Windshield Replacement - Deductible

[mankalkaji]

I have a comprehensible insurance through commerce insurance with a $500 deductible. My car's winshield has been damaged by wiper streaks and needs replacment. Is the insurance company going to pay 100% of the costs or do I have to pay the deductible amount and they pay the balance over and above it ?

 

[nsxtasy]

What did your agent say when you asked him/her?

 

[Ag NSX]

I would say you would have to pay the deductible. I did when a rock chipped my windshield on my other car.

 

[mankalkaji]

surprisingly, I did not have to pay anything as it is covered under comprehensible insurance and was able to ge the glass changed.

 

[sjs]

Strictly depends on your policy. Some (not many) make the windshield an exception so you pay no deductible. More commonly, they work with the people doing the replacement to waive a small ($50-100) deductible. This often means you get non-factory glass. Beware, OEM does not mean a Honda original part. In your case, anticipate paying the full deductible, in which case take it to a dealer and insist on the Honda part unless your policy specifically allows them to use equivalent parts. (Also don’t assume that a dealer will use a Honda part if they are doing insurance work.)

[This message has been edited by sjs (edited 28 August 2001).]

 

[nsxtasy]

This often means you get non-factory glass. Beware, OEM does not mean a Honda original part.

OEM means precisely that it's a Honda original part. However, I think what you're saying is that the insurance company may use deceptive terms like "OEM equivalent" to refer to parts that are not made by Honda. Or they may even call the part "OEM" when it's not.

 

[sjs]

Originally posted by nsxtasy:
This often means you get non-factory glass. Beware, OEM does not mean a Honda original part.

OEM means precisely that it's a Honda original part. However, I think what you're saying is that the insurance company may use deceptive terms like "OEM equivalent" to refer to parts that are not made by Honda. Or they may even call the part "OEM" when it's not.

I should know better than to explain less than fully.

To you and me and any honest person OEM should mean a Honda part. However, technically it means that it was made by an Original Equipment Manufacturer. Most auto manufacturers (I suspect Honda included) do not make their own glass, they outsource them like many other things. There are a limited number of actual glass manufacturers used by the auto industry, and they are the OEMs. However, they also make glass to be sold through auto glass shops which may or may not be to the same specifications as the true original part. This is what you get from auto glass shops, and often from dealers cutting corners or working with insurance companies. Is it as good? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I don’t hesitate to use them on some cars, but I bought the Honda part for my NSX.

An auto glass shop or dealer can "honestly" insist that they are selling you an OEM part, but it won't say Honda on it and it is not necessarily made to Honda specs. In the case of the NSX, the "fake" one will probably be thicker and heavier (and perhaps less likely to break) among other things.

So, OEM does not necessarily mean Honda in today’s industry terminology, but everyone wants you to think that it does.

 

[nsxtasy]

I realize that OEM doesn't mean that the part is made by Honda. But doesn't it mean that it is made, not only by an Original Equipment Manufacturer, but by the one that made the original equipment as sold on the car? And that the parts are the same as the ones used for its original manufacture?

For example, there are a bunch of tire manufacturers who provide tires as OEM to the auto manufacturers. But the only two tires that come on the NSX from the factory are the Yokohama A022H and the Bridgestone RE010. So those are the only two "OEM tires" for the NSX. Right?

Presumably, this applies for glass as well. I think OEM means that it's made by a supplier of the original glass for the NSX, and that the part is the same part supplied as the original equipment on the NSX. If it doesn't mean that, well, it should.

 

[sjs]

Originally posted by nsxtasy:
Presumably, this applies for glass as well. I think OEM means that it's made by a supplier of the original glass for the NSX, and that the part is the same part supplied as the original equipment on the NSX. If it doesn't mean that, well, it should.

Indeed, it should, but sadly it does not. It probably isn't all that important in many cases, but it is still highly deceptive IMO.

There is no assurance whatsoever that it is the same part (less factory sticker or other markings) that they make for the original part, and it often is not. The whole issue of the vs an OEM is extremely vague for many, even most, cars. I have found that there is little or no hesitation to claim a Ford or Toyota windshield is OEM even though it was made by the OEM for Chevy or whatever. I'm sure the tire companies would do the same if not for the clear differences in product.

I'm reminded of a humorous scam back in the late '70s or early '80s. Believe it or not, there was in importer of parts made in Taiwan (mostly as I recall) who decided to establish a brand name of OEM! Even some dealers used the parts to save bucks. Among other things, they sold aftermarket A/C kits in the days when imports were taxed much higher if they arrived with the A/C already installed.


[This message has been edited by sjs (edited 28 August 2001).]

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

Streaks, even deep ones, can be polished out with a orbital buffer and glass rouge by an experienced buffer. Dealerships often do this to clean off filmy windshields. You may want to explore this option first.

-- Chris

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