A chip repair costs about $150. A windscreen on a car with a lane-keeping camera can cost more than $1,800, before anyone mentions recalibrating the camera behind it. The gap between the two is usually a fortnight of telling yourself you'll get to it. That fortnight is the most expensive part of the whole exercise.
We've pulled prices from the glass companies and published Australian sources, read the product disclosure statements of six major insurers, and checked the roadworthy rules in Victoria, NSW and Queensland. One finding will surprise many owners: under a standard comprehensive policy, the excess usually applies even to a chip repair.
How much does a windscreen chip repair cost?
Expect roughly $60 to $150. O'Brien's commercial director Nick Street told Youi in 2025 that a repair normally costs around $150, depending on the damage. Canstar cites Airtasker pricing of $60 to $80. Novus advertised first-chip repairs from $99 in 2022. Repair beats replacement on every measure except doing nothing.
Shop the offers, too. O'Brien gives 20 per cent off its standard chip repair price for online bookings, and NRMA members get the same discount through My NRMA Rewards. A repair leaves a faint mark rather than invisible glass, but it stops the chip from spreading, which is the whole point.
Time is the other cost, and it's small. O'Brien quotes about 30 minutes for a chip repair, and Instant Windscreens says most take 20 to 30 minutes and it will come to your home, workplace or the roadside. Booking the job takes less time than the excuses for putting it off.
Plus about $300 for camera recalibration if it's billed separately. O'Brien and Novus include it in the replacement price.
On these figures, the jump from a $150 repair to a $1,800 screen is twelve times the money, for the same stone.
Sources as listed on each row, plus carsales (2021) and Autoglass Warehouse for recalibration. Bars show the top of each range. Comparison is our calculation. Prices vary by car, glass and location.
Is it too late to repair your chip?
Size and position decide it. O'Brien will repair a chip in front of the driver only if the whole damage, legs included, is smaller than a 5-cent coin. On the passenger side the limit is a $1 coin, and any chip must sit at least 5cm from the edge. Instant Windscreens allows up to a $2 coin, away from the driver's direct line of sight.
Every crack leg counts. Instant Windscreens won't repair a chip with cracks longer than 3cm running from it. Novus says it can repair cracks up to 30cm long, so it's worth a second quote if one company says no. Once a crack reaches the edge of the glass, assume you're buying a windscreen.
Chips spread for predictable reasons. O'Brien warns that blasting cold air on a sun-baked screen can crack it, and so can hot water on frost, gravel roads, speed humps and even a slammed door. Keep the aircon off the glass until it's fixed, a good reason to sort a weak aircon before summer. Potholes don't help either.
What does a new windscreen cost on a modern car?
Anywhere from $250 to over $1,800. Finder puts a common car such as a Corolla at $250 to $400, rising past $1,000 when the glass carries rain sensors. RACQ Auto Glass's Mike Aro told RACQ in 2022 that some screens it replaces cost north of $1,800. The camera behind the glass is what pushes modern cars to the top of that range.
That camera must be recalibrated after a replacement. O'Brien says most manufacturers require it for cars with forward-facing cameras, using a static calibration with targets in the workshop, a dynamic one on the road, or both. RACQ describes a Ford Ranger needing a drive above 40km/h for about 10 minutes. Book it with the glass.
Recalibration costs about $300 when billed separately, based on carsales' 2021 estimate and a Brisbane glass company's current price from $305. O'Brien and Novus bundle it into the replacement price, and Novus says insurance covers it if the screen is covered. None of the six PDSs we read mentions calibration, so confirm before the job starts.
Ask what glass is going in. Subaru Australia told AfMA in 2017 that EyeSight needs calibrating after a glass replacement, and that it only recommends genuine glass. O'Brien says cars with a head-up display need HUD-specific glass to avoid a blurred or ghosted image. That camera runs the systems behind your car's safety rating.
Should you claim a windscreen chip on insurance?
Only if you've paid for glass cover. Many owners assume comprehensive insurance fixes chips for free. It doesn't by default. Across the six insurers we checked, the standard excess, or a reduced one, applies to a chip repair unless you've added an excess-free or reduced-excess windscreen option, or bought a top-tier policy that includes it.
| Insurer | Chip repair on standard comprehensive | Glass option | Effect on your rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAMI | Standard excess applies | Windscreen and window glass cover: one excess-free claim a year, and a repairable chip doesn't use it up | Glass-only claims don't affect Safe Driver Rewards |
| Allianz | Excess usually applies | Removes the excess for up to 1 replacement and 2 repairs a year | Claim recorded on your claims history |
| Budget Direct | Standard excess applies | Reduced Window Glass Excess: $40 excess, add within 21 days of buying or renewing | Glass-only claims don't reduce your NCD |
| NRMA Insurance | Excess applies | Excess free glass extension, standard on Comprehensive Plus | Claims history considered |
| RACV | Basic excess applies | Windscreen option removes it; Complete Care has no excess | Claims history considered |
| Youi | Excess applies to every claim | Reduced basic excess for windscreen claims | Claims history considered |
Sources: each insurer's current comprehensive car PDS or product page, checked 15 October 2026. Budget Direct NCD wording from its 2024 PED. No insurer publishes the premium for its glass option. Always check your own policy schedule.
The maths is simple. If your excess is bigger than a $150 repair quote, pay cash and keep the claim off your history. If you hold excess-free glass cover, claim every time. Budget Direct's reduced glass excess drops it to $40, but only if you add it within 21 days of buying or renewing.
Replacement is where cover earns its keep. If a new screen costs $1,800 and your excess is, say, $700, claiming still saves you $1,100. O'Brien says that with glass cover and no excess, the job could cost you nothing. Check for annual limits: Allianz caps its excess-free option at one replacement and two repairs a year.
Can you claim windscreen repairs at tax time?
Only for a car used for work, and only the work share. Under the ATO's logbook method, repairs sit with the car expenses you need receipts for, and you claim the business-use percentage from your logbook. Keep the invoice, or your excess receipt if you claimed. Our cost of owning a car guide covers the rest.
Will a chipped windscreen fail a roadworthy?
It can, and the limits differ by state. Victoria and Queensland fail bullseyes or star chips over 16mm, or cracks over 150mm, within the wiper-swept area. NSW is tighter in front of the driver. Police in all three states can issue a defect notice, and in Victoria and Queensland you need a roadworthy or safety certificate to sell.
| State | Zone checked | Fails if |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Area wiped by the windscreen wipers | Bullseye or star over 16mm, a crack over 150mm in a single layer, or any crack through more than one layer (VSI 26) |
| NSW | Driver's side of the screen, from the centre of the car | Any crack or damage, except any two of: a hairline crack to 30mm, an edge crack to 75mm, a bullseye to 16mm (AIS Rule 105) |
| Queensland | Driver's half of the wiper-swept area | Bullseye or star over 16mm, or a crack over 150mm, that goes through more than one layer or blocks vision; any crack in the inner layer (inspection manual, July 2026) |
Sources: VicRoads Vehicle Standards Information 26 (March 2023), NSW Authorised Inspection Scheme light vehicle safety check standards, Queensland Light Vehicle Inspection Manual (effective 7 July 2026).
That makes a chip a resale problem as well as a safety one. A buyer will spot it, and an inspector may fail it, so a $150 repair before you list the car is money well spent. If you're the buyer, add the windscreen to your used car inspection checklist and price a replacement into your offer.
What to do the day the stone hits
Act inside a week. Put clear tape over the chip to keep out dirt and moisture, keep the demister and aircon off the glass, and avoid gravel roads where you can. Then check your policy schedule for glass cover before you book, because that decides whether you claim or pay cash.
Our verdict: repair it now, pay cash unless you hold glass cover, and never let a chip in front of the driver ride into summer. The glass is the cheap part of a modern windscreen. The camera behind it, and the fortnight you waited, are what cost the money.
