Good luck with that.
Try to find a mechanic who can replace today water pump seal, or starter brushes?
Things like that take generation to change, so calculate the same time to reverse the mentality what it took from "we did it".
That all assuming somebody wants to.

 

Wrong section for this stuff....

bring it to the Political section....
then debate the pros/cons of a communist country in the new global world economy as the source for cheap manual labor and government owned companies.

 

Why you narrow the issue to communistic countries?
Lot of parts on my MB come from Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, not mentioning traditional suppliers in India.
I had to get rid of Czech-made AMG wheels as they proved to be low quality. Maybe Chinese would be better?

 

This thread needs

But to speak to the topic - avoid safelite.

 

I just had a windshield replaced at Safelite on my W221. I got the OEM and the rain sensor wasn't working for the wipers when they were done and it was pouring rain. I told them and the technician had his supervisor come talk to me. Supervisor said the rain sensor will only turn on the wipers when the car is moving fast and will not activate when at idle or driving slow. He told me to drive it down the road and when I get my speed up the wipers will come on. I listened to him and a minute later I couldn't see where I was going so I quickly turned the wipers on manually and I was about to hit a garbage truck head on swerving just in time to miss it. I went back and told them I was leaving the car until it was fixed properly and about 30 minutes later they pulled my car up to the front door of their office to have me come out. The car was sitting in park idling and the wiper sensor was working with it raining. I asked the supervisor what they did to make it work and he said they calibrated it again. Using Safelite to replace my windshield was a disaster that nearly killed me. Never again, Safelite should be shut down or at least barred from working on luxury cars as that was a huge liability for Geico what just happened. I wanted to use the dealer but Geico told me they would not cover it if I used the dealer and I would have to pay for it and if I wanted to file a claim on my insurance policy I would have to use Safelite. The dealer wanted $3400 and said it takes 6.5 hours, Safelite did in 1.5 hours of dropping it off and I was nearly killed. Makes one wonder if maybe the dealer is factoring in time to do the job properly with safety in mind.

It didn't surprise me that the rain sensor would stop working after Safelite did the work as I've read hundreds of other posts that said the same exact problem was common there.

 

I've discovered Safelite didn't install several rubber gaskets properly after replacing the windshield. There's also some things dangling inside they didn't put back together as well as chipped paint on a front column that wasn't there when I left it there. Guess this is the result of replacing and calibrating a windshield in 1.5 hours. SAFELITE - You get what you pay for!

 

What you really need is a better insurance company.

 

I've been doing some digging on Safelite and the insurance industry. They are all in bed together because of Safelites low prices. Safelite is a monopoly for the glass replacement world. One problem though, this is California and its not over.

 

Exactly.. Next time press the insurance adjuster a bit more, and request in writing that THEY will be liable for any accident due to poor repair of the windshield. I have read that approach had worked for some.

GEICO refused to pay an extra week of rental due to delays in parts, and Christmas holidays at the time. The adjuster told me she could do nothing, just company policy. I told her to tell her supervisor that after @$5K repair, a week of a rental was a drop in the bucket to take a chance on losing a customer, and me spreading the word. I paid the extra week out of my pocket. Surprise: two weeks later a check in the mail from GEICO for the correct amount. Unfortunately, I had already carried through with my decision, now with StateFarm.

 

Geico must of changed the way they handle glass replacement since you used them as now when you file a glass claim, they make you talk to their glass dept which are people who have been trained to just say no to everything and steer you to using Safelite. They say you can use anyone you like but they also know that Safelite undercuts the entire industry with cheap labor and cheap prices. I found out there are no requirements to work at Safelite and they actually have a lot of turnover because of the corporate greed at the top expecting the impossible out of their workforce. That only means, you'll likely have your window changed by someone who just started and has never did the work before. No adjusters get involved; its not like an accident where you have an adjuster.

 

I think the BBB listing page for Safelite explains everything and has tons of complaints. Looks like their cheap service is being provided by kids who pretend to know how to work on cars. Read reviews here: https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/columbus/p...stomer-reviews

 

So I noticed some damage to my car after the safelight windshield replacement. I took it to the dealership to get estimate on repairing the damage Safelite caused and we discovered that Safelite didn't do the install correctly. The glass is sitting way too high, rubber seals look like a roller coaster and the camera is not centered nor is the VIN # viewing hole blocking part of the number. Trim pieces on roof were not put back properly and rubber gaskets allow water to go beneath them. If you have an S Class, I would avoid letting Safelite do a windshield replacement.

 

SafeLite is fine for a Toyota or a Chevy. But for a very tech heavy MB, the glass needs to be MB OEM and the installation needs to be done by an MB dealer or by a certified MB installer. Check this out: https://www.mbusa.com/en/glasspro

 

No kidding, I just got the estimate for fixing Safelites screwup and it's going to cost just over $6000, half of that is the damage Safelite caused, the other half is replacing the windshield because Safelite positioned it wrong so it has to be done again. It was never my intention to use Safelite but after I sued my neighbor who caused the damage from blowing granite sand from his yard onto our cars in a shared driveway, I won in court but they only made him pay $2000 which wasn't enough to cover windshield replacements on our two cars. It happened to my wifes car as well.

DO NOT TAKE YOUR MERCEDES TO SAFELITE - If you do, you're asking for trouble.

 

I just today had Safelite "repair" a small chip in my windshield. The repair is almost invisible.

I understand why peeps would not trust Safelite for a windshield replacement.

 

Saflite is a minopoly and they're engaging in antitrust business practices by undercutting everyone else in the glass business while buying up all the smaller glass shops. They did it all by being fast and irresponsible with peoples cars. Their Better Business Bureau page has daily complaints too.

 

Strange topic about one company who does windshields. but I can tell my part as I have dealt with SafeLite a lot.

My 2010 E550 has had five windshield replacements since I have owned the car, i.e. the car is on its sixth glass now. Four replacements were done by SafeLite, one at the dealer but I don't know who did the windshield job. I know the dealer did not as they do not do windshields, they contract the job to someone else. I had absolutely no complaint of any of these jobs.

I also had windshield replaced in my Crown Vic, Dodge RAM pick-up, Pontiac Grand AM and lastly my MB S550, all by SafeLite.

The only complaint of all these jobs was the S550 windshield that was defective. It had strong tension circles at top corners. There were no problem with the installation itself. I had the windshield replaced again and it is fine.