I had my windows tinted several weeks ago, and it cost a LOT compared to what I've seen others quoted for tint, even in this area. I specifically chose a place based on the fact that they had stellar reviews and were accustomed to working on cars running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and figured my little $20k Fit would be given the royal tint treatment. After reading their reviews, I expected that the job would be pretty flawless and that, at the very least, I would have the same results as that of others, which is that they had tinted windows with no visible lines between their tint and window edges.

So, I finally rolled my windows down and realized that the tint doesn't go all the way to the top edge of the windows. It meets PART of the top edge of them, but it's almost like they cut it at an angle that was slightly off, so it didn't line up all the way. It's so minor that it's relatively tough to notice, except that you can see the line of adhesive so that the very top edge of the windows always look dirty. And if I were a cop looking for illegal tint on front windows, I'm sure I'd notice it.

One of my rear windows has a corner of tint missing about the size of half a dime that's much less noticeable because the color of the weatherstripping behind it blocks out the clearness of the missing patch. The other side is completely intact. I don't know what happened. Maybe a knife slipped and they figured that they'd just hide it?

Other than that, the tint looks pretty good - only has 1 minuscule bubble on a mini-window that's totally inconsequential - but the perfectionist in me hates the little mistakes (if they are, in fact, mistakes).

Are my expectations for a $500 tint job too high? Are these things that you would call up the tint shop to inquire/complain about? The edges of my front windows looking dirty and not having the tint line up is what bothers me the most.

 

For a $500 tint, I would expect perfection, coffee, donuts, massage, etc. definitely call them!

I paid $300 and have similar issues at the top of the windows but I'm okay with it. If I were you though, I would contact them and see if they could remedy it. Maybe bring pics if a seamless tint job to compare.

 

Tint film is supposed to stop before it gets to the top of the window… where it would eventually be scratched up or worn ragged from rubbing on the gasket.

 

That sounds feasible, but (and forgive me, as I really don't know much about the details of tint installation) if it were an issue with trying to protect it from the gasket, why would the front end (closer to the hood) of the tint be all the way up to the edge, where it looks completely seamless and like it's factory tinted glass, while the back half has a gap?

I maybe wouldn't have even thought of it, except that I saw so many reviews stating that their windows were seamless and looked like tinted glass. User reviews are both a blessing and a curse.

 

IMO, the untinted part of the glass should be even, front to back at the top of the glass.

 

WOW! $500? That is tremendously expensive, but may not be unreasonable. The type of tint film you choose has a lot of impact on the cost. What type/brand is it? Higher end films should have a lifetime warranty on both film and installation. I would take it back and tell them to fix it, and let them know you will write your review based on the second chance. If it is still no good, 1) find another tint shop that sells the same films and have them fulfill the warranty work and 2) let the world know. Who knows, maybe they wrote all of those good reviews themselves.

You are most definitely NOT being too nitpicky. For $500, I hope they covered every piece of glass on that thing, sunroof and windshield included. I know it's always inconvenient to make a return trip someplace, but for that kind of money it should be perfect. The problems you describe would be expected on an $80 flea market tint job, not a professional tint shop.

P.S. I paid $275 for Llumar Formula One Pinnacle (blah blah blah). I went to a shop that was just one guy, one car at a time, and sat there BSing with him while he did it. He had a CAD machine type thing that cut the film from a template, and then he just trimmed/heated/shaped as needed. There are a few little pieces of dust trapped underneath it hear and there, but it lines up with the top of the windows and is nice and even all the way around.

 

Going by the tint on my previous car, the tint went right up to the top edge of the window and I almost could not even make out where it ended. It was perfectly even all the way across on each window. I think for$500 you should expect that level of tinting perfection.

 

That's what I'm thinking, too. I hate calling places like this because I feel like it makes me "that person ," and because of the fact that I had it tinted several weeks ago. I probably should've really inspected it within the week, but I wanted to really give it time to cure, and then... I just didn't really roll down my windows for a while. There is a lifetime warranty on the tint itself, but I can't remember what the deal was with the labor. This place has been in business for 25 years or something like that, so at least it's not a fly-by-night operation.

I think maybe I'll e-mail them after I have a chance to take some photos. I'm under too much stress from other things to gracefully handle potential confrontation right now, lol.

 

holy crap man.. my all around tint plus a front strip cost $260. I haven't rolled my windows down yet but I know it wont be all the way up the edge.

 

Yeah, this place's price was kind of ridiculous, but they were close, had appointments available, had the type of tint I wanted, amazing reviews, and it made me feel safer going with someone I knew had been in business/would likely remain in business for a long time. I wanted to minimize the risk of having to go back to have something fixed, but...

 

i spend $175 for my and it's perfect.
if i spend $500 i expect perfection.

 

You deserve a perfect tint job-- go back and request they fix it-- one bad review by someone can damage their business.
My dealer did mine--I negotiated it since the finance person pulled a fast one at the sale and it left a bad taste--so I told them I wanted something in return for her "fast talking" me
They did a perfect job --there is about an 1/16th-1/8th edge at the top of each window that is only visible when window is open.
I hope for $500 they also gave you an "eyebrow" on your windshield--I had to get mine done separately since the dealer would not do the windshield.

 

OP - Think of it this way, if it's bothering you enough to post on this forum, you should get it redone for peace of mind. I'm sure the shop would be happy to fix it for you!

And if they don't, just slam them on Yelp reviews and other car forums, j/k, hehe.

 

for $500 it should have been a spectacular job. i paid $300 for mine with a lifetime warranty and i have a perfect .5 mm border at the top edge of the windows. i would have expected that kind of shoddy job from a sub $100 job.

 

For that price, I'd take it back to them and get them to fix it. I paid $180 for my rear 5 windows and the job was perfectly done, no bubbles, lines, or scratches. And 3 years after, tint still looks like what it was from day one.