Which Windshield Brands to Avoid and Why? Explained

A windshield is the glass that protects the passengers and the inside of a car from the front and back. But once they are damaged or compromised, you need to replace them. Which can be an expensive business.

But how to get the best windshield for your money? Which are the bad brands that produce the windshields?

Lucky for you, I have done all the research work. And in this article, I will compile for you the list of bad windshield brands. You will also get a bonus part on the best alternatives of the windshields.

Is There Different Quality of Windshields?

Rather than asking what type of windshield is the best, you should be asking what types of windshield exists. There are three types of windshield glasses available. They are –

  1. Dealer glass: The ones you purchase from your dealers. These glasses come from an authorized manufacturer so they are of good quality.
  2. Aftermarket windshields: The ones made by companies with no affiliation with the original car-makers. Although they tend to make the glasses with the exact same specifications, not all considerations are maintained.
  3. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) glass: The glass made by the original manufacturers. The same ones that make the car. Their quality is the same as the dealer glass.

The OEM and dealer glasses are essentially the same. The aftermarket ones may not always be good.

Why Does the Glass Quality Matter?

Aftermarket windshields can be as good as OEM ones. The term ‘OEE’ or Original Equipment Equivalent is the standard to which the shields are compared. OEM meets the standard quality put forth by the manufacturer. Safety and quality comply with the original safety and quality levels. However, they are costly. And they may not always have the proper insurance coverage.

In the case of aftermarket windshields, quality standards are not met. But minimum safety standards imposed by the Department of Transportation are met.

But they are less expensive than OEM glasses. Moreover, the alluring ADAS feature is recommended by most dealers.

Which Windshields Brands to Avoid?

There are a few brands that you should never use. These are written below:

  1. Aftermarket Glasse Brands – Durasafe, Safex, Benson: Because these glasses may have issues like leakage of air or water. Or may also have cracks. They do not supply to the original manufacturers. These glasses also have poor fitting and optical quality. Cracking may occur in these glasses at high speed.
  2. Safelite: This is really the worst you can do with yourself and your vehicle. First of all, they are very expensive. Secondly, they make cheap quality windshields with cheap quality glasses. Safelite currently outsources windshields to Tru-Tech. But not all Tru-Tech’s windshields are bad. The ones from Fuyao, one of the dealers of the two dealers (Xinyi and Fuyao) are better. So it’s a 50% chance to get a good windshield from Safelite.
  3. Auto Glass Now: Cheap and short-lasting glasses are used to produce the windshields. Moreover, their installation process is also pathetic. They can easily get damaged with slight accidents.
  4. PPG/PGW: They produce both the original and the aftermarket windshields. They used to manufacture the OEM windshields.

Although they are a bit better than the Safelite ones, but are expensive.

Best Alternatives to the Avoidable Windshields Brands

Here are some better alternatives for Avoidable windshield brands:

  1. Pilkington: The Pilkington company is the proud patent-holders of the float glass. This glass has more optical clarity than others. They are also more flat. They have both OEM/dealer and aftermarket glasses. It is also widely available, such as-Europe, Japan, Asia, North America, South America etc.
  2. Carlite: They have the best value on online shops. The glasses provide double-layer production. And also provide the most protection against the UV rays.
  3. Aspen: These are also good, reliable windshields. They do not break too easily.

Which One is the Best?

Among the above brands, Pilkington is the best option.

Are Safelite windshields as good as OEM?

Safelite glasses are pretty bad already. But they are never as good as the OEM ones for different cars. Moreover, there are Chinese glasses used in the Safelite windshields. So they have pure quality and reliability.

Do You Need to Change the Windshield?

If you have gotten into an accident and have cracks, you can change the windshield.

But in regular cases, it depends on the quality. If you have cheap windshields, they will get cracks too frequently. The ideal time to change the windshield is just under five years.

Final Words

The windshields are an important part. Spending on its benefit is a sacred responsibility.

But in this article, I hope you got the idea of whose windshield wiper is fine! going away.

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