Replacement windscreen. Make?

shurl

Hi folks.

Courtesy of a large stone from the back of a truck I have a nice 5 inch crack in my windscreen.

Just wondering if anyone knows if the replacement windows that companys like Autoglass fits are the original makes?
I.e My window has an Alfa Romeo logo on it. Will the one supplied by Autoglass be the same or are they just "generic" ?

Cheers.

S.

peasant

Even if it is "generic" it will most likely will have been made in the same factory, off the same tools.

Tooling up for a windscreen is very expensive and the car maker usually owns the tool. They may decide to sell "generic" windscreens made from the same tool to car glass companies in order to get some of the cost back. (Especially after the main production run of that specific model of car is over)

Or they have the glass branded and sell it through their own channels (which just makes it dearer in the end)

MarkR

If you're worried will it be a correct fit, it'll be fine. If you're worried about branding I think it will just have the CE mark on it?

leex

Had 2 side windows replaced in my car by the same windscreen company at different times. One was a 3rd party brand and the other had the car manufacturers logo on it.

BrianD3

I got a new windscreen for my Laguna and a few days later noticed that there was no "sunvisor" (dotted area around where the rear view mirror is attached) on the new screen. Didn't make a fuss about it as it was no big deal.

Also if your car has rain sensing wipers it may need a different screen than a model without them so make sure to inform the windscreen fitters. And some cars have "heat reflecting screens". Not sure i'd be able to tell the difference between one of these and a normal screen though!

shurl

Cheers Folks.
Yeah rang Auto Glass, 231 euros for suppy and fit a generic windscreen.
Not to bad.

Not too worried about the fit they are basically the same windows.
I just have a thing about keeping stuff OEM. Tis an expensive problem :-)

Also, it's one more thing to explain if I go to sell it. (had the same issue with a previous car, one of the windows did not have the same logos, buyer got suspicious )

Silly, I know.

S.

crosstownk

I wouldn't be too bothered by the make/brand of the replacement screen. It certainly won't affect the resale value of your car. Replacement windscreens are fitted on a daily basis - and lots of them.

A lot of windscreen suppliers now import directly from car glass manufacturers (just like the car manufacturers). China seems to exporting car glass at a phenomenal rate lately. I know of two suppliers here in Ireland that are now importing directly from China and warehousing the stuff here for distribution. On occasions when they cannot get generic glass, they usually order from the local main dealer, who is obviously more expensive.

If you look at your original Alfa screen, it will have the manufacturers name beside the Alfa logo i.e. Pilkington, Splintex, Saint Gobain-Sekurit, etc, etc.

The one thing I would ensure is that the safety information is the same on both screens.