If you ever need your windshield replaced, be careful...

[ahfunaki]

So a week ago today I was on the highway and a small rock flew up and cracked my windshield. I didn't have time to have it replaced last week so I setup an appointment for them to come to my place of employment while I was working.

To make a long story short things were going good, the guy removed my windshield and that's when he realized something bad had happened. He called me over to show me this:



Needless to say I was dumbfounded...

Basically what happened was he used one of these newer pulley and wire removal tools and guess what...the wire caught on the metal and sliced right through it and my VIN plate. Awesome.



Here is a video of how it works, this one is motorized but the one he used was manual:

Get Your Head Out of Your Glass! - YouTube

Get Your Head Out of Your Glass! - YouTube

So now my car can't even have a windshield installed due to the metal along the bottom is too thin to properly seal it right. And of course I'm going to need a new VIN plate which from what I understand is an absolute nightmare to get replaced ( which isn't surprising to me ).

So I have a rental and who knows when I'm going to get my car back. I'm not even sure how they are going to go about fixing it. And to think I thought I was going to drive home with a brand new crystal clear windshield in my car today...

I'm just glad I went through a big company that had zero issues handling their mistakes. The car is being towed to a body shop tomorrow ( this was my decision to do it tomorrow ) They set me up with the rental and everything very very quickly and seem to be handling things very well so far.

So if you ever get yours replaced and they are using a system like this make sure they know exactly what they are doing, because otherwise it could turn into a similar nightmare.

Now it's time to ( attempt ) go smoke the tires on my 2012 Hyundai Tuscon!

[uncorked11]

Wow how does that happen.

[Pseud0logik]

Holy SHIT! Thanks for the heads up. I hope everything goes well and you get your car back soon.

[manila]

Dang man sorry to hear. Thats good they got things taken care of fast. Now on to some burnout vids with the new rental !!!!

[zmarko]

Wow, that sucks. Glad the company is taking care of it like they should.

[Kyle Undefined]

Ouch, that sucks! Glad they are being a good company and fixing it.

[Stealth01]

Damn. SO glad Elite did it by hand on mine.

[Keko]

What the fuck! Good thing they are cooperating... but I guess if they weren't it would be a huge deal.

[motherfnmonsta]

Well mazda has a m tip for us mazda techs that relates to this,Here it is. http://www.fileswap.com/dl/mLqUHx3m8..._cowl.pdf.html

[Haltech]

Wow, looks like someone just got out of the training program. I would fucking flip out

[ABolewski]

That's crazy, right through the vin too! What're the odds… good luck man, get used to that rental though, you'll have it for a while! Shit I wouldn't be surprised if some cheaper cars (not yours obviously) would be totaled just from that.

[Nathan 6]

Before finishing the story I thought you were going to say the rock that hit your windshield ripped that fat ass cut into your dash.

[Zoomspeed]

That sucks bro

[Tomas]

Originally Posted by motherfnmonsta Well mazda has a m tip for us mazda techs that relates to this,Here it is. FileSwap.com : 2010-2013 Mazda3 Damage to VIN plate and cowl.pdf download free

Good info. The urethane taking a turn around the vin number is definitely a fucking curve ball.

[jakk]

Wow, that sucks and thanks a bunch for the tip because Safelite will be doing this at my work over the next day or two. I will print out that PDF and give it to whoever is doing the replacement. I kinda hate to be like that telling people how to do their job, but I'd rather save myself the headache you are going through. I sure hope that everything gets straightened out for you soon, I can't imagine going from my Speed to a Tuscon.

[Infam0us]

That's a terrible way to go home after work. I hope they take care of you in the end!

[Pu Manchu]

OP, you have reassured me that ignoring the crack is the proper way to handle my cracked windshield.

[Raider]

So, you get to have sex with his wife, eh?

[gregshin]

i had mine replaced recently as well with an aftermarket model and it was fast and great install!

[Capricious]

I think I'll continue to drive with my crack, 2 weeks and counting...

[MSFer87]

Wow that is an absolute nightmare

[ahfunaki]

Just a heads up to anyone who might be wondering the status of this situation.

I still don't have my car. It's been almost 3 months. It's going to be even longer...

Trying to get a VIN plate replacement for a car that you have a loan out on is absolutely a terrible thing.

In order to get a replacement VIN plate in the state of Ohio you are supposed to send in some paperwork from the local state patrol along with the ORIGINAL title of the vehicle to the main title office in Columbus. Well the issue with having a car with a loan is, you don't actually have the title to the vehicle. So it took over 2 months of back and fourth before I was finally able to get someone who could get the whole situation figured out.

So now the car is repaired, the VIN plate is waiting at the state patrol barracks to be put on. But here is the other kicker. When I have the new VIN plate put on the car, I have to have the title remade to note that the vehicle has had the VIN replaced.

After finding this out I decided to talk to some dealerships to see how they would look at a car like this ( with a replacement VIN ) if I were to trade it in to their dealership. And basically I had mixed results but some of them said they would consider it as bad as a salvage title ( insane I know ). Finding out that I potentially could get screwed by this new addition to the title of the car, I don't want the car back now.

Now I have to wait until next Wednesday ( the next available time that the boss of the guy that I've been dealing with can meet up ) before I can even find out what they are willing to do for me.

I guess at least I have a friend that works for Enterprise and I was supposed to get an economy rental ( $30 a day is what they've allowed for me ) but I drove a 2012 Charger for a month and now I'm in a 2013 CTS so I guess I can't complain too much. Even though they are both automatic V6's which sucks.

But yea, I'm over this...

[2k4_8]

fuuuuuuuck....I just thought of this the other day when a rock hit mine.... Can't believe it's still ongoing but I hope it ends soon!!!!

[tddvrrn]

god damn, sorry to hear it has been so epic. and to think i came in here to find out who was resurrecting a dead thread..

[Hush]

Sounds like you are taking the high road on this screw up. I am no legal expert, but I would say you might have had a decent case if you wanted to take the glass repair place to court. I wonder at some point, with the threat of a lawsuit, their insurance company might have totaled out the car, paid you off, done deal. Three months is too long - your patience is impressive.

Hell of an education for me on the importance of VIN tag.

Can't stop....watching...kid on bike, kicking other kid off rail.

[I<3Groceries]

I can't possibly see getting paid for the entire car over this issue.

What I can see as a possibility is perhaps being awarded damages for the potentially degraded value of the vehicle. And even that, I would think, would take a lawsuit.

Either way, what a fucking nightmare.

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[notchup]

Damn bro, that fucking sucks. Thank you for the heads up and the update. I hope things turn out better than they have been for the past 3 months for you. You are one patient man, i cannot imagine this happening and dragging balls this long for a glass company fuck up.

Have you spoken to a Lawyer to see what your options are? You probably should.

[jakk]

I cannot believe that you have been out a car three months because the VIN plate snapped off. It really is unbelievable how much of a nightmare this regulatory crap is. The hilarious part is that you have to go through all of this when I'm sure there are hundreds of cars a day that have fake/stolen VINs put on them and no one ever gives them a second look.

Thanks again for sharing your story; it may have saved my windshield as I had it replaced days after this happened to you. I really hope that you get the car and some sort of monetary compensation back soon. I can't imagine being without my speed for such a stupid reason.

[ImGryssLOL]

Holy fuck shit. Good luck.

[msantana101]

I just had a guy resin my rock chip for $40. Life time warranty.


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[2k4_8]

Chip and crack are different.....but ok?

[msantana101]

My bad! Did not see him write crack!


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[scubasteve711]

Wow, that's terrible. I would probably be feeling the same at this point - compensate for value lost or replace the vehicle...

[timjs]

Sucks man. I guess it's common enough since Mazda released this in the M-tips newsletter.
Pic attached. (Yea I see it was posted already but the link is dead, for me anyways)

[Hush]

^Will print, laminate, keep in glove box, thanks.

[Mclovin80]

Talk about an epic design failure. I used to need a windshield replacement once a year in Colorado.

Sent from Cloud 9

[snOhio]

holy crap dude, that sucks. i can't believe that the BMV won't take a memo title when they clearly have a copy of an original that states there is a lien. i would have written my local ohio congresscritter by now to see if they can help cut through some of the bullshit.

i'm in columbus so if you need anything done here in person just holler.

[Derp]

Shit.. that sucks. I just got a cracked windshield last weekend from a mystery rock (on the interstate and nobody in front of me) and after reading this I think I'll just deal with the 8" crack on the passenger side for a while.

And BTW, does anybody know how much replacement glass runs on average for our cars?

Edit: upon further inspection I realized this was an issue specific to Genpu's. But still curious about cost for glass.. never had to replace a windshield in my life..

[donjohnk]

I just had mine done just after Hurricane sandy. only issue I had was trying to get the window. They ended up getting it straight from the dealership. $900, I was fully covered.

[mdl3v8]

Are they at least paying your car payment while you are unable to drive your car?

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