BigIron5

I had my headlights restored at one of the local shops and while I was there I asked about window tint. The guy told me these cars are difficult to tint because of the way they're assembled, and that they had to take quite a bit of interior trim apart in order to do it. I think the quote was $300-$400 for a decent 35% tint. I've owned quite a few vehicles and I've never heard this before. Any truth to it?

2GenLS4

Yes, and no.
The car has an awkward rear window, making it somewhat hard to tint.
However the other four side windows are the easiest thing to tint.
$300-400 is the average price range for any car though.
Personally I would just go tint it yourself, it's literally 4 steps, wet window, trim tint to window, peel off sticky side and squeegee out excess water/soap mix.
Don't open your window for Atleast 48 hours for the windows to dry 100% and the tint won't slide.
Most auto parts stores will have cheap tint available.
However I personaly would go 20% for the 3 rear windows, an 35% for the two front.
So it looks factory

RA40

iTrader: (6)

An experienced installer will not have a problem tinting the car. $300-$400 for the sides and rear is common using a quality ceramic tint. Other than removing the high mount stop, removing any other trim prices is not necessary. They are noobs.

If you want to DIY, there are You Tube videos and manufacturer videos to help. Learning isn't hard, it does take practice and is helpful if you have someone to teach you.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

the only thing my tint guy removed is the 3rd brake light cover. the rest of the windows tint like any other. they do not know what they are doing, and i would find another place that knows better.

to their defense they might be confusing your car with the newer models LS430 and up which do require removal of door panels to get the tint to tuck under the sills.

i personally do NOT recommend doing it yourself. pay the extra money, use quality tint (not dyed tint), and have it done professionally. the results will be much better in the long run!

2GenLS4

Personally I have tinted my I own cars for years, of course it's not perfect but it looks great, I hvnt experienced any bubbles, or sun fade.
I have used cheap O'Reilly brand cut it yourself tint in the rolls, I've used precut tint, and shop grade 3M tint. Of course the results are different for each brand, but the outcome usually comes about the same; no bubbles or sun fade over the period of 2-3 years.
Of course the easy way to get it done professionally, in that case you're guarenteed a better job.
But if you are confident you can tint it yourself. I'm not talking about the panels for the rear, I have tinted without removing any of them; however I am bringing up the fact that our rear window is angled at a 90 degree angle and is really hard to reach down to the ends to get a full window tint done right.
It is possible, believe me or don't. I'm just passing some of my knowledge down to others.

dicer

And when it starts to peel its a mess for the next person. How many hours would it take to remove it from the rear window? The heating elements are not laminated in the window they are inside. I spent 2 hours just removing a couple of small window parking stickers from an ls rear window, it is not easy in the lower corners.

2GenLS4

Why worry about the next person, the op said, is $300-400 over prices, and I said it isn't, that's a common price range for any car; however I gave him options regarding doing it on his own. I've had my own tint for 2-3 years no problems, I've bought cars with God awful purple tit etc, took me an hour with a heat gun to all the windows. Then roughly 30 minutes with goo gone a blade and some paper towels to remove.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

tint removal is a pain, and again i'd leave it to the professionals. they have all the knowledge, tools, and tricks of the trade to get tint on and off quickly and efficiently.

youtube how to remove tint, looks easy but i had a difficult time, at the risk of ruining your defroster lines permanently.

UNCNOR

iTrader: (1)

$300 to $400 sounds really expensive.Two years ago I had both of my LS400's done with 3M tint and the cost was $235.00 each.Go to the 3M website and search for local installers and "shop" them and take your pick.My installer did not complain a bit about the install being "too difficult".Both installs are still perfect and look like they were done yesterday.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Last October the Corolla was done with Llumar ceramic for $325. The higher line films I'd been quoted $500+. Installer prices vary and some prices can be dramatically different for the same film. Shop around.

9000revs

My shop did not charge me more, but took longer due to less clearance in the windows compared to other cars, probably why our cars are so quiet.

YoshiMan

My 95 LS cost me $200 for 30% back in 2013.

$400ish sounds outrageous in my book, because the LS400s have massive one piece side windows which are simple to do compared to some.

I just got my 89' 4Runner done in 20% for about $360, and it has 9 windows, with 4 of those being those pain in the butt slider windows with the latches that had to be disassembled to tint it properly.

DoktorYes

Their is nothing strange about the rear window that makes, tint hard to do. It is the defrost lines are thicker than other cars. That is why you have to go to shop: that knows how to work with Lexus cars. Good Luck

700bones

whoa now. $300,$400,$500!? What a rip! This isn't 1994, you can go online now and get cut to order stuff. After an afternoon of goofing off at the office watching vids on youtube and reading up on the proceedure, and then spending about 30 minutes doing a test piece on a scrap window/glass, you should be every bit as expert as any of the so called "professionals". I think I spent $30 on the tint cutouts. And before you say "ghetto, china, etc", just let me say the place I got it from wholesales to about 90% of the "professional" shops in the Southeast. Don't rip yourself off. DIY!


Why care about defroster lines? If I lived in Southern California, I'd do a defroster line delete mod right off the top, just for a nice clean look!

rick1987

iTrader: (1)

This.

I paid around $225 for tint all around and a strip across the front.

they never mentioned my car was difficult, and he had it done perfect within a few hours.


I think I might bring it back to have the whole winshield done very light, just to get UV protection for the dash.

it probably just depends on where you live and how many people do it. I have 5+ shops right in my small city, and 30+ within 30 miles.