I live in Orange County, CA, have a 2006 Prius #3 on order from Power Toyota in Cerritos. I am going to get the back windows tinted, and I'll probably have the front ones tinted up to the legal limit in CA. Does anybody have any suggestions about where to get them tinted? What about just having the dealer do it. I'm sure they subcontract that service out. How much more would I pay to get it done at a dealer? What is a fair price for tinting? FYI, I've never had any of my cars tinted before, so I did a bit of research on the web. There are a lot more choices than I initially realized. Some tints fade sooner than others. Some have lifetime guarantees, others don't. Interesting stuff.
JasonCon, I had my 2005 Prius (and my VW Passat, and my home) tinted by "Lights Outt" in Buena Park (714) 827-OUTT (6888). He actually did my Prius at his home in his garage, although he works with various detail shops in the area (where you will pay more, as the detail shops mark-up his prices). He did 9 windows (4 on each side, and the hatch glass; but not the lower (pre-tinted) hatch glass) for $200.00. Lifetime Guarantee, non-metallic (so it doesn't mess with the GPS in the NAV). I'm very pleased with the results. In California it is illegal to have ANY after-market tint on any window forward of the driver's shoulders. Yes, my Prius is illegally tinted, but I picked a light shade of tint as I want it 1st for sun protection, and 2nd for looking nice. Also, back in 1985 I had a Dodge sedan that I tinted legally, and the interior was ruined by the sun in the front half of the car; but the back seat area looked brand new after many years. I am a firm believer in tinting for sun protection. P.S. There is an Orange County Prius Club: www.OCPrius.com
Tint Plus in Laguna Hills. $230 for all the windows except windshield. They were recommended to me by the local Lexus dealer and they are familiar with the Prius (how to drive it and how to tint it's little triangular windows). I was very pleased with their work. The $230 was for their mid-grade tint with lifetime warranty.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll definitely pick one of the places recommended here. What is "mid-grade" tint? Does that mean it's not as dark as black limo tint. I'd love to see pictures with explanations of the kind of tinting you got if you want to share them. (I did already see the members pictures in the gallery.) As I understand it, California law says you may tint your front driver and passenger door windows with a 70% light transmission film. An almost unnoticeable tint, but it does block the heat and UV rays you were talking about.
I went to Mikes Tint Shop in Orange. They are off of Glassell and Katella. They have four levels of tint. Starting at $180.00 and going all the way up to $480.00. The higher the price the better warranty you get. They do charge more but trust me I've always taken my cars to them and I've never regretted it. I was talking to another customer who owned a BMW 7 series and he and I agreed that the extra money was worth it. They are fast too, I was there at 8:00am on a Saturday and out by 9:30.
Check out "EXOTIC WINDOW TINT" in Buena Park. I took my 2004 in within the first month of purchase February 2004. I got ALL the windows done including a 7" strip across the front. It's in "limo" tint; the rest are all dark but not that dark. I can't remember the percentage. Excellent installation - NO bubbles etc. If for any reason you get a "fix it" ticket, they'll remove and reinstall it free of charge. To top it off it was only $150. I've taken all my vehicles to them without any complaints. For what it's worth they do all of the Buena Park Police Department and city vehicles. If you're interested they're located at 6156 Beach Blvd about a block and a half South of Artesia Blvd on the East side of the street (parking is behind the establishment accessed from the alley). They're phone number is: 714-521-5180. Tell them "Prius Bob" sent you if you decide to use their services.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BMcGraw @ Jun 9 2006, 01:53 PM) [snapback]268723[/snapback]</div> OOOOH MAN!!! Now you have really started something as those pics you just posted are the best looking Prius pic's I have seen, so tell us about the mods and any changes in ride, performance and MPG. with those great looking wheels...........
My tint-shop recommendation is just a little outside of OC: Picture Perfect Detailing in Signal Hill (next to Long Beach). It was a short drive for me, since I'm in Los Alamitos~right next to Long Beach. I had my windows tinted there ($170 for all windows excepting front windshield w/lifetime guarantee/warrantee against warping, peeling, cracking, etc). I've been very happy with the tint job the guys did on my black Prius, it looks fantastic! It took ~2 hours for them to do the whole tint, they didn't have to take apart the doors to tint the side windows...threw in a free car wash afterwards too. I got 30% tint on the frontmost 4 windows, and 20% on all the rear windows. 20% was the next darkest above limo tint. Here's their info: Picture Perfect Detailing 2060 E 28th St Signal Hill, CA 90755 (562) 988-1777
The OC Prius club meeting is Sat June 10th... I used Western Glass Tinting near John Wayne- owner has a Prius. Discount coupon on their website.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JasonCon @ Jun 5 2006, 07:34 PM) [snapback]266310[/snapback]</div> nice job <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BMcGraw @ Jun 9 2006, 02:53 PM) [snapback]268723[/snapback]</div> That thing is sick.. I think I will make the trip up to Buena Bob. Is that fron window legal? The car is pretty Sci-Fi. It looks like a car I drew at age 8 imagining the cars of the future. Good Luck and thanks for the tip I will use your name in Buena Park.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JasonCon @ May 25 2006, 02:18 AM) [snapback]260795[/snapback]</div> THIS GUY IS AWESOME! Salvador at Perfect Window TINT will do an Excellent job and give you a good deal. PERFECT Window Tint 3071 Harbor Blvd Fountain Valley or Santa Ana 714-546-1002 ask for Salvador. I got my Prius done June 12 for $170 (a bit more if he comes to you) at Perfect Window Tint. The job is clean and professional as is Salvador's clean and comfortable shop that has a lounge with a big screen TV. No bubbles, just a slight rippling in the way things look as it's shrinking in. Microbubbles? If there is any change (in tint performance/installation) in the next week I will update and let you know. The windows were ready to roll down the moment I was driving off from the tint place, although I should wait 72 hours. I copied a tiny portion of this thread from a customer who used Salvador last year. Lifetime warranty from the Salvador and he will pull off my tinting for free if I get a ticket, or fix the tint if I have any problems. The tint itself supposedly should last 15 years. Salvador mentioned that of the 3000+ tints he does a year (many on Prii for Toyota of Orange) he sees about 1% come back with fix-it mandated removal. He said that almost all of those tickets are given in Huntington Beach... Well I surf a lot in HB so I decided to go with the lightest tint in the front to avoid the possibility of an encounter with HB's finest. I blacked out the rears. Salvador and his wife took less than two hours to put in the tint using his shop, but he will come to you too. It went on extremely easily and looks slick. If you want super friendly service, great price and excellent quality give Salvador a ring.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brighamwj @ Jun 13 2006, 07:58 AM) [snapback]270485[/snapback]</div> For the best tinting job, keep it inside at a shop enviroment. WAY too many chances for contaminents to get under the tint when outside. May be convenient to have someone come to you....but you end up paying more for a sub-par job. :huh:
I'd like to second the recommendation for Perfect Window Tint in Santa Ana. Salvador did a fantastic job, great customer service and was as friendly as can be. The job took about an hour and half, and after I went to lunch, they had a lounge with a widescreen plasma. I highly recommend him. Only $170 all around.
Other PC users have recommended Mike's Tint Shop: http://www.mikestintshop.com/tintcost.asp O have not used them, but the website has some good information. Cheers,
If anyone is considering window tint in O.C., I would also recommend Salvador at: PERFECT Window Tint 714-546-1002 I did plenty of research on other forums and found many praises for Salvador and his shop. Finally I decided to check out Perfect Window Tint for myself. The praises were definitely justified. He was knowledgeable, professional, and kind. I had initially wanted to get 20% tint all around, but he suggested going with Hüper Optik 30% instead after I explained my purpose of wanting a tint, which were: 1) keep out the heat, and) some privacy. He felt the 20% would be too dark and would get attention from the cops. Before I made my decision, Salvador showed me this demo light box that is able to hold different shades of glass in front of it. The Hüper Optik definitely blocked the heat vs. the regular tint. That made my decision to go with the Hüper Optik easy. Salvador and his staff took about a little over a hour to tint all 5 windows. They take off part of the door panel so the tint could be extended past the window line to prevent any damage to the tint from rolling the window up and down. While they work, there is a nice waiting room with a big flat screen t.v. and a comfy couch to relax. Salvador even popped in a movie for me. The end result? I couldn't be happier. I'm definitely glad I followed Salvador's advice on going with the 30 over the 20. It is dark enough without attracting unwanted attention. Take a look:
Going to Mike's auto tint tomorrow morning. Will let you know how it goes. Nice guy, breaks down the pricing very well. I'm tired of my car being so hot all the time.
