Did I get ripped off?

December 19, 2019

Hey everyone, I’m new here but have been reading through a few of the posts all along my two week journey of getting my windows tinted. To trim the fat feel free to finish this paragraph and then skip to the last.

All right here we go. I have a 2019 ram rebel that comes with roughly 20% factory dyed rear glass and back windows, as well as panoramic sunroof. Last week I found a local top reviewed shop here on the Northsode of Chicago to use and asked them to match up my front windows with the rears, and do a 50% tint to the front windshield. I decided on 3M Crystaline tint for all. On my way to work later that day when glancing out of my side windows I noticed that the front freshly tinted Front windows, as well as the windshield, had a gray hue to them while the factory dyed glass In back had a slightly brown hue. The window tints were also just slightly darker than the rear, both of which drove me crazy and led me to schedule another appointment for a week later (today) to have the rear door windows, rear glass, and sunroof panels tinted down to about 10%. Upon arrival I explained what I wanted to have done in regards to tinting the rear windows, back glass, and sunroof panels but also expressed a couple concerns about the windshield film applied in that there was a small wrinkle on the passenger side and that there also appeared to be a grain of salt or stone Trapped under the tint directly in my line of sight, which would catch on coming headlights and street lights making it look like a chip in the window… Very distracting to say the least. The shop agreed to replace the front windshield tint much to my surprise.… In fact they replaced it twice for two reasons; first that grain of salt or sand Was still under the tint, which they explained that it must be a window imperfection, however after the second time replacing the film it was no longer there. The Second reason they replaced it the second time was because when they were showing me the imperfection I noticed that the 3M watermark logo was not there and instead it said Rayno... not what I paid for! At that point I really began to wonder if they were trying to rip me off, or if it was a mistake. I pointed it out to the guy at the desk and after a couple of trips to the back He told me they found another mistake in the work and are going to replace it the second time. I of course asked to leave all 3M watermark logos on at this point.
Roughly 4 hours after I walked in the door I see my truck pulling up in front of the waiting room windows. “Finally”, I think to my self. The desk employee and I go out to inspect it. The windshield tint looks great, as does the sunroof. I start looking at the rears and notice I can see in the truck about the same as before. I was hoping for darker. I notice the employee walk away while I continue inspecting each pane of glass. “Where are the 3M stamps?” I wonder. Why is the outside glass still dusty like the rest of the truck? Where is the film?! The employee returns with one of the installers just in time who requests the keys back and that they forgot the rear windows and back glass! Fine, they were very concerned with the windshield coming out right that they forgot about the rest, I guess. Another half hour goes by and again I see my truck pulling up. Fingers crossed. Inspecting again it all looks great, yet seeming to be only just slightly darker than factory. Otherwise A marvelous job. I settle up my bill and roll out to the hand carwash. “Everything looks brown” I immediately notice en route. When I pulled off last week my windshield tint had a gray hue, but now it’s brown. Glancing again at each freshly tinted pane “Yep, I see a couple 3M stamps left on the these”. But what is much more distracting to me is the front door windows done last week are gray tints. Big sigh. “Ok maybe it just needs to cure a bit?” Maybe, but it’s Still noticeable after the car wash, and arriving back home. Still noticeable after showering up and getting ready for the rest of the day. Alright, I’m bringing it back to look at while we still have some daylight left.
Walking in I can already sense they saw me coming and before I approach the guy at desk among the entire staff there’s a slight awkwardness received in trying to gain his attention. I ask him to come “have a look At something I noticed”. We walk out and I open the door and point out the difference in hues between the front door windows and all other windows. He immediately responds that it is because the rear glasses and sunroof come factory dyed with a brown hue. “Yes I am aware of that, but when I left last week and arrived earlier today the undyed front windows and windshield that were tinted had a gray hue” I counter. Next, as expected he relates that the front glass is a different percentage from the tense used on the rear glass panels. I let him know that I am aware of that, but every glass panel that was done today all has a brown Hue now including the windshield, but the front door glass is gray. I say it is not acceptable considering I just shelled out $900 for the entire truck to be done and there is a noticeable difference in hue. I expressed to him that I feel that the glass done last week may not even be the 3M crystalline, and maybe they had Used 3M color match (or whatever it’s called instead. He starts backpedaling a little bit and going over what he previously said and I can tell he is not considering replacing the fronts as he explains that they all come off the same role of crystalline and they probably just need to cure longer. I am disappointed. I let him know I will give it a couple days and see what happens, and drive off.

So after my long winded story that you have endured, I ask if your 3M crystalline tints have a brown or a gray hue, and/or if both options are offered. Does anyone else think I got hosed? Should I wait it out or demand they fix the front door windows? Before I leave any Detrimental reviews online I would like to know your opinions, or if I am just crazy. Please let me know your thoughts. I’m out of daylight now but will try to get pics up tomorrow.

DynamicATL · December 20, 2019

IMO, I would remove the tint and keep it stock. Why? Your stock rear windows is colored glass...so you will not find any film that will perfectly match. It will look closer from the outside looking in, but the inside looking will be completely off. So the expectation it will perfectly match will not happen. Not too mention, 3M Crystalline is probably the worst film to attempt to match due to it's unique appearance. As far as the color hue, 3M Crystalline is brownish in the 20/40 shades, bluish in the 50/60/70 shades, and pretty much clear in 90. The shop definitely seems like they made some mistakes especially if they put Rayno film on when you paid for Crystalline. So you will probably be better off trying a different shop that have standard dyed films which are a closer match...Llumar, FormulaOne, Global, XPEL, etc. However, I honestly feel you will not be happy with any tint based on your post above.

jconnors · December 20, 2019

9 hours ago, DynamicATL said:

I honestly feel you will not be happy with any tint based on your post above.

agreed

CaptainSpod · January 3, 2020

Like DynamicATL said, you will never get the same match on tint as your factory. That's the major problem for consumers when wanting to match the rear portion, it never looks 100% like the factory tinted glass does.