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Report: #1257814

Complaint Review: Safelite Auto Glass - Nationwide

  • Submitted:
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  • Reported By: russmorr — Virginia Beach Virginia USA
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  • Safelite Auto Glass Nationwide USA

Safelite Auto Glass Inferior quality replacement winbdshields approved by Geico Virginia Beach Virginia

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 In March of 2015, I decided it was time to replace my original factory windshield on my 2000 Acura RL sedan. It was so pitted from years of highway driving that it was difficult to see through in early morning or late evening light and during heavy rain. It also had quite a number of significant rock chips across the surface.

I contacted Safelite in Virginia Beach for a price for a replacement glass and the quote was within a few dollars of the one I received a couple of years ealier so I scheduled an appointment and the glass was replaced. Since the glass was less expensive than my insurance deductible, I did not contact Geico (the glass was less than $300 and my comprehensive deductible is $500). Within days of the windshield replacement it rained and I noticed some strange curved "streaks" on the outer surface of the glass that would appear each time the wiper blades passed over the glass to clear the water - these could only be seen when the windshield was wet and the wiper blades were passing over the surface. The streaks appeared to be either etched in the glass surface itself or in the laminate layer of the windshield.

I returned to Safelite and made them aware of the issue and they attempted to clean/polish the streaks out of the glass to no avail. Another windshield was ordered and installed. The second windshield had the same defects (only worse) than the first. I returned to Safelite and they again attempted to "clean" the streaking off the glass. Again, the cleaning did nothing to change the appearance of the glass. Another glass was ordered and installed and it was worse than the first two - in fact, when it rained and the windshield wipers were operating, the surface of the glass looked as though a piece of lace had been laid over it and acid poured onto the surface. The fourth windshield that was installed was the worst of the four - it supposedly was a windshield from another location in the country and was the closest quality to a factory glass (that was what I was told by Safelite anyway). On beautiful sunny days the glass was clear and easy to see through but as soon as it began to rain and the wipers were turned on, the pattern of etching (or whatever) was very apparent and made vision very difficult. In fact, what prompted me to finally demand a factory glass through Geico was the experience I had one August night when a friend was visiting from out of state and we decided to go for dinner around 9:00PM. It began to rain and I turned on the wipers. The etching pattern on the glass was so bad, neither of us could see road markings or much of anything else - it looked as though someone had poured oil on the glass and smeared it around over the entire windshield. I was forced to pull into a parking lot and wait out the rain in order to drive home safely.

Understand now, during this five-month period of time when four windshields were replaced, I also turned down three other windshields that were scheduled to be installed in my vehicle because Safelite allowed me to examine the glasses before they were installed - I eventually figured out a way to test them for the etching before they were installed. I bought a new wiper blade and requested Safelite to mount the glass in a stand with a light shone on the surface. I would then ask the attendant to spray or pour water steadily on the surface to duplicate a "rainy" scenario. I would then pass the wiper blade across the glass and the etching stood out like a sore thumb. All the installers at the shop clearly saw the etching patterns and had no idea what caused it. The last Safelite glass that was installed (the fourth one) also would haze up on the inside every two-three days no matter how well it was cleaned or with what cleaner I used.

Long story short, I requested that Geico replace my windshield with an Acura (Honda) factory glass. They could have saved me five months of grief if they had approved the factory glass in the first place. I was told by my agent that Geico only approves aftermarket glass for replacement windshields and Safelite is who they recommend. Another month dragged by before Geico officially approved the factory glass and it took forever for the glass to arrive from Califonia. I had to pay the $500 deductible while Safelite refunded the $267 I initially paid for the inferior glass(es) they installed. The factory glass is clear as a bell with no signs of any strange etching patterns and it has not fogged (or hazed) up once on the interior.

Moral of this story is, if you must have a windshield replaced and Geico is your insurance carrier, demand that they replace it with factory glass only! And shame on Geico for allowing inferior, unsafe glass to be be installed on their customer's vehicles!

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 09/29/2015 05:06 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/safelite-auto-glass/nationwide/safelite-auto-glass-inferior-quality-replacement-winbdshields-approved-by-geico-virginia-1257814. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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