I'm looking for advice on a replacement windshield for my 190E 2.3-16V. A rock cracked my windshild, and insurance is covering it. I asked the glass shop to use German glass (Sigla or Sekutit). They said the had it, but when I picked it up, they said the Sigla piece they had was for a single wiper car, and mine has two wipers (small and large) on a single arm. Apparently they are different sizes.

So they replaced it with a "Pilkington" piece, which does not have the Austria mark that I had on an a previous replacement, and they said they thought this one was from Mexico. They will replace it with German glass with no problem, so I'm posing the question: Should I have them replace it or is this stuff good enough? (Clarity, qulaity, etc.) I drove it briefly today (very sunny), and I swear I thought I was seeing more reflections from the dash than I recalled in the past. Does the German glass use (better) anti-reflection coatings, or am I seeing things?

get the MBZ glass hands down..mine cracked also and they wanted to do the same thing...I insited on MBZ glass..it will fit better and it will look better..I was told that non MBZ glass might not have the same fit. so possible it will leak or you could hear air leaks.

so make the insurance company fix it to the original condition and if you have to wait then do it.

benzat

1982 380 SEC

Go for the MB/Sigla windshield, without a doubt. You can most certainly tell the difference between OEM and non-OEM. You will encounter problems with clarity and distortion in non-OEM glass. You are within your rights to expect original equipment materials when dealing with insurance cases.

FYI. Pilkington is good stuff. My Volvo has an OEM Pilkington windshield and it's very good quality. I've just never seen that brand in an MB. Sorry, I can't comment on the glare issue.

Good luck.

Primo

cresko- i would not get any piece of glass that wasn't either oem or at least like "ppg". my wife and i had to have 4 different windshields put in a '97 accord, "Safelite" was the company & manufactuer. they should be AVOIDED, their stuff is junk.

if you have a choice, in my opinion I'd get the OEM.

my 2 cents worth...

peter

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*92 400e 124.034, SOLD

*92 300e 124.030, SOLD

Brother of The Benz, cresko
If you like all of us have a deductable on our glass breakage insurance, then why settle for less than OE glass.
Why should you try and save the insurance company money at the expence of going second rate?
Happy Trails Beep Beep from The Spiderman in Houston!!!

Im the oddball out today. I go with aftermarket glass on my daily driver. For some reason it seems that MB glass is softer than aftermarket glass. I go through front windshields everyother year. The one I just had replaced a couple months ago was a Pilkington. I have not had any glare problems, etc. yet. I had the glass and the entire wiper arm, etc. replaced at the same time (hail storm damage), and it works really well.

Yeah,
I was waiting for the softness of the MB glass to come up.
Before getting rid of the S420, I always noticed the small "chips" in the glass when the sun was shining on it... quite annoying, and the car was less than 3 years old.
On the C280 it's really bad too, but only in glaring situations. Kind of annoying though.

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2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

hello david,

ah i c, waiting for me to break the ice on the downside of MB glass eh? j/k

I have that problem as well. Those pits are very very annoying, but not as annoying as the streak wiper blade indentation. If you look on older MBs with original glass, you can see the wiper marks etched into the glass. And it doesnt wash off or polish off.

MB glass soft????
I don't know much about glass but my '89 300E has the original windshield and there is not as mark on it. I have had rocks hit it and I wondered why they didn't come into the passenger compartment. I have always thought it was because the MB glass was hard or thick or both but it always amazes me that no damage is done.
There may be a slight wear pattern in the glass but not bad enough to make night driving difficult. I would consider nothing less than OEM.............

Dealer replaced windshield on 93 300D 2.5 w/MB glass and kit last week. Perfect. Rained liked hell this weekend
and not a single leak. After market glass may not be of same quality. Just take to dealer and call insurance co. from there. In fact, I just fax replacement bill to insurance agent and get reimbursement.

Definitely go with OEM if the insurance company is footing the bill.

As far as seeing pits and softness of MB glass, it is the manufacturer. The same glass is used on VWs, and I saw the same wear patterns on my 73 Beetle when I drove it daily.

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

does anyone know if the service CD explains how to remove and install a windshield ? thanks

Get the best glass possible if someone else pays. About every 50k mine gets cracked by a rock on the higway. At $166 I went with the aftermarket. My deductible is $250.

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1990 190E 2.6
1996 Grand Voyager 3.3
1985 Mustang GT 5.0 5 SPD
1982 Suzuki GS 750T

Brother of The Benz, Cresko
You will hear about the softness of the OE windshield.
If you haven't made your chioce, then I'll tell you about my OE windshield.
14 years old
no wiper marks as I don't allow the wipers to be on unless it is really wet. I keep my windshield WAXED!
If it wasn't for rock damage I would still have the original.
Read all of the suggestions and make your choice.
Happy Trails Beep Beep from The Spiderman in Houston!!!

Almost all Benzes from Germany come with GERMAN glass, however most of the replacement factory glass comes from CANADA & it is PPG! Dealers get the Glass delivered by local PPG glass dealers even though it is ordered from MB!

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MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
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