Hi pub24,

My father owns a small auto glass business and he receives lots of local clients who are not insured. When he does receive insured customers or work orders from insurance companies, I help him out with the paperwork and phone calls (his first language is not English).

Recently we were given a work order for a modern Range Rover for a windshield replacement. The car has 7 different windshields to choose from in the NAGS catalog due to the many combination of sensors available.

When the customer called, my dad said he would get back to him so he could double check the details with me. The work order we received does not give a specific windshield number (NAGS part number) and because there were so many options to choose from on the NAGS catalog, I was not sure how to approach the job.

Fast forward an hour later, the customer cancelled the work order because I imagine we took too long to get back to him. Should I have asked him for his VIN Number and called his dealer to find the proper windshield that has his current sensors? Should I have ordered an OEM windshield from the dealer instead of a NAGS listed glass?

Any advice or clarification on a proper procedure for handling these types of claims would be incredibly appreciated. It is only my father and myself running the shop and although we have made strides this past year, I would love to help him modernize the business a bit.

Many thanks,

Luis G.

I will be nice, you are not going to get many nice answers on this question.

If you have to ask how to handle this,
This is not the type of vehicle you should be fixing.
stick to what you know until you learn.
FIRST
If you are unable to figure out the proper glass for the vehicle
I suggest you buy Nags books.
READ THEM, study what options are out there.
Learn how to read a nags book.

Let's be fair.

On some cars, you have to call the dealer.

Take the 2014-16 Jeep Cherokee... there are 33 different windshields listed in NAGS. You can read the book all day and get nowhere without a dealer part number to cross reference to.

Just because a shop can't determine the proper part number doesn't mean he can't install the glass properly.

any glass guy should be able to figure out the part number from a NAGS book.
plus a nags book gives you the opportunity to look at all parts listed for that car at the same time.
thru the process of elimination you should be able to figure it out.

How would you know if the customer doesn't even know when you ask the customer all the questions you need to know reading off the nags book? You must have a crystal ball to see the car when your not there Nice. ...

We work on Rovers and Jaguars on a daily basis. I STILL run the VIN with the dealer every time! Unfortunately, you really need some sort of glass program (Mainstreet, Glassmate, etc...) so you can cross reference the dealer part # with the NAGS (most of them are in the system). Also, these owners sometimes don't even know what they're driving! The full size and the Sport are 2 completely different vehicles.
Good luck! You really don't want to realize you have the wrong window when it's too late!$!$!$!$!$!$!

By looking at a nags book you csn ask the customer the features they know they have or dont.
Lets say the know they have a rain sensor, well takes the choices down to a few.
Thru the process of elimination it becomes easy.
But i will tell you even dealers get wrong parts from a vin.