So I walked into Auto Image on Rt. 18 in East Brunswick, NJ today to get some prices down on tinting. The guy comes out and takes a look, says $150 for the "regular kind" and $25 extra to do the rear window in one piece (or was it two..i can't remember - i didn't really like the guy and had a hard time listening to anything he said) That one comes with a 1 year warranty. Then he said the "performance kind" is $225 with a lifetime warranty on it.

I asked him if he's done any G35's before and he thinks about it and is like "yea sure, they've been out awhile." My translation - "i don't know jack about that car and i'm so lucky to be in the presence of one right now" So can anyone shed some light on these prices and "kinds" of tints? I don't wanna be suckered into getting any crappy product from some dude who has no idea what he's doing. And if anyone knows of a better place in the Central Jersey or eastern PA area it would be appreciated...thanks

Jeff - Look for me in the black G
2004.5 G35 Coupe
5AT / Black on Black / Premium / Splash / ClearCorners

 

.02 -- skip that place and go the the next....
No tinter worth his or her salt would even offer a 2 piece rear glass, and the way you describe it they sounded like a wal-mart type - crappy material, crappy workmanship, crappy warranty and a low price.

Take a look at some of the cars they have done, do they look good? What does the warranty cover? material only or their labor too? What happens if they use sub-par film and do a poor job too, then the rear glass has to be re-done and the defroster fails. Who pays for a new window?

From experience, never shop for a service (tint is a service) with price the most important factor. You get what you pay for most of the time.

Hope that isn't too opinionated

2004 Sedan -- 3M Clear Bra - Bought on eBay and DIY -- Rocky Mounts bike racks!

 

WildWildWest is right on the money here. Price is generally a reflection of the quality of work. It's good that he even mentioned he does multi-piece tint. I've retinted many cars in the past where the shop never told them they were cutting 3 pieces to help compensate for the curvature of the glass. In some cases, places that do multi-piece tint can hide it really well by joining the tints together at the defroster line.

It's funny how he even tried selling you the one yr warranty tint. That stuff will turn purple and bubble up so quick that you'd wish you had paid more for the nice stuff. Here are a few film manufacturers you should stick with:

-Madico
-Llumar
-Solargard
-Formula One (highend llumar film)

As for pricing, here in the San Francisco Bay, I've been charging in the range of $265 for the sedan and $230 for teh coupe.

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone in your area............sorry. But do feel free to post here or email me if you have further questions

Certified Window Tint & Detailing Specialist
3M / VentureShield Paint Protection Film Dealer
Madico Window Film Dealer
syu@machiii.net
2003 AT Sedan / 2004 6MT Coupe

 

I had mine done at Custome Window Tint in Union, NJ (Vauxhall). The guy Anthony is great!! He has done 7 of my 9 cars over the years and never had a problem with the tint or service. He did state when I brought my car in that is is one of the hardest rear windows to do but did a great job. It cost me $225 and worth every penny.

 

G35rush, I thought I gave you the information about tinting earlier in another thread. Go to the Tint Shop on Rt. 1 near Ray Catena. Tinting is all they do and they only use Madico film. I paid $240 for it and the rear window looks good to me and it is all in one piece, naturally.

2004 G35X

 

I remember you telling me that, I just wanted to tell everyone what this guy said. And I know you get what you pay for so that's obviously why I walked out of the store. That tint shop is on the way to my girlfriend's house so I'll probably stop there along the way sometime. Anyone ever hear of Tropic Tint? Apparently it's some really good shop somewhere in North Jersey..

Jeff - Look for me in the black G
2004.5 G35 Coupe
5AT / Black on Black / Premium / Splash / ClearCorners

 

I paid $250 30% Hüper Optik sides and rear done by James window tinting in Middletown NY. Lifetime warrenty. Great guy and well worth the drive from S. Jersey. He has done several Gs from this forum alone.

www.jamestint.com




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The shop I used is in Staten Island NY and looks to be too far away from where you are.

You definately get what you pay for. My only comment to add to all of the others is to find a shop that uses computer cut film. The fitment is 100% and looks simply awesome.

2004 G35c 5AT/Prem Pkg/18" Tire Opt/Aero Kit/Clear Sides/Pedal Kit/Tint/Z-Tube/K&N Drop-in/Smoked Rear Overlays

 

Keep in mind that price is a reflection of several things:

- difficulty of installation
- number of windows
- film quality
- quality of installation

Our Gs are a level 3 out of 5 with 5 being the most difficult cars to work with. Generally, if someone quotes a fairly low price (not hook up price), then either they're very slow for that day or they don't realize the difficulty in the job.

The cheapest car I've ever tinted this year was a MR2 Spyder for the rear glass only @ $95 and the most I charged this year was the new 745Li @ $475 and the Beetle coming in second @ $385.

So this gives you guys an idea of where our G stands in the tint pricing world.

Certified Window Tint & Detailing Specialist
3M / VentureShield Paint Protection Film Dealer
Madico Window Film Dealer
syu@machiii.net
2003 AT Sedan / 2004 6MT Coupe

 

White with tint looks great!!!

2004 Sedan -- 3M Clear Bra - Bought on eBay and DIY -- Rocky Mounts bike racks!

 

my friend's family gets all of their cars tinted at some place and he was getting his windows done there in the next week along with another friend of ours with a bmw 8 series.... and he said that if i get mine done too we will get a really good group rate. He said the guy charges his family about 180-185 for a CAR, but they also have probably had 10 tints done at this place. He said we could probably all 3 get our tints done for 150 and the guy will do an illegal tint (i was planning on going 20-30% all around although i havent decided which end of that range i want yet). What kind of questions should i ask the guy tho? My friend's family has 3 cars that were tinted there... a bmw M5 with 30%, a tundra truck that is 25%, and a bmw x5 that is 20%, so i guess i will be able to go look at the tints closely and see what i want exactly..... I'm sure that if they had problems with this place then they wouldnt use it anymore... but the price seems AWFULLY low... even tho its a group thing and his family gets a discount just beacuse they lease cars and probably get 2-3 cars a year done there (for the past several years).

Im guessing i should ask if its lifetime warranty (im guessing it is) and what kind of film they use? Should i even bother asking if it will be one piece on the rear window? What about asking about defroster? I know nothing about tints and dont want to get locked into something that i dont like/want/ isnt quality that is desearving of a G35

2004 Black on Black g coupe 6spd.... aluminum pedals, clear corners, z tube, and pop charger. soon to have 19" volk gt-c's and PIAA xtreme whites in the clearance and corners
Houston Texas

 

I also got my tint done at James Window... He owns the place and only HE does the tints. He's a certified installer recommended by Huper's own website... Or you can fill out the info on the web, and they'll send you certified installers in your area.

Don't EVER settle for a 2 piece tint!!! If you want purple, bubbling tint then get that $79 tint you see in the paper...!! I wouldn't settle for anything less than the best tint you can get...

Madico, Hupers are both great... I chose Hupers for the heat reduction & clarity (vision not affected @ night), and didn't wanna go too dark... They only go down from 50%, 40%, and 30%... If you want that darker or limo tint, choose another brand. Some installers charge anywhere from $320-400 for Hupers... I'm sure if you mention this forum, he'll do it for the $250 he did for the 3 G's that all got the tint done the same day...

Good luck with your search for a tint.


6MT DG Coupe | Prem | NAV | Aero | XM