A week ago a rock hit the front window just a little bit above the VIN #. My wife and I heard the pop but after looking over the window while driving we couldn't see anything. By the time we got home I forgot about it. Next day there was a long crack along the hood towards the center (probably caused by the temp. difference from over night).

Now I am looking for a PROFESSIONAL place to replace the glass. After seeing a commentary (either 20/20 or hardcopy) about some of the places that replace glass on cars I am very afraid to have anyone touch it. The problem was that untrained people left fingerprints and dirt on the surface where the adhesives are applied. Also they didn’t clean off all the remains from the old glass and the result is that your airbags, ones they deploy go through the window instead of bouncing back protecting the driver and passenger.

Do you know any place in the SF Bay area that is reputable? Also what does this usually cost? I don't want to make this an insurance claim if I don't necessarily have to.

Thanks,

Silver/black 2.7T 6sp PSK-sport with cracked window.

 

Re: Crack in window. Need help.... (long)

 

Suggest you ask Stu B. He just got his replaced.

 

Best shot is to call your dealer and ask them who they use for things like this. Chances are they don't do it themselves. Same with body work and ding removal. If you trust them, never hesitate to ask questions like this.

I had my windshield replaced recently. I took my car to Andersen-Behel Audi in San Jose for the warranty repair. They contracted the work out to Glass West. Glass West did an excellent job of replacing my windshield with one which was at least as rippled as the original one (which is why I had it replaced). I don't blame them for that, the windshield was provided by Audi.

Some notes:
The dealer would not let me have my car for 24 hours after the windshield install. Glass West did the work on site at the dealer, but you cannot move the car for 24 hours since if the body flexes, the seal on the windshield can break and it will not fix itself. It will then leak forever. It would seem worth the wait to make sure the windshield doesn't leak.
The glue smells like carpet glue, and will outgas a film onto the inside of most of the glass in the car (including the rear view mirror) over a period of a week. So wait a week before getting it washed inside.
Glass West left some minor smears on the bodywork of my hood. No big deal, getting the car washed fixed it.

If you can get Glass West to take the risk of it not fitting and ordering a different one, I'd recommend getting a good quality US-made windshield (PPG), since the Audi ones are very often distorted. Note that some have mentioned that they tried to get a US-made windshield and it didn't fit right. Also note that the Avant and Sedan windshields are different.

Finally, Andersen-Behel uses "Ding King" in Santa Clara for minor ding removal, in case you want to use a place which has actually worked on an A6 before.

 

As Steve mentioned, I used the shop that my dealer uses. I am glad I did. Although the glass fitting is fairly straight forward, the trim was not quite so straight forward.

The gentleman who did the work has done many Audis and Porsches before and it showed.

One thing I will mention is that there are "blocks" (installers term) that create a self-aligning windshield install. But there is still wiggle-room up and down. They had to push my windshield up towards the roof about an 1/8th of an inch. It is not a seal issue, it is a cosmetic one with the rubber trim piece that creates the cosmetic seal between the glass and the roof. They used painters tape to hold the windshield in place until the sealant cured. Most shops would not even notice or care would be my guess.

I ended up using factory glass and got lucky, there is much less distortion in the new one than in the original. My shop said they have had fitment problems in the past with aftermarket glass. They did not say what brand/s, but did say they have not tried any since early '99 either.