excess to them and would have to get it back.

I rang Autoglass in Swindon. I have established that if you order a bronze tint windscreen, this costs a lot more than a green tint windscreen. I told him I cannot tell what mine is, it looks clear to me, even after a paper behind the glass test - i still can't tell! He said there are no clear glass windscreens, they are all either bronze or green. He confirmed that a green tint windscreen would come in under the £500 limit. At last I have an answer as to why some people don't have to pay extra!

I told him that I don't know what tint the windscreen is on mine - I just guessed the most expensive one without knowing the difference - pity he didn't tell me that when I first phoned.

He said they don't have any green tint windscreens in their stock at the moment and it would have to be ordered from Mazda. I have the "only" bronze tint windscreen available booked to me! If I did want to order a green tint windscreen,he would need the model code and other information from my Bongo and they would order from that - it still might turn up as bronze. I wonder whether I've ordered the right one anyway.

Does it make a difference - other than tint? Will I find that the bronze one can't be fitted to my Bongo anyway because I ordered the wrong one? I wonder.

We decided to leave the appointment for this afternoon and I will ask the guy what tint my windows are. He said I will see the difference immediately - yeah right!

I'll keep you all posted ...

[bigdaddycain]

I'd love to know where these windscreen companies are actually getting these extortionate prices for windscreens from??? I treated my bongo to a brand new top tint screen last year, the guy i bought it from (i paid £100 for it),said he'd ordered in 3 brand new screens from japan, (all with top tinting) for less than £300. Where are these £700+ figures for ONE screen actually coming from? Just because bongo's are a so-called "grey import" doesn't mean us as owners are prepared to lie on our backs like puppies and accept these ridiculous prices...Just because the windscreen outfits SAY that's how much they cost? I have my doubts on the validity of these quotes, that's the kind of quote i'd expect to hear from a mazda main dealer,and then fitted!

[Jillygumbo]

Well, Dave from Autoglass has been and gone. While he fitted my super duper bronze tint windscreen, with the top tint too by the way, I told him the trouble I had been having with insurance companies and Autoglass over the last couple of days, and my conversations with you lot in between.

He said he doesn't know about the cost of the windscreens but £766.79 for a windscreen sounds very expensive to him! Anyway, at the end of the fitting he said I had a first class windscreen with top tint [maybe that was part of the extra cost] and then even though he had been told to charge me £191.79 extra, he dropped the cost of the seal trim and only charged me £80.89! Said I made him feel guilty!

I didn't mean to, honest, I was just telling him what happened! Windscreen bronze tint, side cab windows green tint! Couldn't tell until he'd fitted the windscreen!!!

Now I need a new wiper blade set! Bongobits here I come tomorrow!

[bigdaddycain]

Hi Jilly, what colour bongo do you have? (glad your sorted with the screen, even if it is the wrong tint )

[Jillygumbo]

Hi Jilly, what colour bongo do you have? (glad your sorted with the screen, even if it is the wrong tint )

I've got a green tintop, why?

[bigdaddycain]

Hi Jilly, what colour bongo do you have? (glad your sorted with the screen, even if it is the wrong tint )

I've got a green tintop, why?

I'm trying to ascertain if there is a correlation between the body colour, and the tint of the glass...Most silvers for example seem to have a bronze tint, as do plenty of the burgundy variety... Mine's green over silver, with a green tint also.

[Holly]

Are all bongo windscreens tinted?

[Jillygumbo]

Hi Jilly, what colour bongo do you have? (glad your sorted with the screen, even if it is the wrong tint )

I've got a green tintop, why?

I did wonder if this was why you asked. D'uh! I should have thought of that! New windscreen looks really cool. Nicer than a green tint!

[Jillygumbo]

Are all bongo windscreens tinted?

Apparently so, either "green" or "bronze". The side cab windows are the same colour - well mine aren't now