Autoglass broke my windscreen!

[novacaine]

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JB Elan.jpg

On the way home today I was on a duel carriage way behind a van, next thing I know a brick chunk is flying my way and hits my windscreen!
To add irony to the situation it was a bloody Autoglass van in front of me!

Phoned my insurance and I have to go through Autoglass! 2hr job apparently, I'm guessing they will have to change the edging strip and corner caps. Of course you can't get the corner caps anymore, so not sure what is going to happen there.

My car is steel blue and I'm pretty sure I have the green tints, can anyone tell if I am right from the pictures attached?

[Jamie N]

I wonder how many times that has happened!, maybe they have a hidden rock propelling device in the hope that it will make them a few extra bob , years ago i heard about a part worn tyre garage that was putting out nails on the roads so they could get more business .

I would watch over them when they are doing the job Jonathan, i have seen some nasty damage done by windscreen fitters in the past.

[epipete]

Good luck with that, I broke my X type screen a fortnight back - it won't be replaced until this Saturday, in all honesty they did come out last week but brought the wrong glass!

[dapinky]

When I had mine done the manager asked me to take the car toi the depot, so they could spend a reasonable amount of time on it, as opposed to doing it at my house (it's only 2 miles away, so no great problem).

It took them all day (6 hours) as they have to allow time for all the different bonding compounds to properly go off.

Thy didn't replace the corners - just filled and shaped it with sikaflex - looks okay.

The only thing I wasn't happy with was they re-used the A pillar seals, and didn't fit new ones.

I was anoyed as the seals had only been fitted for a few months, and had been fitted with just a couple of dabs of silicone - but they butchered them taking them off, and replaced them with a large quantity of sikaflex.... not happy!

(I have now replaced them with a pair of Jamies rubber ones - much happier!!!)

[novacaine]

Yeah I'll be watching like a hawk!

I'm not letting them ruin my set of Jamie's rubber seals so I'll be taking them off myself before they get here.

They are booked for Wednesday after 4pm, but when they see the job I see them saying they'll have to come back another day

[Jamie N]

I take it the Elan screen is still easily available?, you must have been gutted when you saw it was broken, i would have went berserk!.

[novacaine]

I did shout a fair few profound words I have to admit. I just hope it's sorted before the TLFs brooklands event.

I'm hoping the screens are still easy to get hold of, you'd think they would tell you there and then on the phone if they couldn't get the parts

[lotusflasherman]

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JB Elan.jpg

My car is steel blue and I'm pretty sure I have the green tints, can anyone tell if I am right from the pictures attached?

Sundym is green or brown but IIRC screen is less tinted than side windows and yours looks slightly green to me in photo. Suggest you park near something white and look through screen and over/round screen to compare.

Phil

[dapinky]

Suggest you park near something white and look through screen and over/round screen to compare.

Phil

Easiest way is to grab a piece of plain paper from your printer, hold it inside the glass and look at it through the glass - you'll soon see the colour (but I'd be surprised if it wasn't green!)

[novacaine]

Suggest you park near something white and look through screen and over/round screen to compare.

Phil

Easiest way is to grab a piece of plain paper from your printer, hold it inside the glass and look at it through the glass - you'll soon see the colour (but I'd be surprised if it wasn't green!)

That trick worked, definitely green.

I now have to wait until 14th for it to be replaced! Apparently that's how long it is going to take them to get the replacement screen. They also ensured me that that can definitely get hold of new corner blocks straight from lotus, I thought they were now obseleste and unobtainable, guess I'll find out.

[tigerdog]

If I recall, Lotus procedures call for the A-pillar seals to be replaced as part of the windshield replacement procedure. Maybe your insurance will cover that, too. Silver lining to dark cloud?

[novacaine]

If I recall, Lotus procedures call for the A-pillar seals to be replaced as part of the windshield replacement procedure. Maybe your insurance will cover that, too. Silver lining to dark cloud?

Would be, but I have a set of Jamie's rubber a pillar seals, so I'll be taking great care of those.

[ashm]

Be very careful, when a flying stone broke my windscreen my insurance company initially passed me through to an Autoglass team.

Autoglass were insisting that the job would be done in a few hours, which seemed wrong so I pushed them to confirm that the windscreen would be done properly as per Lotus specifications, including that the seals would be replaced with new and that it would be bonded with the correct compound. I was advised by my local Lotus specialist that an Elan windscreen replacement would take 24h to do properly, or 48h preferably to let the various compounds cure really properly before moving anything. As the Elan screen is structural, ordinary windscreen sealant is not necessarily acceptable. The screen contributes to the rigidity and strength of the car, failing to bond it properly would potentially compromise not only the handling, but also the safety given that the windscreen/A-pillar assembly is the only thing stopping you getting cut off at the shoulders if you ever roll the car. I sent them a copy of the relevant sections from the maintenance manual for information.

After I pushed them to confirm that the job would be done to the Lotus specification, Autoglass passed me back to the insurance company saying they weren't able to do the job. On this basis the insurance company were happy for me to go to Lakeside Engineering in Woking, who provided all new seals and parts and bonded the windscreen properly with the correct compound.

I paid the bill and the insurance company sent me a cheque less the £90 excess. I think the total was about £1300. I was very happy with the outcome.

I've seen reports on this forum of Autoglass guys doing it properly as per Lotus spec, so some of them are happy & able to do so. I've also seen reports of them fitting screens with incorrect quick setting sealant, which then fails leading to leaks or cracked screens, as well as reusing damaged seals, failing to replace trim, etc. I suspect they are also unlikely to properly fine tune the fit of the door window to A-pillar seal afterwards, not that I'd want an Autoglass tech trying to strip my Elan door anyway!

Basically, I'd try to get the insurance company to use a proper specialist who knows the Elan if at all possible. If stuck with Autoglass, keep them on a very short leash and accept no compromises!

A

[Jamie N]

If it was me with a broken screen i would get another and fit it myself, if i had no option to get a company to fit it then i would measure the dimensions of the screen before removal and the positions of each corner of the glass and make sure the new screen was identical and fitted in the exact same position,i would also watch them from start to finish irrespective of who it was.

The great thing about the rubber seals is that they are not bonded onto the A pillar bracket, the fit is tight enough that they are watertight with the pressure alone and only need a small bit of black butyl at the top and the base, this means they can be removed on and off in seconds and as many times as you want.

Might be worth taking some good close up pictures of the corners and edges before and after Jonathan.