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On 6/23, USAA sent Safelite Auto Glass from Brandon FL to my house to replace the windshield on my work truck, a 1988 Ford F150. Itโ€™s not a beautiful truck, but itโ€™s mechanically sound and I need it to get to and from work. There were 5 rock marks in the windshield and a couple weeks ago Sheriffโ€™s Deputy gave me a polite, friendly recommendation (while at a convenience store) that I get it replaced because it might crack in the summer heat. That's the only reason I called them.

The Safelite technician came to my house while I was working (using a borrowed vehicle). He broke the window out of my truck โ€“ leaving broken glass in the cab and on my driveway โ€“ then covered the opening with plastic sheeting. He told my daughter โ€œTell your dad he needs to get this towed to a body shop and get the rust fixed before Iโ€™ll work on it.โ€ Then he left โ€“ my truck completely undriveable with no windshield now.

When I came home, I looked at the truck and found that the only thing that was rusted was the stamped metal hold-down clips (these are designed to be replaced, $1.98 each online). There are 9 of them on the bottom of the windshield, 7 of which had rusted and needed replacing. The 4 clips on each side and the 7 clips on top (15 total) were fine and still covered by the original paint. The mounting pins for the clips that were rusted were fine (no rust) and the body was fine (about a one-inch-long spot of surface rust) โ€“ indicating that the clips could just be replaced as they were intended to be and the windshield installed. The technician hadnโ€™t even taken the time to brush away the dirt to see this. You would EXPECT dirt to gather at the bottom of the windshield! I sent a picture to USAA and to Safelite that showed exactly what Iโ€™m telling you here.

I tried to get this resolved through USAA, who kept sending me over to Safelite โ€“ and Safelite just dug their heels even after I showed them a picture after I brushed away the dirt showing that there was no body rust. There answer was โ€œYes, but we still see a little rust, so we want you to have it towed to a body shop and have it fixed before weโ€™ll put a windshield back in.โ€ At worst, a little wire-brushing and a quick coat of Krylon would fix ANY concern they might have, but it's totally unnecessary even if I was to spend the 10 minutes it would take to do it myself. The truck has survived 26 years, still gets 15 mpg, doesn't burn oil, and I keep it in good working condition (I worked my way through college as an auto mechanic). I need it to get to and from work.

My problem is that the vendor (Safelite) was very eager to come replace my windshield at no cost to me, but NEVER warned me that they might smash out the windshield, leave glass everywhere, and then refuse to fix it. They left my now-unusable truck in my driveway and told me to get it towed at my cost. How does THAT happen? Has it ever happened to anyone else?

Monetary Loss: $3000.

Location: Brandon, Florida

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Guest

I would almost bet there weren't pieces of glass left everywhere since this company doesn't even use knives when cutting out, so unless your w/s was completely busted, I doubt TOTALLY what your saying

Greenley Amt

I'd love to hear the tech's side of the story. How did he get glass all over the interior and driveway?

Safety glass windshields, which have been mandatory for nearly 50 years now, don't shatter or leave shards of glass.

It all stays contained between the laminate coatings.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Greenley Amt

Not on old ford glass starts to separate from laminate

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Greenley Amt

I am sure you have seen an accident somewhere while driving at some point in your life. The accident cleanup crews usually have brooms to sweep up the shattered glass on the road.

It cuts your hand pretty easy too. When you have a windshield replaced they usually have to break around the edges and glass gets everywhere to prepare for the new install. This is why they then have to clean up the whole area with a vacuum - to pick up the shattered glass.

I too have had a windshield replaced (by someone else) at one point by a technician that did not cleanup his mess - left glass shards in my car. Because its laminated only means its 2 pieces of glass bonded together, that's all.

Greenley Amt
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-837860

The glass after an accident is from the side windows. After a massive accident, the windshield still comes out in a floppy sheet.

Furthermore, the side and rear windows are tempered so the pieces are not sharp and they don't cut you.

The company I work at has over 30 fleet trucks and vans which means windshields get replaced on a regular basis. The company we use comes to our shop and replaces the entire windshield in less than one hour...never once in 20+ years have they ever shattered a windshield or needed to pull out a vacuum.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Greenley Amt

Laminated glass means it has a piece of glass, a vinyl lamination, and another piece of glass. There is absolutely a chance of is breaking and pieces of glass being left around in the vehicle.

Most of us will either broom or vacuum this out. Stick to what you know bud!

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