5 days after getting a windshield replaced in my S63 another rock managed to hit the passenger side of the windshield and leave massive chip in the glass along with a 5-6” crack that’s inevitably going to travel across the windshield with time.

I brought the car to the dealership to have a new one installed and there’s a national back-order on them from MB. My dealer was told by MB that they “should be receiving some in Q1 of next year.” The closest dealership that has one from me is an 8hr round-trip drive and they won’t ship it anywhere.

Have any of you ever used/delt with Safelite? They claim to have a replacement glass and its $1,700 cheaper than going through the dealer (assuming I don’t use my insurance). Money aside, is there anything I should worry about in terms of the glass itself? Just wondering how legit they are?

 

Safelite is probably #1 Autoglass company in USA and they do fine work and have great product with I believe a great warranty.

I have always used them and my insurance company makes me use them if I file a claim.

Just did wife's volvo few months ago...cannot tell he was there other then a pefectly clean windshield.
They keep your car as clean if not cleaner when they leave.

 

Just had mine done.. The first one they brought out didn't have the acoustic coating (wasn't an athermic windshield). I didn't catch it until after they left. There was a noticable difference between the noise level of the OEM and the aftermarket glass. They did come back out with another aftermarket glass that did have the proper coatings. I can get the brand in the morning if you want.

 

I used SafeLite on my '15 S550 a couple of years ago. I had headsup on the car. They did great work and I never noticed any noise or HUD issues.

 

 

Man, that would be awesome if you could! How would I even know if it didn't have the proper coatings??

 

OEM windshields are mde by Pilkington. Verify this name is on proposed replacement windshields.

 

 

This is exactly what I was told by MB.

 

There is a MARK on glass PPG.

 

Sorry about the size but this is what Safelite put in mine. It does have all the proper coatings and notice the "Acoustic" wording..

 

Looking forward to that arrive thread

 

My father was in glass for 40 years owning his own shops. I recommend only use OEM glass through the dealer. Now I’m nowhere near my father’s business but I called two nearby Mercedes dealers and both of them referred me to specialized shops saying Mercedes Benz does not recommend anything but original equipment glass and the representative I spoke to at each dealer (both said) do NOT use safelite. If something goes wrong and the sensors malfunction that is on you. As time has gone one Safelite has done a better job ensuring they can do the work correctly but more importantly that they provide glass which meets same fit form function as well as DOT standard and OE clarity requirements. However, I have had safelite replace windshields before and it’s a remote service so sometimes the windshield urethane seal is not cured properly and the windscreen leaks. The reason they can afford to cover their workmanship in this case is they often use Chinese manufactured products. I would only and politely demand if they are doing the work to quote and OE replacement windshield given they will install the cheapest product they can. Often times you will see your old windshield had a tint band or feature and the new one lacks that. Best bet is to install the same fit form function and identical specification as what you had. A lot of times that gets lost by previous owners. Have you tried that experiment where you take a room full of kids and tell one to pass on a sentence you tell them….by the time it gets to the twentieth kid it’s nothing like what you told the first kid. Sort of same here. Your windshield was OE glass….then somebody chose safelite….they installed an aftermarket one similar but missing features like proper clarity or tint features….how are you to know. Same goes for tires. Do you install Chinese tires? Or run a set of Michelin Pilots or Pirelli. I don’t trust anything out of China given there is so much fake products including consumer goods electronics purses guitars..even cameras now they brand as original (they make a lot of fakes) which are totally illegal. Surefire weapon lights they knock off are branded surefire and sold in EBay by scammers…source China. I don’t recommend supporting that and my dollar demands Orignal as I know where it’s coming from. If you’re just going to sell car keep in mind when the sensors don’t work right and next owner runs into fault code issues due to clarity and worse yet as soon as a rock hits the glass it immediately breaks the windshield which inferior Chinese glass is known to do.

 

I’ve got to replace the window in my car twice. Always OEM glass. Always cracked within 1-2 weeks of new. Car has ALL the toys so no aftermarket alternative. After second replacement my insurance let me know there will be no more of that. Ahhh. So it needs another window. This time with more cracks than I can count on my hands. If there were an alternative less inclined to crack I’d be tempted.

Worst thing about the whole car is the windshield.

 

Florida full coverage let's you get up to 2 windshield replacements per year at no cost/no deductible, you get to chose who does the replacement. My insurance has had no problem paying the $2900 the dealer charges.

 

Who are you Insured with?

 

Wow - what a word salad that is.

Lots of hypotheticals and opinions, but short on facts.

Let me add my $0.02. Earlier this year, my windshield broke when hit by a rock kicked up on I-95 (yes, believe it or not, the OEM German glass broke, same as Chinese glass can). My wife (who works for the insurance company we're insured with) called the claims line from the road, filed an e-claim, made an appointment, and Safelight installed a new windshield the next day.

They took the VIN from my car to match the options correctly. My car had IR-rejecting, sound-reduction, Distronic, ILS+ lighting (coded after purchase), auto-wipers etc. (Didn't have heads up display or night vision) The windshield Safelight installed matched OEM as far as appearance AND functionality. Even the two areas top/bottom center of the windshield for toll transponders is the same. All systems requiring recalibration were properly recalibrated (Emergency Braking was stress tested recently during a highway incident, and worked as intended, possibly saving my bacon and several $$$$).

Result: I'm completely satisfied with the windshield, the installation, and the recalibration of all required systems. I would not hesitate to use them again.

If you can get insurance to pay for OEM - no problem. But if you have to pay out of pocket, or if the insurance company insists on Safelight, I don't really see a downside to it.

I've included my invoice below, in case anyone is interested to see the price difference between Safelight and OEM.

 

Geico, but it doesn't matter who the carrier is.

Under Florida Statute §627.7288, your insurance deductible for comprehensive coverage does not apply to motor vehicle glass. Therefore, if you have comprehensive insurance coverage or combined additional coverage, the insurance company must pay to fix or replace the windshield.

 

For what it's worth, I recently had my windshield replaced by GEICO and they approved OEM glass from the dealer. I'm satisfied with the work the shop did, everything is great. However, even the OEM glass has some distortion at the bottom passenger side window, I noticed it when driving down the highway and the line at the shoulder seen through the passenger side corner showed a little waviness. You wouldn't normally notice this unless you were looking for it. I was definitely looking, everywhere, and hard. I'm sure this is considered normal and well within the tolerances, as I've seen much worse distortions in aftermarket glass (even OEM on a Nissan).