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I'm noticing more and more cars recently with very dark window tint in the Triangle area - including places where I wouldn't expect to see, like my neighbors, in west Cary, north raleigh, and people who just want darker tint for privacy and the cooling help in the summer. Many of these are very nice cars like Teslas, BMWs, Audis, etc with dark tint.
I have 32% tint on my car (the legal limit), but these cars seem more around 20% tint. Is this a special kind of tint that just looks dark due to carbon metallic and anti-UV elements or are these people all going to inspection places that let them pass with tint that is darker than the legal limit?
I would love to get darker window tint all around. Definitely a change in the last year with this.
I'm noticing more and more cars recently with very dark window tint in the Triangle area - including places where I wouldn't expect to see, like my neighbors, in west Cary, north raleigh, and people who just want darker tint for privacy and the cooling help in the summer. Many of these are very nice cars like Teslas, BMWs, Audis, etc with dark tint.
I have 32% tint on my car (the legal limit), but these cars seem more around 20% tint. Is this a special kind of tint that just looks dark due to carbon metallic and anti-UV elements or are these people all going to inspection places that let them pass with tint that is darker than the legal limit?
I would love to get darker window tint all around. Definitely a change in the last year with this.
I've noticed this trend as well.....maybe it's one of those things the cops just don't have the time to police but I also thought it was checked during NC state inspections. Maybe not.
I've noticed this trend as well.....maybe it's one of those things the cops just don't have the time to police but I also thought it was checked during NC state inspections. Maybe not.
Boy it was sure checked for me. I bought a used car from out of state and I got nailed at my first inspection last year. The day I was having my tint redone, the tint company owner said they had 12 cars that day to do and all were “inspection re-checks”.
Boy it was sure checked for me. I bought a used car from out of state and I got nailed at my first inspection last year. The day I was having my tint redone, the tint company owner said they had 12 cars that day to do and all were “inspection re-checks”.
Same thing happened to me. Funny thing is every car in the tint place's parking lot had tint that was far darker than what mine was re-tinted to (the darkest legal). Clearly you just need to go to the right inspection station
I agree, I've noticed it too and want to ask people where they get inspected lol.
I bought my car in Florida before I moved back, so when I got the dealer to inspect it during a service last year it failed. I had to get the tint redone to legal and now it doesn't even look like I have any tint on the window.
Supposedly they are cracking down on it. I had the same thoughts and went to a well known shop to get mine done here in Raleigh and the lot was full of people with dark tints to the point where the tech/owner straight up told me he’s booked a month out just for removing tint. I have the legal limit on mine and it sucks. I used to live in FL and had limo tint all around.
Supposedly there are legal exceptions you can get?
I had my car tinted right after I got it because it has a black interior. (It came with that, don't judge me!)
My intent was not cosmetic, but rather to keep from getting 1st-degree burns on my hands and thighs by choosing the metallic-ceramic tints that block 80% of the IR but much less of the visible.
It was like magic. Before, opening the door felt like opening my oven and I literally had to have a washcloth covering the steering wheel to be able to touch it. After, opening the door let out slightly warmer air, I get inside start it up, drive off, and within 10 blocks my AC would slow down as the cabin temp was cool enough.
It was pretty expensive, but well worth it.
One big tip: make sure that who you choose to install it has experience with your specific car. Mine has glass with a double-concave shape, with inside shading dot frame, and with wire-foil defroster. It's notorious for being hard to do right, so I asked several dealership service managers. (None of the dealers I contacted did their own tinting they always sub'ed it out).
RE: Laws:
My windshield uses a different film than the sides and back to comply with the law. (The front is a "window treatment" not a "tint", and is the film and tint-level that my shop also added to the local police cars).
I've had the car for 12 years and have to pay extra every year for the Inspection's tint check. I've seen several forum posts asking for "easy" inspection stations, but never an answer as that's actually advertising for an illegal service.
If the darker tint is within (baked in) the glass or from the factory then it is ok. Only aftermarket tint has to adhere to the 32%. Also, several different types of vehicles are exempt from the tint rules. We just went through this with one of our vehicles.
Exactly - I just posted because I noticed a big change. People in my neighborhood who are NOT car guys and are actually a bunch of physicist nerds who could care less about cars, have very dark window tint on all of their cars. I guess I will ask them where they get their inspections done and if they do anything "special" when going to get their inspection done.
Honestly, these guys are trying to find the next exoplanet that life can survive on and look at cars as a tool to travel from point A to point B, so they were the last people I expected to have very dark (illegal?) window tint on their vehicles LOL
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