ok so i got my windows tinted yesterday and i was the happiest guy in the world until i noticed sumthing wierd... my dad accidently rolled down the window today and i noticed that about an inch off the top of the glass has no tint. i looked around outside my car and noticed that all my windows have sum gap of tint and then just my regular windows. i didnt dare wind down the windows to check even further but i KNOW there is about an inch gap. is this normal? i hope i didnt get taken for my money or else tomorrow im heading right down back to that shop....

An inch seems a little excessive...I'd say about a quarter of an inch at the most would be all allowed. They can't get a perfect-fit by hand (no machines can do it either so...) so they have to make it slightly smaller, to ensure it'll fit.

If it's any more, bring it up to them. I got screwed when I took an under-the-table tint job (sales tax around here is 10%) and started finding bubbles all over the edges and how poorly they were cleaned.

ill try to get sum piks up tomorrow, but upon further investigation i noticed that there is also a wierd curve. if you look into your mali from the outside you see a curve kind of on the window. it looks like the rubber tubing thats inside. well they curved the tint under the tubing so you can definitely tell that it doesnt go up. other then that i think its fine but that wierd gap and curve got me a little worried

btw i found out the tubing is called the weather gasket

Yeah an inch sounds like a lot. Mine has about 1/4 of an inch. It's unavoidable on pretty much any car.

well i took it to my cousin who has alot of experience tinting and he told me its a terrible job =/ i believe him because my dad even said that he could of did a way better job. i think it looks terrible also. im taking it back to the place i got it tinted because i want my money back and that crap OFF MY CAR!

Mashemellow - Good Luck, I hope the shop realizes how shotty of a job they did and really step up to the plate for you and either make things right or give you your money back.

thanks guys, i just called up the shop and they said to bring it back in on saturday and try to fix everything and this time im gonna be in the garage lookin at the tint job cause im not gonna get screwed over agen

I hope everything works out for you and they get the job right this time.

so today was the day i took my car back to get my tint fixed... LITTLE DID I KNOW I WOOD BE SCREWED YET AGEN. the guy who once told me to come get it fixed back on monday now says that their is absolutely nothing he can do about my problem. he claims that my car has such a wierd curved window that its impossible to fix the tint problem so im out of luck.... wow... just wow...

I have no gap of tint, any measure of the window being down or up, you can always tell they are tinted.

It's probably the place you got them installed at.

Fortunutely for me, the place I've gotten my last 2 cars (this one included) tinted the guy is EXTREMELY good at doing it.

pics?

yupp, pics will be up shortly as soon as i find my sd card 0_o

finally here are sum pics, im sitting in my drivers seat looking out of my rolled down window and in the other pic my window is rolled all the way up so you can see the wierd cut of the curve i was talking about
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b314/guyanazfinest/P1010005.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b314/guyanazfinest/P1010007.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b314/guyanazfinest/P1010009.jpg

I'd tell him to replace the tint, then, and if he did not threaten to get the law involved in a civil suit.

Does he have any quality guarantee? That was the first thing I looked for for when I got my tint job done. Unfortunately, I agreed to the "under the table" deal of not having to pay taxes (which are around 25%...24.87something to be exact). A few days after the job, I began noticing bubbles and how the tint was poor cut; as if he used a box cutter. I could have done a better job. The windows were not even cleaned, you can make out two finger prints and a hair.

But no worries...I've spread enough word around a local forum about his shotty work and he won't be getting too much more positive PR :D

With all seriousness, tell him to fix it if he has a guarantee. If he does not, ask him to take it off. If he still does not, then threaten the law. It's all you can do to get your way in American society...

yeah

that is definitely not supposed to happen lol

Yeah, take that back and make them redo it.. Im hopefully getting mine done in a couple weeks.

these guys refuse to redo it when i tokk it back on saturday because they claim the spacing is too tight and if they put it on the tint will roll down, im pissed, i dont wanna take it off cuz ill lose 200 bucks unless if they fix it for free and i have the feeling these guys wont wanna give me my money back =/ they claim that the malibu has such an odd shape that its impossible to tint it correctly. and im gonna call in agen to ask about their quality guarentee because this is not cool at all

Find a couple other tint shops in the area and let them look at it and see what they say.. I plan on getting mine tinted soon so I will ask before I do. I would also contact the BBB in your state if they are not willing to work with you.

Those of us that have tint should post up pics for him to use and take in so they can see that if CAN be done properly....I will try to take some pics tonight of mine so you can see that it can be done with no problems.

Hope maybe this will help.

these guys refuse to redo it when i tokk it back on saturday because they claim the spacing is too tight and if they put it on the tint will roll down, im pissed, i dont wanna take it off cuz ill lose 200 bucks unless if they fix it for free and i have the feeling these guys wont wanna give me my money back =/ they claim that the malibu has such an odd shape that its impossible to tint it correctly. and im gonna call in agen to ask about their quality guarentee because this is not cool at all

LMAOOOOOO

they lyin to you

the guy who tinted mine (who is a friend of my friend, that's how I got in contact with him about doing mine) said it was one of the easier cars to do

and there was no issue with tinting the 'bu LMAO @ them lyin

They're lying through their teeth. Tell them you want it fixed or you want them to remove it. Do not pay them anything, and request your money back if they remove it. If they don't give you your money back, threaten to go to the BBB (which, actually get a hold of BBB right now...they're a good force to have on your side).


EDIT:

For the record, I will take some quick pictures of my tint job (of the back windows, since they're 20% and easier to tell the difference between glass and tint). I got them done at Keltint Crossville, in Tennessee (if you need to cite references :D). Tell them it is a tint shop is the backwoods of Tennessee, and they did a better job than what your tint place did to you. Also, call them out, you can even say "Bullshit" if you'd like. I would. The windows are no different than a Civic or Altima (cars I've seen aftermarket tinted everywhere).

thanks alot guys =] and heres another piece of info i forgot to tell you guys, the guy was saying how he would have to take apart the entire door just to tint it the way i wanted it to be, talk about BS, i trusted these guys cause they have been in the boston area for years and look really professional, they even have a website and all but looks can be deceiving

EDIT:
by the way, im contacting BBB right now

Good, I would definitely tell them the problem. The boys over at Keltint (where I got my windows tinted at) did not even have to touch my seals, let alone the paneling. If they are a respectable tint shop, they should have a tool for just pushing it barely below the line (that little squeegee at the base of the window).

The dealership put mine on when i purchased my Malibu and they did a great job. I paid nothing for it. If the dealership can do this just under an hour with no problems, i know they can too. They're just bad business.

Good luck Marshmellow. That's just horrible and doesn't sound like they know what they are doing. All my cars have been tinted and you could hardly tell there was any space and none every peeled, etc. Sounds like you just happened to a crappy shop or installer.

UPDATE ON MY PROBLEM:
im taking my car back to the original place on saturday to demand my money back and for them to take this crap off and also my cousin has a friend who owns a tinting shop and he heard of my situation and offered to do my tints for free. my cousin said he does excellent work, so if all works well ill have my 200 dollars back with perfect tints and ill post pics up next week when it all gets done =)

Good luck, mate!

Hopefully you get a good job done!

Good luck!! Let us know what happens

Be careful if they "remove" the tint its possible it can strip your defroster lines off your back window. I don't know how the malibu's are made if they are in between or on the surface of the glass

Good News - and Good Luck - Hope this really works out for you.

Btw Marshmellow.

If they agree to your terms I'd tell them that I'd want to be in the same area to watch them take off the tint just so they don't mess around and hurt your vehicle, obviously tell them you want to watch to gain knowledge but they are probbaly scorned about it by the way you talk to us about their reaction to your unfortunate situation.