Has anyone here installed a new rear windshield on a car before? If so, do you reckon someone who is handy, but is not especially practiced at car repair could handle it with the proper tools? For reference, I’m capable of doing basic car repair, like changing the oil or swapping bulbs, but not much else. Could I handle replacing a rear windshield?
My guess would be that you’ll wind up wishing you’d had it done. It isn’t easy to do a neat job.
And the professionals can typically do this rather quickly, so labor charges shouldn’t be ruinous.
(For a nitpick, I think “rear windshield” is non-standard terminology. The windshield is in front; what’s behind is the rear window.)
Don’t even think about it.
First off it isn’t a one man job.
Secondly it requires special tools (big assed suction cups and tools to remove the old window)
Thirdly the labor for a glass shop to install is actually very reasonable
lastly, it is a pain in the ass to do.
Agree with the above. Plus typically the glass repairman can come to your location to do the fix. I had the windshield in my old truck replaced in my work parking lot.
I work at a glass shop. It is not something you want to do yourself. Many backglasses need to be cut out from the inside. This is hard to do without ruining the interior. Also the polyurethane used for auto glass is hard to come by for a backyard mechanic.
And be sure and check your auto insurance to see if you have glass coverage. If so, that will probably pay the whole cost. On my policy, it only costs $30 a year. Never had to replace a back window, but have had to have the windshield done three times when trucks threw up a stone that cracked it.
I’m a big-time automotive do-it-yourselfer. There aren’t many things I won’t attempt to repair myself. New clutch? I’ll do it. New suspension? I’ll do that too. Plenty of things are in my repertoire that are well outside the abilities of your typical Jiffy Lube patron. It comes from having a mechanic for a father. And easy access to a quality garage with a lift and proper tools doesn’t hurt either.
But I do have a small list of areas I just won’t go. Some of them are just because there are special tools required that I don’t have access too. But some of them are because I know that I can’t possibly do as good a job as a pro. Those are usually things that are just as much art as technical skill. Major body work is a good example.
Also on that fairly short list is glass replacement. I wouldn’t even contemplate replacing a back window myself. I’m very mechanically inclined, but I know I’d fuck it up royally. And I’m not usually afraid of fucking things up.
I definitely think the cost of having it done professionally is worth it. It’s too easy to get wrong. You can damage your car removing it. Or you could improperly seal the new one, inviting leaks. The cost of labor is a small price to pay for peace of mind and getting someone else to stand behind it if it’s not right
I agree with those above. Having done junkyard renovations on older cars. Pulling the old glass is horrendous. Getting the sealant was difficult. It cost something on the line of $300 to have a windshield put in a Cadillac. Most of that price was the glass itself. On an old Taurus wagon, the rear side window was $700, That was just the glass. Labor was about the same.
Depending on the car and shape of window. A car that is in fair to good shape you are better to have a pro do it, leaks the big problem. Now a old car that you just want to keep running you may be able to do.
I have done many a window in old VWs. The flat glass type were only hard. The ones with a curved glass involved a lot of mumbling. You will probably crack one of the first ones you try.
Thanks for the input, everyone.
I had a suspicion that this repair was beyond the grasp of the Husband and I, but I needed to hear it from folks with more experience.
For the record: I would normally go to a pro for anything beyond oil changes. But, the a**hole who put a beer bottle through our rear window just before Christmas didn’t inquire whether we could afford a professional repair. The prospect of spending $150 on glass from a pick-and-pull compared to $250 from a pro was tempting. (our insurance doesn’t cover the first $500).
Thanks, and cheers.