Which tint/shop to go with?

[RollaTint]

I'm trying to get my Corolla tinted.  I'm struggling on picking a shop and brand.

3M Ceramic Ir Shop 1

349$ 

 

3M Ceramic Ir Shop 2

450$  

 

FormulaOne Pinnacle Shop 3

499$ 

 

Huber Optik Shop 4

299$ 

I'm not sure why the two 3M shops are such big differences when its the same film.  Also, why is the Pinnacle more expensive than 3M or Huber? When they perform about the same and if not the 3M/Huber are better?

[Tintguy1980]

Okay, I'll bite.

 

1. Any one of the brand mentioned in the OP are top of the line products with 3M and Pinnacle's maker (formerly known as Martin Processing/CPFilms, etc. which is currently owned by Eastman Chemical) being names that date back to the genesis of the window film industry.

 

2. Bubbling film complaints may simply be someone who didn't have the patience to let the film completely dry out before writing their review.  'Let the Buyer Beware'.

 

3. Price from shop-to-shop and product-to-product is always based on what the businessperson perceives as the value of their service and their product sold. One shop may have a higher overhead than the guy down the road who carries the same brand of product ... this includes cost of goods sold.

 

4. No one wants to stick there neck out by making a decision for another person. Me, I'd prefer to encourage going to each shop and personally view a finished install (whether fresh or beyond the 30 days dry time). I would not use the owner's car as basis for making a decision. Ask them for random references, if your concern calls for that level of decision making input.

[RollaTint]

9 hours ago, Tintguy1980 said:

Okay, I'll bite.

 

1. Any one of the brand mentioned in the OP are top of the line products with 3M and Pinnacle's maker (formerly known as Martin Processing/CPFilms, etc. which is currently owned by Eastman Chemical) being names that date back to the genesis of the window film industry.

 

2. Bubbling film complaints may simply be someone who didn't have the patience to let the film completely dry out before writing their review.  'Let the Buyer Beware'.

 

3. Price from shop-to-shop and product-to-product is always based on what the businessperson perceives as the value of their service and their product sold. One shop may have a higher overhead than the guy down the road who carries the same brand of product ... this includes cost of goods sold.

 

4. No one wants to stick there neck out by making a decision for another person. Me, I'd prefer to encourage going to each shop and personally view a finished install (whether fresh or beyond the 30 days dry time). I would not use the owner's car as basis for making a decision. Ask them for random references, if your concern calls for that level of decision making input.

1. Ah, so certain tint brands use the same manufactorers.

 

2.  Perhaps you're right.  Doesn't make the shop any more or less right when they try to justify the work by saying they're the only Huber Optik carrier in the area 

 

3. Yeah was mainly wondering whether those prices were high(i.e if 350 was high then 450 is ripoff).  After calling a few other shops and getting quotes its right around the mark

 

4. I believe I will go for XPel XR Prime + but will do a little more brand shopping over the next week(shop is booked until mid september anyways).  The shop around me that has raving reviews from people in the area only does Solargard(guard?)

[Tintguy1980]

12 hours ago, RollaTint said:

The shop around me that has raving reviews from people in the area only does Solargard(guard?)

SolarGard brand is another film that dates back to the genesis years of the industry (Nunsun to DTI to Mat'l Science Corp., before the current ... memory lapse here). It is a solid brand and one I use to sell from 1980 up until the early 90's, when I switched to LLumar.

 

I believe Huper Optiks still has restrictive sales policies, which explains the claim, " we are the only one that carries it".

 

Good luck.