Windshield shopping experience (feel free to comment)

Hi all, Thanks for your advice this past week re. the cracked windshield on my '89 Toyota Corolla SR5 coupe. This is in the Boston, MA area. I've called a zillion places-- told all of them I don't have comprehensive coverage and need to pay out of pocket. I thought you might find some of the below interesting:

  1. The chains (e.g. JNPhillips) have multiple locations in my area, and I was trying to call the inner-city locations, figuring that the best price would be if I drove the car into their shops instead of their coming to me. The shops in nicer neighborhoods were quoting like 0-0 vs 0 for poorer neighborhoods. Interestingly, the shops in poorer neighborhoods would give me a quote, e.g., 0, and when they heard I don't that live close by, they told me I can get it done at their sister shop in my local [nicer] neighborhood shop for 0, b/c they can "transfer the price over." So I guess moral of the story is that if you want a chain to do your windshield, don't hesitate to call different locations of the same chain, b/c they'll likely give you different prices that you can transfer to any location. Won't the shops lose business and money if they are routing customers to other locations in the same chain [that are more convenient for the customer]? They seemed to do this all the time when I called. You'd think that to some extent, the amount of business each individual shop does will affect what its employees make.

  1. Highest quote I got was 6 (!!). Fewer than 10% of quotes were 5 or less.

  2. Junkyard said 5 installed (how many of you go this route?). I would be up for it, but the junkyard said that '89 SR5 coupes use different windshields than sedans. None of the other shops said this though, so hopefully the junkyard was wrong. Does anyone have any idea? I don't want to have a shop rip out my old windshield and then tell me "oops, we can't find one to fit."

  1. One independent shop said 5 cash, off-the-books. Is it safe to pay for a windshield like this? Or do they often end up needing to be re-fitted, re-sealed, in which being a cash off-the-books customer may not be ideal?

  2. One shop with mobile service quoted a good price, said they'd like to be paid in cash, said that if I'm at work, I can leave the car in my driveway, unlocked so they can get in, with the cash payment hidden in the car. Didn't seem like a good plan to me...

  1. The lowest quotes I got were: 5 cash, off-the-books, drive it to an independent shop. 9.20, independent shop with mobile service, said they preferred cash

Finally I called one of the chain glass companies, asked for a quote, they said $254. I said thanks but no thanks. The girl answering the phone asked me what else I was offered, I said $189. She said she could do $180+ tax and set up an appt for me at their closest location. I was quite surprised when she said this, as I didn't think that they would offer a discount, let alone a $74 one. How much profit are auto glass installation companies making?

Do you guys usually ask shops to match or beat someone else's quote? I didn't do this because I felt bad asking, esp if it was an independent shop. For auto repairs I go to independent shops and have never asked for a better/different/lower price, because I figure that's an insult to the mechanic. At least I would be insulted if I were the mechanic.

Is it better to get your auto glass done by a chain than by an independent shop? Maybe for warranty purposes at least? Generally I avoid chains (no Sears/Jiffy Lube/Firestone/etc for anything) but auto glass is probably a different story.

Reply to
johnyang97
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The coupe and sedan have different windshields that are not interchangeable.

Hopefully, you were giving the shops you called a good description of your car so that they quoted the correct price.

I do not think junkyard glass is a good idea because the installer may not clean the old glass up sufficiently to prevent leaks around the dam, and I don't think it is possible to re-use the dam kit so you'll need a new one anyways.

I would be leery of under-the-table deals for something that may not turn out right.

Sounds shady to me too.

Go for this deal!

Sorry, I do almost all of my own work so I'd be bargaining with myself ;-)

Another good place to have auto glass installed is at an auto body shop. They will not be cheap but the installation will probably be very good.

Reply to
Ray O

Hi Ray, The shops asked me if I have a 2-dr or 4-dr, and I said 2-dr. Most said it's the same windshield (interestingly, the Toyota parts/ collision catalog I have at home only lists one part number for the front windshield, and does not specify if it's for sedans or coupes).

'89 Corolla SR5s are very rare in the Northeast so if the coupes have their own windshields, I may have a hard time getting one.

I just called the Watertown, MA Toyota dealership to ask; they said they think it's different windshields for the 2- and 4-dr but need the VIN# to check. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to get the VIN #.

Argh... When I was getting a [used] car I'd have bought a 4-dr, except I was buying used, and the one that became available in my neighborhood was a 2-dr.

Anyways, I will assume that the auto glass installers know what they are doing, and will show up at the time they tell me to with the assumption that they will have checked first if they have the right part...

John

Reply to
johnyang97

There were no 2 door sedans sold in the U.S. so all 2 doors were coupes so you should be OK.

I used to call on that dealership, they are very competent.

Good luck!

Reply to
Ray O

Hi Ray, Whoops, I should clarify-- I bought a copy of Toyota collision/parts number pages (diagrams with part numbers, Toyota list prices, and labor times) off Ebay a while ago. It was for '89 Toyota Corollas. If the 2-dr coupe and 4-dr sedan require different parts numbers for something, the catalog will usually list 2 sets of parts and prices. For windshields, it only lists one part number. Hence I am assuming/hoping that this means the sedan and coupe use the same windshield.

Most of the glass shops I called asked me if I have a 2-dr or 4-dr, and said it's the same windshield. Only the junkyard, supposedly a very good, competent one, said it's not the same windshield. So, either the junkyard is wrong, or the computer listings at the glass shops are wrong...

John

Reply to
johnyang97

Get the correct part number from Toyota of Watertown and go from there. I don't remember if all of the various models had the same windshilield, ie., shape and whether they are tinted or not, but the folks at Watertown will know.

good luck!

Reply to
Ray O

BTW, according to Safelite, the windshield is a structural part of modern vehicles. So you probably shouldn't use any shop that use home depot caulking to "paste" the windshield on. You should also ask that at least AS-1 standard glass is used.

Reply to
johngdole

Get an online quote, select no insurance, self pay.

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The windshield will be covered by the national warranty for as long as you own the car. BTW, I've only heard about their services, never needed or tried them.

Reply to
johngdole

Reply to
Jeff

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