[Robert]

Ouch guys, they(Mira Loma) put ours in for 0$ last Oct in Vegas.

[Archived]

If they replaced the rubber gaskets I can believe the hours. I watched one of Florida’s dominant windshield companies do mine. It took at least 4 hours and they really had to manhandle the glass to get it into the new gaskets. And yes the gaskets and glass were Prevost products.

In my case, $520 for labor and service call.

[Bob]

Gil. It was simple procedure that we didn’t have the desire to tackle. They pulled us up about 915. Started to pull the strip out about 945 after bringing the scissors lift up. Pull the glass out, slipped the new one in and we were parked and at a local restaurant at 11:30. Our restaurant receipt states time. 11:37 am, the time of ordering.. Makes me wonder about Jason’s estimate to replace our fixed driverside window. 8-10 hours at $110/hr plus $249 which isn’t bad for the dual pane glass. Total to replace windshield was $421 labor, $219 for windshield, equals $640. Yikes

i never thought I would need to “stop-watch” Mira Loma, but we will next time. On another note, we had az Level One service done there this last February. Part of the service includes test the SCA’s in our coolant. They didn’t do that. I mentioned this to Bill Jensen in a Branson, he said the testing was part of servicing coach. I have had to ask every time for SCA testing and this time the answer was no test strips

[Archived]

If memory serves me correct the actual cost of parts is close to the same for the gasket and the windshield if you were to order the parts.. I have done two by my self as have many of the others here… The big $$ is the allowance that a installer breaks one every once in awhile so they hedge against that. Just a theory I was maybe aware of—I paid $180 each for XL windshields from Prevost Parts 18 months ago on a monthly special delivered to the shop. The gaskets and locking strips were more than the windshields. They do break easy if you hit a edge on anything!!!

[Archived]

The itemized bill is as follows

glass-$2190

Labor-$4210 @ 3.8 hours @ $1110/hour

That is the entire bill, no other parts

Prevost Mira Loma isnt open today, so I get to “stew” all weekend.

Its my fault I didn’t “clock” the work and finalize the bill before we left. Distractions are never an excuse, but a friend I grew up with was vacationing near Mira Loma from back east, and stopped for a few hours visit and lunch.

[Archived]

Just so folks who are not aware of the import of what Jim is saying we have encouraged owners of XL coaches to install their own windshields.

It is an easy job, can be done off a step ladder, and even if you do not have the special tool it can be done in less than an hour even if you have never done one before. There is a rubber strip that when removed allows you to push the glass out from inside the coach. Get it started and then go outside the coach and pull it the rest of the way out.

The new glass then gets pushed in the groove in the rubber seal which has been lubed with either soapy water or a lubricant specifically for that purpose. Prevost will sell the lubricant if you wish to use that instead of soapy water.

The seal has to be worked around the glass so any flat plastic that has been sharpened and smoothed will work. Think of a plastic knife such as you use at a picnic, only a little thicker and stronger. I used a section of plastic pipe sliced the long way and I tapered the edges. It was about 8″ by about 3/4″ wide.

Once the glass is fully inserted into the seal, replace the rubber welting. There is a tool that you can use to press the welting in place and it goes in as easy as using a zipper, but if you don’t have the tool you can press it in using a flat bladed screw driver, inching along the total length of it. Soap it like the glass and it goes in place quite easily.

At two separate rallies owners with cracked windshields replaced their windshields while we all watched and learned. I think the average time for the demonstrations was about 45 minutes. Neither of the two owners had ever replaced their windshields before.

The glass price quoted seemed high, but it is what it is. Occasionally Prevost offers discounts and they can be purchased for a very low price. About 5 years ago I was able to buy 3 for $130 each. If you have a crack or a star that can turn into a crack, keep watching the Prevost site for a listing of windshield specials.

Jim and Chris’s total price of $640 seems way out of line for the price of glass plus what should be an hour of labor. So if you have broken glass and need it replaced, be alert that your real cost should be around half that price. Get quotes. Shop locally, don’t be a victim.

[Archived]

I’ve run in to similiar billing issues with Prevost where it appeared it was a flat rate for labor. They have always adjusted the labor hours to match the actual time that I have kept when brought to their attention.

Hang in there C’bus… I did two of my own XL windshields and it was easy, but I wouldn’t tackle the XLII.

[Richard]

Had mine done 3120 total at holiday coach took very little time maybe total time one hour

[Archived]

The XLII windshield is a two man job because of the weight of the glass. There is a webinar showing the process. If you have an XL and want to see the procedure look at the Prevost webinar. The process is the same for all windshields.

[Paul]

Tom,

You are correct about billing adjustments when you bring it to Prevost’s attention. I hope this is the case. In the meantime, I have to peel Chris off the ceiling until that phone call is made .

[AL]

To be candid, I would be pissed as well because if that got by two experienced owners who know for sure how much labor is involved and what the costs should be, imagine how many who lack that knowledge or experience have paid such bills and thought it “normal”.

I understand Prevost needs to make money. I understand that within their service cost structure there must be some allowance for non-revenue activities such as clean up or talking to a customer. My guess is the hourly rate has that built in.

The cost to replace windshields is not the only example of the amount billed for a job to differ significantly from the actual time spent. We all can cite numerous examples including air bags, hub seals, shocks, etc. If in fact Prevost is using flat rate costs for billing, but will reverse those costs to reflect the actual hours spent then that is a practice that almost requires owners to time every activity related to service and to compare the actual costs with the costs reflected on the invoice.

I hate to think it is policy to get as much money from a customer as possible, and to only charge a fair price if caught.

[Archived]

Jim: I had an incident with Jason about 2 years ago which caused me to not return to Mira Loma until early October of this year. At that time, I was told Jason was no longer with them. Not true?, or did you get your side window estimate prior to that date?

[Archived]

Wow….guess I got real lucky.

Prevost had a special on XL windshields a few years back for $75 apiece. I managed to get one and, with some help, advice and direction from some fellow members, we changed out my drivers side windshield at a rally in about an hour.

On an XL, it really is not a big deal.

[Dick]

Back a couple of years ago I bought two windshields for our H3-40. The price was something like $90 each and I knew I would eventually need them.

With this talk about installing windshields I am interested in hearing any tips that may be available for replacing them in an H.

BTW, our coach has the four separate windshields.

Thanks for your help in advance.

[Robert]

Joel

The side drivers window replacement was estimated by Dallene with Jason (no longer shave haircut) standing next to her last Thursday morning, Nov. 21st, 2013