Oh No! Scratched Windshield!

[masshead87]

Today, I pull back on the stick for the windshield washer and I hear a horrible scratching sound. A little piece of quartz from my driveway had gotten itself wedged underneath the wiper blade (probably thrown there by snowblower) and now i have two small lines cut across the drivers side of the windshield.
They're not deep enough for me to catch my fingernail in but I can feel them as i glide my hand over, and of course the lines are directly level with my eyes. Any idea of what to expect fixing this? Or am I gonna have to bite it and get a new windshield? And if so, what's the cash cost of that?

[BadQ45t]

Take it to a windshield repair place and get it evaluated. My guess is a 96 has a farily pitted up windshield, it is one of the few things on my 97' where my car really shows it age. I cannot wait for a big rock to crack it good so I can get the insurance company to replace it.

Most good windshield repair places can give you an instant yes or no on a repair and then work directly with your insurance company to get a new one installed if required.

[masshead87]

That's cool, the problem is my insurance doesn't cover glass. Either way I talked to 2 shops yesterday, who both told me that due to the length of the scratch (the entire arc of the driver's side wiper) I'm better off just getting a new windshield. SafeLite quoted me $270 for one with the same tint installed with a Nationwide warranty, not sure of the details of that warranty yet. I also got quoted $225 for one installed by a smaller chain, no warranty, no choice on tint. Apparently a scratch of that length would not only cost nearly the same amount to fix, but also would probably result in a wavy windshield and give me headaches.

I knew the Q wasn't getting through a winter like this unscathed! Next time I'll remember to be more like my fellow New Englanders and point my wipers up before a storm.

[Q451990]

Since it's already messed up, you couldn't do any damage trying to get it out yourself. I've been told that "Barkeeper's Friend" can do wonders on windshields, depending on the depth of the scratch.



It's a powdered mildly abrasive cleaner, similar to Commet or Ajax. Should be available at WalMart or places like Bed Bath and Beyond if you can't find it there.

Heath

[qship96]

Bar keeper wont remove scratches, just clean. Considering the factory windshield glass is around $1200, I would be leary of the quality of a sub $300 job that includes glass AND labor- I would want to carefully, really carefully, inspect the glass for wavy distortion BEFORE they attempt to install it, it might be worse than looking thru your current factory glass with a few scratches in it.

[BadQ45t]

My guess for 200 and change your getting crap, but maybe you got lucky. I got quoted more like $700 to replace with PPG which is OEM quality. If you just want to get it done and get it done cheap, go for it. but that is not OEM quality, no way.