Car window tint businesses enjoying summer sales

Sweltering temperatures reaching as high as 46C are among the main reasons why car owners are either replacing or having new window tints installed in their vehicles.

According to a car window tint installer, the trend has provided brisk business for tinting shops and car accessories stores this summer too.

He said average-sized shops can install window film to a maximum of six to 10 cars a day whereas shops with more staff can handle as many as 20 cars a day.

“The business is seasonal. In the winter, my shop would usually cater to only four to six cars a day,” he said, adding: “I am fortunate that my employer is not only involved in installing window tints but we also provide other car accessories and services, which is why our company can compensate for the lean season.”

With hundreds of tinting shops available, particularly along Salwa Road, the installer cautioned car owners to be wary of shops offering “high quality” tints at rock-bottom prices.

He stressed that most of the time the film installed is of substandard quality. “While some films can provide a certain level of shade from the sun, it does not reject heat, sunlight, and UV rays. Quality films such as the “ceramic” type being offered by a leading brand can provide 35% to 65% heat 
rejection,” he said.

To avoid being ripped off, he suggested that customers should make sure to check the brand of the film tint being installed in their cars. Prior to getting a vehicle tinted, it is advisable that customers do some research on the types of film tints available in the market, he added.

One modus operandi, the installer said, is that some shop owners would put low quality films in the boxes of leading window tint brands. He said companies like 3M have its brand name printed on its window tints and are hard to replicate.

“Quality tints are expensive, which is why the cost of installing it is also quite high,” he said, adding: “Tinting shops would usually charge QR1,000 to QR1,500 per car while some shops would price as much as QR2,000 to install quality tints. Some shops would charge customers on a per window basis costing as low as QR50 or as high as QR500 per window depending on the brand used.”

Republished from Gulf Times