Windshield Repair Forum

Since I have been on this forum fo a while now and have observed different opinions on crack repair, in somewhat unrelated subjects. In order to make future searches easier I would ask the participants of the forum to express your opinions on crack repair, how long do you do, why do you chose to limit yourself to a certian length, what are you using for equipment/resin, what do you charge, what is yor sucess/callback rate, how is the customer reaction, and any other pertanent info you would like to share?

Merci

HOW LONG OF A CRACK CAN I REPAIR?
The longest crack that I have ever repaired was about 3 feet long. It was a biggie! But it was fresh and the customer's deductible was pretty high. It took me about an hour and I charged somewhere around $75 bucks. (That was a few years ago). I have not done one that long since.

DO I LIMIT MY REPAIR LENGTH?
I do not limit the length of crack, but I do limit the age of crack, and the driving and weather conditions that the vehicle has been in since the crack occurred.. I don't limit a specific age of crack, I just get a "feel" if the crack is full of contaminents or not.

WHAT EQUIPMENT AND RESIN DO I USE ON CRACKS?
Let me first say that I use both Delta and Glass Mechanix equipment on chips. I have a bridge and injector of each manufacturer, and I like to use them both. But for long cracks, I use the old Glass Mechanix plexiglass equipment that I purchased ten years ago and still use today! The resin of choice is a thin resin (not star-fill, that is too thin).

WHAT DO I CHARGE FOR CRACK REPAIR?
I have a base rate of $35 plus $2.00 per inch. I would like to charge more, but realistically, on a long crack - the customer could pay a few bucks more to meet his deductible and get a new windshield. So my pricing has to stay at an attractive price to the customer.

WHAT IS MY SUCCESS/CALL-BACK RATE?
I only charge if a crack repair was successful. Since there has been an occasion or two where the crack did not completely clear up (due to dirt or air bubbles) that lowers my success rate. But I would have to say that approximately 1 out of 50 long crack repairs I can't charge for. The last call back I had was years ago, so the call back rate is extremely low.

CUSTOMER'S REACTION?
Most customers had no idea that crack repair even exists. They are amazed when they try to find the old crack after it was repaired, and they have a hard time trying to find it. Overall customer reaction and satisfaction... Very Very Happy!

MY THOUGHTS ON CRACK REPAIR
Crack repair is profitable, but it is also risky. No matter how good you are, and how much care and effort goes into your repair, a contaminated crack won't look contaminated until after you have spent your precious time trying to repair it. Find out how old the crack is and what kind of driving and weather conditions has the vehicle been through while the crack was present. A clean fresh crack only a few days old may turn out great, while other cracks that may be weeks old turn out to be a total waste of time and resin.

Sneck