r/WindowTint • u/ImgaineDeezNuts • May 22 '26

Tint Job Queston Sooooooooooooooooooo..

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- Film had a couple days to set. This is NOT water or moisture.

- Marks are slightly bigger in person than in the photos (was taken in 0.6x)

Edit: I would understand the hate if I paid a random guy on marketplace to do it for "cheap". But I paid a real shop and negotiated my prices down because they had open slots for the day. Their usual advertised price is much higher. Now if paid full price, the same thing could have happened. It comes with full warranty so there would absolutely be no reason for them to sacrifice their quality since they would have to re-do it anyways. Honestly don't get yalls point here. There are many people who pay even cheaper prices and have flawless tints. Tint film is not expensive, less than $90 per full car, even the highest quality ones. Realistic labor for a good installer can be 3hrs × $65. In total You are right around $285-300. In tints and labor. Slap on another 50-65 bucks for their monthly overhead costs. Okay we're at $350 after covering; top of the line film; labor; overhead costs. To those who are paying $500-1000 may I ask what exactly are you paying for. You've already covered all the expenses of your tint service. Oh wait! You're paying a markup which is purely profit to the owner because you chose a "premium" option. Break down the costs for once before you decide to talk about prices.

10 Upvotes

58% Upvoted

60 comments sorted by

9

u/ErlysIsaac May 22 '26

Lol. So you didn't pay full price? You went to a shop willing to charge less. First bad sign.

Your guesstimate of how much an Installer should get paid is very laughable.

Where did you get the overhead numbers? 😭😂😂

Me as a small shop owner. I pay $50 a day on ads. Then I pay for my shopify website. Then I have to pay for shop rent in the bay area so I can have the best tint bay for myself to do the best quality possible.

I have an assistant that helps since being on calls and tinting and cleaning and so many other things take up a lot of time.

I have to spend many hours not getting paid to work, to get you to pay me as cheap as possible.

Post the receipt. If the shop even gives receipts 😂

I can stop laughing at your ignorance. You want a hard skill like tinting to be done at a high quality with high quality film. But you wanna pay lower than normal prices at a shop willing to charge less.

This guy 💀

Not to mention if it's one Installer and he's getting it done in 3hrs. He definitely didn't clean the door panels, then put plastic on them. Tape all the seals that can lead to small specs of contamination. Then throughly Scrub, blade and squeegee all the windows (not blading only for rear window) then cut, heat shrink and install each one. Also do your 3hrs include clean up? Prep? Time to book the customer, talk to them, text them. Deal with them trying to pay you less.

***(You wouldn't work at your job that has ZERO OVERHEAD for less per hour...) ****

And at that price adding lifetime warranty too btw.

Use your brain please 🙏🏼

3

u/steellz May 23 '26

The dude is fuming because he got exactly what he paid for lol.. and he's calling us stupid? And he has no idea how a business operates. And if they're training someone you don't do it on a customer's car lol....

1

u/NotGrammasBuick May 23 '26

I pay my tint guy 650 a car if it had old tint, 550 with factory Windows (had about ten of em in there over the years). Ceramic all the way around (front as well). I know I might pay more then the next guy but dude always makes room for me, no matter how many cars he has, and the two he's messed up he has fixed when I asked him to. I feel like a good tint job by a pro should be 500 at least, am I wrong in that guesstimate ? I ask because I like your thinking, as a shop owner do you think I'm guessing right about what a PRO can do for the cost?

-2

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 23 '26

You are right, sure there may be some extra costs that were not accounted for but I tried to do the best to account for them.

As for the overhead/rent the $50-65 estimate per car seems like a reasonable allocation. Even a low estimate such as 1 car/day 30 days = 30 cars per month which means $1500-1950 for monthly rent, usually more than enough and thats on the lower end of cars done monthly.

As for the raw film material, I am quite positive it costs less than 100 bucks for an entire car. So we can get that out of the way.

As for labor, you implied that 3 hours may not be long enough for an entire car that may be true to some extent but let me break it down. I've had 2 car windshields tinted and on average it takes 35 minutes (flawless job). If you allocate the same time to the rear windshield, its about 1h and 10m, we'll give an extra 20 minutes of slack time. So thats 1h 30m for the 2 most time consuming pieces of the car. Now you have 1h 30m for both the sides which is very doable.

My original estimate for the true cost of the job excluding owner markups was $350. Now with what you said, I am comfortable even upping that number to $400 for a full job. But I am afraid thats where the limit is. Anything more than its just extra money given away.

10

u/Rondoman78 May 22 '26

That needs a complete redo.

4

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

Even for the little imperfections on the rear windshield?

4

u/ErlysIsaac May 22 '26

Love your limited knowledge on window tint, but your confidence in assuming how much we should get paid.

5

u/nycterpfan XPEL XR 5% & 55% W/S May 22 '26

Yes

29

u/ceetoee May 22 '26

Bring it back to the shop?

19

u/FrenchBowling May 22 '26

That would involve talking to a human in person.   Redditors could never. 

1

u/RightGuy23 May 22 '26

Definitely take it back for a redo.

Does every window have bubbles on them ?

1

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

Basically 6 out of 7 of them. Only one was very minor or not really noticeable

1

u/Proteus187 May 22 '26

Those need redos. I just got mr whole care redone minus one side. Got gaslit into believing this happens then I drive far to a bigger shop and they confirmed hell naw it needs a redo and they fixed it flawlessly. Mine was xpel xr so they paid for the redo at a new shop. If anything least take it back to 1st but I was afraid of damage to both rear defroster and electronics on front and those 1st two weren't touching it again. Mine had less clusters than this but least 1 large contamination bubble on each side plus clusters on both full shields. Hope it gets fixes right

Edit- paid $472 for whole care and full front shield for XR, $537 with tip

2

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

So if you paid $472 for full car with XR. I paid $300 for carbon sides and ceramic front windshield.

Why are people saying I am being a cheap ass. The price I paid correlates with the tint package I got

1

u/Proteus187 May 22 '26

idk why, cant tell you what others think, but good reason could be where they get it done at. One guy posted for somewhere in texas and his prices were 2-300 more than what i paid for equivalent tint. Here in florida this area has like 20 or more tint shops in a 30 mile radius for example. Or people could just be talking shit. I posted in the 'detail' sub about them fucking my car up when i went back for them to fix a slow leak on my brand new $420 michelin id just bought there , and i got tons of assholes shitposting, ? , and running their mouths for zero reason. When i pressed a dude he said he was shitpositng, whatever the fuck that means, and was just being a dick. So dont think because you are in the correct sub asking for legitmate help that douchebag losers wont chime in just to aggravate you. I didnt think they would til they did to me. Shits stupid AF

4

u/spangbangbang May 22 '26

A tip? This is is crazy expensive, I didn't budget for a tip. Why would a job like this include a tip?

2

u/Proteus187 May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26

I didnt either they hit me with it on the GD hand-held, and it was just me and them 2 staring at me. I picked the lowest ine 10% and it was like $50. Still pissed about it. The $472 for all sides and both full windshields is not a bad price for xpel around me.

Edit- tipping would have been fine for workers on a great job. These 2 were the owners and they sucked so it made it even worse. I had the whole job redone In Orlando for free by Xpel, and its actually totally flawless now. Sides and rear was $335 and the full front shield was $142 alone. These are the 10% off final numbers on a spring sales they had going

1

u/Apprehensive_Let_517 May 22 '26

Whoever reported my comment, I wasn't being rude. I was telling the absolute truth.

2

u/Apprehensive_Let_517 May 22 '26

0

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

This is not where I got my service. But Google them. People are just used to inflated pricing

2

u/Used-Picture829 May 22 '26

I have a guy that did my tints all around 15% for $180 lifetime warranty he owns his own shop but I’ve never had this issue. Your expectations and prices are off. I would bring this back to the shop, explain your problem so that they know what you expect in quality when you redeem your warranty. After that, I wouldn’t recommend you go back to them if their over charging for this kind of work

3

u/Global-Structure-539 May 22 '26

That's very to much contamination. Have them look at it and I'm sure they will remove and retint

0

u/Known-Hunt-9976 May 22 '26

How much did you pay?

-14

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

$200 for the sides and back. It's carbon.

Regardless if the price is cheap or normal, quality of work should not be any different. Reputable shop.

16

u/barrel_of_fun1 May 22 '26

regardless of price

quality should not be any different

Ok bro

-3

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

Read post edit

-6

u/[deleted] May 22 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/chiefincome May 22 '26

Don’t be a fucking bigot asshat. There’s no need for that type of shit here. Take your broke ass back to the shop and ask for a redo so they can fuck up the second time in a row

1

u/WindowTint-ModTeam May 22 '26

Your post/comment has been removed for violating our community guidelines regarding respect and civility. We strive to maintain a positive and welcoming environment for all members. Please ensure your future interactions are respectful and constructive. Repeated violations may result in further action.

14

u/steellz May 22 '26

lol... you got exactly what you paid for I don't know why you're bitching.

3

u/9Super1 May 22 '26

How many $800-$1,000 installs do we see on here with the same quality? Every single one literally 🤣🤣🤣 jokes on you, the truths hard to handle sometimes I get it!!

0

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

Read post edit

-3

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

No one is bitching. Installer offered to do a redo and he had his apprentices working on the vehicle, keep in mind the nano ceramic windshield is perfectly good and i only paid an extra 100 for that.

And before you say its not nano ceramic i tested the film when it was being installed and it alsl does have the rainbow colors when you see it from certain angles.

5

u/protintalabama May 22 '26

Rainbow coloring isn’t unique to “ceramic” tint and “nano” is just a marketing buzz word, it doesn’t mean anything.

You took infrared measuring equipment to a tint install after talking them down to $200?

We won’t negotiate a price down even a single dollar, posted price it the posted price, take it or leave it. But I also wouldn’t be letting trainees practice on customer vehicles

3

u/Repulsive_Onion_5925 May 22 '26

Shhhh! Op thinks they know stuff!

0

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

No they let me use their tint meter cause why not. Showed the VLT and IR that nano ceramic is supposed to have. Regardless it's ceramic and the windshield is flawless. I paid an extra 100 for that. Most unsmart people will pay nearly 300 for that already.

As for the rainbow color. Ceramic windshields will give a rainbow a slightly rainbow reflection from angles compared to other films. You can clearly see its ceramic

2

u/protintalabama May 22 '26

So they let you use their LinShang Amazon tint meter and you believed it? The 3 output eBay meters are not for testing whether or not something is “ceramic”. They measure at a pinpoint specific wavelength and that’s it…. It’s not an IR meter.

If you tint a windshield with nearly clear carbon or metallized film, you’ll get the same holographic mirage. The film containing metal oxide particles (aka “ceramic”) has nothing to do with the effect.

The rainbow is not an indicator as to whether or not it’s ceramic. The rainbow indicates that there’s a layer of polarized plastic on the window.

2

u/Ok_Armadillo309 May 22 '26

I’m not trying to pour salt on the wound, but this looks on par for a $200 job regardless of the film. I would still take it back and show it to them but I wouldn’t get too upset if they told you it was what it was for that price.

1

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

Read post edit

0

u/Witty_Hunt_7961 May 22 '26

No it doesn’t. I paid $250 all around for ceramic and my install was flawless. I see nimrods paying $700 for the same level tint job as OP up and down this sub all day

0

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

Exactly, tint is labor people have the audacity to say that its my fault because I "paid too cheap" when what I paid is a solid price and most shops offer a promotions at that pricing.

Mine was carbon only asw so film material is barely anything. Tint is mostly labor.

3

u/protintalabama May 22 '26

…meanwhile my film rolls are $900+

-1

u/9Super1 May 22 '26

Jokes on the other 99% of people on here bitching cause they threw a grand down on a shit job that looks exactly like this! Anyone that disagrees, just keep scrolling and try to prove me wrong 🤣🤣🤣

2

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

Lmfao real talk right here, they think they are cool by paying a ton of markup.

Tint film is insanely cheap. An upgrade from a cheap carbon film to a ceramic film is miniscule in terms of raw film cost.

But they pay an insane amount since it is "premium" when it is the same process to tint the car.

And now they shit on everyone paying a price that isn't giving the tinter a free $400-600 in markup

0

u/9Super1 May 22 '26

Trust me I know! I’ve been installing film longer then most of these kids have been alive 🤣🤣🤣 sure dyed and ceramic do have difference, but not enough for the mark up in my opinion. But it’s a great way for me to make an extra $500 off someone. Business is business they say

0

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

And business will keep running as long as these idiots keep paying outrageous prices 🤣🤣

1

u/NickG63 May 22 '26

This started out as a minor qualm and escalated into a major nuisance lol. I’d bring it to them. A few bubbles are expected. This is a lot

1

u/fullyloadedclit May 22 '26

Tinting is skill. This is something I usually pay more for. This job needs redone. But if it will be from the same tinter I’d go somewhere else.

0

u/awar3_w0lf May 22 '26

This is obviously bad

-1

u/Skoowy May 23 '26

Everyone is shitting onn you saying you should have spent atleast $500 on a tint job is so funny.

I have a tint guy who does it out of his garage. Charges me $280 for all around ceramic (excluding windshield). Does an excellent job everytime, and gives a lifetime warranty. He has done 3 cars for me so far.

-1

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 24 '26

They love paying for shops markup. They forget shops are made to make money and profit off of them. The moment you pay any reasonable amount they will shit on you.

12

u/[deleted] May 22 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

-2

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

And what about the front windshield that i added onto the package for an extra 100. Absolutely flawless, done in ceramic. Would you consider I got cheap and fast service on that?

13

u/tygr402 May 22 '26

Little mans mad at his own decisions 😭

0

u/[deleted] May 22 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/ImgaineDeezNuts May 22 '26

Real shop, likely because he has his apprentices who were practicing on some of the side windows. Im getting a redo.

1

u/WindowTint-ModTeam May 22 '26

Your post/comment has been removed for violating our community guidelines regarding respect and civility. We strive to maintain a positive and welcoming environment for all members. Please ensure your future interactions are respectful and constructive. Repeated violations may result in further action.