I hear that the police department where I live are offering to do VIN# window etching for free. Does anyone know if this is worth getting? I just wanted to get some insight before I decide what to do. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

Is it worth it for FREE? Absolutely! Most police departments are offering free window etching as a deterrent to vehicle theft because it does work, costs practically nothing to do, and takes about 15 to 30 minutes depending on how many windows you want to have etched. This is largely due to the fact that one of the most valuable aspects of a stolen car that is going to be “chopped” and sold as parts, is the vehicles windows. With today’s vehicles having their VIN number on just about everything except the windows, its making selling parts off cars very difficult, as they’re traceable. So will it guarantee your car not get stolen, most likely not, but a thief knowing he won’t be able to sell your windows will think twice about stealing it. One last note, many dealerships are charging anywhere from $50 to upwards and over $150 for window etching. Before you fork over your hard earned cash, call your local police and or motor vehicle dept and get the low down on whether it’s available FREE in your area. You can also purchase window etching kits for like $20 from various car part and mail order stores, so that’s another alternative.

 

if you can get it for free, then go for it. my dealer asks for about a little over $300.

<font color=purple>.g35girl.</font color=purple>

 

regardless of how old a car it, they will be stolen for parts. Honestly the windows would be hard to remove with out breaking them, I would imagine that interior motor and body panels would be worth more.

Jim
'03 Sedan
Brilliant Silver/Graphite
6MT/ Premium package
Sport tuned suspension
Aerodynamic Body Kit
Navigation and Satellite Radio

 

They asked for $300?? They asked me for $99, but that was a "oh, we already did that, did we not tell you about it?" thing after the sale. I said "Oh that's fine... I'll just get a different car where I get to pick every option. I can wait."

They threw it in [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img]

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

when i bought the car, the dealer tried to sneak in the $340 etching something fee and i said no thanks. the VIN etching is still on all the windows, but the dealer just took off some small sticker next to the etching. i didn't see what the sticker said so i guess it wasn't noticeable to me. i couldn't justify paying for the "service." but the VIN etching is still there.

<font color=purple>.g35girl.</font color=purple>

 

Dealer is going to do mine, once it comes in.
Thought it was a good thing to do.

 

"They asked for $300?? They asked me for $99, but that was a "oh, we already did that, did we not tell you about it?" thing after the sale. I said "Oh that's fine... I'll just get a different car where I get to pick every option. I can wait."

They threw it in "

well, i also bought my car several months before you, so they might have lowered the service fee since they found out no one is willing to pay that much for it in this state. i told him that price is ridiculous for a state where people still leave their car doors unlocked and garages constantly open. and yup, the etching was already done to the windows. i'm talking about the service fee. lol and i do remember you saying you ended up paying for it in one of your newbie posts. so i'm sensing...



<font color=purple>.g35girl.</font color=purple>

 

Haha, nice try [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img] The litte tiff was over the FX... I'd already told them I didn't want it to come out of my pocket, and they tried to sneak it in anyway. That's why I said "I can wait"... we all know with my G, I couldn't [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img]

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

well since you gave them good business with you, your mother, and cousin, then i should hope that dealer would give you some freebies. bigger FX wheels and a $99 etching fee is something they should want to do for you. in fact, i'd demand it because $99 is nothing to them when you already gave them thousands of dollars.

yeah, jerry tried to sneak it in but being the veteran shopper that i am, i checked the receipt before signing anything. and not paying for the service fee didn't postpone me in getting the G either so i don't know what you had to "wait" for. it just made jerry have to go out there and peel the inner stickers off my windows before i drove it home. [img]/w3timages/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

<font color=purple>.g35girl.</font color=purple>

 

lol, the stickers do nothing... it must have been a "sour grapes" action. I bet he stomped like a little kid all the way to the car and back [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img]

They'd tried to tell me the windows had already been etched, and assumed we'd pay for the benefit. I said we'd already made it clear, and unless they wanted to throw it in, I could wait for another FX to come in and make sure they didn't etch them. That's the wait. It wasn't much a hassle at all, Pat just gave the "damn" look and scratched it off the receipt.

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

haha sour grapes is so true. and i know that look! it's that "<font color=red>bleep</font color=red>, now i have to re-calculate and go out there to get those stickers off" look. they told me (not sure if i trust salesmen though) that all D&R cars have the etching already on them. it's the stickers that determine if you pay anything or not. the sticker residue i removed was about the size of a stamp.

<font color=purple>.g35girl.</font color=purple>

 

Yeah, mine had the stickers on it, so I just peeled them off [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img] One of them sorta hit the sill when it rolled down, so I just said "screw it" and had my tint guy take them off when he did my windows. Here's that all-important $300 sticker (that has no phone #, no tracking info, etc.) Sorry about the pic-- low light + tint + camera phone = blegh

G


2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

114551-pic.jpg

 

Hey, thanks for all the replies!

I just was concerned because I thought the theives might be able to get personal info from the VIN# (well that is what I heard from people) so I wasn't sure if it was safe. I understand that it is highly visible on the front dash so putting it on the window should not be a problem.
I e-mailed the Department of Transportation and the person who responded, told me that as far as he knows inorder to get info about the owner of the car you need their address and phone number along with the VIN#
Well the free VIN# window etching is this Saturday, I am still not sure if I should put it on but if so, we will see if it is really free since it is hard to come by things that are absolutely free these days.
Thanks again to everyone!!