Premonitions of the dreaded rock kind

mark houghton · 09:25 AM

So I'm tooling down the road this lovely cool morning, on the way to work, hugging the right side of the road as is my usual rock avoidance strategy when the "big rigs" roar past in the opposite lane. Said to myself "self, it's just a matter of time before I suck one up".

Don't ever say those words to yourself, 'cause not 5 minutes later I've got this tennis ball-sized star on the passenger side. I mean, this thing wasn't your run of the mill rock....it was a freakin' asteroid! Pissed me off to no end, but what's a person to do?

The question: Where are you guys getting your windshields from? Is it critical to go OEM and pay through the nose for a piece of glass, or have you had good luck with glass of the Asian Persuasion? I believe my 'shield is tinted as the rest of the windows are...any reference to the level of tint that I should get?

I've replaced only two windshields in cars over my lifetime. Is this something DIY, or better trusted to some crackhead junkie that doesn't know a Porsche from a Volkswagen?

Ken911 · 07-28-2011, 10:57 AM

most insurance is zero deductable on windshield replacement. they will come to your house and do it in the drveway. The replacement i got on my 911 was better than the original. the turbo still has the stock window

JFairman · 07-28-2011, 11:10 AM

Mark, your '87 has the FM antenna in the front windsheild and I think the aftermarket ones do not have that and they usually don't fit as well in the corners as the oem ones... but they do cost alot less and some are made in China.

Check the comprehensive coverage you have in your state. In Florida it's state law all insurance companies have to pay in full for a new front windsheild including installation even if it only has a crack if you have comp coverage.

I don't think you have to pay any deductable for windsheilds here but not sure of that.

jonesb930 · jonesb930's Garage

Jim is correct about Florida, no deductible fully covered. I think they got tired of people riding around with broken windshields. Check with your insurance. Heck I even broke mine re-installing it and the Ins co asked if I broke it on purpose (like throwing something through it). I said no I was just putting it back in. They covered it and sent a guy to put the new one in, no cost.

mark houghton · 07-28-2011, 12:27 PM

Cool! And I did forget about the antenna in the windshield. That may force OEM.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

I think OEM is the only way to go for that windshield antenna. $600. (I've got a dime-sized nick in mine.)

As you're finding out, every state varies regarding insurance. So unless you're in the same state as the OP, any insurance advice offered towards him is worthless.

turbo3six · 07-28-2011, 01:45 PM

Recently bought the same windshield (87 911 Turbo) from the dealer...and it was not that expensive; I seem to remember $650? ...And NO I didnt make a claim, even though the insurers are contractually obligated, as per Florida statute, to pay without application of a deductible . A clean claim history is WAY more important to me than payment of any small claim.
...IMHO, Buy the OEM replacement you dont want to start adding ricey parts to a Porsche even if it is available for cheaper price.

fletcher0780 · fletcher0780's Garage

I've got a safelite replacement windshield that includes the antenna. $0 cost to me, as insurance payed the bill, in CT comp glass claims are not counted against you. Fit is excellent and the antenna works great!

Ken911 · 07-28-2011, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fletcher0780

I've got a safelite replacement windshield that includes the antenna. $0 cost to me, as insurance payed the bill, in CT comp glass claims are not counted against you. Fit is excellent and the antenna works great!

Same in florida windshield claim from road debris doesnt count against you. At least with geico

mark houghton · 08:35 PM

So what I'm hearing is....if you want a new windshield, go with OEM and get it from a dealer. Is that the only place to get one? I have this "thing" about dealer markups, but may just have to suck it up on this one (plus, the nearest dealer is 120 miles and many potential rocks away).

schmidlapp · schmidlapp's Garage

Wow! Thats no stone chip, more like a canonball. Hopefully it did not hit the paint,
as glass will be much easier to fix. I'd go with either OEM or Safelite.
I had a "special" replacement by another company on my Dodge Durango,
The new glass did not shed water like the OEM.

cole930 · 06:09 PM

Mr. Gimpy

I don't think you can buff that out !!!!!

When I was doing my house one of my Amish framers droped a 2 x 4 and it slid off the deck and went all the way through the windshield of the Sled. I bought a new aftermarket tinted windshield from a local company installed at my house for $370. Has been great ever since. No one has ever said "Hey man, that's not a factory stock windshield" Your out of your F------ mind if you buy one from Porsche.

JBL930 · 07-29-2011, 04:49 AM

Think yourself lucky it hit the window, that would of been a nasty dent anywhere else..... Good chance to check for any rust appearing under there too

BlkBird · 07-29-2011, 06:57 AM

And of course no chance the truck carrying the load was ever found or stopped...

JFairman · 07-29-2011, 08:39 AM

A buddy of mine that used to live next door to me works for safelight and he had one of their vans he kept at home.
He hated the aftermarket windsheilds because they didn't fit as well as origonal ones and were alot harder and took longer to install because of that.
I don't mean to say a safelight 911 windsheild won't fit right because I don't remember him saying he ever installed one of those.

He had a van full of generic long rolls of rubber gasket material some of which could fit a garretson intercooler flange and black urethane sealants for glueing in the new flush mount windsheilds.

His van also had a good 12volt DC to 120 volt AC converter to run his powertools on location.
He would let the van idle in the driveway and we'd run extension cords from it to keep our refrigerators and beer cold, a TV, and one window AC unit or a fan running after hurricanes when the power was out.

..i'm wayyyy off topic as usual but Mark doesn't mind that and glad your windsheild took the shot and not your paint and hood or roof.

mark houghton · 07-29-2011, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFairman

..i'm wayyyy off topic as usual but Mark doesn't mind that and glad your windsheild took the shot and not your paint and hood or roof.

Off topic...no problem. I've been guilty of that on many occasions.

I did suck up a much smaller stone a couple years ago which first bounced off the center of the hood, then glanced off the windshield. Left a chip in the paint and a small "ding" on the hood (touch up paint kinda hides it) and the dent is hard to see 'cause the white paint is blinding in full sunlight. A good dentless repair guy could fix it. The windshield recieved just a surface scuff that looks like a bug splatter that won't wash off. Guess I don't have to feel bad about that little scuff anymore.

That asteroid that hit me damn near went clean through the windshield. There are actually sharp edges around the circumference where it's caved in a bit.

vas930 · vas930's Garage

Just got one today for $150 in Australia. No instalation charge to do it yourself.
Funny thing is, Porsche over here charged me $156 for the winscreen seal. haha

mark houghton · 08-01-2011, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vas930

Just got one today for $150 in Australia. No instalation charge to do it yourself.
Funny thing is, Porsche over here charged me $156 for the winscreen seal. haha

For that price, you could buy one for me and air freight it to the states!

mike f · 08-01-2011, 01:38 PM

Just make sure they are familiar with Porsche windshields. Also nmake sure you don't need a new seal. And don't let them use that black adhesive or silicone to seal it. If you are going through insurance, why would you have anyone other than a Porsche mechanic do the job?

LOWFAT · 08-01-2011, 01:43 PM

Consider yourself lucky, on our way home from P2O yesterday a possible drunk driver ran off the road in front of me at around 85 mph slid along the gravel along the shoulder and showered rocks all over my car. I now have twenty chips down to the metal along the driver front fender flares,door,and up the hood. My car was virtually unmarked before this

We called the police and after twenty five miles of them not showing up and me trying to get this guy to pull over I finally got off at an exit to collect myself and cool off. I would like to thank the KY state police for not responding to a call and hope this guy did not kill anyone on his way to Michigan where he was from.