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Crack in panoramic glass roof of Honda CRV Exec CDTI 2009 model

Recently, a crack appeared in the glass panaramic roof of my 2009 Honda. I booked the car in at the local Honda dealer who took pictures and agreed there was no sign of impact near the crack. I rang them today after the Christmas break to be advised that the repair is not covered under the warranty. I was advised to contact Honda Customer Services to discuss the matter. On doing this immediately, I was advised that as a goodwill gesture, Honda would pay for the new glass roof (£700) but that I would be expected to pay the fitting cost of £450. I challenged this vehemently - my argument is that the glass roof must have been faulty to have cracked. My Honda dealer agrees with me on this but Customer Services have 'made a decision' that it is not the fault of the factory fitting so they will not pay the full amount. Under no circumstances will I accept this decision. Please advise - is this suitable for the samll claims court? What action would you suggest?

Asked on 10 January 2012 by Little Angus

Answered by Honest John
I think that what probably happened is that something struck the glass right on the edge. This happened to the screen of my Mazda 5 and at first I thought it was a stress crack. But right at the edge of the crack there was a tiny bit of roughness, signifying that something had struck it there and that is where the crack started. Also, lumps of 'blue ice' can fall out of the sky from planes and damage glass roofs. That happened to my FIAT 500. There was an impact mark but no trace of the object because, like the ice dagger in a Sherlock Holmes story, it had melted.
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