chipped windscreen

[Baryonyx]

Afternoon,

I have noticed today a couple of chips on the windscreen of my A8. I suspect I picked them up the other night driving home from work. A car coming the other way flicked some gravel up which I heard ping off my windscreen. I got home and had a quick look in the dark but I couldn't see any damage, and the stones hadn't touched the paintwork.

Looking at the windscreen today, I noticed two small chips, each a bit smaller than 1mm. The chip on the surface of the screen is very small, though the force of it does appear to have damaged the second layer of glass beneath the top one. Here are two photos, my apologies for the poor quality but they should illustrate what I'm talking about:






Will this be an MOT fail? I could get the windscreen repaired out of my own pocket I suppose. I have glass cover on my insurance policy with a small excess, would claiming through my insurer affect my overall NCB? I could even buy a replacement screen from a breaker, if I could find someone to fit it! My plan is to get it fixed, whether or not I can find the time to do this before it is MOT'd I don't know.

What do you think?

[anonymous-user]

I had the screen replaced on 2 of my previous D2's (4.2 and S8), neither time did it affect the NCB, and both had some kind of special/coated glass that cost a load.

Just give your insurers a call, they may fix or replace - I doubt NCB will change, but they will tell you

[ezi]

I'd be shocked if an insurer touched your NCB for repairing a stone chip! You'll probably end up paying a small excess at the worst, I had a chip repaired last week and it cost me a £20 excess

[Speed_Demon]

TBH mate, I can't help but feel that you're not gonna get any extra performance by chipping your windscreen, I think chipping the ECU will be more effective.

(x2 on call insurer)

[Mastodon2]

Call insurer, pay windscreen excess, get Autoglass repair. Double glazed windscreens ain't going to be cheap, though I don't think it would be an MOT fail as the chip is not exactly in a critical viewing area of the windscreen, but I could be wrong.

[Baryonyx]

I get a feeling it won't be a fail. I think the regs are any chip above 10mm in the line of sight. If an MOT tester notices these I will be impressed! But I do want the car to be as perfect as I can get it.

[zap mc]

Baryonyx said:

Afternoon,

I have noticed today a couple of chips on the windscreen of my A8. I suspect I picked them up the other night driving home from work. A car coming the other way flicked some gravel up which I heard ping off my windscreen. I got home and had a quick look in the dark but I couldn't see any damage, and the stones hadn't touched the paintwork.

Looking at the windscreen today, I noticed two small chips, each a bit smaller than 1mm. The chip on the surface of the screen is very small, though the force of it does appear to have damaged the second layer of glass beneath the top one. Here are two photos, my apologies for the poor quality but they should illustrate what I'm talking about:

Will this be an MOT fail? I could get the windscreen repaired out of my own pocket I suppose. I have glass cover on my insurance policy with a small excess, would claiming through my insurer affect my overall NCB? I could even buy a replacement screen from a breaker, if I could find someone to fit it! My plan is to get it fixed, whether or not I can find the time to do this before it is MOT'd I don't know.

What do you think?

The second picture is not good enough to see the size and position of the chip to comment effectively.
Tip: to get an effective windscreen chip picture fool the camera by getting it to focus on an object on the screen. A ruler or coin is a good idea as it gives an idea of scale. From an MOT point of view the size and position are the important factors. In the drivers vision area 290mm wide in the drivers sweep the limit is 10mm.

The chip above the tax disc is not an MOT failure and looks like it might be old as it is possibly milky in the picture which is a sign of. Age caused by the plastic layer in the glass deteriorating due to the presence of water over a period of time. However a repair would be an advantage with the winter on the horizon as it could stop it cracking due to extreme temperature changes.

Forget the breaker option, removing a screen and refitting it is very difficult to do and you would be best to restore the screen you have to avoid leaks and wind whistles and badly fitting pattern parts.

My advice is to avoid the large windscreen companies as the repair quality is suspect and a hidden agenda is present to replace your screen that you will be unaware of until it's too late. An A8 screen is a juicy prize for a windscreen company so beware. Insurance experiences are changing rapidly now and although a screen claim does not affect the no claims bonus, you will be obliged to disclose it at any insurance renewal and some companies will load your premium for windscreen claims. The days of the "free repair " are over! If you get stung for a new screen you could be looking at a £1000 bill on your claims history. Best avoided! If phoning your ins co. be warned that all roads will lead to a new screen, whether it is a an excuse about the British standard at the call centre or an "accidental" breakage that you have authorised by unknowingly just signing the fitters paperwork.

Depending on where you are in the country I could possibly recommend someone who knows what they are doing but generally try and find a repairer who is a repair specialist and maybe services prestige car screens regularly for a sales forecourt where the cosmetics of the end result are crucial.

Edited by zap mc on Friday 28th September 00:06

[myles1972]

I have a couple of chips, one of which as been repaired (not too well)and both are out of the eyeline. The windscreen has however a covering of tiny marks on it that have been caused by whatever being flicked up over the last ten years. It lights up like Blackpool when an oncoming car has its headlights on. I have had enough of it, it must be as dangerous as a crack right across the eyeline. This thread has moved me to make that call, thanks!

[aw51 121565]

Assuming both 'chips' are on the passenger side of the car (second pic is a bit unclear) then you're allowed 40mm at the MoT; the limit is 10mm in a zone in front of the windscreen. Here are the details.

Both would respond to repairs, but I suspect the top pic shows an older defect (as another poster has said as well).

[300bhp/ton]

Baryonyx said:

I get a feeling it won't be a fail. I think the regs are any chip above 10mm in the line of sight. If an MOT tester notices these I will be impressed! But I do want the car to be as perfect as I can get it.

Buy a windscreen repair kit off ebay, they are £10-15 and work pretty well if you can find a spare 20 mins to give it a go.

[Glassman]

300bhp/ton said:

Buy a windscreen repair kit off ebay, they are £10-15 and work pretty well if you can find a spare 20 mins to give it a go.

...and if it doesn't work because they're ste (and with respect, the user does not understand the science behind windscreen repair) you can always hit the insurance cover for a new screen, eh?

[john2443]

I had a small chip recently, the insurer said that if it was smaller than a match head or larger than a 5p they couldn't do it. It was between those so they came....and.....the screen cracked so what would have been a free fix turned into a £65 excess and a new screen, but as it was right in formt of me eyes was bloody annoying and probably an MOT fail.

[Glassman]

john2443 said:

the insurer said

The insurer's prevailing repairer said.

[fat freddie]

john2443 said:

I had a small chip recently, the insurer said that if it was smaller than a match head or larger than a 5p they couldn't do it. It was between those so they came....and.....the screen cracked so what would have been a free fix turned into a £65 excess and a new screen, but as it was right in formt of me eyes was bloody annoying and probably an MOT fail.

That's exactly what they try to do. There's no money for them in repairing a screen, they want the 'prize' of fitting a new one.
Both my cars have had chips in their screens for as long as I've owned them and I've no intention of getting these crooks out to break them on my insurance.

[Prof Beard]

I picked up a chip on the screen of my 996 last Sunday. Chip was a decent size but not vast and out of the swept area of the screen. Phoned insurer, was put through their "glass people" who discussed it with me, warned that there was always a chance the screen might break during repair and booked Auto Windscreens to come and do a repair the next day. Bloke turned up - very pleasant and polite - looked at the chip at said it was perfectly repairable, but a bit of one the "whiskers" might still show. Did repair - looks fine with a tiny bit of whisker still visible (about 1mm). All free and no claims unaffected.

[A13]

Ring insurer. Pay excess. They send repairer.
Had a complete windscreen replaced last year for £75. Chips are a tenner i think.
Doesn't touch your NCB. (Aviva at the time)

[Glassman]

[redacted]

[A13]

Glassman said:

Did you renew with same insurer?

No, but had my full NCB stated come renewal time to give to new insurer..

[xRIEx]

I'd always get it sorted through insurance. Repairs cost you nothing (usually), glass excess (for replacements) is usually between £50 and £75. Glass claims have no effect on NCD.

[Riley Blue]

xRIEx said:

I'd always get it sorted through insurance. Repairs cost you nothing (usually), glass excess (for replacements) is usually between £50 and £75. Glass claims have no effect on NCD.

I did exactly that recently, it cost me £75. Coincidentally a friend in France did the same, it cost him nothing.