difference betwen a replacement or original?

[windshield]

what is the difference betwen a replacement or a original windshield?my customers ask me this question.i know the original windshield is more expensive than the replacement.what is the difference over all terms?thanks for the attentio

[streekyd]

In reality, nothing. They all have to meet the DOT specs. Clarity, drop ball test etc. The fact is..a pea is a pea is a pea. They are all the same. Some may not fit as you would like them to, or some may have some kind of coating left on or some may have more distortion than another but it is still a pea (windshield). What makes the difference is how you handle the installation.

[Lee]

You can't get an original windshield for any mass produced vehicle. In order to get one you would have to have one originally produced for the run of the vehicle. You sometimes can get the original manufacturer replacement glass but this is replacement glass not original. This is as close as you can get to original. Also all of the major manufactures are farming out production to foreign companies in hope of saving $. Take a look at a new GTO, American muscle car. Made in Australia with FYG glass from China. While I'm rambling, the glass shops that advertise FACTORY GLASS ONLY are full of it. If you think about it where else is glass made but in a factory?? I haven't heard of albino pygmy virgins making glass by the light of a full moon, yet.

[WindshieldGuy2]

If you think about it where else is glass made but in a factory?? I haven't heard of albino pygmy virgins making glass by the light of a full moon, yet.[/quote]

LOLOLOL

[sunshine wr]

Some automotive manufacturers have their logos or brand names on their windshields that can't be bought from your local warehouse, but can be bought through the dealers for a premium price.

[Lee]

PPGG is OEM on many Mercedes w/shields. If you get a PPG w/s from a dealer you get the M-B Star on the logo. If you get the same PPG w/s from a distributor the Star is polished out and you can see the shadow of the star. I'm not sure on every model but w/s's from a dist are usually cheaper than from a dealer, so PPG gets rid of the star(and you can still tell it was there) so you can pay less for the same glass.
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The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
STEVEN WRIGHT

[Lee]

More Steven Wright here,
http://www.weather.net/zarg/ZarPages/stevenWright.html

[John62]

Hi Lee. Logo -MB star- is polished out? Ever been to a ws plant? Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, the specs are screen printed -on the inside. At that time, the two pieces of glass are still seperated, so there is no interlayer. That means that mfg. should polish the details out, before the interlayer comes in and the two pieces are 'connected', doesn't sound logical to me. To polish details out -like a logo- would be a waste of time and money, I'm sure they would SCRAP the glass instead of doing a polish.

[Lee]

I've seen lots of these. Also on some GM OEM PPG comes with a GM logo on the factory glass and replacement PPG glass has the GM logo removed. Don't know why they do this but they do.

[sydfloyd44]

Pilkington is doing this same thing on Chrysler glass. John, been to several plants and as far as I have seen, they are all screened on the outside of the inner lite.
When Pilkington does this, they put a cheap sticker with their name and logo across the ground section. Haven't seen PPG do this, but would not be a surprise when I do see it.
I know this sounds crazy, but it is true. It doesn't make any sense to me and it truly looks like crap!

Another note on OE glass. When you talk about luxury vehicles like BMW's, there is typically 3 choices. You have "OEM" glass from the dealer which will have the mfg. logo. You have a basic nags part which does not have the logo and is any off brand. Then you have the "premium" nags part. This is typically the OEM manufacturer, (Sekurit,Sigla, etc.) same exact window as the dealer part, but without the logo. More expensive than off brand but less expensive than dealer.
As far as "aftermarket" glass, I do agree that one of the biggest differences is fit and finish. Some companies are just not that good in their labs in replicating an oe window. The harder the window to replicate, the less likely someone else will either try or be successful. (i.e. DW1123) Finally, APTech is not only maker of the 1123/1124!!
One thing that should be understood is that it is the PVB that is under the federal guidelines, not the thickness or quality of the glass layers. This is where much of the quality is lost.