FF Cracked windshield: anyone?

we have a very small crack in our windshield and will have it replaced soon. We've taken ours to our Ferrari dealer in past, and they call in the glass company they trust and have worked with in the past. Glass is usually available in the country, so it can be in the shop within a week. Biggest issue is all the stuff that has to come off the car to get at the windshield. ANd that's one big reason to have it done at your dealer: they know ho wot take the car apart carefully and reassemble, along wiht keeping an eye on the glass guys.

Our 612 went through 5 windshields in 2.5 years. Never an issue with getting it replaced.

Up side, now you get cleaer glass: well, ok your car doesn't have a lot of time on it. In my case, the windshield has 32K miles of gravel and rocks divots in it, so new glass will be a treat.

 

Our 2013 had the windshield accidentally broken at the dealer before delivery. (dealer was phenomenal about it, sh_t happens).

Unfortunately, it was August (italy shut down) and FF's were new, so had to bring one in from Italy.....21 days. Am sure spares are more plentiful now...

Dealer had their glass shop do it; agreed, have it done by glass shop under supervision of the dealer. We never had an issue with replacement.

 

Oh yeah! Mine was even less remarkable than yours. Entering a freeway. About 50mph and a minivan about a 75 yards ahead. It picked up a rock and hit 3 inches below passenger side top edge, whack! $4K to replace with labor.

I'm intrigued by Glickenhaus' use of gorilla glass as a windshield in his latest SCG003x. Wonder if that might be the way to go rather than standard glass. Wonder how he specced it??

SV

 

$4,000? Did insurance cover it or were you out of pocket?

 

A rock cracked the windshield on my FF. Took it to the dealer. They ordered a new one from the factory, and it came in in about a week. Total cost was almost $5,000.

 

Had a cracked windscreen in my old FF about a year ago. Used an independent Ferrari garage. They managed to get a screen within 2 days and carried out the work themselves in a few hours. Was around £3K if memory serves. Covered by insurance other than my windscreen excess of £100.

 

Have a polymer protective film installed on your new windscreen. Cost $200 in US. Lasts for about 2 years depending on the amount of sun it is exposed to. I can't tell you how many windscreens it has saved as we traverse the desert at high speeds. Might even lower your insurance. Don't leave home without it.

 

Does it introduce any distortion?

 

Very slight.... not really distortion as much as just what you would expect looking through a film. When I first had it installed on a previous car about 4 years ago, it took a few weeks to get used to it. Now I don't notice it. The brain adapts. You look through it not at it.

Another positive feature is that it eliminates the "etching" that comes from lots of high speed driving -- you know those fine hits that add up to a pitted windscreen. .

 

I agree. I've had Clearplex on two of my cars the last 2 plus years, and its aging well.
Some light distortion, but no a safety concern. I do maintain it well with wax, and treat it like paint. Only caution, it can be illegal in some states/countries.

 

Clearplex saved my f12 windshield. Take it to your dealer or authorized Ferrari body shop there's only a few in EU, one being in Vienna.

 

So does the clearplex not get pitting, too? or are you able to mask/cover/eliminate that with wax or other treatement? I have been intrigued but have always figured it was softer than glass, so how could it hold up to the beating the glass can't hold up to wrt the small little pitting and the constant abrasion of the windshiled wipers pushing off sluchy snow and dirty water. I wonder if my insurance compnay may even want to pay me to apply it rather than fork over another big bill to replace yet another windshield...

 

Not so much pitting as scars from big hits. In any event you peel it off after 2 years or so and put on another one. Pretty cheap and easy. No problem from WW abrasion etc.

BTW I talked to my insurance broker about the comprehensive insurance benefits and they had never heard of it. Go figure.

 

I was a bit skeptical at first until quarter of a brick came flying and hit the windshield of my friends Aventador and nothing happened just a tiny chip in the foil.

My 458 didn't have it and it has tiny pits everywhere from high speed driving while on F12 it already paid for itself from 2 rocks hitting and not a single mark on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDRcWwrAeao