Broken windshield

[EewoxKid]

A friend of mine borrowed my truck. When he brought it back, my windshield was broken. He says that it was broken from a rock coming off the road, but I don't believe him. It looks to me like it was punched from the inside. How can I tell the difference?

 

[JulesMaximus]

What difference does it make? He broke it while it was in his possession so he should pay to replace it.

 

[Raizinman]

Just call your insurance company. They replace windshields all the time with no increase to your premium. It will cost you an hour or two of your time, but you learned a good lesson by never lending your car out again.

There really is no reason to make the borrower pay for the repairs when you can get it done for free without penalty.

 

[boomerang]

Just call your insurance company. They replace windshields all the time with no increase to your premium. It will cost you an hour or two of your time, but you learned a good lesson by never lending your car out again.

There really is no reason to make the borrower pay for the repairs when you can get it done for free without penalty.

Not all insurers cover glass. Farm Bureau is one of them. No coverage available at any cost.

 

[HarryLui]

A friend of mine borrowed my truck. When he brought it back, my windshield was broken. He says that it was broken from a rock coming off the road, but I don't believe him. It looks to me like it was punched from the inside. How can I tell the difference?

If it windshield was punch, it would probably be fine. A large surface of a punch would not crack a windshield like a sharp point of a flying rock would. It probably has a small entrance and large crack on the other side.

 

[mindless1]

Why would your friend punch your windshield? Why would you loan a vehicle to someone so unstable that you suspect them capable of deciding to punch a windshield?

I disagree about a punch not being able to crack a windshield. My forehead did over 20 years ago but fortunately it hasn't one effected me bit not one at none all.

You "might" be able to tell the difference based on the center of the crack. A punch won't leave any gouge while a rock usually does. Either way, rocks don't jump up by themselves, if someone else's vehicle kicked up one or it was an object that flew off a vehicle (dump truck etc) then your friend should have followed them, taken license plate, filed police report, and gotten their insurance involved.

 

[Raizinman]

If he had punched it, was his hand bruised or cut? It should have been.

 

[XavierMace]

Either way, rocks don't jump up by themselves, if someone else's vehicle kicked up one or it was an object that flew off a vehicle (dump truck etc) then your friend should have followed them, taken license plate, filed police report, and gotten their insurance involved.

LOL, if I did that, I'd never get to work.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Just call your insurance company. They replace windshields all the time with no increase to your premium. It will cost you an hour or two of your time, but you learned a good lesson by never lending your car out again.

There really is no reason to make the borrower pay for the repairs when you can get it done for free without penalty.

Not sure where you're getting that info but it is wrong. I would have to make a claim and pay a deductible to have my windshield replaced.

 

[mindless1]

LOL, if I did that, I'd never get to work.

If it broke your windshield?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Not sure where you're getting that info but it is wrong. I would have to make a claim and pay a deductible to have my windshield replaced.

You don't have zero-deductible glass coverage?

Anyway - modern auto safety glass is two layers of glass sandwiching plastic that reinforces it and keeps it from shattering. If he picked up a rock, the crack will be in the outer layer, if he damaged it from the inside (I have done this while trying to remove stickers on the inside of a window using a heat gun... in the winter. Not my finest moment.), the crack will be on the inside layer.

Easy to check by running a fingertip over the crack and feeling for the edge/lip/grab when you pass over it.

 

[HarryLui]

You don't have zero-deductible glass coverage?

Glass coverage is ~ $100 a year. I can get a windshield replaced for under $200. I'll take my risk.

 

[JulesMaximus]

You don't have zero-deductible glass coverage?

Anyway - modern auto safety glass is two layers of glass sandwiching plastic that reinforces it and keeps it from shattering. If he picked up a rock, the crack will be in the outer layer, if he damaged it from the inside (I have done this while trying to remove stickers on the inside of a window using a heat gun... in the winter. Not my finest moment.), the crack will be on the inside layer.

Easy to check by running a fingertip over the crack and feeling for the edge/lip/grab when you pass over it.

Not that I'm aware of. Coverage is with USAA. They cover chips that are repairable at no charge to me but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't replace a windshield at no charge.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Not all insurers cover glass. Farm Bureau is one of them. No coverage available at any cost.

This varies by state. Farm Bureau doesn't have a separate glass policy like many other insurers do, but they put that coverage under their comprehensive policy. Most deductions for comprehensive are $250-500.....non OEM replacement windshields can be had for $125-150 + $125-150 for installation...so you typically will be in for $250-300 to get it repaired.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Glass coverage is ~ $100 a year. I can get a windshield replaced for under $200. I'll take my risk.

Yikes. Mine is a third that and I can demand OEM glass, which I do.

Unfortunately, I have had pretty lousy luck, and end up with a new windshield every 3-4 years.

 

[XavierMace]

If it broke your windshield?

Depends what we are calling "broke". I've never had a rock come off the road big enough to "break" a windshield. Rock chips on the other hand are a fact of life out here.

You don't have zero-deductible glass coverage?

I dropped mine a while back. I did the math, I would have to replace my windshield every 13 months for the premium increase to pay for itself.