Replacement Windscreen - advise needed

J

jamiez

Senior member
 SW London
Hi - i have the pleasure of a large crack in my original ///M windscreen and I really need to get it replaced and wanted to get your feedback from past experiences. I have searched the forum - but not found anything specfic to my questions:

1) Am i safe to go via insurance and say Autoglass or the like?
2) Will i get an OEM screen? If not what should I be asking for?
3) Any specfic tips i need to say/ask for when ordering the replacement?
4) any tips to avoud any horror stories?

Thanks all!
Jamie
 
jamiez said:
Hi - i have the pleasure of a large crack in my original ///M windscreen and I really need to get it replaced and wanted to get your feedback from past experiences. I have searched the forum - but not found anything specfic to my questions:

1) Am i safe to go via insurance and say Autoglass or the like?
2) Will i get an OEM screen? If not what should I be asking for?
3) Any specfic tips i need to say/ask for when ordering the replacement?
4) any tips to avoud any horror stories?

Thanks all!
Jamie
Click to expand...

Hello,

I had mine done a few months ago.

I specified an original BMW screen. After a load of arguing, they agreed. If you do not specify, they will fit a cheap copy screen. In my experience these can vary hugely, some being absolute toilet and others being OK. OE is best though IMO.

I forgot to specify original BMW seals though! When the fitter arrived, the non OE seals were simply awful and did not fit the screen properly when the fitter was checking it all out on his bench. Luckily enough, they agreed to go and get an OE seal.

There are a few plastic clips around the scuttle and bulkhead panels which need to be removed and will probably break. I went and bought a few new ones and fitted them after. It was not the fitters fault, they are poor, cheap USA plastic and very brittle.

Watch, help and look after the fitter (cups of tea, biscuits, etc) as I did and you will get a better result.

It was not easy to be honest, the trickiest bit was locating the screen into the arpeture because there is a fair amount it could go left, right and up and down. I helped the engineer doing the passenger side and he did the drivers side. Me helping avoided him having to set up some contraption on the window which did not look like it would be good for the regulator If it is not located perfectly, you will end up with gaps between seal and body.
 
Do you have a tinted strip at the top? If so, you might need to mention that. I went with Autoglass and they were fine fitting it (but only after they had to get another screen due to originally ordering the wrong one).

+1 to watching them like a hawk, just in case
 
Without knowing who made the OE screen, it's difficult to know how good/bad the after-market one will be.

However, BMW don't make windscreens, so it will be from one of a few glass makers (Pilkington/Triplex/Saint Gobain). Different batches of the same windscreen can come from different manufacturers as demand/contracts/etc. changes.

- Make sure they know it's a coupe, as the screen is different to the roadster.
- Make sure you mention the auto-wipers, and any tint or sun-shade you have.
- If you get a chance, check the new screen for chips/scratches before it is fitted - as they can be mishandled and end up knocking against something sharp in transit.

Mine was a Pilkington one, with a green band and auto-wiper sensor strip - the same shape as the original one. It didn't require any fettling after the fitting, and went on a wet 250 mile hoon to Wales the following day without issue. I believe my fitter re-used the original seals as he said the seals they get provided are worse.

I didn't push for a 'genuine' one as my insurer would only pay £250 towards a genuine screen and I'd have to pay the outstanding £200-ish - for a part that might have been identical except for the logo.
 
I recently had mine replaced in our Series 1 by Auto Windscreens arranged through M&S insurance (£75 xs paid) and they were excellent. It was a non-OEM screen but an OEM seal was fitted without having to ask, the fitter said anything else was useless. A very good service, which based on my experience, would highly recommend.
 
Yea national fitted a two new windscreens in my old bmw 1 series when i had it. they didnt use an OEM screen even though i tried to get one both times but they used an OEM seal as standard and did a good job both times.

Ash
 
mines till oem and after reading these windscreen stories i hope it stays that way for a long time!!
 
Windscreen fitting companies are more than happy to fit an OEM screen and the insurance company usually, providing you are willing to pay the difference between the two. It would have cost me around £300 for the Series 1. Not worth IMHO.
 
Love the fact there are so many 'experts' on here,this is what I do for my job,if I came to you lot when you were at work and told you you don't know how to do your jobs,what would you say to me??
 
stumpruss said:
Love the fact there are so many 'experts' on here,this is what I do for my job,if I came to you lot when you were at work and told you you don't know how to do your jobs,what would you say to me??
Click to expand...

Of course we are anal know it alls
No we are just a curious bunch who are a bit too well informed :)
 
sniffer said:
jamiez said:
Hi - i have the pleasure of a large crack in my original ///M windscreen and I really need to get it replaced and wanted to get your feedback from past experiences. I have searched the forum - but not found anything specfic to my questions:

1) Am i safe to go via insurance and say Autoglass or the like?
2) Will i get an OEM screen? If not what should I be asking for?
3) Any specfic tips i need to say/ask for when ordering the replacement?
4) any tips to avoud any horror stories?

Thanks all!
Jamie
Click to expand...

Hello,

I had mine done a few months ago.

I specified an original BMW screen. After a load of arguing, they agreed. If you do not specify, they will fit a cheap copy screen. In my experience these can vary hugely, some being absolute toilet and others being OK. OE is best though IMO.

I forgot to specify original BMW seals though! When the fitter arrived, the non OE seals were simply awful and did not fit the screen properly when the fitter was checking it all out on his bench. Luckily enough, they agreed to go and get an OE seal.

There are a few plastic clips around the scuttle and bulkhead panels which need to be removed and will probably break. I went and bought a few new ones and fitted them after. It was not the fitters fault, they are poor, cheap USA plastic and very brittle.

Watch, help and look after the fitter (cups of tea, biscuits, etc) as I did and you will get a better result.

It was not easy to be honest, the trickiest bit was locating the screen into the arpeture because there is a fair amount it could go left, right and up and down. I helped the engineer doing the passenger side and he did the drivers side. Me helping avoided him having to set up some contraption on the window which did not look like it would be good for the regulator If it is not located perfectly, you will end up with gaps between seal and body.
Click to expand...


Very helpful!! I have some great tips there!
 
stumpruss said:
Love the fact there are so many 'experts' on here,this is what I do for my job,if I came to you lot when you were at work and told you you don't know how to do your jobs,what would you say to me??
Click to expand...

I'm sure you do a good job but I bet you've seen some less than perfect jobs by cowboys in your time though?
 
Not technically an 'M' query ( :? ) but this does seem like the most recent thread to reactivate! Anyway, I've also got a crack in my windscreen - it's almost entirely hidden behind the rear view mirror, but is around 6" long, so I think it would be an MOT fail in due course. As such, I imagine I'm looking at a new screen and paying the screen insurance excess. From this and a few other threads, it sounds like:

- A quality non-OEM screen is ok (could potentially pay for a BMW-branded one but not worth it)
- the pattern part seals are not ok - but you might need to ask the fitter to obtain the proper BMW ones?

Does anyone else have any words of wisdom on getting it done properly? I assume that whoever I speak to at the Autoglass etc call centre is not going to know about BMW seals - did people deal with this directly with the fitter? Or maybe the original seals are still new enough to be reused (I think Bing had a new screen on it this year in any event?!)

Apologies for two 'sad' posts in a row - will promise to get some decent piccies of the Z looking happy in the sun soon! :driving:
 
cps26, PM'd with some history to help out as I think you may be able to claim against a warranty if the damage is not from a chip / impact.

Looking forward to happy posts :wink:
 
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