[Daftasabrush]

Originally Posted by R99

Thanks for the advice & experience shares - the guy on the phone gives me literally 0% confidence!!

Maybe unfair at this stage - but it’s £50 excess for a genuine screen via National Windscreens or £800 or so of my own ££ via BMW!

Let’s hope for everyone involved that it goes painlessly otherwise Ageas will have the mother of all compaints to deal with!

Oh good luck complaining to Ageas!

Get a proper underwriter and then get the screen fitted by a proper fitter IMO

[R99]

Originally Posted by Daftasabrush

Oh good luck complaining to Ageas!

Get a proper underwriter and then get the screen fitted by a proper fitter IMO

I use Sky Insurance & Ageas are the underwriters.

If there are any issues & it’s not resolved I’ll just go to the ombudsman - I won’t be messing about.

Never had cause to claim on any policies in my driving history, so fingers crossed!!

[teaston]

Originally Posted by R99

Having a replacement windscreen done on Monday and already dreading it.

I am super anal about my cars and take pride in being OCD about it. Having people work on my car when I don't know what their work is like makes me nervous!

On a plus note I have managed to get the underwriters of my policy to agree to authorise a genuine BMW screen after they tried to force an "OEM equivalent" on me - not on my watch!

However the bad news is that they are adamant that their approved contractor will have to do the install - which is National Windscreens. My local BMW dealer has a state of the art bodyshop facility and I ideally wanted them to do the work, but sadly I cant get them to agree - no matter how hard I have tried!

Anyone had any experience of National Windscreens? Online reviews are rather mixed! Is there anything I should look out for to identify any cowboy style workmanship?

If you took it to BMW to have the screen fitted then it wouldn’t be them that does it, it would be a mobile windscreen fitter that would come to the dealership and do it!

I’ve have 3 windscreens fitted to my F30’s and all 3 have been perfectly fitted.

[Ss66]

Remember wife had her drivers side window replaced by auto glass, after yes that's right just shattering whilst sitting on the drive.The guy from autoglass scratched her chilli red leather drivers seat and broke the wing mirror adjuster button.Tossers fixed the button and tried to get her to accept £250 for the damage to the seat.After checking with BMW the cost of replacing the seat would be £500. We declined there offer and they agreed for BMW to replace the seat cover.

[R99]

Originally Posted by teaston

If you took it to BMW to have the screen fitted then it wouldn’t be them that does it, it would be a mobile windscreen fitter that would come to the dealership and do it!

I’ve have 3 windscreens fitted to my F30’s and all 3 have been perfectly fitted.

They would do it themselves at this place, it’s a massive bodyshop owned by Lloyds and I know the manager fairly well after having used them a few times.

They have the facility to do glass themselves down there which is unusual!

[Jeff123]

They might do it themselves, but how many are they actually doing per week? The Autoglass guys just do this type of work and should be specialists.

As said before, its a fairly quick job, so just get yourself out there and get friendly with the fitter. Its really interesting to watch if its your first time.

If he knows that you are keen, he should be extra careful - I am sure you will be fine.

[R0B]

Luck of the drawer. Had a handful done by Autoglass over the years with no issues. But had one done by National who left a tool in the engine bay - which fortunately I recovered before it worked it's way downwards.

[NanasBack]

Originally Posted by SilverGrey

The guy from Autoglass who did my previous car was brilliant. I explained I was particular (fussy) about my car and he said he too was a keen detailer, and said he was always careful. He placed cloths over the wings and bonnet and after I inspected the work, I was very pleased. He even demonstrated the auto wipers with his spray bottle of water to show that it was still working correctly.

Both the Autoglass guys who worked on mine seemed very genuine.
A similar demonstration with a spray bottle of water did trigger the wipers.
But it didn't matter how heavy the rain was, the rain would not trigger the wipers.

Which I guess after a further number of visits, he changed it to delay wipe.

It can only be tested of course, the next time it is raining. In my case, it was a couple of weeks or more, at a time.

[Tengocity]

I've had a few done over the years by various companies and as said already it comes down to the individual fitter rather than the company which makes the biggest difference.
The one thing I do prefer is to get it done at their premises. It's slightly more hassle, but you know it will have a better chance of getting done right in a proper fitting area.

I'm getting mine done by AW in a few weeks too as it happens. I haven't got time to stress about it too much and if they cock it up I'll make sure they sort it. Or another £50 and you can get another new one!

I wouldn't worry about damage too much... they could do a perfect job and then a day later you get a stone strike or a moron parked next to you at the supermarket or whatever.

[Anton_555]

Had my F31 screen replaced at BMW main dealer last year. All seemed good until I hit the dual carriageway on the way home and found a loud whistling from the the a-pillar. They blamed it on re-fitting the trim incorrectly.

[Junebug85]

Originally Posted by R99

Having a replacement windscreen done on Monday and already dreading it.

I am super anal about my cars and take pride in being OCD about it. Having people work on my car when I don't know what their work is like makes me nervous!

On a plus note I have managed to get the underwriters of my policy to agree to authorise a genuine BMW screen after they tried to force an "OEM equivalent" on me - not on my watch!

However the bad news is that they are adamant that their approved contractor will have to do the install - which is National Windscreens. My local BMW dealer has a state of the art bodyshop facility and I ideally wanted them to do the work, but sadly I cant get them to agree - no matter how hard I have tried!

Anyone had any experience of National Windscreens? Online reviews are rather mixed! Is there anything I should look out for to identify any cowboy style workmanship?

Do you have speed limit display or HUD options?

The guy from auto glass who fixed a chip for me recently said that if the screen is replaced and the car has these options, some sort of calibration needs to be done afterwards.

I get how your feeling about some random working on the car! I just had a stone chip fixed and hated it! Only had the car a week. It was done in the rain and evening but he used his pull out canopy which was impressive.

Hope it all goes smoothly for you.

[Daftasabrush]

Originally Posted by Junebug85

The guy from auto glass who fixed a chip for me recently said that if the screen is replaced and the car has these options, some sort of calibration needs to be done afterwards.

Incorrect, the systems are auto calibrating and if the fitter has done a good job then nothing more is needed.

[R99]

Yeh, it has HUD & high beam assist - but don’t think it has the KAFAS camera or whatever it’s called?

[Daftasabrush]

Originally Posted by R99

Yeh, it has HUD & high beam assist - but don’t think it has the KAFAS camera or whatever it’s called?

KAFAS camera:



Standard HBA camera:

[t5pilot]

National/Auto Windscreens did a replacement on my E90. Eventually! They broke the first two but were 3rd time lucky.

Had to have a new one last week in my F82. This time Autoglass.
They took great detail to ensure they supplied the right screen for starters. The fitter was nothing short of excellent. He took great care, all bodywork covered in protection, then recalibrated the camera & ensured correct operation of the rain sensor. He spent over 2 hours on my car & knew exactly what he was doing.
I was very impressed.
I believe they are able to deal with most insurers, so my be worth checking. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again in preference to NW.

They have software for the KAFAS camera to calibrate & check as was done on mine. As stated, the HBA camera shouldn't need to be done.

You do need to check your replacement is for HUD also. It should be specified on the screen itself, near the window that shows the VIN.

[Mr Whippy]

I had 3 screens on my E85 Z4 with AG and no issues at all.

Main prob with them is no easy way to tape screen up due to fabric roof, so I opened roof and let them tape over onto inside so it held ok.

My advice is just chat with them but don't distract and keep an eye on things... and remember accidents can happen too.
My brother recently had anew screen in his Disco 4, and they left a pinch in front of his roof panel where some equipment touched it.
He got them to have a panel guy out to fix, but at first the two man team tried avoiding responsibility.
Since they'd marked up the check sheet pre-job as no damage, they ended up having to take responsibility any way.

[Soul_Glo]

Originally Posted by Daftasabrush

National Windscreens fitted the wrong screen for my MX5 three times. The first time, they didn't check what the new screen was, removed (and broke) my old one so it couldn't be re-fitted, then fitted the new one badly, scratched my dashboard and A pillar. My rear view mirror didn't fit so after many hours on the phone had them order a new (different) screen. Again, they showed up, removed the old screen before checking the new one (again breaking perfectly good old screen) and again, my mirror didn't fit. They did the same on the third one. The fourth time, they ended up having to buy another mirror to fit the screens they were getting and sent that with the next fitter. They then paid out for a repair to the A pillar after a bit of a fight.

I hate windscreen fitters. With the exception of Glassman who fitted a genuine screen on my 340 flawlessly.

+1 for Glassman perfection of my E92 screen years ago. Even corrected the factory fit problems. No one can fk with his skills!

[R99]

Well.... today didn’t go well!

Couldn’t watch the work, as customers not allowed in the workshop & no visibility of car from the waiting area.

1st issue - they took it upon themselves to “dry” the car using a blade - it’s now scratched. I stoped them as soon as I realised, but they had dried roughly 3/4 of the car!

2nd issue - cowling around the rear view mirror was not fitted correctly

3rd issue - wiper arm alignment is a shambles after they removed & re-fitted them.

4th issue - the customer service from the Newcastle branch is nothing short of abhorrent!

Major complaint launched with National Windscreens & Ageas. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

[Jeff123]

Sorry to hear avoid that - so much for my predictions of nothing to worry about.

[R99]

Originally Posted by Jeff123

Sorry to hear avoid that - so much for my predictions of nothing to worry about.

Exactly!

Tried my very best to be positive on the driver over despite all the warning signs from previous phone conversations making me think they would be a Cowboy outfit!

Sadly now will have to see what the complaints procedure process brings!

[Jeff123]

Take things a step at a time, you will sort it out.

[harrysx]

Sorry to hear that. Hope you get everything sorted.

I agree National Windscreens customer service is disgusting - no customer service would be better than the rudeness and unsympathetic experience I had when they fitted my leaky windscreen!

Fingers crossed for you.