OK so before I begin, I will start by saying that I have stuffed up along the way - if I had taken action a bit earlier this maybe wouldn't even be an issue.

Anyway, the story goes like this. I bought a new Ford Ranger in November 2016 and less than 45 minutes after I picked it up, the windscreen was hit by a large stone from an oncoming truck, cracking the screen horizontally.

I called my insurance company (AA) and they were happy to arrange for a replacement screen. I duly dropped the vehicle at Smith & Smith in Christchurch, and they replaced the screen with a genuine factory Ford replacement, and arranged to have the lane guidance and collision mitigation systems recalibrated at the closest Ford dealership. No problems so far.

Everything seemed fine, however last winter (when the sun got very low in the sky) I noticed that the windscreen was quite hard to see through when driving toward the sun late in the day (which I do for about half an hour on my way home). At first I thought the windscreen was just dirty, however after I cleaned it, it was pretty clear that the "crazing" I could see which was partially obstructing my vision was actually manufactured into the glass itself - in other words, there appeared to be a problem with the lamination and there was a fault in the manufacturing process.

Here's where my mistake comes in. Last winter I would always get home, start to light the fire, get side-tracked by other homely duties, and promptly forget to do anything about the windscreen. I did this over and over again, like a bloody goldfish. As winter passed, and the sun was higher in the sky on my way home from work, the sunstrike went away and I then forgot about the issue entirely.

Queue this winter, and the problem has reared its ugly head again. For the last couple of weeks, I have been meaning to finally do something about it. On Wednesday this week, I drove to Smith & Smith after work, and in perfect "low sun in the sky" conditions, I demonstrated to the shop manager what my issue was:

The issue is incredibly hard to photograph, but the pictures above pretty accurately reflects what I see the whole time I am driving home at this time of year. Interestingly, the screen is crystal clear and easy to see out of when the sun is not low in front of me, hence why it's not a problem most of the year (and why I kept forgetting about it).

The Smith & Smith manager agreed that there was indeed a fault - possibly due to manufacturing, but then proceeded to tell me that because it's a genuine Ford windscreen, I'd have to go back to Ford. When I argued that I got the windscreen from Smith & Smith (and I am therefore his customer), he said it made no difference and that for a warranty issue, I would have to go back to Ford. Righto then.

I then rang my friendly Ford dealership and they advised me that whilst the windscreen may have been supplied by them to Smith & Smith, I'd need to provide an invoice number for it before they could consider doing anything to assist. This makes sense - they sell/supply literally hundreds of screens to the local Smith & Smith each year so without a purchase order # or invoice number, they'd never find the paperwork.

Frustrated, I call AA and advise them of how much trouble I am having, and ask if perhaps they might have paperwork showing the actual purchase details for the screen from Ford. They don't, but they do agree to go into bat for me with Smith & Smith.

Yesterday, I got a call from AA, and they said they had spoken to Smith & Smith, who now agree that they will replace the windscreen with a new aftermarket one. I tell the AA person that while that is a nice offer, I'd really just like to get the proof of purchase of the Ford windscreen so that I can go down the route of claiming on the Ford parts warranty. Then later on yesterday, I got another call from AA advising that the Ford factory windscreen only carries a 12 month warranty (which has now expired) so my best bet is to take the aftermarket windscreen on offer by Smith & Smith.

Now I don't know what to do. Do I just cut my losses and take the aftermarket screen on offer? Both AA and Smith & Smith say that an aftermarket windscreen will not affect my 3 year Ford vehicle warranty - something I intend to confirm with Ford today. But I just hate the thought of using an aftermarket part on a vehicle that is not yet 2 years old.

I realise the Ford warranty on the replacement windscreen has expired due to my tardiness in getting it looked at, but I would have thought that a clearly established manufacturing defect should not be subject to a time limit, and it would fall under the Consumer Guarantees Act anyway in terms of fit for purpose/acceptable quality etc. Of course, Ford could ague that they didn't supply the screen to me, but to Smith & Smith, and therefore the CGA doesn't apply....

What does everyone think? Am I being too picky? Should I just be thankful and take the aftermarket screen on offer? Or should I go back to Ford and argue for replacement with a genuine screen citing the CGA?

[EDIT: Adjusted photo sizes]