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This isn't a complaint at all, but I thought I'd offer some help to some people here after I read through some complaints about Safelite. Hopefully, you'll read this BEFORE you hire a glass company to repair your windshield. First, this is about repairing windshield chips, not replacing a windshield. I've been in an auto glass technician since 1992 and am self employed so I also have extensive sales, customer service and management skills.

First, understand this key fact - you can choose ANY glass company to do the work, no matter what your insurance company says. Most consumers don't know that besides being a glass repair and replacement facility, Safelite is also a TPA, third party administrator for the insurance industry. This means they handle the billing process and paying claims to glass companies for glass jobs completed, including to their own competitors. This obvious conflict of interest leads to many attempts of steering customers calling in with glass claims to use Safelite. This is 100% ILLEGAL in every state in the country. It is completely and only YOUR CHOICE as the consumer.

Next, when calling to set an appointment, ask how long the repair process takes. If the response you hear is 15 minutes, hang up and call someplace else. I own two windshield repair kits made by a company called Aegis. My particular kits are extremely expensive and considered among the best in the glass industry. They do a great job when used properly. Properly means letting each cycle run through its full time frame. Rule of thumb is that if you can cover the chip entirely with a quarter, it can be repaired fairly well. Larger than that can also be done, if extra time is allowed.

The process consists of several steps. Obviously, the first is to clean the glass, then the fixture is attached to the glass via a suction cup which holds the nozzle. The nozzle seals around the breach of the chip and attaches to a vacuum/pressure pump via a hose. A few drops of the repair resin are dropped into the nozzle before the hose is attached. The pump is set to vacuum and vacuum is pulled for at least ten minutes, maybe longer if needed. A trick is to lightly run a lighter under the repair from inside the windshield during the vacuum cycle. This allows to visibly see bubbles of air exiting the break and bubbling up through the liquid resin resting on the surface of the glass.

Once the vacuum cycle is complete and all the air is completely evacuated, the pump is switched to pressure and this forces the liquid resin into the break through the impact point of the chip. Different techs will have differing opinions on this, but I bring it to about 12-15lbs of pressure. From the inside of the car, the chip can be seen filling if the air has been completely evacuated during the vacuum process. The further away from the center of the chip, the narrower the cracks get, so the outer points take a bit of time to fill. I usually leave the pressure cycle on at least 12 minutes or more if necessary.

The final step is to properly cure the resin under UV light, which occurs fairly quickly, especially on sunny days. Still, this takes at least 5 minutes. Shave off the cured resin with a razor, clean the entire windshield and you're done.

Now, if you kept track, this is about a 30 minute long process if its a typical chip. I've done repairs on bigger chips where I spent 40-45 minutes on them, but the extra time is well worth it.

So, if anyone tells you they'll fix your chip in 10 or 15 minutes, don't let them touch your car, especially the untrained hacks pestering you at car washes.

Now, a few other bits to know - repairs are NOT intended to restore visual perfection to your windshield. The repair process is designed to prevent the damage from escalating and requiring windshield replacement. Some chips are worse than others and don't fill as well, leaving behind more visual evidence of the original damage. This does not necessarily mean you have a bad repair, though if it was done in 10 minutes, then it's a bad repair. There will always be some hint of the original damage. Still, a qualified, consciencious technician will minimize it.

Also, when you notice any chips in your windshield, place a small piece of clear scotch tape over the impact point. This won't prevent the chip from spreading, but it will prevent any road grime or contamination from getting in the chip, lessening the quality of the repair, especially if rain forces you to run your wipers before you can get the repair done.

My best tip for finding a good glass company is do a bit of research like on this site. And even if you call a generic 800 number to file your claim, try calling your local agent for a referral regarding reputable local glass companies. They'll know who is good and who is not, and they won't be bound by kickbacks or conflicts like the adminstrators are.

One last thing - as for the warranty, typical industry standards for warrantying a windshield repair is that if the repair fails at a later date, which rarely but occasionally does happen (all of 5 times in 19 years and thousands of repairs for me), the amount paid for the repair is credited towards a new windshield. You don't get a free $300 windshield because a $50 repair failed. It must be understood that we're fixing a piece of glass that's broken. There simply are no 100% assurances when performing this process due to the nature of laminated glass. If the insurance company paid for the repair, they get the credit and the consumer pays their deductible, as the consumer had no out of pocket expense intially and aren't entitled to a credit. This is why one should NEVER get a windshield repair done at a car wash, gas station or some scrub on the side of the road working under a canopy. They cannot back up any warranty claims because they don't do replacements, only repairs. They won't refund your money so you get nothing if their work fails.

I hope this info helps others make well informed decisions should you fall into this situation in the future.

Location: Houston, Texas

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Guest

Well Iโ€™ve been fixing chips since 86 and have never charged over 45 and I do set up on the side of the road and the folks I guarantee and they fail Iโ€™ve gave there money back bought a few windshields thruout the years also i DO NOT do replacements so itโ€™s totally out of pocket but Iโ€™m confident in my GLASS MAGIC machines that failure is few and far between I use DELTA resins the best and cracks over 4 inches ur spinning ur wheels they just donโ€™t look good if ur particular get a new windshield I do not file on insurances cue and I keep my prices low customers happy I travel to 5 small towns and SIT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD and please 99% of the customers I have so Iโ€™m not gonna write a thesis some of us just know an honest guy Thanks for all the successful years TEXAS Window Wizard serving TEXAS since 1986

Mayson Zub

i started at as a car was tech. i have done over 2000 chip repair claims, i have had two chip repairs fail.

the first was when the drill entered the windshield on 113 degree day the glass just busted, the second i had to buy that windshield out of pocket and have it replaced at my cost. no big deal!

i can fix almost any chip in 10 minutes with a bottle of compressed air used for cleaning computer parts, a new dril bit and a plastic plunger kit i paid $80.00 for. and a uv flash light that has 2 dd batteries.

my point u waist a alot of time and i am a recommended shop with lynx.

p.s i hate satelite :)

Guest

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Pete I Inw

Well offended, first I gotta say that if a stranger's words on the internet offend you, you need a thicker skin. Then I gotta say that sadly, I'm familiar with Ultrabond's repair kits.

I had to use one of them years ago before I went into business for myself. I didn't like them then and I don't see any improvement now. And to be fair, I checked their website before posting this comment. In fact, they've got a video of a windshield crack repair done in time lapse.

The time lapse version took 9:47 and showed 17 different steps in the process, 17. Do some easy math. If each step takes 2 minutes, and by watching the video, that is a generous estimate as some steps looked like they'd take longer than that, the process would take 34 minutes. Realistically, it's probably closer to 40-45 minutes.

Ultrabond's kits don't sufficiently pull enough vacuum to thoroughly evacuate the break in my opinion, but I'm sure your opinion differs and that's fine. I fully stand behind every word I've posted, but I've always been the type to emphasize quality for my customers over quantity of jobs. And I never said larger chips are a problem. Your implication that I said otherwise is false.

By the way, between myself and my technicians, we average 35 jobs per day between windshield replacements and repairs as well as door, quarter and back glasses, so thinking back to a busy day for me means going back a few hours ago to today when we completed 42. And congratulations on 14 years in the business. You're only 6 years short of me.

In the 20 years I've been at this, I've completed over 35,000 installations and repairs, so you'd have to average 10 jobs per day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year for your 14 years just to keep up with me. Good luck.

Guest

Untrained hacks at car washes. Listen here and let me educate you Nytro.

I have also been in bussiness many years and am also self employed. And yes I work out of a car wash!! And I am willing to bet I do more repairs and REPLACEMENTS than you have ever thought of doing. I have no idea why you would waste your time or that of your customers time pretending it takes 30 min to repair a chip.I use a simple tool made by ultra bond.

I also use ultra bond resin. I can sucessfully fill a chip of any size in 10 min or less. And repairing a chip bigger than a quarter is definitely not a problem. And as far as replacements go we offer a free mobil service which makes it very convenient for the customers.

Can you belive we actually work out of a car wash and we offer replacements.We have a lifetime warranty on all repairs which is listed on our invoice. And we also repair long cracks, let me see your suction cup do that lol. I have done repairs and replacements for 14 yrs and have tried all kind of different locations and the washes are the best. We do on average 8 repairs and 5 replacements a day.

with the most repairs in a day being 28.

It was a busy saturday when is the last time you had a busy day. So dont hate on us carwash guys just try and keep up.

Mayson Zub
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-409181

thats banging!!!! i did 24 repairs claims in 1 day but that was my record with a car count of 340 or something like that.

its the rent that kills me. i cant get into any decent sites in my area because well honestly there are only a couple left and they are locked down by guys with more money than me. now i do my own billing and hire my own installers and all that jazz.

i work about 10-15 hours a week and never make less that 1k. i wont get this rich way but thank u car washes for teaching me how to make my own business and retain my own customers with out incentives or advertising!!!

and kudos to u sir!

Guest

Please check windshields.com or glass.net when shopping for your glass repairs/replacements. Both sites provide customers with locally operated glass businesses that are not Safelite. I have located three really good shops in our area for all our glass replacements.

Guest

@ glassrepair4life.....sorry but I agree with nytro and I don't need to tell anyone how long I have been in the glass business, AGREE if some glass company says done in 5 minutes I would say RUNNN!!! no matter what system glass company's use repairs are a lot about timing among a lot of other factors

Cresha A

Thanks for the great advice Nytro its obvious you know what your talking about. you would get my business for sure ;)

Guest

Glassrepair4life, as I stated, I've been doing windshield repairs as well as auto glass replacement for 19 years and summer of 2012 will be two decades experience for me. I've owned my own business for ten years now.

During most of this time, I've maintained my Master Technician certification with NAGS (National Auto Glass Specifications) as well as earning my AGRSS (Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standards) certification. Besides these two associations, I'm a member of the NWRA (National Windshield Repair Association), the authority on the windshield repair industry. In almost two decades of experience while reading all the industry publications, attending the trade shows and seminars, speaking with representatives of the companies who manufacture windshield repair kits as well as auto glass industry leaders, I've never ever seen or heard of a single windshield repair kit or procedure that allows for a properly done repair in five minutes. If you don't believe me, do some easy checking about this year's Auto Glass Week which I and over 1,000 other auto glass professionals attended.

It was in Memphis this past September. Kerry Wanstrath, current president of the NWRA touched on improperly done repairs due to technicians either improperly trained or just rushing through the process. Five minutes is not considered nearly enough time to effectively complete a windshield repair, and industry experts agree. If you want further proof, check the results of the windshield repair competition held at this year's Auto Glass Week.

That may sound silly to some of you not in the industry, but those of us who do this for a living take it seriously, and that benefits our customers. This year's windshield repair champion was a guy named Llano who flew all the way from Spain to attend Auto Glass Week. His repair was judged by several industry experts who've spent their entire lives in the industry. Llano's repair took almost thirty minutes, though speed is never judged as it is not considered advantageous to hurry.

Glassrepair4life, I couldn't help but notice you didn't offer even a bit of information about the kit or procedure you use in your repairs, nor did you mention any professional affiliations.

I know there are people out there who just dab a drop of super glue over a chip, wait a few minutes for it to cure and then bill the insurance company or customer $50. I hope that's not what you're doing.

Guest

Ive been doing windshield chip repairs for years. i own my own business and have been doing great.

i do all repairs by hand without a machine that attaches to the windshield. i can do a full repair from start to beginning in less than 5 minutes.

My companies repairs always impress and customers are always pleased. So please.....stop telling people to hang up on companies who can do a repair faster than you can.

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