Car tints aren’t only there to give you privacy or to give your car that sleek look. They also serve as security features to hide your belongings away from thieves, reduce glare from the garish light of day, and lower the temperature of your car. This article will tackle the details of why you need to have this done and how much it costs to tint car windows.
The Average Cost of Tinting a Car Window
The price of tinting a car’s windows can start at $25 to $50 per front portion window for a small car, $50 to $500 for a pick-up truck, and $100 to $600 for passenger vehicles. These prices will be higher for midsized cars and large SUVs.
Please expect to pay around $200 to $800 for SUVs and minivans. Take note that the cost varies due to the car type, tinting film, and your auto dealer’s reputation, among others.
Additional Costs
The visor strip on the windshield costs around $12 to $25 if you buy a pre-cut online. However, high quality with a longer warranty can cost up to $75. Having it installed by a professional will cost around $65 if using cheaper films.
On the other hand, the sunroof tint will cost around $85 to $175, and the front or rear windshields will be about $175 to $300.
If your car has pre-installed window tint films and you just want them changed, window tint removal costs around $25, but can be as high as $200 depending on the vehicle’s model.
Factors Affecting the Cost of Car Window Tints
When your car windows are installed with tint films by a professional, expect the prices to be affected by the following elements:
1. Type of Tints
- Dyed Window Tint
If you are on a tight budget, this is the right type of tint for you. Obviously, what makes this so inexpensive is the use of dye, which is added to the layer that is next to the adhesive part.
However, you should expect that this type of tint is easier to deteriorate. Constant exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun will cause the dye to fade more quickly. A regular dye film can cost $119 to $279.
- Carbon Window Tint
As the name suggests, the tint of this film contains carbon particles that can effectively obstruct infrared light. Compared to dyed films, this is relatively more durable and would not fade as fast.
Since this also doesn’t contain metals, you will not have issues with your phone signals and radio communications being blocked. A higher quality tint like this costs around $179 to $329.
- Ceramic Window Tint
If you are after quality, you will never find anything better than this. This type of film does not have any metal or dye in it. Alternatively, it is comprised of non-metallic and non-conductive ceramic particles.
What’s good is that this doesn’t get in the way of GPS systems, cellphone signals, and two-way radios, just like carbon window tints. This film costs $179 to $359.
2. Number of Windows
The work is typically priced per window. However, auto repair shops and professionals usually lower the price for tinting the whole car.
According to Tint Pros Mobile, car tinting for the driver or one passenger window is $55 and $120 for two front windows, while the four-door sedan costs $220.
If you come to think of it, two front windows cost $120 and two passenger windows cost $110, which will all cost $230 in total if you get the service one or two windows at a time. A whole car service will get $10 off in this case.
3. Type of Vehicle
Although window tinting prices are mostly based on the number of windows, different models of cars do not have exactly the same windows in terms of size, design, and intricacy. It was mentioned that the cost of the passenger window tint on a small sedan is $55 and $60 for the front window. However, the cost for a two-door coupe starts at $200.
Wagons and small SUVs like the Honda CRV, Lexus RX, and Ford Escape will give you $280. Big SUVs like the Chevy Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade, and Toyota Sequoia, cost around $300. A pick-up truck with two doors and three windows costs $290.
4. Location
As always, where you are in the country will definitely affect the pricing of any product or service. Also, you should take into consideration that there are certain states with strict regulations when it comes to window tint reflection.
So, regardless of how you want your car window tints to be, you will just be limited to what these rules allow, which will affect your expenditure.
5. Warranty
Warranty is another factor that increases automotive tinting costs. High-quality films tend to have a lifetime warranty, which makes them worthy of the higher than usual cost in the long run.
Need Of Car Tinting
If you need more convincing to decide to have your car windows tinted, you should consider the following:
- Protection from the sun
A glare from the sun could be a distraction when driving and you could miss a turn. Thus, you could find yourself in a road mishap. Also, because of the harmful UV rays, it can destroy your upholstery from warps or cracks.
Car tints can save you from ruining your seats by 90%. And if the weather is scorchingly hot, your machinery can malfunction.
Car tints can also shield you from the searing heat of the sun, thus, preventing skin aging or skin cancer.
- Windows become shatterproof
Car tints act as a shield to protect your stuff inside a car. When thieves try to break into your vehicle or if you have an accident, the glass won’t shatter into a thousand pointy shards that could harm you and other occupants of the car.
If You Want To Go DIY
Buying your car tint may not cost you $100 if you choose the single-ply varieties. On eBay, a Universal Size Sun Strip Tint Visor for the front windshield costs $13 each. You can even buy it at a lower price when buying in bulk.
For branded ones, Precut Auto Tint is selling single-ply house films for all windows at $28 with a one-year warranty and Pro+ Film for $50 with a lifetime warranty.
After getting the films from the dealer, or having them delivered to you if ordered online, you can immediately commence your project. Clean the windows, measure and cut the films (if they’re not pre-cut), apply the solution, and begin pasting the tint to your windows.
Why Hire a Professional?
It’s quite understandable to go the DIY route due to budget concerns. However, there are situations when you have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of different options. Sometimes, tapping an expert service can be the wiser choice, and car window tinting may be one of them.
For example, your tinting professional can tell you how dark you can go with your windows for safety and legal concerns. In case you didn’t know, having a very dark tint can be illegal in some states. It can actually make you more shady than smooth.
Other than that, a DIY window tint kit can be delicate and erratic. When it comes to installation, it can cause creases, crinkles, and bubbles or debris.
If your window tinting company does it badly, you can demand a re-tint or a refund. When you fail at your DIY, it’s all on you. You have to buy another set of films again, and you can’t just take the ones you messed up with off without being messy.
Also, cheap films won’t protect your car for so long, especially if they aren’t installed well. That will be a double whammy for you.
For this reason, it makes sense to put a little bit of your budget into a quality tint installed by a professional. After all, it’s quality that matters in the long run.