Experiences with aftermarket windshields

[dparm]

My windshield received several big chips that were repaired but have since gotten worse. That means it's time for a new windshield.

I am skeptical about an aftermarket one. Does anyone have experience with a non-Pilkington windshield? Or, which shops (other than the dealer) use OEM glass?

[cambit]

interested in hearing as well, my windshield is 1 year old and already plastered with nano sized chips.

[Lorde]

Just had my windshield replaced with non-pilkington glass (PGW) and fit and finish is excellent, rain sensor works just like before.

[quiksi]

had mine done at a local place with non-Pilkington glass... it's held up just fine for the last 1.5 years

I believe Safelite can get Pilkington or Sekurit glass if desired but I don't see the point in paying a premium for it

[mkPOTO]

good info, I am planning on replacing mine as well, OEM is such a eye sore when the sun is out

[dparm]

Good to hear that the rain sensor works properly. I saw some posts from other 3-series guys that said the sensor was flaky with non-OEM glass.

[Endless619]

Originally Posted by Snig

Just had my windshield replaced with non-pilkington glass (PGW) and fit and finish is excellent, rain sensor works just like before.

Good point. I had mine replaced on my old E46 M3 and the rain sensor piece never really worked so make sure OP, that does before they leave.

[bimdo]

i have what i'm pretty sure is the oem windshield,it has the pilkington and bmw symbols. it's pretty wavy on the passenger side.does any else with oem glass have this waviness?

[Lorde]

Originally Posted by robbiedawg

i have what i'm pretty sure is the oem windshield,it has the pilkington and bmw symbols. it's pretty wavy on the passenger side.does any else with oem glass have this waviness?

No waviness on my non-OEM glass, that's what sold it for me.

[Alan292]

ive noticed wavyness on my friends oem windshield 335i coupe 06.

[FogCityM3]

Had mine replaced with Pilkington glass, which was OEM (as opposed to OE, which had the BMW symbol) for about $400. Same glass/same quality (no wavy-ness) just one has the symbol and one doesn't and costs about 60% less than an OE install. Also, just find out who the dealer uses for the install...dealers contract w/ local guys to do the jobs.

[Techjunkie666]

Originally Posted by Snig

Just had my windshield replaced with non-pilkington glass (PGW) and fit and finish is excellent, rain sensor works just like before.

+1 exactly what needs to be done. There are a lot of posts on this but this is the way to go .

[Edward]

Quite surprised even on a forum, this many people know much about replacement windshields. Do you replace because of minor pitting or because you have an unrepairable crack?

And what is wrong with OEM glass on a sunny day? (mkPOTO)

[quiksi]

unrepairable crack in my case

[VMcV3y]

Originally Posted by Edward

Quite surprised even on a forum, this many people know much about replacement windshields. Do you replace because of minor pitting or because you have an unrepairable crack?

And what is wrong with OEM glass on a sunny day? (mkPOTO)

In another post (can't recall where I read it) there was a string about the "softness" of the Pilkington/OEM glass. Basically, the thought was that the OEM glass was designed to be less harmful in a collision because the fragments would be less sharp, whereas a "hard" glass could cause more injury (even if they were small safety-glass fragments).

I don't know if that is actually true. Regardless, it does seem that the OEM glass gets a "sandblasting" wash fairly early-on. When exterior light is streaming in at a steep angle, it really shows up.

After about only 20,000 miles of driving the M3, I noticed the sandblasting. Now at 30k miles, I'm seriously annoyed by it. My preference is for a very clear view of the road, especially at night and low-light driving periods. Just speculation now, but around 40k, I'll get it replaced because it will be unacceptable.

In comparison, my Mazda pickup still had original glass at 175,000 miles.

If it costs $400 - $600 every three years, so what, as long as it doesn't leak and offers a clear view. It's worth the money to see well and drive safe.

- V

.

[drchuck72]

Originally Posted by FogCityM3

Had mine replaced with Pilkington glass, which was OEM (as opposed to OE, which had the BMW symbol) for about $400. Same glass/same quality (no wavy-ness) just one has the symbol and one doesn't and costs about 60% less than an OE install. Also, just find out who the dealer uses for the install...dealers contract w/ local guys to do the jobs.

I did this too. A nice compromise between true aftermarket windshield (which I was skeptical about due to the rain sensor) and the OE with the BMW symbol on it which was around $800. Rain sensors work great and the glass is nice and clear (as long as I keep it clean). I just didn't see the need to pay almost double the cost just to have the BMW symbol on it.

My brother had an aftermarket windshield on his E46. His wipers didn't work at all in intermittent mode. He bought the car as a certified series from a BMW dealer so they replaced the aftermarket windshield with the OE at no charge. They also gave him an E90 335i x Drive as a loaner (he was driving a 320i). Nice huh? I've always been subjected to the opposite situation.

DrC

[dparm]

Had a Pilkington put in today. The installer and the person on the phone both said there is no real difference between Pilkington and Sekurit, and the notion of one being softer is probably not true.

There were some options around the tint strip -- gray-green or blue-green. My 2011.5 sedan did not have any tint strip originally. From what I read here, they dropped it in 2010 for the sedans for some reason. Installer suspects it was done for aesthetics and not for price, though he did point out that the new windshield is actually out of a different factory than the OEM glass is. They suggested the gray-green tint as it is much less noticeable and less severe than the blue, which is definitely true after seeing it in person.

He did tell me (anecdotally) that the glass quality has been going down pretty much across the industry as of late because of all the mergers and acquisitions, so he can't really recommend any one brand of glass with more confidence than another (PPG, Pilkington, Sekurit, Carlite, etc). He did say that Safelite makes their own glass and it is absolute shit -- tons of stories about how the rear mirrors will fall off and take a piece of the glass with it, or how they have horrible optical distortion and then blame it on the customer.

The moar you know.

[mdosu]

safelite's economy glass should be fine. The only thing to note, and it may not be relevant at all with the M3, is some performance cars have "lightweight" glass. I suspect economy glass is not "lightweight", but we're talking about no more than 2 lbs of added weight here. I would just do the economy glass.

With my old car (Evo 8), I had to replace it twice. First time, was with OEM glass, second time was when I said "fuck it", if it's going to break this often, I'm buying the economy glass.