Good glass shops for a windshield? (near Boston would be nice, but not essential)

werdna

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
Location
An obscure corner of northeastern Massachusetts
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon, 2013 Touareg Sport, 2015 GSW
Anybody got a glass shop they like? Most recently I used a guy (Don Cotton, Village Glasssmith) who was super-fussy and was able to get good OEM glass without a ridiculous upcharge, but he's out of the business. I've had a bunch of bad experiences with crappy installation jobs and aftermarket windshields that I'm hoping for somebody who will do it right the first time.

I'm near Boston but I'm willing to travel; I'm up and down the east coast a lot, though if there are chains to go to or avoid I'd also be happy to hear. Thanks for any clues!
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
I lived in Waltham over 30 years ago and used a company called Phillips Auto Glass for windshields on a couple of Volvos that I had back then. Just did a Google Search and they are still in business, so they must be good.
 

DieselCk

Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2017
Location
NH
TDI
97 Jetta (250K Miles, resting), 99 Beetle (269K), 05 Jetta (105K, cream of the crop), 2011 Jetta (125K), 81 Rabbit Diesel (325K+, Gone)
I had the windshield on my 2005 Jetta replaced by JN Phillips in Acton, MA. They seemed to have done a good job, I haven't had any problems. They say they use glass from an OEM supplier, but can't apply a VW label. I asked the guys in the shop about this and they showed me that the replacement windshield was made by Saint Gobain, and that the other OEM windows on the car were made by Saint Gobain as well.
 

werdna

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
Location
An obscure corner of northeastern Massachusetts
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon, 2013 Touareg Sport, 2015 GSW
Gaah, I hate those people who post something about upcoming work and then never update the thread with the results, and now I am one. Sorry about that.


I did indeed end up at JN Phillips. The removal job was a little on the quick-and-dirty side compared to the other two shops I've used at various times (interior cutting was done with one of those spatula-on-a-Sawzall tools instead of hand tools), but the glass itself is Saint-Gobain/Sekurit and it was in a box with stickers from the local VW dealer.


If I have it done again I'm going to try and chase down the guy in Lowell I'd previously used who cut it out by hand and meticulously reprimed everything (but used aftermarket glass), but I'm not as worried about windshield corrosion nearly as much as, well, corrosion on the entire rest of the car. :/


Thank you all for the advice!
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I've had a lot of trouble with windshields in MKIV cars. JN Phillips near me (the shop in Hanover MA) misinstalled three windshields in my Wagon. All three cracked in use before I got one that was OK. And I've already done two windshield replacements in my '99.5 Golf. First one may have been OK but could have been damaged when reassembling the car after paint. I also used Don Cotton for the successful replacements and was disappointed when he sold his business.

German-made windshields for MKIV cars are getting scarce. I ended up red-labeling an OE windshield for my Golf's most recent replacement, completed by Tiny and Sons in Pembroke MA. The tech was a former VW tech and did a great job, as far as I can tell. I'm going to get a replacement windshield for my Wagon soon so I have one when it's time to replace it. The current one is pretty pitted.
 
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