Windscreen - Insurance claim - advice needed
Windscreen - Insurance claim - advice needed
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shopper150

Original Poster:

1,583 posts

224 months

Wednesday 2nd December 2015
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I have a high value 6 series and have a crack in the windscreen. My insurance company is Admiral, and they have said that I can only use Autoglass. Autoglass have said that they can replace the windscreen, but once they have done this, the Active Cruise Control will no longer work and I would need to go to a dealer to reset this, and Autoglass will not cover the cost of this.

I tried speaking to Admiral to see if they would allow a main dealer to carry out the windscreen replacement and reprogramming, so that there is only one company dealing with the whole issue and if anything were to go wrong, then there is only one company that has touched the car and therefore would need to resolve.

Admiral are refusing and saying that the windscreen can only be changed by Autoglass and I would need to supply them with a quote for reprogramming of the active cruise control sensors and they would then authorise it. My real concerns are possible situations like:
A) main dealer saying Autoglass have damaged something or not fitted something correctly
B) main dealer providing an estimate before Autoglass work carried out and then once Autoglass have done the work, stating that something else needs to be done etc and Admiral not covering the cost.

Does anyone have any similar experience or advice? Am I being unreasonable or ovecautious?
I simply want one company to deal with the whole thing and take responsibility should anything go wrong. I don't really want to end up with one company blaming another.

Monty Python

4,813 posts

227 months

Wednesday 2nd December 2015
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I thought the ACC radar was under the front bumper - maybe they're confusing it with rain sensor?

Sneaky Pete

440 posts

213 months

Wednesday 2nd December 2015
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Have autoglass change the windscreen at your preferred BMW dealer and ask the dealer (pay them) to keep an eye on the swap and reconfigure whatever is required while the fitter is still there.

Dannbodge

2,386 posts

151 months

Wednesday 2nd December 2015
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As a comment above.

The only thing that's mounted in the windscreen is a rain sensor.

Active cruise is normally a module in the front grille.

I had my windscreen replaced by autoglass (I have E90 with active cruise and rain sensor) and both still work fine. No coding or reprogramming needed.

If you took the car to BMW to have the windscreen done, they would only go and call out autoglass or equivalent.

Riggie

182 posts

155 months

Wednesday 2nd December 2015
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My insurance co (Privilege) have a £75 excess if using Autoglass or £125 if you use anyone else. Check the small print. Autoglass put a new screen in my car (E70)on Sunday, did a nice tidy job and the rain and lighting sensors work fine.

I note that Autoglass did have a section in their terms about ACC and it would have to go to a dealer for reset. That must be part and parcel of a screen replacement therefore it should be down to the insurance company.

Riggie

182 posts

155 months

Wednesday 2nd December 2015
quotequote all
My insurance co (Privilege) have a £75 excess if using Autoglass or £125 if you use anyone else. Check the small print. Autoglass put a new screen in my car (E70)on Sunday, did a nice tidy job and the rain and lighting sensors work fine.

I note that Autoglass did have a section in their terms about ACC and it would have to go to a dealer for reset. That must be part and parcel of a screen replacement therefore it should be down to the insurance company.

SuffolkIan

135 posts

313 months

Wednesday 2nd December 2015
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I had Autoglass replace a windscreen in my F11 5 series recently, they are able to fix any faults themselves. The rain sensor/ auto lights were not working correctly after so they came back and replaced the sensor and all was fine, all without any quibble or hassle. They did a good job and I'd have no problem trusting them again. I am insured with LV, is it possible different insurers have different contracts with Autoglass?

Ian

Glassman

25,033 posts

245 months

Wednesday 2nd December 2015
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Seems like a lot of bucks are being passed around IMO.

shopper150

Original Poster:

1,583 posts

224 months

Wednesday 2nd December 2015
quotequote all
Glassman said:
Seems like a lot of bucks are being passed around IMO.
This is my point. I've tried to reason with Admiral, but they are not willing to budge. They stated that if I want to use the dealer to fit the glass, they will only pay £50 for everything!!

Glassman

25,033 posts

245 months

Wednesday 2nd December 2015
quotequote all
shopper150 said:
This is my point. I've tried to reason with Admiral, but they are not willing to budge. They stated that if I want to use the dealer to fit the glass, they will only pay £50 for everything!!
How old is the car?

E-bmw

13,505 posts

182 months

Wednesday 2nd December 2015
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Sounds to me like a case of "cheap for good reason", as in the cost of the insurance.

I am not preaching, but I do always have a VERY good look through these things to make sure their repair policy is up to what I want before buying.

To counter this, the answer to the original question is bks! They are completely wrong, as has already been pointed out.

Go with what they say & don't accept less than what you had when you went in & as has already been said, they should be able to sort it.

James P

3,037 posts

267 months

Thursday 3rd December 2015
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I had my windscreen replaced recently and the guy doing it managed to cut through several wires behind the rear view mirror (I assume the sensor is for auto lights at least). The damage managed to knock out the adaptive suspension, automatic lights, airbags, seat belt tensioners and generally made the car undriveable. Once I'd shown him the number of warning lights and messages on the dashboard, he simply left and the telephone number he left for his manager was not answered.

The only positive is that the glass company responded to a tweet, accepted responsibility, covered the investigation/ repair by the dealer, provided a courtesy car for 10 days until the work was complete and didn't chase payment which was then written off. While the car was being repaired, I was advised that whenever the windscreen is replaced, the condensation sensor should also have been replaced - the cost to supply and fit being around £160.

The glass company is not named but I expect it would be close to the top of an alphabetical list wink

shopper150

Original Poster:

1,583 posts

224 months

Thursday 3rd December 2015
quotequote all
James P said:
I had my windscreen replaced recently and the guy doing it managed to cut through several wires behind the rear view mirror (I assume the sensor is for auto lights at least). The damage managed to knock out the adaptive suspension, automatic lights, airbags, seat belt tensioners and generally made the car undriveable. Once I'd shown him the number of warning lights and messages on the dashboard, he simply left and the telephone number he left for his manager was not answered.

The only positive is that the glass company responded to a tweet, accepted responsibility, covered the investigation/ repair by the dealer, provided a courtesy car for 10 days until the work was complete and didn't chase payment which was then written off. While the car was being repaired, I was advised that whenever the windscreen is replaced, the condensation sensor should also have been replaced - the cost to supply and fit being around £160.

The glass company is not named but I expect it would be close to the top of an alphabetical list wink
This is the nightmare scenario I am trying to avoid. I have a LOT of factory fitted options on the car and really don't want Autoglass to open a can of worms and then walk off leaving me to chase Admiral for a resolution.

Arrrghh!!!

idrussell

33 posts

136 months

Thursday 3rd December 2015
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shopper150 said:
This is the nightmare scenario I am trying to avoid. I have a LOT of factory fitted options on the car and really don't want Autoglass to open a can of worms and then walk off leaving me to chase Admiral for a resolution.

Arrrghh!!!
I am surprised by Admiral's stance. I recently had to get the screen replaced on my E61. I was concerned that Autoglass (recommended by my insurer Esure) may make a mess of fitting the screen after reading all the horror stories on various BMW forums. I spoke to Esure who sanctioned a BMW screen without any issue. I spoke to Autoglass who said they would send a 'senior' technician (apparently they are graded 1 to 4, 4 being the best qualified with the most experience) The technician arrived at my place of work and a new screen was fitted perfectly, he clearly knew everything about fitting BMW screens. No issues inside or out, not even a fingerprint. Lights, rain sensor, fog sensor all work perfectly with no recoding required. A colleague of mine insisted on BMW doing the work on his new 135i when that got a crack on the screen - he has had numerous issues since including leaks, wind noise, etc which are still not all resolved, it came back originally 10mm out of alignment with the roof panel and has since been fitted again by them twice. Speak to Autoglass, ensure you are getting an experienced technician, watch while he does the work - I am sure they will be fine, they do a lot more windscreen replacements than your local BMW dealer will.

anonymous-user

84 months

Thursday 3rd December 2015
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Interesting how insurers vary. A couple of years ago I needed screen replacements in our VW CC and our 997S. Autoglass did the VW, with no issues, a nice enough young chap who seemed to know what he was doing and explained it al to me as he went along.

I was wary about them doing the 911 however but spoke to my insurer, Aviva, who allowed me to get it done by Paragon Porche with an OE screen. I had to pay the bill initially, almost £700 but it was refunded, less the excess, within a week.

Both cars had rain sensors but they didn't present any issues.

Glassman

25,033 posts

245 months

Thursday 3rd December 2015
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James P said:
The glass company is not named but I expect it would be close to the top of an alphabetical list wink
That narrows it down to three (of five nationals)

hehe

JonV8V

8,186 posts

154 months

Thursday 3rd December 2015
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I've had the windscreen of my 'high value' 6 gran coupe changed. Auto glass failed twice to do it, both times because they brought the wrong glass. In the end the jnsurance company agreed BMW could have a go. It's about 3mm lower than it was before and the windscreen wipers were replaced at the wrong level. You simply can't win.

As for the recalibration, I'm presuming this is the camera and rain sensor, you may need to get BMW to do it but I've been told before that auto glass will pay.

As an aside, it visits about a grand for BMW to change the screen as I paid and the insurance company reimbursed me.

Kendrik

307 posts

190 months

Thursday 3rd December 2015
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Interesting how different insurance companies vary. I posted a few days ago with similar concerns as I have HUD. As it happens auto glass didn't have the screen in stock but the insurer is fine with having it done at a main dealer, no push back at all. The insurance is BMW Insurance which as an aside seems very good and not particularly expensive.

Sorry OP, I appreciate that doesn't help you - but I have used auto glass a few times without problem. Will your insurer let you pay the difference in cost - I've had that discussion before.

James P

3,037 posts

267 months

Friday 4th December 2015
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Glassman said:
James P said:
The glass company is not named but I expect it would be close to the top of an alphabetical list wink
That narrows it down to three (of five nationals)

hehe
I'll know better next time.

Vixpy1

42,699 posts

294 months

Friday 4th December 2015
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I'll only use Glassman on here, Both my insurer (Aviva) and my Wifes (Zurich) had no problem with me using him, and there was no additional excess.