New windscreen problems under insurance - 997 Cab

[fastgerman]

Hello, boring question I'm afraid...

Just called Admiral who passed me over to National Windscreens for a windscreen replacement as it has a 10 cm crack.

They said they won't replace with an OEM screen as the car is over 3 years old. As I know what the warranty is like with tyres, I thought I'd call OPC Guildford to see if it would void the warranty having a non-standard windscreen, the answer as I thought it would be was YES it would void. The 997 windscreen has the aerial fitted also so want this all to work.

So I have 3 options:

A) go with a national windscreen part and invalidate warranty (not keen)
B) do what the dealer says and drop it off with them and they will deal with the insurance (I rekon there is chance I may end up with the bill?)
C) hassle Admiral and get them to agree to it before I book the car in with Porsche

What do you think?

Cheers

[gaxor]

That's outrageous - on the part of Porsche!

The restrictions on their warranty are becoming ridiculous. Only Porsche could use a flaw in their engine design to commercial advantage - genius really I suppose.

[sleep envy]

Speak to Glassman

[SFO]

Admiral has to fit a windscreen with the right aerials etc.

You will find that their policy wording allows them to fit non OEM aerials provided it's the right spec.

If you insist on Porsche, Admiral will not pay the bill or will pay only a fraction.

I don't see how a non OEM windscreen should affect the warranty ..

[fastgerman]

sleep envy said:

Speak to Glassman

Just on the Phone to Admiral who say they will only pay £50 if I take the car elsewhere.

What would Glassman do? Sure the work is great but I want the insurance company to pay

[fastgerman]

SFO said:

Admiral has to fit a windscreen with the right aerials etc.

You will find that their policy wording allows them to fit non OEM aerials provided it's the right spec.

If you insist on Porsche, Admiral will not pay the bill or will pay only a fraction.

I don't see how a non OEM windscreen should affect the warranty ..

Spoken to 2 people at the dealership who both advise the warranty will be invalidated. So I have given them my policy number and asked them to speak to Admiral - we'll see who wins

[Zyp]

There's a couple of chaps on the Boxster section who both require new screens - I'll point them to this thread for reference.

[SFO]

fastgerman said:

SFO said:

Admiral has to fit a windscreen with the right aerials etc.

You will find that their policy wording allows them to fit non OEM aerials provided it's the right spec.

If you insist on Porsche, Admiral will not pay the bill or will pay only a fraction.

I don't see how a non OEM windscreen should affect the warranty ..

Spoken to 2 people at the dealership who both advise the warranty will be invalidated. So I have given them my policy number and asked them to speak to Admiral - we'll see who wins

Admiral won't care that their policy causes you problems with Porsche warranty; their obligation is to fit a replacement part which is to spec, not to ensure your Porsche warranty remains in effect.

[lingus75]

My screen went a few months ago and I'm with Admiral. I didn't even ask and they fitted a genuine screen.

I've no idea why they won't on yours, and my car is over three years old also.

[guards red]

The screen is a structural part of the car, I argued that I would not accept anything that was not OEM in such a significant role.

Insurance company accepted this, I had it replaced by my OPC and then re-claimed the money from the insurance company.

[Glassman]

Option C.

Admiral are seeing out their nominated supplier arrangement with National Windscreens which ends this year.

There are a few factors to consider, and arguing these points with Admiral can get very tedious; it's all designed to protect the deal between insurer and supplier. It might all change in January, but I wouldn't bank on it.

If you're prepared to dig your heels in (which might even mean you paying, and then reclaiming it) I'll gladly assist. But the argument, ultimately, is the policyholder's.

This scenario is a prime example of one of those (IMHO) salient points which should be made reasonably clear before inception.

Edited by Glassman on Monday 18th November 15:22

[giltranator]

guards red said:

The screen is a structural part of the car, I argued that I would not accept anything that was not OEM in such a significant role.

Insurance company accepted this, I had it replaced by my OPC and then re-claimed the money from the insurance company.

Excatly the same as what I argued when my Boxster windscreen cracked. This is a lot more easier to claim when it comes to a soft top which yours is.

Mine was still replaced by Autoglass, but they used an OEM screen which I had to wait a bit longer for. Only annoying thing was that I had mine fitted incorrectly and had a lot of wind noise at the top of the windscreen from the seal. They ended up having to take the screen out and refit it but following this there is no windnoise at all and it looks as though it has never been changed.

Hopefully Porsche will be able to argue the point for you but I belive that when my Boxster had the damaged screen, my insurer was admiral and they were happy to pay for the OEM screen.

[Glassman]

giltranator said:

an OEM screen which I had to wait a bit longer for.

Other than waiting around six weeks for a container load of 993 screens, I've always had same day/next day delivery on Porsche windscreens. It might be that I'm a regular, or you had to wait because their central purchasing team were the hold up.

[fastgerman]

So a day over and lot of time wasted

Admiral first advised that it was £75 excess for a National Windows item fitted and only £50 contribution if I go elsewhere.

The second Admiral person advised it was £75 contribution but said they would never fund a complete new windscreen outside of their supplier network.

Porsche have advised that it will definitely invalidate warranty using a non-OEM part and when I queried this, the reasoning is around the radio aerial/connection with electrics.

I've left it with Porsche still and Admiral aren't moving when I speak to them.

I wonder why more expensive windscreens can't be claimed through the usual insurance route as a bumper would probably cost the same.

In the mean time, my car sits in the garage not getting driven :-(

[Glassman]

TBF, and for the sake of being objective, the aftermarket screens for the 997 are manufactured by Saint Gobain (Sekurit) who are also the OEM for this model.

AFAIK, you can get a 996 screen made by Pilkington, but not a '7. There is a strong argument that there is little or no difference between an OEM windscreen and its aftermarket equivalent, but not even the manufacturers are letting on:

http://www.glasstecpaul.com/windscreen-manufacture...

One thing is almost certain for most manufacturers is that the OEM - genuine - parts made for the production lines and OEM parts distributors are not the same production runs as the aftermarket versions (by the same manufacturer). There are few exceptions to this, but generally, you can tell the quality difference(s) between the two easily.

[Moosh]

guards red said:

The screen is a structural part of the car, I argued that I would not accept anything that was not OEM in such a significant role.

Insurance company accepted this, I had it replaced by my OPC and then re-claimed the money from the insurance company.

I have replaced my windscreen three times in the life of the car. Every time the insurance company told me that they would only pay £50 towards the screen if I wanted OEM. I argued the very same as the above, the windscreen is a structural part of the car and would not be safe if a OEM was not fitted. Worked every time, the insurance company paid up.

[fastgerman]

Moosh said:

guards red said:

The screen is a structural part of the car, I argued that I would not accept anything that was not OEM in such a significant role.

Insurance company accepted this, I had it replaced by my OPC and then re-claimed the money from the insurance company.

I have replaced my windscreen three times in the life of the car. Every time the insurance company told me that they would only pay £50 towards the screen if I wanted OEM. I argued the very same as the above, the windscreen is a structural part of the car and would not be safe if a OEM was not fitted. Worked every time, the insurance company paid up.

Thanks, can you give me a dummies guide on how you went about it e.g. just booked the car in at Porsche and sent the insurance company the bill or did you inform the insurance company first?

[fastgerman]

Reply from Porsche:

I have explained to the advisor at Admiral that if they replace your windscreen with a non - Porsche windscreen it will invalidate the Manufacturers warranty on the car, I have also had the Porsche Service Manager explain this to them as they insisted that it was illegal to make such a statement. But any Porsche car that has a non - Porsche part fitted to it will result in the warranty being void.

I hope the issue gets resolved between yourself and Admiral and in the meantime I will keep details of your booking on our system, so just let me know when you can bring your Porsche into us to have the replacement carried out.

[zap mc]

I see it this way.
Admiral have a liability to pay a discounted price to national
You want to peruse a course of action that exposes admiral to increased costs.
In law the argument is over the difference therefore you should agree to pay that difference. I do not agree that Admiral are allowed to throw the whole claim out and pay just £50 if you do not use national.
This is the deal I did with them and they agreed the principle as a practical solution.
You could also buy your own screen and have them fit it and get them to rebate you the difference in cost
It would be helpful if you were to quantify the exact costs here.
These whole disputes hinge around people not wanting to pay and reclaim and go the "easy route".
If you submit to their process expect to be bound by their rules, if not get the oe screen at your own cost and put them on notice that you will sue them for the difference!!

[guards red]

fastgerman said:

Thanks, can you give me a dummies guide on how you went about it e.g. just booked the car in at Porsche and sent the insurance company the bill or did you inform the insurance company first?

I agreed it with the Insurance company first. Cost me around £1200 which they repaid in full on presentaion of the invoice less my windscreen excess of £50.

I would push on the H&S aspect, it's structural...