davyjordi

does anyone have it? i live in the southern california wine country and was quoted by a reputable, authorized installer here that the entire car, including the windshield, would be 1,100.

does this sound reasonable? i'm reading that other san diego/north county installers are charging anywhere from 700 to 900 - or 1,100 in this case. the rationale given was that the car's rear is difficult to work on as it's recessed. that, and i guess the film's cost to the installer is quite high.

what do you guys/gals think?

i've placed a $100 deposit for an install next week at that price, although i could cancel and go further south into the city. any north county people know of reputable shops installing 3m Crystalline film?

SonyHome

That is pretty steep price for a tint job. Granted I found the deal on Groupon from local installer but I got Formula One Pinnacle 30% for $159. I also paid $100 to have the 3M Crystalline 90 put on Windshield. I probably should have gone with 70% to block out more solar heat since it still gets pretty hot in the car and we haven't reach hot part of the year yet.

davyjordi

that's what i was thinking, too. i mean, i already placed a deposit, which i suppose i'm okay with losing if i were to find a reputable shop that were to do it for less than the price now, taking into consideration the lost $100 deposit.

i think convenience is the biggest factor here in that he's the only 3m certified installer in the temecula valley / wine country / de luz and that's more what i'd be paying for.

AHH! i think perhaps i'll try to talk the shop down in price before i write them off. i don't want them to do a poor job, though, because i'm being perceived as some difficult customer.

i'm getting 70% around the entire car - how do you like the heat-blocking properties of the film? are they worth it?

Oxytocin

I had my windows tinted with Crystalline, I spent $1200 to put it on all 6 of my windows. The installer said $500 was for the windshield alone. I put 70% for the front three and 30% for the back three. I wanted 90% for the windshield but miscommunication resulted in 70% for my windshield.

Crystalline blocks out the heat really well, but of course you can still feel some when the sunlight is directly on your face.

silvaIS

iTrader: (2)

I don't know whats going on in Cali but here in Brooklyn NY its $200 all around

davyjordi

haha! yeahhhh, seriously. i've been reading about super inexpensive crystalline installations in other portions of the country.

thanks for the insight. where are you in california, if you don't mind me asking?

anyhow, that's probably what i'm going to wind up paying, or at least something close to it. i'm scheduled to have 70% all the way around the vehicle. just out of curiosity, why were you upset that 70% was placed on the windshield? when the guy was showing me the tint sample cards and placing them against portions of the car, they all seemed light, but i opted for 70% anyhow.

i'm really glad to hear that the film blocks out the heat really well, though; definitely a plus in california!

Oxytocin

70% isn't very dark when you look at a small sheet, but once it goes on your windows and blocks out some of the light then you can see how dark it makes your interior. I also got 30%% for the rear, so it's even darker. Since we can't tint our windshield in California, except the top 4", I'm worried about getting a fix-it ticket. If you look at my car it's obvious I tinted the windshield.

I'm in the Bay Area, I had it done in Belmont.

Tai3IS

The 3M Crystalline is amazing. A lot more expensive than the regular 3M films but it is really worth it. I work at a Porsche dealer and we have had a few customers request the crystalline film and you can actually feel the difference inside the car. Especially if you do the windshield as well. I wanted to install it on my new IS250 F sport but decided to just go the normal route because I want to invest the money in other mods. Our local 3M installer charges around $1000 for the crystalline film on a 911. So you're price quote isn't too bad at all, considering a 911 has a lot smaller windows. Plus I'm sure you might be able to haggle a little. Post up some after pics if you decide to do the Crystalline. Would love to see how it looks.

tea

I've gotten quotes of around $600, not including the windshield, in the socal 626 area

SonyHome

I think combination of the Pinnacle & 3M Crystalline is definitely helping but like I said I wouldn't mind more heat rejection especially since my F-Sport don't have ventilated seats but I didn't want to go too dark and get pulled over. If I had to do it over I would probably go with Crystalline 70 on the windshield which has TSR of 50% compared to TSR of 34% for Crystalline 90. Pinnacle 30 has TSR of 54%.

Unless product itself is 100x more expensive I don't see how same tint job will cost $1000+. It's same amount of work no matter which film you use...

If you can't find cheaper my recommendation would be to find another product and installer. I really like the Formula One Pinnacles.

SC300Es

$1,200? Wow

davyjordi

thanks for all of the input and advice -- much appreciated! i found another dealer who is willing to do tint the car with crystalline for 800 dollars which is reasonable considering how much the film is going for in north county sd.

i suppose that if the other installer refuses to return the deposit, then the total cost will be 900$.

tea, that's a good price, although i suppose that the windshield might add another hundred or so at that particular shop. there are only a limited number of installers in north county (760/858/southwestern 951) and they know it, ostensibly driving up costs.

oxytocin, very good information to know with regard to the windshield being obviously tinted at 70%. i suppose i'll opt for the 90% on the windshield, although i've yet to decide what i should be doing to the the rest of the car. i realllllllly don't like the staggered look, i.e. the darker back windows with the driver's and passenger's windows tinted with a lighter film, so i'll be sticking to one shade -- perhaps 60%?

sonyhome - your car looks amazing. thanks for sharing photos!

i'm running no front license plate so i'm also afraid of being pulled over and having to remove such an expensive film only to have it replaced. it's such a good film though.

tai3is, i'll post pictures once the tint is on the car. thus far the appointment is set for next saturday!

SonyHome

Pinnacle 30% isn't that dark. Below is shot from another angle. Different angles does make it look seem darker.



I don't have front plates also and legal limit on tint here is 50%.

tea

i think i remember hearing another $2-300 for the windshield alone using Crystaline
what percentage tint are you planning to get?

davyjordi

sonyhome - pinnacle is a great film but it doesn't offer any infrared rejection as far as i know, right? although the overall heat rejection, i believe, is just as great as crystalline's? why is it that there is so much hype surrounding crystalline's film in the hotter parts of the world? i'm thinking that it likely has to do with the ability to reduce heat absorption without having to compromise visibility, i.e. you can choose a near-clear tint percentage (70%/90%) and have the film reject just as much heat as, say, a 40% traditional film tint. i'm going to do some investigating, though, because your car looks amazing and everyone also talks about how pinnacle's lines are so impressive.

tea, basically, i want the tint that will offer the most heat rejection without having to go terribly dark - i really would like to use a 60%/70% film (as lame as that sounds to a lot of people) and not have to worry about some chp officer pulling me over because i will worry, i'm just one of those worry wort types.

edit: sonyhome, you're right 30% isn't that dark but it definitely does depend on the angle and time of day and california cops and chp officers can be really stringent because the state is so cash-strapped. it depends on the area, though. san diego county isn't nearly as bad as los angeles county from what i've read and experienced. my previous IS was tinted at 40% all the way around with nothing on the windshield and i was never pulled over here in SD county but i was pulled over twice in LA county and i rarely drive north to LA. still, though, something for me to think about with such an expensive film going on this car.