My Cracked Windshield Debacle

Hello Sophisticated Spenders!

My windshield is now cracked.

What makes this so shocking is that my windshield was NOT cracked when I went to the dealership for a safety.  They cracked it (somehow) and are saying it is not their responsibility.

I’ve enclosed my email below:

I was at your establishment for a safety inspection.

To my surprise my vehicle failed said inspection because of a cracked windshield.

I informed Mr XXX that my windshield was NOT cracked when I entered your dealership.

I insisted we search the pictures that were taken by your staff of my vehicle when it was initially brought in and Mr Lindeman and I agreed that there was clearly not a crack in my windshield.

Please see picture #0516 taken by your staff on 03/12/2015 at approx 10:15-ish am.

Mr XXX then informed me that there “must have been” a stone chip in my windshield and the windshield fully cracked when my vehicle was raised for the vehicle inspection.

I have also attached the note Mr XXX wrote and signed on my copy of the receipt.

He then informed me that I need to contact my insurance to have my windshield fixed.

I asked why would I have to pay to fix it if my windshield was broken due to your actions and he informed me that “it’s an insurance issue”.

I believe that is absurd and I believe that you should in fact pay for the repair of my windshield because it was cracked by your staff.

A response to this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Again, I’ve been a loyal XXX customer since 2009. I look forward to working with you on this matter.

And here is the response I received from the General Manager:

I’m in receipt of your email, sorry we had to meet under these circumstances.

I certainly understand your reaction to having a cracked windshield
but I can assure you it is always related to an impact the glass has
suffered. It is not unusual that a crack develops at a later date when
a stone chip is the likely cause. Since your car isn’t here I did
speak with Mr XXX and our service department to investigate what I
could. Mr XXX tells me there is an impact point in the area of the VA
sticker and that the crack spreads from the impact point. If you trace
along the crack you can usually find the impact point. Often we see
clients that don’t realize a stone impact left a minor chip and
usually it’s a sudden change in temperature, or moisture infiltration,
or even a flex in the suspension that causes the crack to instantly
spread. I believe that’s the case here. We service roughly 100
Brand XXX vehicles each day and I can assure you if we did something to
damage a clients vehicle we would do whatever is necessary to repair
the situation. I’m sorry to say that we don’t believe we did anything
to cause the crack in the windshield.

I would be happy to meet with you if you would like so I can see it
first hand. We do refer our clients to their insurance carrier as
windshield coverage is very common and usually has a very small
deductable. You may also wish to speak with one of the insurance
company estimators as they can confirm to you their experience with
windshield cracks spreading.

Well I spoke with MY insurance company and a cracked windshield is NOT covered.  My deductible is higher than the cost to fix the windshield so I will have to pay to have it fixed myself.

Here are my next steps:

1:  Meet with the General Manager in person.

2:  See if they will reimburse me.

3: Pay to fix the windshield myself.

4:  Send them the bill.

5: Take them to small claims court if they refuse.

I understand that this may have been an accident.  BUT it happened due something they did.

What do you think?  Am I making a big deal out of nothing here?  What would you do if you were in my situation?