Windshield for an 08 Cayman

Hello All, I'm sure this topic has been covered but I am looking at replacing my windscreen due to a crack. I was adamant on OEM but my window guys says he will cover my deductible if I go with Sekurit from his supplier vs if I pick up the glass from Porsche. Now I know the porsche OE says Saint-Gorbain Sekurit.. What is the real difference? Am I paying more just because it comes from a dealer? Is the aftermarket Sekurit inferior? What should I do? Thanks in advance

Maybe this will help... http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-boxster-service-tech/45520-windshield-oem-vs-aftermarket.html For what it is worth, I am waiting on a windshield replacement as well. The service said they had to get glass thru dealer and so it would take longer. This is in California.

I had to replace mine in my 08 Cayman earlier this year. The dealer price for the glass was actually less than the after market prices the local auto glass guys could get the glass for (try a variety of dealers, their prices vary on items like this). I had to argue with the insurance company to use dealer supplied glass, but once I showed them the prices they were fine with using dealer glass, as is was indeed cheaper. I had an independent Porsche shop do all the removal of trim etc., then had a glass guy fit the glass, and the shop put it all back together. All looks factory again. This is in San Francisco Bay Area.

Galvin: In this case, there isn't much difference if any. Sekurit is the vendor for Porsche and the glass is the same. I got mine done. I asked my local high-end body shop about the glass and they gave me the name. This guy arranged for me to drop the car at the shop the day he was visiting there. I picked it up that afternoon and it was perfect...alignment, glass, everything. He said there was no option for US glass for this windshield so no problem with insurance. I've had other more common German cars where the insurance Co. wanted to give me US vendor glass. Made me pay the difference in cost. It just doesn't look right. One thing I'll say, the Euro glass is softer and gets pitted quicker. I don't really like it as well as far as the glass, but Securit does look better on a German car. :cheers:

Glass arrived and was installed. Sekurit that looks the same as original. Interesting that glass comes with seal around sides and top. This is the seal between the glass and A pillars and roof on outside of car. After attachment, the seal is softer and wider than original, which may have hardened and shrunk over time. The antenna wire required removal of A pillar trim on passenger side of vehicle. The only hiccup is the need for Porsche rain sensor gel, which they did not order with glass. So that will be done with a follow up service. Invoice said glass was over $600.

Who did the install? My 08 has bad pits in the windshield and Im hoping I can get a good installer to replace it. Only a couple to pick from around here.

It was through AAA insurance and All Star Glass. From what I've read, installation is unpredictable in that it comes down to skill of a particular technician rather than company. Even going to a dealer is iffy if they just contract out to a glass shop technician. Having recourse through AAA and their stream of business might make some companies more responsive.

the shop who replaced my glass checked my VIN to ensure the right glass was ordered vs. options installed. since mine doesnt have any additional sensors or auto lights/wipers it only had one cable for the antenna. here's a link to my windshield replacement experience. http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-...oxster-problems-complaints/105862-double-whammy-windshield-window-problems.html

This and several older threads regarding after market windshield warnings have tweaked my interest. It seems that everyone warns against after market windshield glass for our cars BUT.....has anyone actually ever experienced one? It seems that after all the warnings we receive, the end result always seems to be that there is no after market alternative for our Caymans /Boxsters for any number of reasons. So....is there an after market alternative or not?:gossip:

Wow....nuttin. Any one??? After market windshields for Caymans and Boxsters??? Any one?

My installer told me there was no US alternative for my ' 06 Cayman S . Took a little longer to order the windshield, but it was installed in an hour with the internal antenna, the same shade of glass etc. It was a Sekurit. It looks great but is already starting to pit slightly. Euro glass is softer than US glass. In one of the older threads, someone mentions Pilkinton Glass. Never heard of them. That's all I know about this subject. Why are you surprised no one is responding? There are multiple pages of posts on this subject. You want us to make some stuff up? :cheers:

"Why are you surprised no one is responding? There are multiple pages of posts on this subject. You want us to make some stuff up? " Of course not. It's just that with all the warnings I see on threads with this subject, I would have thought there was actually some basis for the warnings. Apparently, at least as far as our cars are concerned, there is no basis for the warnings. Seems silly to warn everyone of some impending problem with non oem windshields when one can't even buy one if they wanted too.:cheers:

Just a theory from me, but others might have had an experience similar to mine. When I first contacted a glass place, they automatically said an aftermarket glass would be available. I did not react to this and waited until they found out that the had to order oem from dealer. Others may have reacted more quickly with questions about the aftermarket glass and then quickly posted asking for input.

Having a scientific outlook will make you no friends on any forum. It's just a natural process by which a hypothesis, speculation, or anecdote turns into an often-stated fact. Someone wanting to know the basis for such a "fact" will not find it, and will get hammered by folks who "just know" it's true. I follow this process most closely when it comes to medical advice. Even in a subject that important, there are many deeply held beliefs without deep factual support. (For example, try looking for data that supports the notion that eating fiber reduces colon cancer. Real data, not blather from Dr. Oz. It began as a mere hypothesis during the period when all cancers were being blamed on various poisons that you'd want to flush out of your system. It was never confirmed; in fact, it was recently shown to be false in a study large enough and long enough to be conclusive.) Most people are scornful towards science when it conflicts with a belief, so there's no point in arguing. I could probably come up with something smart to say about windshields, but in my dark past I worked as a materials scientist.

An update: the new windshield is fine but the rain sensor gel pad (or adhesive foil in German) is turning out to be a problem. The gel goes between the sensor and the glass windshield. When the old windshield was removed, the sensor was separated and then put back without a new gel pad. The sensor still worked, but there was an air gap introduced and it would move and change shape, probably due to temperature. The air gap looks like a grayish area within the area that was all black in the original. So they have tried two of three gel pads available from the dealer and both leave air gaps, although of different shapes and locations. The third one is not round and wasn't tried, though I don't know if it might turn out to be the right one. The tech and the glass place haven't given up, but I'm trying to figure out what is making it so hard. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I'll keep updating as I learn more.

I think having the rain sensor in the windshield or things like that would sway me towards OEM glass. I had a client once who bought a pre-owned Jag from me and the windshield fit great but they realized later that it didn't seal right with the rain sensor and we had to replace the whole thing with OEM to get the wipers to work. With those sensors installed (and more sensors becoming so much more common) I think OEM is important to keep the electronics happy. Regarding Pilkington - I feel like I remember seeing that brand on my old Volvo....

I have bought aftermarket (I think) a couple times for 928. One for a buddy of mine, he found a pubic hair on the passenger side imbedded in the glass,( LOL! me, not him). I did not immediately inspect the one I bought for a car of mine, and later when I went to install, found some minor scratches. It was in a nice crate, so that had made me too lax when I got it, and the complaint window had closed.

Update (with apologies for tardiness): I wound up having to go back to the windshield place multiple times. The tech wound up getting a bunch of the gel pads and kept trying one after another until one stayed correct without an air gap. Don't know if there was a trick that he Had to learn or the pads degenerate during storage or QC on the pads is poor or something else. End result was a good pad and a tech who got a war story to tell. All I had to do was be patient and spend time and gas while letting this play out. But really, there didn't seem to be any better way to handle it.