Was told by the PPF shop that windshield specific protection film is very expensive and only good for a couple years. Basically not something they recommend. Interested in what you find out.
I'm firmly in the camp that you don't want to put that stuff on your windshield. I really don't think it would have prevented that damage.
Safelite used to be good, now they’re trash. USAA is tied to them and they replace my Palisade windshield with an aftermarket one. Didn’t realize that it had scratches on it until I had the glass tinted.
I'm also with USAA and although Safelite handles the glass claims, you don't have to use them. See below.
You mentioned a replacement cost but I hope that's not out of pocket? Whenever something HITS YOU it's covered under comprehensive and in my experience windshields are usually free or $50 thru insurance.
Please keep in mind that every state has different rules and regulations when it comes to insurance, coverages and deductibles. Heck, it can even vary between companies in the same state.
So...
I work for an insurance company. When I get a rock chip or crack, I know that in my state (NC) I can choose the shop that does the work, so even though Safelite schedules the repair and handles the payments for USAA, I request a different shop. One of my coworkers handles glass claims, and so I call her and ask who to use. The first thing she always says is "don't use Safelite".
The tech who did my last windshield learned to do it working for, and was trained by, Safelite. He said that there are a lot of newbies there who get the training and then quit as soon as they can. It's a real numbers oriented company and they want the techs to do as many jobs as they can in as short a time as possible. That's understandable, but not when it comes to our babies!
Also, regardless of the shop, you can always request that they send their most experience tech. It may not work, but for me, it always has, and with the exception of a mirror falling off once, I've not had any issues with replacement windshields.
