Cracked Evora 400 windscreen replacement.

[Doug Ashley]

Ah thanks Bibs, your services are greatly appreciated!

Part numbers from DeRoure are:

F132U4007F  TRIM PANEL-A PILLAR L/H

F132U4008F  TRIM PANEL-A PILLAR R/H

 

C075U6071V  Double Sided Foam Tape, 'A' pillar trim to glass

[Bibs]

Lotus have plenty of each of those in stock, no supply issues at all

I can add them to our shop if you'd like me to source them for you, or you can order them from parts.lotuscars.com or any Lotus dealer.

[Doug Ashley]

Thanks Bibs, that's promising news.

I have spoken to Autoglass but could only get as far as they confirmed the parts had been ordered. I'm awaiting a customer services callback to get their ETA and to see if I can help speed things up with the options you've given, thanks very much 

[Doug Ashley]

Quick update; Autoglass expect to receive the parts above shortly and I'm booked in for Tuesday, so not too bad in the end (assuming all goes to plan...!) 

[jep]

Good luck. I wouldn't let Autoglass anywhere near any of my cars. Or any large company windscreen fitters. 

Take pictures of trim etc....around your windscreen before they start. 

Hopefully you get a good operator but it's pot luck. I had to get my Fiat 500 screen refitted by Old School Windscreens after Autoglass messed up the installation. The wipers scrapped and juddered after AGlass job. £80 well spent. 

Justin 

 

[Doug Ashley]

Thanks Justin, will take plenty of pics. If I'd had much choice, I'd be taking it to a Lotus specialist. The workshop manual pages are printed & will be going across with the car!

[RichardC]

On 15/04/2024 at 10:32, Doug Ashley said:

Any joy with the fitting @RichardC?

I've just had a call from Autoglass, although they have the screen, apparently the A-pillar trims are on back order. This means the booking this Thursday has been cancelled and I don't have an ETA.

Is there a way to find the estimated wait time on these trims? (I would normally just wait quietly & patiently, but I have some filming lined up with the Evora soon..)

Had mine done last week at National Windscreens in Sheffield. They had the car for a full day and it looks like they have done a decent job.

One of the A-pillar trims cracked on removal so they are going to order me a new one from Lotus that I can either replace myself, or they will do the job next time that I am passing.

They have used new top and bottom windscreen seals, but I suspect that they are something off a roll, rather than OE Lotus ones. The profile isn't the same so they are now recessed a little.

Will have to wait for some rain to make sure of no leaks.

The fitter mentioned that he thought that the car had had a new windscreen fitted before, which was surprising to me. I bought the car "new" from a dealer with less than 100 miles on it, so either he is mistaken or the screen got broken on a test drive at Hethel or Lotus Silverstone!

 

[jep]

In reality, only those qualified to do so should fit windscreens to specialist cars. I'd insist any Lotus be fitted by a Lotus main dealer/whoever a main dealer uses.

When I owned a Mclaren, insurance paid Mclaren Birmingham to supply and fit a new screen. £3,700. Mclaren Birmingham refused entry to any generic fitters on their premises. 

Justin 

[Doug Ashley]

Glad your replacement went largely ok Richard, I'm surprised the A pillar trims weren't just a standard part of the job (waiting for these to arrive was the cause of my short delay).

To update on my replacement, it was not entirely smooth...

The screen itself seems fitted well, as do the rubber seals and the drivers side A pillar trim. However, the passenger side trim is not engaged at the top, it's lower than it should be and is very loose (picture below). Autoglass called me about this straight away explaining they'd tried three times to get it to sit right, with different technicians, and they couldn't do it.

I'm now waiting to hear from the warranty side of the insurer and I'm expecting them to cover the work required to correctly fit a new trim piece. I drove the car immediately from Autoglass to Allon White for them to provide a quote for this.

As I was writing this, I noticed what appears to be a new chip on the edge of the roof. I'm asking Allon White to confirm this (the car is with them) and provide a quote for fixing this as well!

The debacle continues.... at least the screen itself seems to be fitted well.

 

[Doug Ashley]

It turns out the 'chip' was just a bit of sealant/residue which cleaned off fine.

A quote is now with Autoglass warranty, hoping they'll do the right thing & give the green light...