[BadgerDog]

Hey guys, got a nasty crack in my windshield somehow (genuinely not sure what hit it). Going to need to get it replaced, but this car is still pretty new to me and nearly factory fresh. I want to be sure that I take it some place that will take great care of it and if possible use oem parts etc. Anyone got any suggestions? I'm in San Diego.

[AZ-Wildcat]

Just go to your dealership. You can still use your insurance. Keep in mind OEM will cost you more, but worth it.

[BadgerDog]

Originally Posted by AZ-Wildcat

Just go to your dealership. You can still use your insurance. Keep in mind OEM will cost you more, but worth it.

The dumb thing is I didn't actually consider that. For some reason I don't mentally associate dealership with windshield repair. Sigh.

I guess it's a question for my insurance but I'd think that I only pay the deductible regardless of actual cost, but I'll check on that. Thanks for pointing out the obvious to me haha.

[AZ-Wildcat]

Haha I know. Piece of mind having the dealer do it was worth it. Stay away from places like safelight, terrible work and don’t use OEM glass.

[chmura]

I would not trust dealers. Piece of mind for dealers? Yeah right, most of the time they will mess up on this. They will outsource the work to a company. Dealers cant do a simple oil change correctly.

2 Months ago I replaced my windshield with OEM glass at Alfredos Auto Repair in south part of Corona. He takes pride in his work and does not use any knifes. Stay away from anyone that uses knifes to cut the bead. I have OCD when it comes to my car and do not like anyone working on my car so it took some time for me to find the right shop to take it into. He even has a ton of video's on YouTube showing his work.

Highly recommend and I witnessed the entire process. I was out in an 1 hour. Unlike a dealership where the car is not visible to the customer and will most likely sit overnight there. Dealer wanted $3k for basically nothing and I paid $900 with OEM bmw glass and oem seal. OEM glass is CHEAP for our cars, $300 at the dealer.

What I did was paid everything out of pocket and then I sent the receipt to my insurance company. They sent me a check minus deducible within 2 weeks.

https://goo.gl/maps/mrFCQGv7T2H4Es8U8

https://www.youtube.com/@AlfredosAutoGlassRepairCorona

[BadgerDog]

Originally Posted by chmura

I would not trust dealers. Piece of mind for dealers? Yeah right, most of the time they will mess up on this. They will outsource the work to a company. Dealers cant do a simple oil change correctly.

2 Months ago I replaced my windshield with OEM glass at Alfredos Auto Repair in south part of Corona. He takes pride in his work and does not use any knifes. Stay away from anyone that uses knifes to cut the bead. I have OCD when it comes to my car and do not like anyone working on my car so it took some time for me to find the right shop to take it into. He even has a ton of video's on YouTube showing his work.

Highly recommend and I witnessed the entire process. I was out in an 1 hour. Unlike a dealership where the car is not visible to the customer and will most likely sit overnight there. Dealer wanted $3k for basically nothing and I paid $900 with OEM bmw glass and oem bulb seal. OEM glass is CHEAP for our cars, $300 at the dealer.

What I did was paid everything out of pocket and then I sent the receipt to my insurance company. They sent me a check minus deducible within 2 weeks.

https://goo.gl/maps/mrFCQGv7T2H4Es8U8

https://www.youtube.com/@AlfredosAutoGlassRepairCorona

Appreciate the reply. Unfortunately that is about an hour and a half one way for me. I just checked with the local German car shop I use and they don't deal with glass either. USAA wants me to use Safelite (like they REALLY want me to) but I have no interest in them.

So it's either find a great independent shop near me or go with the dealer... But if they're really asking 3k for that service it might not be an option as I doubt USAA would pay that out (they'll pay for anyone I want to do it but only if the price is "reasonable" as defined by them of course).

[chmura]

Originally Posted by BadgerDog

Appreciate the reply. Unfortunately that is about an hour and a half one way for me. I just checked with the local German car shop I use and they don't deal with glass either. USAA wants me to use Safelite (like they REALLY want me to) but I have no interest in them.

So it's either find a great independent shop near me or go with the dealer... But if they're really asking 3k for that service it might not be an option as I doubt USAA would pay that out (they'll pay for anyone I want to do it but only if the price is "reasonable" as defined by them of course).

1.5 hour drive is nothing man for very good work performed on your car. People drive hours to a shop sometimes for them to perform the best work. 1.5 hrs is nothing. I drove 45 min to them one way and wouldn’t hesitate driving 1.5 hrs.

[Wheeldog63]

Originally Posted by BadgerDog

Appreciate the reply. Unfortunately that is about an hour and a half one way for me. I just checked with the local German car shop I use and they don't deal with glass either. USAA wants me to use Safelite (like they REALLY want me to) but I have no interest in them.

So it's either find a great independent shop near me or go with the dealer... But if they're really asking 3k for that service it might not be an option as I doubt USAA would pay that out (they'll pay for anyone I want to do it but only if the price is "reasonable" as defined by them of course).

I had to jump through some minor hoops but got USAA to replace mine at BMW of SD a few months ago no problem for just the cost of the deductible. It’s OEM BMW glass.

*edit* they said they only approved OEM glass because it’s all that was available

[BadgerDog]

Originally Posted by Wheeldog63

I had to jump through some minor hoops but got USAA to replace mine at BMW of SD a few months ago no problem for just the cost of the deductible. It’s OEM BMW glass.

*edit* they said they only approved OEM glass because it’s all that was available

Appreciate the info. Can you give me any details about what hoops you had to jump through? I assume I have to call to even open the claim since they straight up redirect you to the Safelite website if you try to open a claim online (which just pisses me off no end).

[nioh_lbbm2]

I’ve used BMW of vista to replace my windshield twice when I had my m2. Perfect work each time. Ask for Brian Chartier or Braie Young as your SAs and they’ll take care of you well

[BadgerDog]

Originally Posted by nioh_lbbm2

I’ve used BMW of vista to replace my windshield twice when I had my m2. Perfect work each time. Ask for Brian Chartier or Braie Young as your SAs and they’ll take care of you well

That's the closest to me by far, thanks for the names. Just need to figure out how to get usaa to play nice.

[Wheeldog63]

Originally Posted by BadgerDog

Appreciate the info. Can you give me any details about what hoops you had to jump through? I assume I have to call to even open the claim since they straight up redirect you to the Safelite website if you try to open a claim online (which just pisses me off no end).

Yeah I had to open a claim and made sure to allways get them to redirect me to someone actually at USAA instead of safelite (which they did multiple times). I just explained the situation and I think BMW of San Diego had to write up an estimate and it needed to be submitted to USAA for approval. I had to pay for the replacement out of pocket and then they reimbursed it minus my deductible. I don’t know where the agents name is right now, all I can find is the final email about reimbursement and it’s from Sierra Mildbrandt. I’m pretty sure I talked to someone over at BMW of SD about writing me up an estimate beforehand to submit to USAA. Looking over my email I did this in early Dec so that can give an idea of timeframe. I do remember it being a pain getting to someone who wasn’t with Safelite.

[BadgerDog]

Originally Posted by Wheeldog63

Yeah I had to open a claim and made sure to allways get them to redirect me to someone actually at USAA instead of safelite (which they did multiple times). I just explained the situation and I think BMW of San Diego had to write up an estimate and it needed to be submitted to USAA for approval. I had to pay for the replacement out of pocket and then they reimbursed it minus my deductible. I don’t know where the agents name is right now, all I can find is the final email about reimbursement and it’s from Sierra Mildbrandt. I’m pretty sure I talked to someone over at BMW of SD about writing me up an estimate beforehand to submit to USAA. Looking over my email I did this in early Dec so that can give an idea of timeframe. I do remember it being a pain getting to someone who wasn’t with Safelite.

Ok thank you. I'll start jumping through their stupid hoops ASAP. I'll try calling bmw again since the last time I called I went from an operator to a robo operator to presumably a service advisor but then got hung up on. Sigh.