Cracked windscreen - insurance?

[Rescue23]

Was enjoying a drive from Eden to Kiama this week when my windscreen was hit by what I thought was a small stone thrown up by the car in front of me. It was so innocuous - barely heard it and didn't see it coming. Totally surprised to see a 15cm crack appear on the lower left side. It grew another 2-3 cm in the 10 minutes it took to find a windscreen repairer in Bega. He reckoned the windscreen should really be replaced, but has "repaired" it, and says it may last "quite a while". He couldn't believe I didn't have windscreen insurance, as it would cost well over $1000 to replace, and would have to go back to a dealer to have all the electronics up the top sorted out. I haven't had a cracked windscreen in 25 years (or insurance) but given the cost of a replacement and how apparently easy it was to crack, for an extra $50-$60 a year it's certainly worth considering.

[IsDon]

It wouldn’t have to go to a dealer. Call Windscreens O’Brien.

They do all of the repairs for the dealers anyway, and that includes widescreens that have camera behind them. A dealer would book it for you, and charge you an extra $400 but they wouldn’t do it themselves. Save yourself the money, and go to them directly.

[Jimi]

Depends if you want a genuine windscreen. I had the same experience - no issues for 15 years and then two in the space of 3 months. I now have windscreen no-excess

[iDiesel]

I had a windscreen replaced by O’Briens about 18months a go on my previous car
after about 3 months I noticed that driving at nights, oncoming vehicle lights were much more glary than on the original windscreen.
Id consider windscreen insurance moving forward because of this

[Rooboy]

O'Briens can do the windscreen replacement but, my understanding is that it has to go back to the dealer to have the camera and other sensors re-calibrated. That's what happened with a friend's 7.5 Golf Highline earlier this year.

[Rescue23]

It was O'Briens in Bega who did the repair and said these windscreens would have to go back to the dealer for the camera, etc, after they (O'Brien's) did the windscreen replacement. He also said the glass was thinner than on older cars.

[Hillbilly]

It wouldn’t have to go to a dealer. Call Windscreens O’Brien.

They do all of the repairs for the dealers anyway, and that includes widescreens that have camera behind them. A dealer would book it for you, and charge you an extra $400 but they wouldn’t do it themselves. Save yourself the money, and go to them directly.

I wouldnt ever go to them after gettting a quote for a Landcruiser windscreen of $560. Took it to a local guy who did our bus screens. Cost under $300 and he said is the same screen Obriens use.
I recently had a new screen in my Passat Screen cost $660 at VW parts plus fitting by a local guy nominated by ins coy. After fitting and cameras refitted and aligned bill was approx $1500

[INASNT]

Had mine replaced few months ago through windscreens Obrien.

I'm with Shannons which gives you 1 free windscreen replacement per year.

Shannons got obrien to contact me, I told them I wanted OEM not aftermarket, firstly they told me they only do aftermarket, I told them it had to be OEM for the lane guidance and other features to work, they agreed to put in OEM. I was going to ring Shannons and tell them to get someone-else to replace it if obrien didn't put in an OEM.

They replaced the windscreen at my local VW dealer who then re-calibrated the sensors. Re-calibration cost $88 which Shannons payed for.

Make sure to take your etag off before you get the screen replaced, I forgot to and took many days to get it back from Obrien.