Tint and Bribes.

[kings11]

Thought I'd toss out a couple of my latest experiences with improvements to my 2006 C.

Bought the 300C on Memorial Day weekend. I was replacing an F-150 (old POS that I did love) that was involved in a head-on on a rural road in Southern Oregon.

Let's just say that this is my first "nice" car and I'm in love. No, let me restate, I'm in lust still. Love will come later!

Anywho, I had 35% tint applies and like the results. Remember, we have 9 months of dark, wet weather, so I didn't want a super-dooper dark tint. Plus it's my first tint, so I wanted to go easy with the legal limits and all (Oregon's 50%).

I had interviewed the tint guy on the phone, and I was comfortable that he knew his stuff. When I went into the tint place, I drove up with a new bottle of Crown Royal in the passenger's seat. I told him that if he did a GREAT job, I was taking the bottle home and would celebrate my new tint. However, if he "knocked my socks off" with his tint job, he could take home the bottle and have at it. Basically, I said my expectations were high and I EXPECTED a great job. He said that he wanted an extra half-hour to do the job. I was happy as hell to let him have it!

End result; he took the bottle home!

Lesson learned: For jobs that you are having done, a small "bribe" can take your car out of the "just another job" category and put it in the "gotta do a 1st rate job" effort! Basically, for $25 bucks, I got him to spend a lot of extra attention to the job at hand.

Hope you all find this valuable.

Scott T
Portland, Oregon
2006 Gold Linen 300C
Loaded with all but Video.

[DarkFury]

Ummm ok...

So my question now is... what made this tint job different than anyone else's tint job?

I paid my tint guy what he asked to do the job and he still did a great job on it for me... no bribe needed. Now granted, if your guy did some "extra stuff" that wasn't part of the original contract... then "good deal". However if he just did what was expected (and if someone does a "half assed" job on my car... they WILL see me again) then why the need for a bribe?

Not trying to flame or stir any mess here... but just asking.

[DUBSTER]

That's cool and it's true!! Any pics?

[kings11]

Originally Posted by DarkFury

Ummm ok...

So my question now is... what made this tint job different than anyone else's tint job?

I paid my tint guy what he asked to do the job and he still did a great job on it for me... no bribe needed. Now granted, if your guy did some "extra stuff" that wasn't part of the original contract... then "good deal". However if he just did what was expected (and if someone does a "half assed" job on my car... they WILL see me again) then why the need for a bribe?

Not trying to flame or stir any mess here... but just asking.

No worries on me taking it personally.

Tinting is a manual job that depends on the expertise of the installer and his attention to detail, right? It wouldn’t' be hard to do a sloppy job. Some of the things I didn't want to have happen on my car were:
Uneven trimming on the edge of the glass
Poor assembly of trim removed to apply the tint (or worse, a broken piece!)
Uneven trim around the "black dots" on the rear and front windows
Air bubbles
Dust under the film
Etc.

A small bribe gave me a lot of comfort that the shop owner would do his best job. I was comfortable that I got his best work.

Another tip: When having work done, have the shop explain what pieces they will remove during the course of their work. That gives you a start on where to look for proper reassembly.

Scott T

By the way, I LOVE the red on the Heritage addition! Nice ride.

[steven1m]

Me personally, I dont feel that was needed. The tint shop is supposed to do all the things you expected regardless. Around here (Miami, FL) most of the tint shops offer lifetime warranty anyways so if there is something they did wrong they are responsible in correcting it. JMO

[steven1m]

Oh yea welcome and enjoy (the 300c and the forum!)

[lukeinva]

Yeah I havent gotten my 300 windows tinted yet but on my truck the windows come with a lifetime warranty if they ever bubble or peel or anything they redo the window for free. Though they did break a handle and try to say that it broke cause the truck was old!!! I just looked at the guy and said you expect me to believe that you better be discounting the tint since your guy doesnt know how to put a screw back in proper and they did. The handle wasnt really hard to replace just pissed me off with the excuse the guy gave! But **** happens!

[Ukyo Yoshiro]

Got my tint done, and they simply did an awesome job, and the shop owner told me that if I have any problems with the tint I should come right away and he'll fix it for free.

[Midnyte Sky]

My question is; how do you get a reputable firm to do an illegal tint job? And would they still stand behind their work with a warranty? Could it be that part of the reason for the bribe had something to do with these factors? The legal limit here in Louisiana on the windows opposite the driver is 50%. I would like to do the same as kings11 and tint it at 35% all the way around. I would also not want to risk having it done by a backyard mechanic or attempt to do it myself as I would have done back in my college days. I also don't want that mixed-match look of the legal tint in the front and darker in the back. So my other alternative would be to get the 50% all around, which is pretty much like having no tint at all. I usually have my windows tinted right after having the insurance put on the car, but I am still searching for that elusive place that will do it the way I want and still stand behind their work. Perhaps a fifth of something in the back seat is just what I need. Hmmmm...

[srt8danno]

We have a local installer that is a cop…..putting on tint is an extra job. He will put anything the customer wants on their windows, after they sign a waiver.

He takes the money and runs to the bank.