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Had my windshield replaced...

SonicBloom

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Bay Area, CA
Car(s)
2017 GTI S
I dealt with this back in December. Saint Gobain no longer sells aftermarket glass in the US, possibly NA. Saint Gobain oem and aftermarket units are made at different facilities to different quality standards. I had every warehouse in the country searched looking for one. Unfortunately our search was fruitless. Your only option is to buy 2 or 3 OEM units from Europe and hope one of them is still Saint Gobain. Hopefully it doesn't get broken in transit either.

We ordered/pulled 15 OEM windshields and none were Saint Gobain. The replacement OEM glass is even crappier than the factory glass. I think we're on windshield 4. They keep rattling/squeaking.

OEM US replacement side glass is no longer Saint Gobain as well. My corner window was replaced along with the windshield and it's some crap off-brand with a VW logo slapped on.

I guess we are screwed in the US then. I have a couple tiny chips and was hoping to replace the windshield in the near future.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Safelite has already repaired three chips on my wife’s gli. The car was purchased 7 months ago.
I've been tempted to buy the repair kit for windshields and do it myself. Unfortunately I know myself. The chips that you need to drill to repair take a delicate touch to not go through to the inner layer of glass. That's the part that scares me.
 

Keehs360

Autocross Champion
Location
Denver
Car(s)
Mk7.5
I've been tempted to buy the repair kit for windshields and do it myself. Unfortunately I know myself. The chips that you need to drill to repair take a delicate touch to not go through to the inner layer of glass. That's the part that scares me.
I’ve never attempted it. But I’ve seen how auto glass is made. A small mistake will shatter the whole thing easily.
 

lordnikon228

Go Kart Champion
Location
CA
Car(s)
Golf GTI Rabbit
So the Vitro glass windshield is only on NAR cars? How about the cars in Europe
 

joeblonewjersey

Ready to race!
Location
Metuchen, NJ
What a nightmare. Called 3 dealers, none called me back, FINALLY got one to quote $950!
I had Safelite/Allstate intervene, they got a dealer to accept my request for OEM, he quoted $760.
Safelite/Allstate pays $400.57 for their garbage glass, so I'm on the hook for the difference.....maybe.
Only GOD can hope that they do it correctly and I don't need to photograph every square inch of the car and turn on the dashcam to a continuous record....we all know of the horror stories with anyone in any industry not properly doing their job.....
2 years ago I got an e-mail from pricingapproval@safelite.com that stated (for my wife's car/windshield), As a courtesy to insureds who must pay out of pocket at the dealership in order to have the vehicle returned, your insurance company pays customer reimbursements on glass claims in full, minus deductible ($100).
They did.
Now they are saying only if the car is "X" years old, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Additionally, my research shows that a NON-OEM glass replacement will VOID the rust protection warranty by VW (my car is 11 years, after 2017 it is 7 years).
I love my life.
 

joeblonewjersey

Ready to race!
Location
Metuchen, NJ
AND,.... just as a brain fart......many years ago (8) I have a Ford Focus EV (Electric), with MASSIVE dealer-related issues. I went to maybe 6 or 7. NOBODY was competent. After weeks of legal entanglement, I was told by the "MotherShip" (Corporate), that "EACH DEALER IS AN ENTITY TO ITS OWN AND WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THEIR PRACTICES UNLESS THERE ARE SO MANY COMPLAINTS THAT THE INVESTIGATION LEADS TO THEIR LOSS OF FRANCHISE".
So, with that, this is why I am so paranoid about ANY 'dealer'. They do what they want and mostly get away with it.
I can attest, I knew several "
dealership owners" years ago. They were kings and got away with whatever.
Maybe not relevant here in this thread, but my point is, how does a consumer stand even a chance?
 

joeblonewjersey

Ready to race!
Location
Metuchen, NJ
In case anyone ever needs to get Saint-Gobain glass...here is the procedure

So, on 3/18/2021 I inquired via the Web process of Saint-Gobain as to how to find the glass.
Specifically, I asked:

I'm calling around to inquire of almost all the "installers" of windshield glass as to the availability of Saint-Gobain automotive glass.
Nobody ever heard of the company/product!

Where can I find companies that have an established relationship with your product here in the NJ/NY Metro area to get an installation with your glass?

The reply I got was:
We are supplying Mygrant Glass in the USA, which has 90 warehouses all over the USA. They supply installers throughout the USA.
We dot supply our full range obviously, I do not know which kind of car you own either, but installers can check with Mygrant if they carry our product.
If that is not the case, I know that special customer requests are treated seriously by Mygrant and we are flexible enough to include 1 piece of a screen into the containers we ship to Mygrant from Europe or our Mexican plant.

Daniel Vissers
Area Sales Manager
Saint-Gobain Autover International B.V.
Chamber of Commerce Breda 20063584
Spoorstraat 51a, 4702VW Roosendaal, The Netherlands
www.autover.com
www.theoriginalsparepart.com
www.classicwindscreen.com
Phone: +31 (0) 165 580 823
Mobile: +31 (0) 6 2001 8519
Mail: daniel.vissers@saint-gobain.com
 
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ReadTheBook

Autocross Newbie
Location
Bay Area Smoke Hell
Car(s)
DVP Spektrm, MK4 R32
In case anyone ever needs to get Saint-Gobain glass...here is the procedure

So, on 3/18/2021 I inquired via the Web process of Saint-Gobain as to how to find the glass.
Specifically, I asked:

I'm calling around to inquire of almost all the "installers" of windshield glass as to the availability of Saint-Gobain automotive glass.
Nobody ever heard of the company/product!

Where can I find companies that have an established relationship with your product here in the NJ/NY Metro area to get an installation with your glass?

The reply I got was:
We are supplying Mygrant Glass in the USA, which has 90 warehouses all over the USA. They supply installers throughout the USA.
We dot supply our full range obviously, I do not know which kind of car you own either, but installers can check with Mygrant if they carry our product.
If that is not the case, I know that special customer requests are treated seriously by Mygrant and we are flexible enough to include 1 piece of a screen into the containers we ship to Mygrant from Europe or our Mexican plant.

Daniel Vissers
Area Sales Manager
Saint-Gobain Autover International B.V.
Chamber of Commerce Breda 20063584
Spoorstraat 51a, 4702VW Roosendaal, The Netherlands
www.autover.com
www.theoriginalsparepart.com
www.classicwindscreen.com
Phone: +31 (0) 165 580 823
Mobile: +31 (0) 6 2001 8519
Mail: daniel.vissers@saint-gobain.com
Good info.

It is still beyond astonishing to me that everyone you called claims not to know what Saint-Gobain is... That just doesn’t sound like it could be possible given how much OE glass is out there that is Saint-Gobain.
 

joeblonewjersey

Ready to race!
Location
Metuchen, NJ
Well, after 2-1/2 weeks of bak and forth with Safelite & Allstate, they FINALLY agreed to pay for OEM glass!
Nightmare story, fight.
THe average person would have given up I'm sure.
Nevertheless, now to the dealer in the morning to get my OEM glass.
Sure hope I don't need to worry about dings, scratches, leaks, scuffs.
Ugggggh.
 

ReadTheBook

Autocross Newbie
Location
Bay Area Smoke Hell
Car(s)
DVP Spektrm, MK4 R32
Well, after 2-1/2 weeks of bak and forth with Safelite & Allstate, they FINALLY agreed to pay for OEM glass!
Nightmare story, fight.
THe average person would have given up I'm sure.
Nevertheless, now to the dealer in the morning to get my OEM glass.
Sure hope I don't need to worry about dings, scratches, leaks, scuffs.
Ugggggh.
Dealer will just typically contract it out to some local jamoke they work with.

Take pics of your front end, quarter panels, A-pillars, plastic cowl at the bottom of the windshield and rubber windshield trim that runs down either side before the work is done.
 
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