aftermarket windshield or OEM?

[m3an]

Originally Posted by Goat Rodeo

Windshield glass is part of the structure of the car. Its ability to remain rigid is an important part of avoiding being crushed to death when the car flips. Identical looking but poorly manufactured products are commonplace on markets like eBay, an unscrupulous business owner could easily purchase unbranded glass from China off of eBay, put it in used PPI/BMW/etc. boxes, and sell it to every other customer and charge full price. Is this paranoia? Who cares, because it only takes a $300 surcharge to avoid it altogether.

For $288 (what I read above) more:
- Guaranteed OE. BMW's supply chain is controlled, tracked, and verified.
- Only the correct adhesives (perhaps the most important) used in the correct process.
- The correct dis-assembly and re-installation procedure. Nothing is worse than a shoddy repair which leaves behind a noisy or leaking windshield.

I could understand if the cost differential was significant, but we are talking 1/2 of a percent of the car's average MSRP.

If this was an aviation forum this wouldn't even be a question.

1. Wow, you sound super paranoid

2. This isn't an aviation forum

I have dealt w/ many A/M glass companies, and there's a reason that there's a market for A/M glass companies.. and they do very well

[Goat Rodeo]

Originally Posted by m3an

1. Wow, you sound super paranoid

Exaggerated here to prove a point. $288 is not worth exposure to risks when it comes to safety; however remote they may be.

I have noticed that some of the more expensive parts I've purchased for my E46 recently have come with more hologram and counterfeit counter-measures on the packaging than most high security documents. I think when counterfeit ICs on a VLSI scale (or smaller) made their way into production lines it really spooked the industry.

Then again, I am not surprised that someone that voluntarily restricts 75% of the visibility in his car does not care about having original equipment glass. Everyone has different priorities and opinions here.

[GIdriver]

OEM

[mhabs]

Go for Pilkinton OEM glass (same as the BMW glass which is also Pilkington without the BMW OE logo). The BMW windshield chips really easily, so why spend more money for something that's likely to be replaced again. I did this and in fact found out the third party who did the installs for the dealer did my re-install after a very bad chip. It's the same glass, and a quality provider should provide something in writing if you so desire.

[baba louey]

Originally Posted by Superfly_M3

How so?



Safety is important. However I think that once you replaced the OEM glass installed from the factory, your biggest concern should be the installer, not the quality of the glass. I don't think A/M glass will shatter into big chunks and kill you. There are manufacturing standards around the world that dictate tempered glass as standard. Given you perform work at a reputable shop, I don't think you should have any worries.

Again, this is only my 0.02 cents

Correct me if I'm wrong but in North America, front windshields are not tempered. If they were then as soon as one got a chip or crack, the whole windshield would crack into little pieces. I was always under the impression that windshields are two sheets of non-tempered glass bonded to a middle sheet of plastic. The non-tempering keeps the window from shattering into little bits (so we can still see out of it) and the plastic sheet keeps the large pieces of glass together so we don't get skewered.

My 0.02

[py0413]

Originally Posted by Superfly_M3

How so?



Safety is important. However I think that once you replaced the OEM glass installed from the factory, your biggest concern should be the installer, not the quality of the glass. I don't think A/M glass will shatter into big chunks and kill you. There are manufacturing standards around the world that dictate tempered glass as standard. Given you perform work at a reputable shop, I don't think you should have any worries.

Again, this is only my 0.02 cents

It wasn't my M3 that had the windshield problem but my very first car back in 1999 that had a cracked windshield. I was a student with minimum income and I chose to go cheap on non-OEM windshield. 2 months later I had a leak which cost $6k to fix on a car that was worth not more than $9k. Learned my lesson the hard way.

[Vic311]

Originally Posted by py0413

It wasn't my M3 that had the windshield problem but my very first car back in 1999 that had a cracked windshield. I was a student with minimum income and I chose to go cheap on non-OEM windshield. 2 months later I had a leak which cost $6k to fix on a car that was worth not more than $9k. Learned my lesson the hard way.

A leak is due to installation error, nothing to do with OEM vs Aftermarket glass.

[Superfly_M3]

Originally Posted by baba louey

Correct me if I'm wrong but in North America, front windshields are not tempered. If they were then as soon as one got a chip or crack, the whole windshield would crack into little pieces. I was always under the impression that windshields are two sheets of non-tempered glass bonded to a middle sheet of plastic. The non-tempering keeps the window from shattering into little bits (so we can still see out of it) and the plastic sheet keeps the large pieces of glass together so we don't get skewered.

My 0.02

You're right, its not temperred its separated with vinyl:


I couldn't find the right word for it.

[BMRLVR]

Originally Posted by Superfly_M3

You're right, its not temperred its separated with vinyl:


I couldn't find the right word for it.

"Laminated safety glass" is the terminology you are looking for.

To the OP, go OEM or at the very least OEM supplier (Pilkington).

[zamboni]

Originally Posted by Goat Rodeo

Windshield glass is part of the structure of the car. Its ability to remain rigid is an important part of avoiding being crushed to death when the car flips. Identical looking but poorly manufactured products are commonplace on markets like eBay, an unscrupulous business owner could easily purchase unbranded glass from China off of eBay, put it in used PPI/BMW/etc. boxes, and sell it to every other customer and charge full price. Is this paranoia? Who cares, because it only takes a $300 surcharge to avoid it altogether.

For $288 (what I read above) more:
- Guaranteed OE. BMW's supply chain is controlled, tracked, and verified.
- Only the correct adhesives (perhaps the most important) used in the correct process.
- The correct dis-assembly and re-installation procedure. Nothing is worse than a shoddy repair which leaves behind a noisy or leaking windshield.

I could understand if the cost differential was significant, but we are talking 1/2 of a percent of the car's average MSRP.

If this was an aviation forum this wouldn't even be a question.

Would you risk your life over $288 cost saving?

Install a none OEM on your M3?

[py0413]

Originally Posted by Vic311

A leak is due to installation error, nothing to do with OEM vs Aftermarket glass.

I agree with you that it was mostly caused by bad installation. However, as for now, I am more financially flexible than I was back in high school and if I have to replace the windshield or anything, I'd rather spend that extra bit for peace of mind. That's just my $0.02

btw, my sister who knows nothing about car was able to tell that the windshield was replaced. She said it felt like as someone just put on a new pair of glasses. The curve was obviously different.

[signes]

For everybody saying you have to get Pilkington, keep in mind Saint Gobain Sekurit glass is an OEM to BMW. The pic below was my last windshield also the current replacement.

[Z K]

Just make sure it is a quality glass they are using as the replacement. Big names like Saint Gobain, Pilkington, PPG etc. offer high quality replacement glass. In most cases they are the same or better quality than OEM. Avoid the cheap crap.

Just as important is the guys doing the install. Make sure they are good and know what they are doing. Any monkey can install auto glass, the difference is in the quality of the install.

[mkiv808]

It's worth it.

[signes]

Looks like I got Pilkington this time around. Will be curious to see if it does better than the SGS one it replaced.

[wabbit]

Originally Posted by infamxkris

difference in price is $288. So i would be paying 288 out of pocket.. the guy at the shop keeps assuring me the only difference between OEM and aftermarket is the BMW logo.. is he right? Also do any of you have any experience with MR. GLASS?

hehe they told me exactly the same!! i said bull·$"·$, quality it's not the same

go OEM!!

[Vic311]

Originally Posted by signes

For everybody saying you have to get Pilkington, keep in mind Saint Gobain Sekurit glass is an OEM to BMW. The pic below was my last windshield also the current replacement.

+1 My last three BMWs including my M3..were all Saint Gobain Sekurit..for what its worth when I replaced my windshield, I used the Gobain glass minus the BMW logo..Same manufactuer, but not OEM. Worked fine

[baba louey]

Originally Posted by Superfly_M3

You're right, its not temperred its separated with vinyl:


I couldn't find the right word for it.

This is an aside to the theme of the thread but if you want to know whether glass is tempered, look at it through polarized sunglasses. If you see a pattern of light and dark areas, the glass is tempered. Tempering causes uneven stress in the glass which in turn causes variable polarization in the glass that is only visible when looking through polarized shades.

If you look at car's side windows with shades, you should see this pattern cuz they're tempered.

Sorry for the long story.