The old advert jingle really sunk in, and in my time of need, they were there. I’ve used them for chip repairs in the past and know they’re solid.
There’s nothing quite like the experience of leaving the annual inspection and oil change and having a giant crack on your windshield slowly expand mere feet from where the windshield was whole. No fault of the auto shop, but annoying nonetheless. Given the extent of the damage, I needed a new windshield. Exactly what auto insurance is for, right? Well, turns out there’s more to it than that, unless you’re ready to straight burn money.
If you read nothing else, take my pro tips from a now-experienced windshield replacement shopper:
- Insurance isn’t always the best solution
- Shop around, and then shop around some more
Now, let’s have some fun with this. The car is a 2014 BMW 228i. Delightful little 2-door coupe. No surprise, every single BMW experience is expensive, though. I expected no different for a cracked front windscreen. I hold USAA insurance for all three of our cars. Comprehensive coverage will ABSOLUTELY covers windshield chips (no deductible) and outright windshield replacement (deductible).
Here’s the thing, going through insurance was outlandishly expensive. I went online to file a claim, clicked through to the partner (Safelite) for windshield repair, entered all my info, and boom, “you’re covered with a $500 out of pocket cost.” Kind of what I was expecting, even if I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case. Quote 1 – $500 w/ insurance claim
I figured, oh, I wonder how much my insurance is saving me. Why don’t I get a quote and see how much it is if I avoid the claim fully. I directly go to Safelite’s site, re-enter all my info on the vehicle. After a number of attempted upsells, it comes back with a not insignificantly lower cost. Quote 2 – $325.73 w/ no insurance claim
I thought that was a bit funny that they would quote me that much less. I thought maybe there was some wiggle room. I hunted for about five minutes on my work internet and found a delightful Reddit post giving a pro tip, go to cancel your reservation and select “too expensive” as the reason for cancellation. I test it out, and boom, big discount to keep my reservation. Quote 3 – $219.73 w/ no insurance claim ($100 off replacement, plus tax)
That’s a figure I can stomach. But maybe if I got it that good I can do even better. My internet carousing wasn’t finding anything better. But I vaguely recalled seeing an offer on one of my cards. I pull up Chase, and right on top of my offers was a solid 15% off for using my Freedom card. Quote 3 + Freedom – $186.77 ($219.73 – $32.96 Cash Back offer)
In the end, David from Safelite did a stellar job. And I got what is a pretty solid deal for a new windshield. See for yourself!
