Windshield Issues, Continued

July 4, 2023

Last August (and I’m talking 2022 here folks)… we got some damage to our windshield. It was a big enough crack that it warranted a full windshield replacement, so that’s what we ended up doing.

If you are insured with Geico, they work with Safelite to do their glass repair. And instead of installing a new/original windshield (OEM or Original Equipment Manufacturer), they use an aftermarket windshield. Which, according to them, is more or less the same thing minus a logo.

Of course, there is a cost difference, with the OEM being more. But if you go with the aftermarket version, Geico covers the costs fully.

So we went with the aftermarket version.

Long story short – we got this repaired in September, and a month later we got hit with a pretty heavy rain. And we encountered water pooling in the driver and passenger’s side. Took the car in, they confirmed water got in because of the windshield… and replaced it.

Fast forward a few more months, and another big rain – more water in the car. Took it back for another install. Which they did, AGAIN.

After Liz got back from her road trip… she let me know that the seal on the windshield started to get loose. Despite my best efforts, there’s no getting this guy back down.

So I’m going back to Safelite again for something like the fourth time. Despite my complaining to Geico, my warranty is with Safelite. So I can either go back to them and have them fix it (again). But if I go anywhere else, it will be completely out of pocket.

This has been an incredibly frustrating process, for a thing that happened nearly a year ago that’s still not resolved. I spoke to a Support Tech at Safelite, and they recommended I install the OEM windshield, hoping that this would be the difference.

I’ve had incredibly frustrating conversations with Geico on this, and really hope that there aren’t any problems with them authorizing the costs for the OEM version. I’ve been pretty patient in my interactions with people, but this process has definitely tested my limits.

We’ve had water damage inside our vehicle as a result of thee numerous windshield installs, and I’m not even sure there’s any compensation for what happened – damage clearly the fault of the install process. The worst thing of it all is that I’m stuck going back to the exact same Safelite place to get this fixed for a fourth time, because all the other locations are too far away.

Crazy that it’s almost been a year. And it’s still not fixed.