FLEETS are wasting thousands of pounds each year on unnecessary windscreen replacements, when repairing the glass would be an equally viable and much cheaper option. Research by Dial has revealed that many fleets are paying about £170 to replace a lightly-damaged windscreen, when a £40 repair would suffice.

In a series of customer trials, Dial helped one 3,000-vehicle fleet save more than £6,000 in three months by promoting windscreen repairs. All drivers were supplied with temporary windscreen patches to cover small windscreen chips, protecting the glass until a repair was possible.

In the quarter prior to the trial the fleet suffered 212 damaged windscreens, and only 8% were repaired. In the following quarter 211 screens were damaged, but 30% of these were repaired. This equated to savings of more than £6,000 in the quarter, and a forecasted £25,000 annual saving.

Autoglass has long advised fleets to consider glass repair before replacement, and from April 1996 has repaired cars with windscreen damage in the A-zone, guaranteeing its repairs will pass the MoT inspection.