Consumer Guide to Window Tinting
Use Social Media as Your Guide
When deciding where and when to get your car tinted you should take into consideration the following guidelines…
Social Media has become a huge, intricate part of today’s online Marketing strategy for small businesses. Smart phones and computers have become a necessary tool for consumers to connect with one another, and especially when it comes to writing a positive or negative review about their experience with a particular business. Checking reviews on Google, Yelp, etc., in your local area before contacting a window tinting shop is a great place to start.
Beware of Cheap Pricing
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably has a catch. Beware of false or misleading advertising. Cheap pricing; when quoted between $79.00 and $99.00 per vehicle, beware of the quality of the window film and actual installation skills.
Confirm over the phone when calling for a quote or before actual installation when visiting a local tint shop that the price quoted by them is out the door price. No hidden fees for tinting any additional windows or charges for removing any hardware, if needed.
Quality window film such as XPEL and the actual tinting insulation by certified installers should be reasonably priced when you think about all the benefits that window film offers. Protect yourself by confirming that the price quote includes all the windows you are interested in having tinted on your vehicle.
Quality of Film
Most Automotive Window Film today comes with a Lifetime warranty. Recommendation when you contact an automotive window tinting shop in your local area, ask them if they offer a Manufacturer Warranty. The warranty should protect you as a consumer against Bubbling, Peeling, and Fading of the film. In the unfortunate event that the film becomes defective, your installation shop should cover all cost of replacement of film at their expense, not yours.
There are window films on the market today that only cover a three – five-year warranty. This short warranty span is not recommended as most consumers keep their vehicle for longer than five years. Most vehicles on the road today last an average of fifteen years. That is why a manufactured warranty is highly recommended.
A high-quality film such as XPEL is visually clear to the eyes (no obstruction in vision) and not hazy after installment on the glass and after curing process has occurred. (Dried.)
The high-quality film will not take on a visual blurry appearance or start bubbling after installation of one to two years; Low quality film loses its clarity rather quickly. (Within six months in very sunny climates.)
Quality of Installation
It is highly recommended that you inspect previous workmanship that the tint shop has performed on other vehicles. (A quality shop should always have a tinted vehicle on display for you to examine. Either an earlier customer’s car or a display vehicle.)
The tinted glass should be clean, free of dirt and air bubbles. (Resemble manufactured glass on SUV vehicles.) Carefully examine the installed film; especially inspect the sides and bottom of the windows. This is where most of the defects will be visible on an inferior installation. There should be no gaps between the glass and film edge. After the film has cured (dried) there should be no gap at the top of the window when rolled down. A professional installer should make your vehicle look like manufactured tinted glass.
Ask the installer how many years of experience of tinting vehicles do they have. Like many professions, window tinting is a learned craft over a number of years. It is not something one reads a how to tint windows text book, then start tinting expensive cars. No! Window tinting is a learned craft through experience. The more vehicle’s they have tinted, the better they should be? If they are proud of their profession, they should gladly share with you the number of years or even the number of cars they have tinted. Recommended, go to a tint shop where the installer has had a minimum of five consecutive years of tinting experience.
At Quality Auto Glass Tint Inc, we have over 30 years experience, and to-date we have tinted over 6,000 vehicles and counting.
When you first pick up your vehicle from the tint shop, the installer will explain that the film will initially appear hazy to the eyes and there maybe moisture pockets trapped between the tint and the glass of your car windows. This is normal; it is the first stage of the curing process that the film will go through, within the first few hours (depending on the climate,) the moisture will dry and separate into tiny pockets of water. (Approx. the size of a garden pea.) The curing process can take as long as thirty – sixty days, however, most cars will visually cure within the first 5 days. Even less time in hot, dry climates.
Window Film can be installed when the weather is cold and rainy. The only delay in the curing process when weather is cold is the drying time. In hot climates, the visual curing time for window film can be as quick as one day. When the weather is cold, thirty degrees or less, the curing process could take the whole sixty days.
Suggestion: Place colored tape over window control panel as a reminder, NOT TO roll down windows. When window film is first installed, you will visually see moisture beads trapped between glass and film. This will disappear; this is a normal process of window tinting.
Quality of Customer Service
The installer should guide you through the process of choosing the correct shade of window film for your vehicle based on your needs and requirements. The color of the interior and exterior of your vehicle and the make and model all determine the overall look of the finished job.
The staff should be knowledgeable about window tinting and your car’s information, i.e., Number of back windows, do your windows open in an up and down motion or pop out, etc., and they should be able to answer any and every question that you have about the actual process and installation of window tinting.
Here at Quality Auto Glass Tint-Inc, we want to assure you that customer satisfaction is our guarantee. We will guide you through the window tinting process and only happy to answer any questions that you may have.
Please contact us using our contact form below, or phone us directly at 209-543-3800
