Window Tinting for the Mk7

[kennyc]

So no one gets it done from the dealers when they buy the car then? I know it is overpriced but least if anything goes wrong it is all in the warranty from the dealer?

[brad]

You still get warranty from the tinter.

The dealer usually sub-contracts to a tint shop anyway, so if you have a claim you take your car to the dealer, who then takes it back to the tint shop & plays Chinese Whispers as to what the problem is, etc.

Personally, I'd rather deal direct with the specialist that is working on my car.

[Cplus]

Hamish is a top bloke. He offers tint, pretty sure he gets the D&S lads to come and do it.

I've had cars detailed by him and he is meticulous, polite, accommodating and good value. Highly recommended.

D&S I've also had do some detailing. Little bit dearer than Hamish, but very good results and still well priced. Not as convenient for me though. Lonsdale/Newton vs Novar Gardens.

D&S I've had tint two of my cars, one at Lonsdale and one at Newton. The lad that did the job at Newton was a bit messier than Lonsdale, I had some soap streaks on plastic that were very hard to remove. He used ALOT of solution (I assume just soapy water) compared to the lad at Lonsdale. He also hand cut the tint as opposed to the machine at Lonsdale. This was 2007 and 2010 respectively.

Of interest, the dealer at the time was only willing to tint the front windows with 35% tint and wanted to use less dark on the rear as they were already factory tinted and applying same film front and rear would make them illegally dark. Pfft.

So I had a golf with illegal rear windows for 4years. The dark tint in the rear was awesome. Never an issue with police etc. your results may vary!

[veew]

Hamish is a top bloke. He offers tint, pretty sure he gets the D&S lads to come and do it.
He also hand cut the tint as opposed to the machine at Lonsdale. This was 2007 and 2010 respectively.

I was informed by D&S Lonsdale 6 weeks ago they no longer machine cut the tints, he stated they prefer to hand cut now. How are the machine cuts holding up?

[oystercard]

Tint-A-Car for me.

Last car I owned from new for 12 years, tint was done one week into ownership never a problem, colour still as good as day one, no bubbles. In window antenna too.

Car before which then became FIL and now going on 20 years old also Tint-A-Car. Same deal as above save for the antenna.

No prizes for guessing who I went back to this time.

[cox11]

I spoke with rob tait at car tint in ringwood. He said that he won't do the mk7 gti due to the small window in the front doors. Too hard to access and worries that not only could the finish be poor (dots around the edges) but also that it will be very hard to fix if something goes wrong.

He suggested getting the dealer to do the windows, that way if something isn't right then they can get it fixed

[brad]

What he's saying is that he isn't willing to warrant his work.

The dealer would only send it to a subby - very few have their own tint department.

[cox11]

What he's saying is that he isn't willing to warrant his work.

The dealer would only send it to a subby - very few have their own tint department.

I get that.

If what he says is true about the difficulty to fix the problem if something goes wrong makes me worry about going to someone who says "no problem I will do the little windows"

At least with the dealer it will be their responsibility to ensure you have the job done right and if it's not then they need to sort it.

[brad]

I guess that's why the dealer charges $500 for a $200 job.

[kennyc]

I get that.

If what he says is true about the difficulty to fix the problem if something goes wrong makes me worry about going to someone who says "no problem I will do the little windows"

At least with the dealer it will be their responsibility to ensure you have the job done right and if it's not then they need to sort it.

That is exactly why i went with the dealer to do my tint. Yes they charge more but as it is an authorized VW place, if they stuff it and anything else stuffs up with the car then they are the best people to fix it.
I would rather pay a little more for peace of mind.
Had my last car tinted from them and no issues at all.
For a little saving of a couple of hundred dollars after spending over 50k (for me personally) getting the tint done at the dealer would give me peace of mind.