Window Tint PRICE too high?

mattmatt300 · Feb 22, 2011

got my dc done. all 4 side windows and the back for $135 yesterday. i dont know how some of you guys justify paying upwards of $200 for tint!

rme · Feb 22, 2011

mattmatt300 said: ↑

got my dc done. all 4 side windows and the back for $135 yesterday. i dont know how some of you guys justify paying upwards of $200 for tint!
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What kind of tint did you have installed? Was it reflective or ceramic? What was the name brand you used?

mattmatt300 · Feb 23, 2011

not sure on reflective vs ceramic. the brand is sun-gard i believe

KillTaker · Mar 7, 2011

DevL said: ↑

Sooooo much ignorance in this thread. Sad to see everyone just looking for lowest price.

You can expect to pay $70 to about $500 or all windows and either would be a decent price. You cant just say 3M or Llumar either. Thats like saying Ford or Dodge. Is a Ford better than Dodge? Is a Festiva better than a Ram? Is a GT40 better than a Caravan? Is $40,000 a good price on a Dodge? What... Dodge a Viper or a Dodge Caliber?

There are 3 main types of film.

The first is dye based films. These are the cheapest. They have the worst heat rejection and fade or turn purple the fastest. You can do an entire car with cheap dye based film for $70. Its thin and easy to apply and heat shrinks well. It makes install easy if its decent tint film. 3M has great dye based films if more expensive than the competition.

Second are metallic films. These offer superior heat rejection, longer life and resistance to fading etc vs dye based films. $150-250 for a decent metalic film is not a horrible price for a whole car. Llumar has some excellent metallic films.

Third are ceramic films. These are the most expensive. They offer the best heat rejection, they dont suffer radio inerferance problems as much as most metallic films. They also have low reflectance if you want that. They will never, ever fade. Some are on super thick and hard to form sheeting and very hard to work with. Huper Optik DREI is one of the very best and most expensive of the ceramic films. There are lower grades of Huper Optik though and I dont reccomend the lower grade Ceramic Hupers for the money. Llumar is slightly below average. 3M does not have the ceramic technology to compete yet. The best film is NEVER 3M for this reason... even if they have EXCELLENT dye base films!

So its not just price to tint a car or even what brand or even what technology... its about the SPECIFIC film used and the quality of the installer. Huper Optik DREI is probably the hardest tint to apply, its the most expensive and one of the top 2 or 3 in performance if not the very best. A local tinter has a computerised cutting machine and EXCELLENT installer. Its $500 for an entire car and thats a fairly average price for Huper DREI tint.

Better tints cost more. Better installers cost more. What do you want? Tint that rejects the most heat and lasts forever with perfect cut edges or one that lasts 2-3 years and has to be replaced and has mediocre heat performance and uneven distances on some windows? I have had super cheap $50 for an entire SUV dyed film... it turned puple in less than 2 years, the back window was done in 2 pieces instead of 1, formed a bubble at 2 yeears, etc. I have paid $500 for a G35 done with Huper Optik DREI and the rear glass in one piece with a flawless install and tint super close to the edges. It looked as good after 4 years as the day it was installed. It was impossible to feel the suns heat through the glass.

Its all about what you want in your tint and what your budget is. I may go with Madico cermic MAC3000 this time around... its over 10% less total thermal rejection than Huper Optik DREI but $100 less expensive.

Research what EXACT film you want, not just brand, not just class within a brand, but the EXACT film you want. Get a top 5 tints and go price shopping. Be willing to travel to get the tint you want if it is high end and be willing to pay for a good installer with an excellent warranty. Also, as with ANY custom purchase talk to the INSTALLER to see who is good, not the salesman. The salesman is just there to haggle price. You can ALWAYS haggle price.
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Great info. Thanks.

rancher 420 · Mar 20, 2011

Series1000 said: ↑

I paid 150 for 5 window tint, Done in 2 hours with lifetime warranty and its awesome work.
So yes 265 is too much
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thats a great price, i got my back slider, and the two door windows done(reg. cab) for $100 even, third vehicle the guy has done for me, and the work was great

Night Fury · Mar 21, 2011

I got my 2003 Yukon (7 windows) in So Cal from Tint Factory (place did all the Fast & Furious cars) for about $145 and I did it about 3 months ago and its lookin good still!

coffeesnob · Mar 23, 2011

Kmoney[OP] initial post: ↑

Hey guys,

Hopefully this hasn't been beaten to death TOO much...

But I called a local tint shop that uses a film (Llumar) that I've heard good things about. This guy will also tint slightly more than what our state law allows...

However, for back window and all four door windows, he's asking $265.00

Is this reasonable? This being a small town, he's really my only option without traveling to Denver...

What do y'all think?

Oh, and as always, THANKS
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My windows cost 40 bucks each. Very good quality and very pleased. Now...as I have posted in another thread I have to remove the durn stuff because of Va state law. So I guess the moral of the story don't get caught...

tjwomble93 · Feb 15, 2013

My buddy owns a tint shop so when I got it tinted he only charged price of tint (~$60) been open over 15 years Formula One Tinting.. It all depends on quality of tint average I'd say $150-200 tops. Good luck!

RAT PRODUCTS · Feb 15, 2013

I paid $150 for everything but the windshield. Price depends on what tint they use too.

devenob · Feb 19, 2013

just paid 220 entire truck

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