Is Vitro an acceptance OEM glass for repair?

[rb.]

My poor Bronco was broken into.

Safelite replaced the glass. They were authorized for OEM glass and I explicitly requested it. They put in Vitro for the door glass. They put Ford glass in the hardtop.

I want Ford glass that says Ford on it. Is this unreasonable?

I've added photos of my factory window on the other side and the one Safelite put in.

Thank you.

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[RC Bronco]

You wanted OEM glass and they were authorized for OEM replacements

I would reject it and require OEM glass all-around

Not unreasonable in the slightest. They’re trying to be cheap at your cost

 

[CalvinT]

They were authorized OEM glass. I wonder if they charged the insurance for OEM glass then installed cheaper glass.

I bet your insurance company would like to know.

 

[rb.]

Thanks for the feedback. It was very helpful.

I'm pushing back on Safelite.

Interesting - their process is to send someone out to verify that it is not OEM glass. If that's the case, they will replace it.

The photo will not suffice.

Asking Homer, the dude who installed it and had a discussion with my son about whether or not Vitro is OEM glass, also does not suffice.

The guy I spoke to confirmed that if it is, in fact, Vitro glass then they will replace it. But they have to follow a very strict protocol.

 

[Motovita]

Lesson learned, avoid Safelite! Frankly unless you've got nothing but time on your hands, I'd take the lesson and live with what you got.

 

[Brian_B]

I think you are fine on the brand name. Not sure if M505 is the same tint as M403. Other than the manufacturing plant being different (904 vs 287 - Pittsburg vs Mexico), they are both AS2 glass, which is the proper glass for side windows.

 

[rb.]

I thought safelite might be a bit iffy. But the Bronco is a 2000 miles away, enjoying a summer internship job with my son. I opted for the ease of them coming to fix it versus him having to miss work to go to a dealership. Plus if we had a problem later, Safelite is Nationwide. I suppose the Ford dealers are supposed to be, but I don't think they like to or can back up each other's work unless Ford gets involved.

Thanks for the info on the glass. It seems like it's fine. It still bugs me to have it look so "aftermarket", but at least they are functionally equivalent. I'll have to check on the tint.

 

[BillTheCat]

If Safelite ordered the OEM from Ford, (I believe) it should have the Ford/FoMoCo etched into it. As I recall, Ford does use Vitro as one of their suppliers, but I would think it would still be considered aftermarket w/o the "Ford" etched in. And as @Brian_B mentioned, some of the numbers don't gel.

 

[Blue Max]

So...tell us about the break-in....did they steal anything or were they trying to steal the Bronco? And when you say they replaced the glass on the hardtop, are you talking about the windshield?
Thanks

 

[rb.]

Here is the entire sordid story.

The Bronco is a 2-door Badlands SAS with the rear seats removed. It's spending the summer in a suburb north of Houston. I happened to be down visiting when the break-in occurred, but it's my son that's down there with it. It had a Instant-pot (external - brown cardboard) box in the back, from one we were going to return. It also had a very expensive new laptop in the back tucked behind the driver's seat. We were running late to meet someone for dinner and didn't have time to drop off the laptop. We didn't even consider the instant-pot as an issue, since it was broken and worthless.


We discussed whether or not to bring the laptop into the restaurant, but decided it was probably OK and I think both of us were also concerned we'd leave it in the restaurant by accident. It was not visible from the outside, since the Bronco was parked head-in and has dark tint on the hardtop. It was parked in a garage in a very shi-shi suburban shopping area. (The Woodlands) I do live in Boise, which is very low crime area. But - I've also lived in Boston area, DC area, and Silicon Valley. I know enough not to do what I did in a crappy neighborhood or an apartment building parking garage, but not enough to realize the risk in an upscale retail garage. I also didn't know at the time that having out of state license plates adds risk. The Bronco didn't stand out as an expensive car in that setting, so I didn't worry about that part. Houston has a relatively high rate of non-violent crime, but we were 30 miles from the city center and I wasn't as careful as I would have been if we were downtown.

Anyway, some a***e came along and broke both passenger side windows and didn't take anything. As my son and I were returning to the car, we saw a firetruck and a few ambulances on the street outside the garage. There was also somebody's backpack under the Bronco - that was not there when we parked. We can only guess that the sirens scared the a***e away.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Department - awesome
Amica - good except theu work with Safelite and aren't trying hard to back me up
Safelite - shocker, I know, but I hate them.

I checked Sunday with the Amica safelite coordinator. I don't know if that's Safelite or Amica, but they assured me I was getting OEM glass. Safelite came out the following Friday with aftermarket glass and my son refused. They came back again the next Wednesday with Ford glass for the hardtop and what they insisted to my son was OEM glass for the door. That's when I started this note.

Any thoughts on whether a car alarm (a real one, as opposed to whatever it is that's already in the Bronco but doesn't go off unless you try to open the door) would be a good call for my son? He's hoping to get a permanent job offer when he graduates next Spring, and move down there.
Not with my Bronco, though. He has a Chevy Spark. We just swapped for the summer, so he could bring more than a shoebox's worth of stuff down and also have a bigger car for his first time driving in a big city. I never had a car alarm in any of the big cities that I lived in. It seemed like they just go off randomly too often and don't deter thieves enough. But it's been a while and I'm not an expert in this area anyway.


Thanks so much for all of your help.

.

 

[Blue Max]

Dang...that stinks. I can relate somewhat, I live in Katy, west of Houston, but all of the Houston scum is making its' way west towards me, and north to where your son is. I'm planning on moving soon, either to the Texas hill country, or Colorado. I don't like going into Houston for anything, and when I do, I am constantly worried about whatever vehicle that I am driving.

 

[rb.]

Dang...that stinks. I can relate somewhat, I live in Katy, west of Houston, but all of the Houston scum is making its' way west towards me, and north to where your son is. I'm planning on moving soon, either to the Texas hill country, or Colorado. I don't like going into Houston for anything, and when I do, I am constantly worried about whatever vehicle that I am driving.

I got lucky that they didn't take the laptop. It would have been covered by insurance, but it also would have been even more annoying and inconvenient. I am now a firm believer in the death penalty for people who break into cars. Kidding, sort of...


I was just looking at Armadillo hardtops, which are close to Katy. I was thinking of wandering over there next time I'm down, which is pretty soon. I dont' supposed you have ever gone to see their tops, since you have a Heritage. But have you ever seen one around?

 

[Blue Max]

No, I have not been there, and I haven't seen one. But I will keep my eyes peeled!

 

[Motovita]

And when Safelite achjeves their goal of continental domination we won't have a choice but to put up with that crap. I suppose car prowlers know that if they open a door the alarm goes off so they just smash multiple windows, Who'd a thunk it?

 

[TPadden72]

And when Safelite achjeves their goal of continental domination we won't have a choice but to put up with that crap.

In the grand scheme of life seems to me Safelite is taking the brunt of hate for a nasty theft smash and grab situation. With Ford's GREAT record of taking weeks, even months to fix minor items, imagine no Safelite, and having to rely on a Ford dealer, his individual supply chain, and dealer tire changers (I mean technicians) installing glass. Talk about a nightmare...

Tom

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