I had a small fracture toward the bottom of my windshield on my 2010 truck, with 173,000 miles on…read moreit, but not the kind that's reparable; I needed a new windshield. And my first, wrong instinct was to think a corporation like Safelite in Midway, over an hour away, would best know the ins and outs of my insurance. The first rule should always be: think local, and I neglected my own gut feeling and experience.
Because of Safelite's gimmicky and semi-worthless lifetime guarantee on their seal, if you have an older vehicle, they make you do their work for them - any sign of rust under the windshield, and they send you to an auto-body shop, to treat the windshield's rust, while Safelite swaps it out there, before and after the work. But that Safelite made such a determination, after I'd driven a long way to them for an appointment, for nothing, has worked out for me, because they brought me to Mauldin's - trying my first auto-body place in my new hometown area of Perry.
When the Safelite guy arrived, very late, to remove the windshield, he was already giving attitude about his expectations of the process to Steve at Mauldin's. Once the windshield was off, Steve and I could see no significant rust except for on 2 mm hole, that the Safelight guy was ridiculously calling for to be welded. Steve is I-CAR certified, with 40 years experience doing this stuff, and knows a whole lot more than that young punk. He gave me a knowing glance: telling me I'm a local customer in our community; don't let this corporate punk snowjob you with b.s. about rust that isn't there. The Safelite guy actually drove off mad, leaving me with no windshield, stranded! After no Safelite manager resolved this for me, I told my insurance I wanted to stick with those who had stuck up for me, and treated me right, and it was Steve and Kim who fixed me up with a new windshield, properly installed, of course, faster than promised. And they arranged for me to get a couple of lifts, knowing I was without a drivable vehicle. They are the best - good people, and highly ethical.
Bonus, Waylon on the premises is just the sweetest dog you'll ever encounter, if he's still there and I haven't yet dognapped him!