Hey everyone,
I'm looking for advice on bargain window tinting for my Corolla. It's an old car and the current tint is fading and bubbling, so seeking a re-tint. Thinking about a tint that offers excellent UV protection and heat reduction.
Does anyone have suggestions for a bargain car tinting service that doesn't skimp on quality? Any tips on what I should look for or avoid would also be greatly appreciated!
Cheers!
For bargain search for a 'backyard' guy on FB marketplace. Probably cheapest but you may also get what you pay for.
Long story, tl;dr - burned by a 'cheap' place, will stick to established places with a good reputation from now on.
Summary:
Shop claimed to use 3M film. Was $100 cheaper than established places.
Shop did a poor job did and not use 3M film (which was stated on the invoice). It faded after a few months.
Shop was sold to new owners; new owners did a poor job fixing it twice.
I was looking for a cheaper place to get a tint on an older vehicle. I found a shop in Woodridge advertising 3M film for $100 cheaper than a known good place (Solar Style at Coorparoo). Since it was for an older vehicle I thought it'd be fine.
I dropped my car off, they did the tint, I picked it up and drove the 40 mins home. When I got home I noticed the back window (it's a 4WD) had started peeling. I called them, they said bring it back, so I drove the 40 mins again and they fixed it. There were some small air bubbles on the back but I expected them to go away after a few days.
Of course a week later the bubbles were still there. I left it as it had a lifetime warranty so I waited until I had more free time.
After a few months had passed, I noticed the tint on the front windows were fading. When I wound the window down I could see the part that goes into the door frame was much darker than the part that was exposed to the sun. Clearly that was not 3M tint.
I contacted the store and found out it recently got sold to a new owner. From speaking to the new owner it sounded like the last owners scammed a bunch of customers with fake 3M tint and they've had to deal with it.
They said they'd fix the rear and front windows so I brought it in for the third time. When I got it back, I noticed the back window had even more bubbles than before, and the front windows were a little cloudy in the sun - turns out they simply applied a second film over the original faded tint. To add to that there was quite a large piece of dirt stuck under the film on the drivers side window.
I drove in again - for the fourth time - and they said they'd fix the front windows but not the bubbles in the back window. I was pretty fed up by that time so I agreed as the bubbles on the back weren't too obvious.
Moral of the story - going cheap might end up biting you in the long run.
Those of you from Brisbane would probably think "Woodridge? Well there's your problem!" … I thought I would test the stereotype but unfortunately this time I got bitten. I'll just stick with Solar Style next time - they did an excellent job on another car.
Thank you everyone!
RACQ. I can't say it's a bargain but it's definitely worth the price.