Hey Marlyand Folks,

I'm taking my car into Winner's Tint in Rockville this week to get the 35% tint done all the way around. Any lessons learned or things I should be aware of prior? I know there is some dye/tint already on the glass, so they discussed going with a 40% to counter the OEM tint.

Also, did you guys do the windshield as well? Will it block out the EZ Pass signal? Just curious.

 

Wish we could legally go darker here. I take my chance with 20%.

I don't think you'll have a problem at 35%, but combined with the light factory tint it will be slightly darker than legal. Removal/reinstall is $$$ if you don't have a hookup at an inspection station, so take that into account.

 

I use them for all my cars, and I always use their 20% ceramic film. Charlotte, the owner, is great. I had just gotten paint correction done on my SL when I got the windows tinted. The installer decided to wipe the dirty car with a microfiber cloth, which is a huge NO-NO. They scratched the clear coat in many places all over the car.

I told Charlotte about it, and they paid for the car to get another 1-step paint correction done at my detailer. It was unfortunate, but she stepped up to the plate and paid for it.


https://mbworld.org/forums/sl55-amg-...art-deaux.html

 

I just had mine done. 35% on front sides and 20% rear and rear sides. Plus I had a 5% strip put across the front top. Saves having to put my visors down.
Only advise, is have them do the area at the rear corner of the rear doors. Shark fin. I forgot to tell them to do mine, and it looks a little unfinished.
You may want to pull that trim off yourself... I didn't really look to see what was involved, but I am sure it is on here somewhere.

 

How much time do you spend in VA? If it is more than a little, you may want to follow their guidelines as you can be ticketed for illegal tinting even with out of state plates. In VA the maximum tint is 50% for the front side windows, 35% for all rear and back windows, and no tinting allowed below the A1S1 line on the windshield.

 

Thats something new. my father car registered in Florida and he got 20% allaround and never get a ticket.

 

Not new, but not always enforced. Not all officers are into tinting violations, but most are willing to look the other way at Florida, Arizona, etc. cars with dark tinting vs. DC and MD cars with the same. One of my best friends has a Mazda 3 with blacked out windows and he's never had a problem.....most likely because he has CA tags. If he had local tags I'm fairly certain he would have been ticketed by now.

It's crap that states can enforce their own tinting laws on out of state vehicles, but they can.

 

I just had mine done today with 35%. combined with the oem tint its not bad at all. i should have gone a shade darker..but i didnt want to deal with the popo. I will get pics tomorrow.

 

Thanks guys. I spoke to Charlotte today and she was very helpful. They are going to do 40% on the car. I would love to go 20%, but dont want to deal with ripping it off.

 

Seriously? My office is in Oakton.

 

No state has the right to superceed the motor vehicle regulations in another state.

 

just had mine done 20% all around and 35% on front windshield. Looks good.

 

VA is pretty bad with enforcing tint. It happened to my friend w/FL tags. He got pulled over and a warning for it. I'm sure it was more a stop to see if any other violations existed. FFX Cnty cop was even though it is registered in FL, you have to obey the VA traffic laws since you are driving on VA roads. Of course he was just being a db.

 

I also got a ticket in Virginia for illegal tint, even though my car is registered in Maryland. "Reciprocity", was what I was told, when I questioned the stop.

Paid my $100.00 online, and forgot all about it.

 

Can you please show us something that proves your point? I've looked for years and have never found anything other than people's assumptions that one state cannot superceed the motor vehicle regulations in another state. I have however seen MANY people convicted in VA courts for having illegal window tinting even though their vehicles were registered out of state.

Here is the VA law - Link

Here is another site which says exactly what I did - Link

 

I'll give you a simple example - the state of Pennsylvania requires all passenger vehicles to have 1 license plate mounted on the vehicle (rear).The owners of the vehicle are issued 1 and only 1 license plate.IF the state of Virginia requires 2 ( I don't know , nor do I care ) plates on the vehicle, EVERY car that is registered in PA that drives thru VA would be subject to a ticket - not because of the drivers actions - but due to the fact that the state of Pennsylvania didn't obide by the motor vehicle laws of Virginia.

 

Your example is flawed. With regards to vehicle registrations, everyone is protected by the constitution - Link
An officer can legally stop a vehicle displaying one tag in a two tag jurisdiction IF the officer does not know the tag laws for the state the vehicle is registered in. Once the officer learns that the state only issues one tag, he cannot cite the driver for only having one tag.

IF the out of state vehicle comes from a state that does issue two tags and is only displaying one, they can write the driver for failing to properly display their license plates. The same law applies to expired tags. Officers in any state can enforce expired tags from other states.

Those same protections do not apply to equipment violations....like window tinting, oversized tires, etc.

Any chance you have a better example?

 

Yep, I got official word...in VA they CAN enforce their tint laws even if you are out of state. Just like many of you have posted above. So yes, even if you have Maryland, Ohio, Florida, etc plates they sure as heck can cite you for having illegal tint. Will they? Depends on the officer and what kind of mood he/she is in.

 

dgreen knows his stuff....

 

I have been stopped three times for tint in VA. The first time was in a previous ride, which was to dark, so I got a citation. The last two times were in the 55, which is legal. Did not get a ticket those times. Cops in NOVA carry tint meters as standard equipment.

Completely OT, but I just found out that they issued over 11,000 Reckless Driving tickets in Arlington County alone last year.

I am really growing tired of Va's aggressive policies.

 

Thank you , you've just proved my point.

So you're telling me that ALL VA police officers carry copies of the motor vehicle codes for all 50 states and are trained & qualified to interpret and enforce these statutes ? Please....your points get worse as I go.....

Just so I understand this...a court in Virginia is going to try a NJ driver ( for example ) for violating a NJ statute...IN VA? Amuse me my friend....and what penial code is going to be used to determine the punishment ? You're in over your head and you really have no idea what you are talking about.

You are comparing apples and oranges here bud,a expired registration is expired regardless of what state your in.You really need to bring something better to the table.I've just shredded the best 4 points you could put up.Do me a favor ...bring your buddy or whoever gave you those argumentative points over to your house and let him join in the conversation first hand to save you making the phone calls.

 

Thanks gentlemen for chiming in. The only reason I replied to the original poster was because I know the law and didn't want him to get a ticket. For some reason, C43AMG seems to think I have picked an argument with him.

There is a significant difference between vehicle licensing and equipment laws. Licensing (car tags) between states is protected by Article 4 Section 1 of the Constitution because vehicle registrations are public records. Window tinting, oversize tires, any other vehicle modifications are equipment issues and are not protected by the Constitution.

C43AMG believes officers cannot legally write tickets to vehicles from two plate states that are only displaying one state. I'm sure the law differs by state, but VA code 46.2-715 states how license plates "assigned" to a motor vehicle shall be displayed. If you are from MD or DC and are displaying just one of two "assigned" tags, you can be ticketed for failing to properly display license plates. Some states only "assign" one license plate, therefore the display of just the one is lawful. A lot of this stuff isn't enforced, but my point is that it CAN be. Officers don't have to know the registration laws in every state UNLESS they care to ticket out-of-state drivers for the display of their license plates. Lets face it, the only states most officers would know without researching would be those contiguous with their own state. For those that care, here is a Link to which states require just one plate.