Windshield Question

Hey all,

The wife and I are about 2 weeks from taking delivery of our Sprinter 4x4. We are getting all our finances in a row and chatted with the dealership today. They are trying to sell us their windshield replacement package which is $1295 which is good for 5 years up to $5000 worth of repair. The guy said each windshield costs about $1500 to replace (using OEM glass) so good for about 3 windshields. I told him my insurance has $100 windshield replacement so I don't need that package to which he said that those windshields that are replaced by insurance companies are typically not OEM glass and much cheaper glass. He indicated there are all sorts of sensors in the sprinter windshield and if not replaced with an OEM one the vans computer system will start going berserk.

We did not order a heated windshield nor do we have any rain sensors so my question is this guy for real or just blowing smoke to get me to purchase their package.

We do live in the mountains in Colorado & have replaced the windshield on our current SUV about every 2 years or so. But it's always been nice to use local glass companies as they come to us vs driving 2 hours to Denver to the nearest MB dealership!

Thanks for any advice.

Derek

Insurance replaces based on what was delivered with the van. They actually looked it up through our VIN. In our case, heated w/ filter band windshield that works with rain/headlamp sensor. Hope that helps.

Yes it does and that is exactly how I thought it worked. I plan on chatting with insurance tomorrow as well but thought I'd try here also. Thanks

DROSE,
Not sure how your insurance company would handle a replacement windshield, but my ins. co. tried a couple of different
ways to get a cheaper windshield, but due to the rain sensor they had no choice but to replace my cracked Saint-Gobain Sekurit (SGS)
OEM windshield with an exact part number replacement.
If you have the $100 deductible glass coverage, I see no way that the insurance company could replace a Sprinter windshield with something
of lesser quality.
They can try, and you can refuse, or offer to pay the difference.
There is less chance of you getting the OEM replacement windshield with aftermarket glass insurance unless the policy is very specific that
only the OEM part # to VIN # windshield is acceptable.
The glass guy at my insurance company tried to get a windshield from some RV glass outfit in the Midwest because my Sprinter is registered
as an RV.
The RV glass outfit told him to go to Mercedes Benz, and they ordered the correct OEM replacement windshield by part number to the VIN #.
It didn't cost anywhere near $1500 as I recall and the work was supervised by an authorized Mercedes Benz dealer through the glass installer
they use for all MB vehicles.
The dealer is trying to "upsell" you a bit here I think!
Hope this helps,
Roger

My AAA deductible was useless and I paid $250 to the installers for an exact replacement on my 06 a few weeks ago. No sensors though, only the same shaded areas across the top. The numbers on the glass were an exact replacement match. I did shop around SD for the best prices and they were all within $50 or so from each other.

I had had a couple of rust bubbles for a while and when the glass was pulled out, there was rust all around the frame. My local body shop friend did a great better than factory job at removing the rust and painting the frame. I was fortunate no welding had to be done. Several layers of primer, several layers of paint, and a couple layers of sealer top coat should last longer than what the factory does. The hidden cancer was much more than extensive thought I it would be from the couple of bubbles visible on the outside. Be aware, all that you can see, may not be all that there is. Thanks to all here.