I went and talked to a dealer earlier in the week. He suggested glass etching and he said it would lower my insurance. He also tried to sell me on some side strakes. Which after looking on this site, I think I'm going to pass on them. So is glass etching really worth it?

 

If you don't like the strakes, go for some of these:



The will be $375 when the urethane version comes out in another month or so.

 

I got the glass etching. I can't remember if it affects my insurance.. you should call your provider to verify. The only reason I got it was because the dealer threw it in "for next to nothing". I forget the price, but it was reasonably cheap, and I figured it would pay for itself if I did get an insurance discount.

 

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.

 

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/scams.htm#Scam1


you can get the kit from one of the links on that site for about $30.

 

Ouch... that page says that some dealers are charging $300 - $900!!! I think I paid between $25 & $100. I would've flat out denied it if it cost more than $150.
They do state that they'll pay your deductible if your car gets stolen (not broken into or vandalized, only stolen).

 

I will never in my life understand why window etching is considered a theft prevention feature....

I declined.

 

My dad etches glass and did contract glass etching for Toyota Certified used cars for awhile.

It is an effective theft prevention device because it deters the "chop-shop" type thieves from stealing your car. They think it's too much trouble to replace all the glass. The "joy-ride" thieves could care less, though.

 

Why would a chop shop care what's on the windows? Are they going to legitimately resell the car? It has the VIN in 7 different locations, they'll lever have a title for it. They'll strip it for parts and dump the rest.

 

They can replace/mask some of the VINs, but the VIN on the windows is pretty noticable. The whole idea of a chop shop is to swap parts from car to car to make them harder to trace. Windows with the VIN can't be used on any car other than the original, so that's more parts they'll have to throw out and/or replace. And that means less money.

The thief looking for good chop cantidates knows he'll have to write off the windows if the VIN has been etched so he'll just pass over that car and move on to a car with more usable parts.