Auto Glass Replacements. Factory OEM or Aftermarket Auto Glass?

In British Columbia, most of us will need to have our windshield or other auto glass replaced, usually through our comprehensive auto insurance. At Splashes, our customers will often request that we replace their auto glass with a factory or OEM piece of glass. Unfortunately, the insurance companies in BC will often not pay the premium for a factory piece of glass. There are two exceptions to this rule; the first one is if you, the owner, have purchased “replacement cost insurance”. If so, we the auto glass shop, are required to use ONLY factory auto glass. But, you can only purchase replacement cost insurance on vehicles that are a maximum of three years old, so anything older and you’re out of luck. The second exception is, every so often, the factory piece of glass is cheaper than an aftermarket, or an aftermarket piece is not available. In this case your auto glass repair shop will order directly from the dealer and your insurance company will approve this, although it does often add a delay to the auto glass claim process.

So, does this mean that you are not getting a good windshield, side glass or back glass in your vehicle? Well that all depends on where you take your vehicle for auto glass service. There are many auto glass suppliers and installers out there; many selling windshields and auto glass that are of sub-par quality. Any reputable auto glass shop will use at least one of four major suppliers that have glass quality that matches or sometimes even exceeds factory specifications. In fact, many of our suppliers are the actual auto glass manufactures for Ford, Dodge, BMW and Mercedes auto glass. The only difference between their aftermarket versions is they do not have the vehicle name badge or logo.

The fact is, if you do not have “replacement cost” insurance then you’ll likely end up with an aftermarket piece of auto glass in your vehicle when the time comes that you need to have it replaced. If your auto glass shop does a quality install and buys from a reputable manufacture, the only thing you’ll notice is a clear view of the road.