Geico refuses to replace windshield with OEM

[speedmaster20d]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but wanted to share my story. I got a crack on my almost brand new 18 M3 wind shield on the highway. Got quote from dealer $2900 and change. Called Geico, my deductible is only $250 comprehensive. Guess what they don't pay because "they don't agree with OEM parts and labor" they offered to send a mobile guy to replace the wind shield with a cheap Chinese knock off for $550

The car's head's up and LDW sensors are not gonna work with the knock off.

In CA state law allows you to take your car to any body shop you want and accept factory parts but apparently Geico thinks glass is a different category. Not a lawyer so can't tell they are BS'ing or what but the end of the story is they aren't gonna pay. Can't imagine what would happen if the car is an accident and Geico decides to replace the carbon fiber roof with a Chinese plastic knock off because they look the same

Do yourself a favor and never get insurance from Geico if you like your car

[omera60]

I don’t know if this helps but I found these:
https://www.dmv.org/insurance/how-to...-insurance.php

https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...-glass-851373/

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1255141

[///M///]

Back when I got mine replaced there was no choice but to go with OEM because aftermarket glass did not have the HUD. And yes GEICO covered it but they did not cover the ridiculous dealer price. I had an independent glass shop do it who was way better than the dealer and charged $1200 including the glass. Look for a thread I created back in 2017 on this.

[GOLFFRR]

welcome to Gieco and other cut rate insurance companies. Yes its a good deal however there are a few things you will find out the hard way which I PERSONALLY did and will never deal with again.

these insurance companies will replace damaged goods with "their" certified parts and won't pay for new OEM parts. They say they warranty "their" parts etc. however when you put a non BMW OEM part you actually risk voiding your warranty if its certain parts (example you get a front end accident etc..) if a aftermarket part is installed and you get some sort of warranty work with the car BMW technically can tie it back to that part which could be the cause which in turn denies your warranty claim.

I hit a deer back in the day and had a lot of damage, went through gieco and got screwed, they would not replace the car parts needed with brand new OEM parts but only would do it with their parts or they would give me a check for the value they see their parts are worth which isn't anywhere near what OEM would be.

switched to Farmers, pay barely more each month but its stated in my binder that they will replace only with OEM bmw parts.

I try to tell everyone to be careful with those cheaper insurance companies there are some issues that can get you.

[speedmaster20d]

I am now researching private insurance companies such as Chubb, I am fine with paying a bit more dealing with an honest company who will pay for OEM parts and factory trained technician labor in an event of an accident. That's what insurance is about.

My Geico premium isn't even cheap, I am paying $160 per month and still get this BS. will likely cancel not give these low lifers a dime....

[soulcrft]

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

welcome to Gieco and other cut rate insurance companies. Yes its a good deal however there are a few things you will find out the hard way which I PERSONALLY did and will never deal with again.

these insurance companies will replace damaged goods with "their" certified parts and won't pay for new OEM parts. They say they warranty "their" parts etc. however when you put a non BMW OEM part you actually risk voiding your warranty if its certain parts (example you get a front end accident etc..) if a aftermarket part is installed and you get some sort of warranty work with the car BMW technically can tie it back to that part which could be the cause which in turn denies your warranty claim.

I hit a deer back in the day and had a lot of damage, went through gieco and got screwed, they would not replace the car parts needed with brand new OEM parts but only would do it with their parts or they would give me a check for the value they see their parts are worth which isn't anywhere near what OEM would be.

switched to Farmers, pay barely more each month but its stated in my binder that they will replace only with OEM bmw parts.

I try to tell everyone to be careful with those cheaper insurance companies there are some issues that can get you.

Great points!

I ran over a rock (boulder to be precise) on a dark street one night with my 428 and had to run it through the insurance because it damaged the oil pan and some other stuff underneath.

I had AllState and they wanted to replace the parts with cheap knockoffs. The BMW certified repair center where I took the car refused to use the parts. I was in agreement.

Took some fighting and some aggravating phone calls but they agreed to use OEM. The repair costs went from $4k to $8k. Who knows how much the repair centered inflated the repair costs.

Anyways, I expected an increase in my premiums but not double. I said goodbye. I find that I need to shop around every time come renewal time since they slowly start to creep up the premiums and tell you insurance costs have gone up globally.

[///M///]

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

welcome to Gieco and other cut rate insurance companies. Yes its a good deal however there are a few things you will find out the hard way which I PERSONALLY did and will never deal with again.

these insurance companies will replace damaged goods with "their" certified parts and won't pay for new OEM parts. They say they warranty "their" parts etc. however when you put a non BMW OEM part you actually risk voiding your warranty if its certain parts (example you get a front end accident etc..) if a aftermarket part is installed and you get some sort of warranty work with the car BMW technically can tie it back to that part which could be the cause which in turn denies your warranty claim.

I hit a deer back in the day and had a lot of damage, went through gieco and got screwed, they would not replace the car parts needed with brand new OEM parts but only would do it with their parts or they would give me a check for the value they see their parts are worth which isn't anywhere near what OEM would be.

switched to Farmers, pay barely more each month but its stated in my binder that they will replace only with OEM bmw parts.

I try to tell everyone to be careful with those cheaper insurance companies there are some issues that can get you.

Can't paint a broad brush based on price because it totally depends on where you live. GEICO Is not always the cheapest. I have found Farmers to be cheaper than GEICO at some locations. Does that mean I should not get Farmers because it is the cheapest in the area? Where I am right now, Farmers is crazy expensive compared to GEICO and other known insurance companies. I have 4 cars and 2 motorcycles and Farmers was almost 65% higher than GEICO when I looked a year ago. I ended up with Progressive and so far so good. Am not saying Farmers is bad, just that it's not always feasible to get it as it depends on your location assuming all other things equal.

[bimmerboyE92]

I have Geico for auto and home. My glass claim was covered with no deductible all through the dealer. Live in KY.

Geico was also very helpful during an uninsured incident but it was so minor that I didn’t bother, other than making sure the other guy was ticketed and fined.

[boglehead]

I am glad you shared this, I may shop around as I currently have Geico.

[solrac6262]

I just cancelled my policy with them last month, they wanted like $950 for 6 months just for my M4, I went with Progressive, I guess because I had previews comprehensive claims, they wanted to recup some of my claims lol, also if your claim its more then $1k it shows on your record.

I think you should be fine, I had my Cayenne and other vehicles and I was like you trying to go with the OEM glass from dealer, the lizard company uses Safelite they have all the right tools and they always use OEM windshield, you should be fine with them.

they will find "similar" or the Manufacturer that sells the generic part, I got hit on the freeway with some crap piece of wood and damaged my Range Rovert Sport hood and cracked my headlamp, the company they source parts sells the same OEM same brand just not land rover box, I was lucky the head lamp was out of stock geico covered the OEM one

[speedmaster20d]

update :

after calling Geico and telling them BMW will refuse to re-calibrate the LDW sensors with after market glass and it is is safety / liability thing plus its a brand new $85K MSRP car they immediately agreed to replace with OEM. found a good shop (the guy was from Germany who had a shop in Munich for 15+ years) that ordered the windshield from BMW and replaced it. handled all the paper work too so I did nothing

so I think you must call and insist on OEM and in this case it worked.

[visi107]

Glad to hear it all worked out.

part of the problem is also these ridiculous prices that BMW dealers want to charge and you kind of cannot blame any insurance companies for not wanting to pay them

[N55Msport]

FWIW... I have Geico as well, a bad rock chip on my old e46 windshield required new glass. Geico initially said all they can do is install whatever glass the local Safelite installer uses. At the time I was reading on my e46 forum about rain sensor issues on non OEM glass, so right out of the gate I settled for nothing less then BMW Pinklington (forgot the correct spelling) glass vs Safelite glass. Eventually through the power of digging my feet in, they agreed and had the installer special order the glass. I did have to pay the difference of the 2 which was roughly $200.00.

[drroc]

The OEM windshield for the HUD is just under $800. In the Bay Area, you can get the windshield replaced with an OEM part for just under 1k. Just call around body shops that deal with BMWs in your area. The reason why BMW wants 2500 is so that they can "leak test" the repair...

[Rockshaker]

Here's what I posted in other threads for my windshield replacement parts and cost from BMW.
https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=22755077

[chabster]

Originally Posted by speedmaster20d

update :

after calling Geico and telling them BMW will refuse to re-calibrate the LDW sensors with after market glass and it is is safety / liability thing plus its a brand new $85K MSRP car they immediately agreed to replace with OEM. found a good shop (the guy was from Germany who had a shop in Munich for 15+ years) that ordered the windshield from BMW and replaced it. handled all the paper work too so I did nothing

so I think you must call and insist on OEM and in this case it worked.

PMed, but will ask explicitly. Could you share the shop's name, and the guy's name.

Same thing happened to me - cracked WS and Geico.

[Fender150]

Thanks to the OP of this thread, geico initially wanted to give me aftermarket for 2018 m4, but after reading this here I used the magic words, recalibrating and safety liability,
They approved it lol

[fim63]

After reading this thread, I checked the windshield on my car. It’s a 2016 M3, which I bought a couple of months ago. All my other glass says BMW, but the front windshield says Fuyao, along with “SOLARTINT” and “HUD.” So it looks like original owner had the windshield replaced with Fuyao rather than OEM glass.

I don’t have anything to compare with, but the HUD seems readable to me so far. The car has the Driving Assistance Plus package, which I think has lane departure warning. How much difference, if any, would I expect to see between the OEM and Fuyao glass with regard to HUD, LDW, and rain sensors? What would the safety issues be?

[rjd598]

for anyone who wants more info i've had great interactions with aaa. multiple cars, multiple claims (not my fault) and always had oem parts. i think your body shop has some pull there because i know the shop i used definitely pushed for oem parts always and i know that had some help in the equation.

[MrSmartyPants]

Originally Posted by fim63

After reading this thread, I checked the windshield on my car. It’s a 2016 M3, which I bought a couple of months ago. All my other glass says BMW, but the front windshield says Fuyao, along with “SOLARTINT” and “HUD.” So it looks like original owner had the windshield replaced with Fuyao rather than OEM glass.

I don’t have anything to compare with, but the HUD seems readable to me so far. The car has the Driving Assistance Plus package, which I think has lane departure warning. How much difference, if any, would I expect to see between the OEM and Fuyao glass with regard to HUD, LDW, and rain sensors? What would the safety issues be?

I don't know about any of those things, but the OEM glass is total shit. My M3 glass at 45k looks the same as my honda at 160k (and winter driven in the NE).

Anything else is worth trying IMO.

[CachacoF80]

I have geico too and my wife's 2018 X3 needed a replacement. Because "their" equivalent windshield was not available, I got the OEM. So worth checking what safelite or equivalent actually has in inventory before putting up a fight.

[ellipsis212]

Went though this with them as well.

Ended up paying out of pocket for OEM and then invoicing Geico for the amount in excess of my deductible. They paid up but not without me being mean.