Looking to get windows on new car tinted

Trey22

Diamond Member
Oct 31, 2003
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Just got a new Jetta (I guess that G35 will have to wait :( ) and the only thing I wanted to do to it was tint the windows.

I live in the Bay Area, so a recommendation to a good shop would be very much appreciated.

I was thinking of going with the same tint on all the windows. Which gets me to thinking, can you even tint the driver/passenger windows in CA? If so, is there a certain tranparency level it has to meet?

What level tint would look good?
 

YankeezXBA

Senior member
May 15, 2004
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driver side and passenger side is 70% tint, and the back windows can be as dark as you want them
 

kami333

Diamond Member
Dec 12, 2001
5,110
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Personally I wouldn't go darker than about 15% on the back and sides, any darker and it really gets harder to see at night (old car had 18% back and back sides, and 45% on the front sides).
 

Cooljt1

Golden Member
Jan 11, 2002
1,466
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i'd go with lumar tint which is probably the best for auto tint. i got my car 35% in the front and 25% for the rear and back windows
 

sygyzy

Lifer
Oct 21, 2000
14,001
4
76
Originally posted by: YankeezXBA
driver side and passenger side is 70% tint, and the back windows can be as dark as you want them


To clarify, it's 30% for the fronts. That means it blocks 30% or let's 70% of light through.
 

Confused

Elite Member
Nov 13, 2000
14,166
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Originally posted by: sygyzy
Originally posted by: YankeezXBA
driver side and passenger side is 70% tint, and the back windows can be as dark as you want them


To clarify, it's 30% for the fronts. That means it blocks 30% or let's 70% of light through.

But most car windows will let 70-75% of light through from the factory.

Which means legally you can only put on a very very light tint (something that's not even worth it)

I would (and have on my car) go for the same tint all round, so it doesn't draw attention to the fact that the front windows are tinted too.
 

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,415
14,303
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30% tint all around (with 6" windshield eyebrow) is legal in CA and looks really good. It's also not so dark that you have to roll down the windows at intersections on dark nights.
I have 30% black on my car. Pic

Good professional tinters always know the best brands, so I always trust their judgement. The key thing is to find the best professional tinter you can. Never shop on price. Choose your tinter based on referrals. Always. Look for "So-and-so did my car 5 years ago, and the job still looks perfect even after all that time". But don't worry about price too much either as the best tinters usually cost less as they get so much word-of-mouth business.
Expect somewhere in the $200 range.
 

mwtgg

Lifer
Dec 6, 2001
10,491
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Originally posted by: Vic
30% tint all around (with 6" windshield eyebrow) is legal in CA and looks really good. It's also not so dark that you have to roll down the windows at intersections on dark nights.
I have 30% black on my car. Pic

Good professional tinters always know the best brands, so I always trust their judgement. The key thing is to find the best professional tinter you can. Never shop on price. Choose your tinter based on referrals. Always. Look for "So-and-so did my car 5 years ago, and the job still looks perfect even after all that time". But don't worry about price too much either as the best tinters usually cost less as they get so much word-of-mouth business.
Expect somewhere in the $200 range.

Yes, please don't get a cheap tint. Either get it done right or not at all.
 

sygyzy

Lifer
Oct 21, 2000
14,001
4
76
Sorry, there is misinformation here again. CA legal tint is 30% fronts and ANY in rears.
 

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,415
14,303
136
When is the last time anyone got a ticket for illegal tint? I'm running 5% darker than legal (for my state, 35% all around is max) in my car for the last 2 years and have never been ticketed or pulled over. Before that I ran 20% darker than legal in my previous car for 5 years and was never ticketed or pulled over for the tint.

edit: and to clarify, you have that backwards. You don't call tint that lets 70% of the light through "30%". You call it 70%. "30% tint" blocks 70% of the light. 15% blocks 85%, and so on. Tint is labelled by how much light it lets through, not by how much it blocks.
 

Dr. Detroit

Diamond Member
Sep 25, 2004
8,143
609
126
3M Llumar

Had it on my car for almost 3yrs, I'm very happy.

Now, you need to ensure you have a very professional company do the tint so it does not bubble up and peel away.




 

Rumpltzer

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2003
4,815
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91
If you're looking for a reliable place, ask the VW dealer who they use... of call up the local Mercedes dealer and ask who they use. Whatever.

The place I got my Honda from charges $350 to tint the back windows. I asked them who they use (they had no problem telling me), and that guy charged me $270 for the five windows. It took about three hours.

It's only been about a year, but it still looks great.
 

Trey22

Diamond Member
Oct 31, 2003
5,540
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Yeah, I ran through one of those online sims, where you actually see your car and the level of tint... looks like I'll be going 35% all around.

Rumpltzer, good suggestion, I'll try that.
 

Tremulant

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2004
4,890
1
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Originally posted by: Trey22
Yeah, I ran through one of those online sims, where you actually see your car and the level of tint... looks like I'll be going 35% all around.

Rumpltzer, good suggestion, I'll try that.

Link to sim? :)

(gonna google anyways, but a link without work is always nicer)

Edit: found one, only shows a jetta as the 4 door sedan, but I think I'll be getting 30-35% on my car. My old car had really dark tints (not sure, but around 20%) and I had trouble seeing at night.