Windshield woe !

[Fatbloke-Dim]

Found myself a nice, deep , sharp-sided pot-hole on a side road last week Also found a cracked windshield when my vision returned to normal and my internal organs settled into their respective positions again. Imagine how delighted yhis made me feel . Anyone know of, or have used anybody they could recommend to put a screen in a C6? If it helps I'm in Manchester so the more local , the better I need a screen for the HUD-equipped car. This is my punishment for having the temerity to have attempted to take tha car out in the recent fine weather spell . Will I ever learn?

 

[Nassau65]

I hope you’re going to put some sort of claim in against the council.

 

[Fatbloke-Dim]

Might do , but that may end up being a war of attrition, you know how these battles with officialdom can go !If one pot-hole don't git yer, another one will !

 

[Chuffer]

Take a photo of the pothole and its size ,depthand location and record what the speed limit is on that stretch of road . Their legal and morally required response times to effect repairs varies dependent on size , depth and speed limits on the highway . Under the Freedom of Information Act demand that your local authority provides you with copies of their past 3 years of inspection reports for that stretch of highway plus copies of their own policies and procedures and method statements for dealing with potholes . Give them 30 days to respond and do everything in writing and keep records .
Send them photos of your vehicles damage and copies of estimates or receipts for repair . It will take time and lots of tenacity on your part and they will automatically refute any liability ( usually from their legal team ) . DON`T be fobbed off . They rely on motorists not taking them on and standing up for their rights . I spent several months fighting Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) a few years ago when a very deep pothole that had been left unrepaired for months damaged 2 tyres and a rim on the 20 inch split rim alloys on my Jaguar XKR . It took a letter to the NCC`s Chief Executive and an application to the Small Claims Court to get the bastards to pay up . The cheque for full recompense arrived the day before the court hearing !! Local authorities know their responsibilities but try to rip motorists off knowing most people just walk away . Go for it , stick with it , and you will win .

 

[Nassau65]

Well said Chuffer.

 

[Chevrolet]

Found myself a nice, deep , sharp-sided pot-hole on a side road last week Also found a cracked windshield when my vision returned to normal and my internal organs settled into their respective positions again. Imagine how delighted yhis made me feel . Anyone know of, or have used anybody they could recommend to put a screen in a C6? If it helps I'm in Manchester so the more local , the better I need a screen for the HUD-equipped car. This is my punishment for having the temerity to have attempted to take tha car out in the recent fine weather spell . Will I ever learn?

Can you not claim the windscreen on your car insurance? Phone "Parts USA" about a new one:

Parts USA - Authorised Parts, Service & Repair for your American Vehicle

Parts USA - General Motors Authorised Repairer. Cadillac, Camaro, Corvette, Hummer parts supplied within the UK and internationally. Manufacturer backed maintenance, repair and bodywork carried out. All American cars and trucks catered for.

www.partsusa.co.uk

 

[Chuffer]

Can you not claim the windscreen on your car insurance? Phone "Parts USA" about a new one:

Parts USA - Authorised Parts, Service & Repair for your American Vehicle

Parts USA - General Motors Authorised Repairer. Cadillac, Camaro, Corvette, Hummer parts supplied within the UK and internationally. Manufacturer backed maintenance, repair and bodywork carried out. All American cars and trucks catered for.

www.partsusa.co.uk

He probably can but that`s not the point . All authorities up and down the country are failing in the duty of care to maintain their highways to an acceptable standard . We pay enough in taxes but get sod all for it !! Claiming on insurance ultimately bumps up premiums and we all all end up paying the price .

 

[Nassau65]

With all the road tax ( as we all call it) paid over the years the UK should have the best roads in the world by far.

 

[Chuffer]

With all the road tax ( as we all call it) paid over the years the UK should have the best roads in the world by far.

Indeed we should but every government no matter what their colours have blown it all on everything but infrastructure maintenance for decades .

 

[Chevrolet]

He probably can but that`s not the point . All authorities up and down the country are failing in the duty of care to maintain their highways to an acceptable standard . We pay enough in taxes but get sod all for it !! Claiming on insurance ultimately bumps up premiums and we all all end up paying the price .

"Not the point" ? I think I am " right on the point". Yeah, we all know about the state of the roads. Not everyone wants to spend months pursuing the council. Life's too short/got better things to do and all that.

 

[Nassau65]

Indeed we should but every government no matter what their colours have blown it all on everything but infrastructure maintenance for decades .

So true

 

[Chuffer]

"Not the point? I think I am " right on the point". Yeah, we all know about the state of the roads. Not everyone wants to spend months pursuing the council. Life's too short/got better things to do and all that.

All the local authorities that don`t do their job properly just love people with your mind set .

 

[Chuffer]

Pot hole related breakdowns in the UK have tripled in the first 3 months of 2025 according to the RAC . They attended almost 9,500 call call outs from motorists in that period due to pot hole related damage . Need I say more !!
But don`t worry , the motorist will suck up the cost so we can all sleep happily !

 

[CaptainK]

Can you not claim the windscreen on your car insurance?

You can indeed, BUT it is then a claim you have made on your insurance, and you'll end up paying for that claim for the next 5 (?) years via your insurance premiums. Why incur the extra costs when you aren't at fault and like Chuffer says you should be able to claim from the council. More so a concern for us Corvette owners that probably have the Vette as a second car - then you have to declare that claim on multiple car policies, increasing all their premiums.

Even if you do have to pay for it yourself, it's probably cheaper in the long run to get a local glass fitter to fit a new screen for you and you pay them for it.

 

[Chevrolet]

You can indeed, BUT it is then a claim you have made on your insurance, and you'll end up paying for that claim for the next 5 (?) years via your insurance premiums.

Yes and No, depending on the insurer and/or policy ? But more likely "No" according to this:

Does Windscreen Replacement Count As A Claim? - Consumer Advisory

Does Windscreen Replacement Count As A Claim? by Consumer Advisory Connecting Business & Consumers

consumeradvisory.co.uk

My last two Vettes were a C6 and C7, insured on "conventional" (not classic car) policies with Aviva, LV, or Admiral etc. On all of them I had the Protected NCB option, so a windscreen claim (not that I had one) should not have affected my NCB, even if the "base policy" windscreen terms & conditions (see above) regarded a windscreen claim as affecting/reducing the NCB. Suspect that on "quality" (5 star Defaqto rated) policies from the likes of the above companies, the T&Cs relating to a windscreen claim above, will not affect/reduce your NCB.

 

[CaptainK]

Yes and No, depending on the insurer and/or policy ? But more likely "No" according to this:

Does Windscreen Replacement Count As A Claim? - Consumer Advisory

Does Windscreen Replacement Count As A Claim? by Consumer Advisory Connecting Business & Consumers

consumeradvisory.co.uk

Interesting details thanks. I did some research many years back when I needed a replacement windscreen and the conclusion was "Yes" to declaring the claim, and yes to potentially upping your premiums if you have the windscreen replaced. The article above even states:
"In general, if you have a fully comprehensive insurance policy that includes windscreen cover and need to claim for windscreen replacement, this will count as a claim."
"If you’ve claimed for windscreen repair or replacement within the past 5 years, you will need to declare it to your insurer every time you take out insurance.".

But like you and the article said, a windscreen replacement MIGHT not have any affect on your premium, much like protected NCB protects your NCB, BUT NCB doesn't stop you from having to declare any claim, so an insurer MIGHT up the premium or they MIGHT not based upon having a claim. I know when friends/family had a fault claim, their NCB was protected, BUT their premiums still went up due to having made a claim.

Insurance is definitely a confusing subject, so yes, if in doubt check your insurance paperwork.

In my case, for the cost of a new windscreen replacement + fitting (wasn't much surprisingly), versus the cost of the insurance claim as they charge you a bit for windscreen replacement (I think mine was £100) + 5 years of declaring the claim on 3+ cars, I decided to just pay to replace the windscreen myself.

Anyway, to the point of the original post - see if you can find a replacement windscreen and cost it up for replacement, and then compare to the cost of insurance replacement. Its what I did.


Obviously if you can get the windscreen repaired, well, just ignore everything I said above and talk to your insurers as they generally don't bother about small repairs etc. Though depending on your repair excess, it might not be that much more to pay a local person to repair it.

 

[Chevrolet]

Interesting details thanks. I did some research many years back when I needed a replacement windscreen and the conclusion was "Yes" to declaring the claim, and yes to potentially upping your premiums if you have the windscreen replaced.

Don't disagree with anything you have said. If you are looking for new insurance and declare a windscreen claim (in last 5 years), is that gonna potentially result in a higher quote from a new insurer? Don't know/maybe not?

 

[Mad4slalom]

He probably can but that`s not the point . All authorities up and down the country are failing in the duty of care to maintain their highways to an acceptable standard . We pay enough in taxes but get sod all for it !! Claiming on insurance ultimately bumps up premiums and we all all end up paying the price .

Hmm,…., our local council have been negligent to the extreme in repairing the thousands of potholes that seem to multiply or get deeper year on year. They are always blaming budget cuts etc etc But always seem to find plenty of money to spend on tarmac when littering the local roads with flippin speed bumps !!

 

[Chuffer]

Hmm,…., our local council have been negligent to the extreme in repairing the thousands of potholes that seem to multiply or get deeper year on year. They are always blaming budget cuts etc etc But always seem to find plenty of money to spend on tarmac when littering the local roads with flippin speed bumps !!

Indeed , if anything like Northamptonshire County Council they waste £millions on ill conceived schemes , miss management and golden handshakes to a litany of Chief Executives that screw up big time and are paid off to save further embarassment . Then pleed they are under funded . The new Council Head Offices in Northampton were a cock up on an industrial scale that virtually bankrupted the authority . And that`s not just hear say because I worked for the b****d`s for 26 years !!

 

[Fatbloke-Dim]

Looks like Autoglass can get 'em . Fancy that, eh? It looks like it will go through the insurance ,they seemed very reluctant to cost it for me so I could decide whether to eat it myself or not. At the mo' , it is not clear whether it will affect the insurance premium , I know having a repair usually doesn't, but a crack isn't repairable, so that's that , then . I will have to pay a 100 quid XS, though. The fact that it's on a classic , limited mileage policy didn't give me the option to protect the NCB, but I claimed for a windshield on my Octavia a few years ago , on a fully comp policy, and it didn't seem to make any difference. The bloody thing always goes up every year, anyway.