Tint Shop Messed Up My Rear Window Tint - Weighing Options

[RG129]

Got my windows tinted on Monday 7/18 (3M Ceramic IR on all sides and one-piece rear windshield for $600) and pretty much left the tint to dry for most of the week as I worked from home. When I finally went on a drive yesterday and did a thorough inspection under the sun, I noticed a moderately-sized piece of debris stuck underneath the rear window tint. Everything else is pretty much perfect; no bubbles, no scratches/damage, tint shaved well along the edge of the window. Now I'm debating my options on what to do before I contact the tint shop to let them know what I found:

1) Ask to have it repaired (most likely re-tinted). I'm concerned the re-tint will screw up my defroster lines which would cause an inconvenience to both me and the shop as I would have to service the car to replace the rear glass and they would have to (hopefully) cover the cost of the glass replacement and re-tint.

2) Accept the defect and hopefully find out that it doesn't really bother me that much. I have enough OCD to find it, but I will never really see it regularly unless I purposefully look for it. It's on the darkest part of the gradient so you cannot see it from the outside. I probably carry rear passengers 0.5% of my driving so the likelihood of somebody sitting in that rear seat and spotting it while I drive is negligible.

3) Tell the Tint Shop I found a defect and ask for some sort of compensation to accept it and leave it alone. I would think getting $75-$100 of my money back is a practical compromise as the re-tint would probably cost them more than that, and $500 for an almost-perfect tint job in the Bay Area seems reasonable to me. I'm just not sure if this is even a viable option or if they would think I'm crazy for asking for any money back.

Any thoughts or experience on possibly getting a partial refund for a bad tint job?

 

[Jo060]

That personally wouldn't bother me enough to require a re-tint. I'd ask for compensation for their screw up.

If you think it's something that will catch your eye all the time and bother you, speak to them and let them know your concern(s). If you choose to fix it and they agree to pay for any damages, get something from them in writing.

 

[Evpowerdan]

I’d take it back to the tint shop and see what their resolution to the issue is. Surprised that wasn’t caught on the installation - but things happen.

Tint is like PPF - sometimes as careful as one can be, something gets under the film and not noticed till it dries.

Really not a issue removing the old tint, even with defroster lines.

 

[stopcrazypp]

I agree with others, ask the shop and see their resolution. If it has not fully cured, sometimes they can remove debris stuck in it, especially if it is near the edges.

 

[jmaddr]

No way would I have them remove and retint. I’ve never seen that go well and you don’t want to replace the rear glass for a small imperfection. See what they will do. I had (and have) a few small pin bubbles under mine. I just learned to not notice them and the shop gave me some compensation.

 

[TigerNinety]

Interesting thread for me, as I consider getting my M3 tinted. I recently had a Tesla Mobile visit and spoke with the guy about it; he was very nice and competent in all other ways, so I thought I’d value his advice. I was surprised when he cautioned about tinting and recommended that I find a “Tesla certified” service to do it. I hadn’t heard of such a thing and still haven’t found it. He seemed to describe some legit potential concerns, but—when I mentioned I was looking at a shop that was advertising Tesla-specific packages on their site—he seemed to think that could be good.

Anyway, if anyone has come across “Tesla-certified “ tint shops, I’d be curious what that was about.

 

[Brou]

Got my windows tinted on Monday 7/18 (3M Ceramic IR on all sides and one-piece rear windshield for $600) and pretty much left the tint to dry for most of the week as I worked from home. When I finally went on a drive yesterday and did a thorough inspection under the sun, I noticed a moderately-sized piece of debris stuck underneath the rear window tint. Everything else is pretty much perfect; no bubbles, no scratches/damage, tint shaved well along the edge of the window. Now I'm debating my options on what to do before I contact the tint shop to let them know what I found:

1) Ask to have it repaired (most likely re-tinted). I'm concerned the re-tint will screw up my defroster lines which would cause an inconvenience to both me and the shop as I would have to service the car to replace the rear glass and they would have to (hopefully) cover the cost of the glass replacement and re-tint.

2) Accept the defect and hopefully find out that it doesn't really bother me that much. I have enough OCD to find it, but I will never really see it regularly unless I purposefully look for it. It's on the darkest part of the gradient so you cannot see it from the outside. I probably carry rear passengers 0.5% of my driving so the likelihood of somebody sitting in that rear seat and spotting it while I drive is negligible.

3) Tell the Tint Shop I found a defect and ask for some sort of compensation to accept it and leave it alone. I would think getting $75-$100 of my money back is a practical compromise as the re-tint would probably cost them more than that, and $500 for an almost-perfect tint job in the Bay Area seems reasonable to me. I'm just not sure if this is even a viable option or if they would think I'm crazy for asking for any money back.

Any thoughts or experience on possibly getting a partial refund for a bad tint job?

I recently had a pretty TERRIBLE tint experience. I didn't even contact the company because I didn't want them back in my car. I left them a 1 star review with a bunch of pictures. The shop's owner contacted me a couple of hours later and offered to retint the entire car or give me a full refund. I took the money.

Now, since the tint was free, I think it looks pretty good.

 

[jawnly211]

see what the shop says knowing full well you do not want them to re-do it

worst they can say is "deal with it"

best they can offer is to do it over - but instead ask for little money back or discount on any future tinting

 

[AZAV8R]

Got my windows tinted on Monday 7/18 (3M Ceramic IR on all sides and one-piece rear windshield for $600) and pretty much left the tint to dry for most of the week as I worked from home. When I finally went on a drive yesterday and did a thorough inspection under the sun, I noticed a moderately-sized piece of debris stuck underneath the rear window tint. Everything else is pretty much perfect; no bubbles, no scratches/damage, tint shaved well along the edge of the window. Now I'm debating my options on what to do before I contact the tint shop to let them know what I found:

1) Ask to have it repaired (most likely re-tinted). I'm concerned the re-tint will screw up my defroster lines which would cause an inconvenience to both me and the shop as I would have to service the car to replace the rear glass and they would have to (hopefully) cover the cost of the glass replacement and re-tint.

2) Accept the defect and hopefully find out that it doesn't really bother me that much. I have enough OCD to find it, but I will never really see it regularly unless I purposefully look for it. It's on the darkest part of the gradient so you cannot see it from the outside. I probably carry rear passengers 0.5% of my driving so the likelihood of somebody sitting in that rear seat and spotting it while I drive is negligible.

3) Tell the Tint Shop I found a defect and ask for some sort of compensation to accept it and leave it alone. I would think getting $75-$100 of my money back is a practical compromise as the re-tint would probably cost them more than that, and $500 for an almost-perfect tint job in the Bay Area seems reasonable to me. I'm just not sure if this is even a viable option or if they would think I'm crazy for asking for any money back.

Any thoughts or experience on possibly getting a partial refund for a bad tint job?

That depends on your tolerance for goobers on your Tesla. I'm a self-professed perfectionist. That spot would eventually compel me to fix it. As such, my choice is re-tint the glass. If they are reputable, it won't be an issue. OTH, if you are not like me, you might just take some comp and get some cool accessory for the car!

 

[SpriteM3]

I actually had something similar happen to me when I picked up my car, I noticed it and pointed it out. I had my tint/wrap done about an hour away from me and the shop manager said they'll have to redo the entire back window and it'll take 1.5 hours, I decided to just wait for it at a nearby coffee shop. He called me about 20 minutes later and they were able to remove it without having to remove and retint the window. I did a close inspection and everything looked fine, it's been about a year later and the tint still looks fine with no bubbling or pealing.

I would for sure make them fix that though, that would bother me.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Got my windows tinted on Monday 7/18 (3M Ceramic IR on all sides and one-piece rear windshield for $600) and pretty much left the tint to dry for most of the week as I worked from home. When I finally went on a drive yesterday and did a thorough inspection under the sun, I noticed a moderately-sized piece of debris stuck underneath the rear window tint. Everything else is pretty much perfect; no bubbles, no scratches/damage, tint shaved well along the edge of the window. Now I'm debating my options on what to do before I contact the tint shop to let them know what I found:

1) Ask to have it repaired (most likely re-tinted). I'm concerned the re-tint will screw up my defroster lines which would cause an inconvenience to both me and the shop as I would have to service the car to replace the rear glass and they would have to (hopefully) cover the cost of the glass replacement and re-tint.

2) Accept the defect and hopefully find out that it doesn't really bother me that much. I have enough OCD to find it, but I will never really see it regularly unless I purposefully look for it. It's on the darkest part of the gradient so you cannot see it from the outside. I probably carry rear passengers 0.5% of my driving so the likelihood of somebody sitting in that rear seat and spotting it while I drive is negligible.

3) Tell the Tint Shop I found a defect and ask for some sort of compensation to accept it and leave it alone. I would think getting $75-$100 of my money back is a practical compromise as the re-tint would probably cost them more than that, and $500 for an almost-perfect tint job in the Bay Area seems reasonable to me. I'm just not sure if this is even a viable option or if they would think I'm crazy for asking for any money back.

Any thoughts or experience on possibly getting a partial refund for a bad tint job?

If it is a reputable shop they should make it right.

I would go with #1

You notice it and you paid for it.

 

[nate704]

If the shop is legit with skills and reputation, they should not have any issue removing the tint without damaging the defroster lines.