Car window tint advice

In My Humble Opinion
1

Looking to get my car windows tinted. I’ve got a pretty normal 4 door sedan. You can spend anywhere from $100 for the cheapest film products to upwards of $400 for the fancy ceramic stuff.

I want to spend closer to the lower end, but not so much that I’ll be looking at replacing it in a few years because it’s so crappy and worn out.

Does metallic film/carbon film/ceramic/etc. make all that much of a difference? I’ve read that there are concerns about radio/GPS reception with the metallic dyes. Since a GPS unit sits on the front windshield, and that’s generally not tinted, is that really a concern? I don’t care about radio reception, but I need my GPS to function reliably.

How do you choose a tint shop? All of the shops I see want you to call them for a quote and I didn’t want to exhaustively call every one which is a pain in the ass, but it’s hard to get a feel otherwise.

I found a groupon deal for $120 for 5 windows for Suntek High Performance - which is one of the metal dyes, but still a tier above the basic stuff. Is that a good deal? It appears that the rest of the suntek line carries warranties against fading, but this doesn’t - which I suppose means it’ll fade. Does that mean the percentage of incoming light blocked will decrease, or is it just an aesthetic issue, with the film turning dull and purple?

Any advice welcome.

2

If you drive to California often and choose an especially dark or front windows tint, you could be hassled. I don’t believe they can do much, but that may be an unjustified yet ticketable situation.

Don’t get the kind that peels into an ugly purple mess in a few years. If they still use that kind, whatever it is.

3

I lived in Vegas for over 20 years – never got my windows tinted because they always seemed rather ugly from inside the car.

I put WeatherTech Side Window Deflectors on my cars. They look good and being able to leave all the windows cracked an inch or so when parked keeps the car much cooler than tinting. They are the first thing I do to a new car even though I no longer live in the desert.

4

My father got one window tinted (on the passenger side for my mother). He never got stopped by the police, but the car would not pass inspection (New Jersey). Don’t imagine that the people doing the installing care about whether it is legal.

5

Florida has specific regulations on window tints.

http://www.tintcenter.com/laws/FL/

I have a low opinion of heavy window tint in the front windows. There are too many things that are hard to see at night: like pedestrians. I don’t want to kill someone because I don’t want put on sunglasses.

Check out modern window films. They block infrared and let most of the visible light through.

7

Reported.