A tree trimming company doing work at my neighbor's house dropped part of a tree branch onto the windshield of my truck. Put a nice size hole in it and it spiderwebbed so bad that I can't drive it. I have all their insurance information and have called to confirm that the policy is good but the owner is offering me a good amount of cash to just get it done without insurance. The truck is a Lariat with the rain sensing wipers and forward collision detection. Basically a 502a with the Technology package. What is this windshield going to cost? I want a good replacement too, not some cheap knock-off but the real deal.

 

Call your dealership. Get a quote in writing from them and give it to the tree company

 

My 2018 Special Edition with the factory glass/ F150 logo was right at $800 installed. Yours might be more with the technology stuff.

 

This ^^

If I owned the tree company, I would do the same thing: offer to pay for it & NOT turn it in on my insurance. Quite often, it's just less expensive in the long run to do it that way-he probably knows that he's likely to get HAMMERED by the insurance company for the claim; he may have enough claims that any more & they cancel his insurance.

 

This was exactly a year ago with Safelite. The $250 recal fee was for every tech option available in 2016. It cost more to recal it than to install it.

A Ford OEM windshield, as I specifically requested.

 

I have the technology package also. My quote from safelite was approximately $900
That was for OEM glass (soundscreen) it included a $300 adder for recalibrating the front camera for the Lane keeping assist

 

I don't know what trims/packages it comes with but if yours is a "soundscreen" windshield (mine is on my Lariat 502a) just make sure your quote/replacement is the same. I don't know or have experience with non-soundscreen windshields so can't testify to the extent of it's benefits but it supposedly helps keep the cabin quieter. I mention this because I didn't even notice the "soundscreen" text/brand until long after I'd been driving the truck.

 

this is the big one, I work in the auto industry, "simple" alignments now are a real pain. between re calibrating steering angle sensors and setting up vehicle safety systems.
The alignment course i went to told us that some vw's could take up to 8 hours to re calibrate all the different safety systems. lane departure, brake assist, blind spot, ect.
windshields have come a long way too, before glass manufactures would "push" all the blemishes into the top of the glass or edges, now thats where most camera systems view from. One vw owner went to speedy auto glass for a windshield, had issues with the system, put in a second glass with the same issues. 3rd time went to the dealer, issues resolved. OE glass is crucial if you have any kind of safety system.

 

This might work out well for you. I'd get a quote from the dealership, give that to the tree company.

In Florida, comprehensive car insurance covers windshields for free and will not affect your rates.

Do with that information what you will, I'm not sure of any legality of combining those two pieces of information so I assume no blame and recommend you contact a lawyer before doing anything blah blah.

 

Both of my cars have pano roofs and all safety crap on the windshield. It cost me about $25 extra to add $0 deductible for all glass. With 2 cars like mine, it was a no-brainer. And yes, I also learned the hard way a new windshield with that crap was $800 (2018 Audi S6), and it wasn't covered (just repairs). I added it after that .