02 crown vic

I just had the rear and side windows tinted on my 2002 Crown vic. The tinter asked what shade I wanted, and I said the darkest I can get and still be legal. He said 15% is what he puts on most cars. Not being in the business, and not knowing what was legal or not, I took his word for it. That was Tuesday, two days later, I dropped my car off at 9 a.m.. At 4 p.m. that afternoon he calls and asks if he can keep my car late as he wasn't even started on it yet. I said no, picked up my car and made another appointment for the following Tuesday at 9 a.m., he told me he shouldnt have a problem finishing it because I was the first and only one on the schedule. The next Thursday, I arrived at the tint shop at 9 a.m., where he meets me and proceeds to tell me that an older couple, from out of town, brought their car in, and asked him to tint their windows. I asked if they had an appointment, and he said no, but they were return customers. I said ok, but let me know when you are finished. At 5 p.m. that afternoon, he calls and says my car is finished. When I went to pick up the car, he tells me not to roll the windows down or wash them for 3-5 days. The following Sunday afternoon, I wash the windows, and try and roll them down. The two passenger windows roll down fine, as does the rear drivers side, but the drivers window will only go down about 1" to 1 1/4". When I start looking at what might be keeping the drivers window from going down, I notice that the rubber seal which runs along the bottom interior of the window has been trimmed off all the way across. Then, I looked at the other windows, and the rubber seals along the bottom interior of those had been cut off also. My question then is this... What is the legal shade allowed in the State of Indiana? Is the cutting off or trimming of the seals along the bottom interior of the windows, common practice in the tinting business? How long does it take for the film to cure completely?

15% is not legal on the front doors on that car in just about any state. im not sure about that state though. cutting the door seals like that is not something a true professional window tinter does. most of us will actually remove the door panel and give us access to remove that rubber seal that your window tinter destroyed.

If I'm remembering correctly, those are some LOOSE bottom gaskets...should not have needed to do anything but tuck the film in, DEFINITELY You never cut the gasket on a rollup. 30% all around is whats legal in Your state.
http://www.tintdude.com/laws.html

From the sounds of it , the word "hack" comes to mind

It sounds like they tucked the gasket and its keeping it from rolling down. That would explain it looking cut.

I would check to make sure they are not tuck as mentioned above. I can't believe that someone would cut the seals off i mean crap that just stupid. Also if he put on 15 and that's not legal then you need to report him.

30% Is whats legal here like Boom said, do you mind sharing who it was that tinted it? Want to see what the competition is doing.

Plus a picture of the Gasket at the bottom of the window.

you would be amazed at what some "so called professional window tinter's" do.

I also think the rubbers were just pushed down. They can pop themselves into place but they calso jam the windows. Be careful cause this coukd cause the cables to snap or the control arms to bend. Best thing is to just take it back and have them fix it. If they did cut the trim you should demand to have it fixed. To be honest some just do that, and to them its normal. But it could cause wind noise when the car is at higher speeds

if window is only going down 1" or so its just the seals are tucked in. all in all, looks like you have gone to a HACKK

cough cough hacker

if their cut, when your driving you should notice a LOT more wind noise. Which if you don't, then they are probably tucked down, in which event they just need to be popped back up. You can use a small screwdriver, and start in the corner stick it under and an angle and CAREFULLY run it sideways pulling the seal back up.

Really though, just take and back and have them 1. put legal film on it and 2. fix the seals on all the doors

I appreciate the information. As for the seals being tucked, I took it to another tint shop, and they told me that the seals had been cut. I returned to the original shop where I had the tint done, and I asked the owner, who by the way, is also the person that did the tint, why he cut the seals. His response was that he always cuts the seals because they are too high, and because I don't need them anyway. Needless to say Auto Tint Zone, Lafayette, Indiana, will never see any further business from me, and will definately not be getting any referrals. I am also looking into legal action to reimburse me for the destroyed seals, labor, and removal and replacement of the window tint.

Bad break man. Hope you get resolution to the issues.

sad part too is that those gaskets pull right out. easy removal and replacement.

sounds like a trip to the junk yard and to kick that shop owner in the nutz

..that's what I was thinking

I cut the seal out of thousands of cars but that way like 20+ years ago before film had a scratch coating.
No excuse really for cutting any gasket out now days! Like was mentioned above they come out real easy and then there is a tool called the gasket wizard that gets tinters around them for those who need help. In the old days customers never complained about increased noise but that was when everyone cut um out.............. today things are different.
sorry about your problem
cheers

Same here. Cannot believe that idiot cut those seals.

Hopefully he will replace the seals and the tint, or at least give you your money back.

You should go in there and demand that he at least replace the seals that he cut, since that is NOT standard industry practice

The reason u may not hear noise is that the lower seal may still be intact. However it doesn't mean they should have cut off a piece of your car. What happened with the window that didn't roll down?

Again, Thank you for the information. I did go in and ask him to remove and replace the tint that he put on with a shade that was legal, and to pay for the parts and labor to replace the gaskets. He told me he would have to charge me for taking the tint off and charge me a second time to put a different shade on. As for the gaskets, he said he doesn't replace those for anybody. I know there are good tinters out there, even in the city where I live, it's just my luck that I chose a bad one.

I am just wondering why you picked this shop? Not to be to nosey but I am more interested in was it price, word of mouth, was he the closest shop, or just the first shop you called. Just a little social research to help me understand the customer better.

i think that his shop deserves a now window or two after that screwy deal.

Word of mouth... a friend of mine. Price was 180.00 normally, but was only charged 140.00. I should have checked more shops.

I would say that for this area that is a normal price and you were referred so you thought he would do you right. Now as for the friend who referred you take one of the seals that have been cut and beat him senseless with it. BTW Thank you for ID'ing the shop and providing me the info on how you selected him.

yeah a good referral is normally enough info for me as well. i dont go anywhere unless i get a referral. if i cant find one then ill have to do some research, and im lazy

he sounds like he runs a um, "illegitmate" shop to say the least. How can he honestly think hes going to charge you for removal and retint, when HE said what he put on was legal the first time, when it wasnt? The nerve I would file a complaint with the BBB about him at the very least