Autoglass possible windscreen replacement tmro, thoughts please (hoping they can fix chip)

Afternoon all, Did a bit of searching on here and found good and bad experiences of all 911 owners having mixed experiences of an AutoGlass windscreen replacement. I have a drivers side chip that's been with the car since purchase and passed the MOT last year. Although Ive not had the car in extreme temperature changes, feel it may have expanded slightly to 10mm and therefore maybe not (allegedly) repairable. It's under my line of sight, just below the steering wheel and reading comments, I'd rather have a repair than a replacement, but they will be bringing one just in case. After reading The Essential 996 Companion this week, it appears the 996 wscreen has an antenna built in. Will the replacement have this/is it needed (yes, I assume if I want a good radio reception) I assume this is a common theme amongst car windows to save a separate aerial and that he will hook it all up correctly? I looked for any signs of Porsche branding on the current wscreen, but cannot see any, but can clearly see the thin yellow lines, which I assume is the antenna, aforementioned? Some of the threads here (older ones though) talk about it being the same brand, replacements, just not badged. I want to keep the car as stock as possible, so would rather the actual repair, which is what Im going to push for. Anything else I should be aware of? Thanks, Mark

It all depends on how good the fitter is. My only experiences are on my daughters previous BMW, when someone smashed the rear screen to plunder her boot in an M&S car park. The fitter was really good, and took a lot of care over the job. My other daughter had the screen of her Audi A5 cracked by an Audi dealer when it went in for a recall a couple of weeks ago, while they were removing the dash (long story, don't ask). She ended up having a new screen fitted by a specialist Autoglass centre in Aylesbury, where they have properly trained fitters. They wouldn't fit one on site, as the forward facing cameras in the screen have to be recalibrated. Maybe see if they have a specialist centre near you. Or ask your insurers if you can get a Porsche Centre to do the work.

Thanks, Richard. I asked about being fitted at a centre (Reading or Swindon) and was told they dont need to be supervised, they know what they are doing. If they wont patch, and I don't like the look of the fitter (you can normally be prejudice and judge by demeanor, way the speak etc, not that Im like that, but I also seem to be able to judge when to walk away most times) I'm tempted to send them away. Also, if the screen doesn't look the same either

The chip was right on the edge of being a fail, however, the guy from AG (really lovely chap and exRAF pilot, so we chatted cars, WW2 and planes for a bit) said he's seen, like all of us, bigger things pass an MOT etc, but he thought this would be repairable. True enough, there is no sight of the crack now at all. Arrived at 8.30 and was gone by 9, so not bad. He also showed me the screen they had for me, in case it had to be replaced, and it had 4 antenna attachments and integrated and looked identical to what I had in there. As mentioned above, I can see no Porsche mark on my current screen anywhere. He talked about this being a more complex job, but he'd done plenty before. So, all in all, I shouldn't have been too worried about posts about AG on here or elsewhere, but I can't deny that other people haven't had issues, but I was confident if it had been replaced, all would have been well. Thanks, Mark

Autoglass are hit and miss. I wouldn't take the risk. There is a member on here called Glassman. I got him to do the job (I paid the same excess as I would have had to pay to Autoglass anyway). He comes to you and he's an absolute pro. I've read so many reports on him here and on Pistonheads 100% happy customers. Get him to do it In any case, you can't ask for a repair if they can't repair it. I asked Autoglass before I had the job done by Glassman. They said some cracks/chips aren't deep enough, they'd have to hammer it to make it bigger (to allow the resin to attach itself) and that could risk the whole screen smashing, which would mean and expensive replacement.

Thanks, Rodney. I think for a replacement, if I need it, I will look around and certainly contact Glassman. If this guy was to do mine through AG I'd be happy and confident in him ad the glass that was supplied, as he took it out for me to look and and talk through. Thankfully, chip was repaired very well and happy with the outcome.

"I wouldn't let Autoglass change my pants"