DECISION / 2026
Windscreen repair vs replacement, which do you need.
Chip repair is listed at £50 at Halfords, £78 at UK Car Glass and from £90 at National Windscreens. UK Car Glass lists replacement at £299 to £450 for a basic windscreen and £450 to £1,200+ with a windscreen camera. The deciding factors are the size of the damage, where it sits, and whether it has started to crack.
QUICK ANSWER
Repair if you can, replace if you must.
Chip repair
£50 - £90
Halfords, UK Car Glass, National Windscreens. On glass cover, a small chip excess.
Basic replacement
£299 - £450
UK Car Glass band for cars without ADAS. Glass excess applies on a claim.
Replacement with ADAS
£450 - £1,200+
UK Car Glass band for camera cars, calibration included.
Chip prices are the published rates of Halfords (£50), UK Car Glass (£78) and National Windscreens (from £90). Replacement bands and repair limits are UK Car Glass's published figures (guide updated 8 September 2026, checked October 2026); its completed-job average was £491.06 across 244 replacements, July to September 2026. MOT thresholds per the DVSA MOT inspection manual, section 3 (visibility).
DECISION MATRIX
Match the damage to the right side.
A chip needs to pass every test on the left to be repairable. A single item on the right tips it into replacement.
Can be repaired
£50 - £90
- +A chip up to about 25mm (a one-pound coin), or a crack up to 75mm
- +More than 7cm from the edge of the glass
- +Not in Zone A, the 290mm strip in front of the driver
- +A single chip that has not started to crack outwards
Needs replacement
£299 - £1,200+
- xCrack longer than 75mm, or damage within 7cm of the edge
- xAny damage in Zone A larger than 10mm
- xMultiple chips, or a star crack that has already spread
- xPitting or scoring across the wiper-swept area from years of grit
THE MOT TEST
Where the damage sits decides everything.
The MOT splits the windscreen into zones. The same chip fails in front of the driver but passes a few inches across. This is also the line repairers use to decide whether a repair is worth it.
| Zone | Where | MOT fail above |
|---|---|---|
| Zone A | 290mm strip centred on the steering wheel, within the swept area | 10mm |
| Zone B (rest of swept area) | The remaining area cleared by the wipers | 40mm |
| Outside the swept area | Edges and corners the wipers do not reach | Not part of the test unless it obscures vision |
Source: DVSA MOT inspection manual, section 3 (visibility). A repaired chip passes as long as the remaining mark is below the limit for its zone.
Why a fast repair pays for itself
A £50 to £90 chip repair today prevents a £299-plus replacement next month. Cold snaps, heater blasts, potholes and slammed doors all flex the glass and run a small chip into a long crack. Once it spreads past the repairable limit you are buying a whole windscreen, plus ADAS calibration if the car has a forward-facing camera.
On glass cover the chip excess is small (Aviva Signature £10, Swinton £25), and Aviva says most insurers leave your No Claim Discount alone, so there is rarely a reason to wait.
THE COST OF WAITING
Today
Repairable chip at listed prices, or a small chip excess
£50 - £90
Next month
Crack spreads past the limit, basic replacement
£299 - £450
With ADAS
Camera car, calibration included (UK Car Glass)
£450 - £1,200+
FAQ
Is it cheaper to repair or replace a windscreen?+
Repair is far cheaper. A chip repair is listed at £50 at Halfords, £78 at UK Car Glass and from £90 at National Windscreens, and on glass cover the chip excess is small (Aviva Signature £10, Swinton £25). UK Car Glass lists replacement at £299 to £450 for a basic windscreen and £450 to £1,200+ for a car with a windscreen camera, and its average across 244 jobs in July to September 2026 was £491.06.
When can a windscreen chip be repaired instead of replaced?+
UK Car Glass publishes its repair limits: chips up to about 25mm (a one-pound coin), and cracks up to 75mm provided they are not in Zone A in front of the driver. Damage within 7cm of the edge of the glass, or a crack over 75mm, usually means replacement. Get a fresh chip looked at before it spreads.
Will a repaired windscreen pass an MOT?+
Yes, if the finished repair leaves any remaining mark below the MOT limit for its zone: 10mm in Zone A (the 290mm strip in front of the driver) and 40mm in the rest of the wiper-swept area. A clean resin repair almost always passes because the tester assesses the glass visually for vision-impairing damage rather than measuring the original chip.
Does a repair weaken the windscreen?+
No. A correct resin injection restores most of the glass strength and stops the chip spreading. The repair is structural, not cosmetic, although a faint blemish often remains where the chip was. The bigger risk is waiting: temperature swings, potholes and door slams turn a £50 repairable chip into a replacement that UK Car Glass prices from £299.