to tint or not to tint your car window?

Question

and why??

Answer 1

As a used car dealer, I agree that it is a bad idea to tint the windows, unless you have a medical reason to do so. Aftermarket tinting is not legal in all states, and it also reduces the appeal of the vehicle to the potential market! Unless you are in a climate where tint is needed due to extreme temperatures, potential buyers will look unfavorably on a vehicle that is modified!

If I buy a car with aftermarket tint, I allow for the cost of removing it! This means I will pay less for the car with tint than without!!

Answer 2

The darkness of tint is measured in percentage of light able to pass. ex. 5% tint alowes 5% of the light though and is very dark.

So the problem here is that many people purchase a window tint film that is rated at 35% and think it's automatically okay to put it
on their car windows. A 35% window film will guarantee you that your vehicle will be illegal, and here's why:

ALL vehicles come from the factory with a certain percentage of tinting incorporated into the glass. In most cases it blocks out
approximately 20% of the available light, which means that 80% is still passing through.
That is an LTV of 80%, and there's no problem there.

An after market window tint film rated at 35% means that the film allows 35% of the available light to
pass through, and blocks out 65%. (This is known as 35% LTV Film) And again, there's no problem with that.

Here's where the trouble begins. When you place a 35% window tint film over a vehicle window that is already blocking out
20% of the available light, you have now reduced the LTV to 28%, which is ILLEGAL! Why is it now 28%? Because you
started with a piece of glass that was already blocking out 20% of the available light, and you are now placing a
35% tinting material on a piece of glass that only had 80% available light to start with. (.35 x 80 = 28%)
That means you are now blocking out 72% of the available light, leaving only 28% to pass through.

Answer 3

Best to check the law of your state. Many are now saying NO to tinted widows in cars. Officers must use more caution approaching a car with dark tint on the windows. Light tint yes. We have factory light tinted widows in our vehicle and it works great. Factor tint is usually at 20% and the legal limit is up to 35% most places. Kits that sell are for 35%. You install this and now you have 55% and against the law. So I say check out exactly what you state says concerning the amount of tint.

Answer 4

As a car dealer, I would advise against it, if you trade cars frequently. Dark window tint especially attaches a "personality" to a car, which in turn diminishes it's mass appeal. A car that looks much the same as it did when it was new appeals to more potential buyer, and a car without tinted windows is usually worth more than one that is tinted.

Answer 5

TINT! Definitly. Once you get tinted windows you will never want to drive a car without it. It wont hurt resale if you get light tint, but that dark limo tint may make it harder to sell and may get you pulled over by the cops. But if you do tint it, don't go for the cheapest price you find. Like with most things, you usually get what you pay for. If you get a cheap tint job youre getting two things: Crap film, and shotty work. Price doesnt always equal a good job, but dont be afraid to ask questions and see prior work. A company not willing to answer your questions, or if they seem to dance around it, by saying stuff like "you'll be happy" a bunch means you should turn around and walk out the door. The main thing to look for is quality film. Quality film means two things. It will last, and they know what theyre doing, because quality film is too expensive to waste a ton of it. Good film is brands like Llumar, 3M, and my favorite, Sun Tek. the grade of film is also important. good films are either HP or Sputtered. If you have a new car chances are your radio antenna is built into your rear window. the two types of film I listed above are metallized and will interfere with you reception, so you have to get a different type of film. most tint companies will use HP on sides and for rear windows with antennas will use cheap film called non-reflective that will turn purple in 6 months. there is a new type of film out that is called high performance non reflective. this is a non metallized film that wont fade and wont interfere with reception. I fully recommend looking around untill you find a shop that carries or will special order for you Sun Tek Carbon series. this is guaranteed not to fade for life and wont interfere with your antenna. hope I could help

Answer 6

Illegal in some states. Best to check BEFORE you pay for the tint AND the ticket.

Answer 7

The car dealer is wrong. Tint is desirable. As long as you get good tint professionally done you will be fine. Note: Never listen to car dealers...they will try to steer you wrong. They wanted to charge me $500 to tint my Grand Prix when I bought it. I paid $200 to have laser cut tint put in.

Answer 8

Absolutely tint it. It improves the cars appearance, drastically, even a beater's.
And it is also helpful if you are doing illegal things.

Answer 9

Tint. To protect the interior and to keep it cooler in the summer.

Answer 10

Tint them so dark you can't see out!!!!!