Broken Windshield Help needed

[aklim]

I noticed that my glass windows all have Sekurit on them. The windshield has PPG on it and a star logo.

If I get it replaced by an glass shop, would their quality be as good as buying from the dealership or should I hold out for the dealership.

[400E]

Opinions differ. Some hold out for Sekurit, others (like me) get PPG since it's cheaper and PPG is an OEM.

Had mine replaced 4 years ago with PPG and has served me well. I called my local MB dealer and asked what they did -- they referred me to an independent glass guy who installed it in my driveway (which is nice since the car needs to not be driven for 24-48 hours while the sealant cures).

Might want to check with your local dealer and see what they do -- i.e., do it themselves, or refer to an outside shop?

[aklim]

Originally Posted by 400E

Opinions differ. Some hold out for Sekurit, others (like me) get PPG since it's cheaper and PPG is an OEM.

Had mine replaced 4 years ago with PPG and has served me well. I called my local MB dealer and asked what they did -- they referred me to an independent glass guy who installed it in my driveway (which is nice since the car needs to not be driven for 24-48 hours while the sealant cures).

Might want to check with your local dealer and see what they do -- i.e., do it themselves, or refer to an outside shop?

Where do you get Sekurit?

[Kebowers]

I have seen LOTS of bad windshield glass here in Houston--with a lot of brand new MBZ cars having very bad ripples in the vision zones right on the dealer floor. I am not impressed with the stuff coming from Germany these days.

You should be able to get a new PPG tinted windshield OEM or betterfit and quality, installed in (major cities)your driveway or parking garage for under $250. Be sure you reinforce your quality requirements to the firm--no ripples, smooth vision all over. Sometimes lesser quality stuff is sold at full price ($700). Defect free glass costs no more.

[aklim]

MB ones cost me about $250. I can get it installed for $1250 more or I can get the PPG one installed for a total of $300. Is it worth $75 more is my question. The one I currently have is PPG and it has a star logo on it. They are checking if the new PPG one will also have the star on it. I would prefer Sekurit only because it would make a complete set However, quality of the glass has to come first.

[msethk]

I just replaced my glass with Glass from the local dealer and the glass IS PPG. My understanding is that Mercedes (and other automakers)takes bids from manufacturers when the dealers need new glass and that factory glass could come come "factory" from any of the manufacturers ( Securit, PPG. Pilkington.)

[Pete Geither]

I always go for the premium label glass,,,, what came in the car originally,,, and most insurance companys won't put up a fight if you insist, for a Benz. One of the most important issues though, is who you let do the work. I have an independent glass shop do all the glass work in our business. There is a difference in glass installers. I have seen some real butcher work done by the driveway installers. 90% of them shortcut the job by not taking the center wiper assembly out,,, it can be done,,, but the probability of a leak increases dramatically. There are other quality issues that need to be addressed and are usually taken into account by a good independent glass installer. My 2 cents, but I deal with these people every day.

[nhdoc]

I have some familiarity with glass now and can tell you this. If the glass has the MB star on it that means it came through MB channels (i.e. from a dealer - not necessarily installed by a dealer as most don't do glass but they supply the glass to installers). Then there is glass which is supposedly identical but doesn't have the star, which is the equivalent of buying aftermarket parts (if you buy a Bosch starter at PepBoys instead of a Bosch starter at the MB dealer it will not have the MB part number on it but is probably otherwise supposedly identical). I say supposedly identical because my dealer is now blaming an operational problem on one of my side windows in our 2004 C240 on "aftermarket glass" even though it is Pilkinton and has the same ID numbers on it as all of the other windows...it has no star and they say the reason my window won't stay in the closed position is because the glass is "incorrect" and needs to be replaced with MB glass ($300) so they can repair the fault. I bought the car second hand and don't know the history of it but assumed the operational fault would be fixed under warranty

In the glass business there is "premium" and "standard" quality. Apparently PPG is standard quality. Sekurit and Pilkinton are "premium" quality. Nobody has been able to tell me the difference except for price. I can tell you that based upon my own personal experience that none of the MB windshields I have ever had held up very well to road hazards. MB seems to prescribe a "softer glass" that easily gets "sandblasted" with lots of pits which become noticable in as few as 30K miles. I have seen this in all three brands of glass. Also, the PPG windshield I have in my E300 has 5 stone chips in it. I've owned lots of other brands of cars and never experienced as much disatisfaction with windshields as I have with MB's. The only saving grace is that it is not that expensive to replace them and many times insurance covers it even if it is just pitting because the insurance companies want you to be able to see well and not be sued when you plow into another car and the other driver's lawyer sees your windshield is covered in pits and chips and you are open to liability because of it.

[Pete Geither]

I concur that MB glass does seem to pit easier than some others I have seen, but the real reason for the MB glass is to keep the car original for potential resale value.