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[Evostance]

Is there anywhere I can get my Window Tint visibilty checked for free?

I bought the car with the windows tinted and have had to claim. They are declared on the insurance but they're sending an inspector out to look at the car for undeclared mods and the damage etc.

However, I only realised the other day that my front windows are tinted more than I thought after a friend of mine pointed out that the person before me probably asked for the windows to be taken to the max tint, but forgot about the existing tint already there.

Is there anywhere I can go that will check the visibility of them?

[motty]

you on about front or rear tints mate? if its front the police will check them free of charge at the side of the road like they did me when i got pulled and made me pull them out

[Evostance]

Fronts.

Thats the problem..I tried to pull them out, they will not budge so will have to get some adhesive remover or something.
Hence why I dont want to pull them out incase they're legal, but I don't want to go to the police since they might say "They're illegal, pull them out"

Then I can't so my car will get impounded.. Happened to a friend lol

[motty]

i used a razer blade on my old car mate, started at the top and worked my way down

[Evostance]

Hmm, i'd rather get them tested first lol

Can't Halfords or somewhere do it?

[PH47MF]

There is a pretty simple test. If you can see a hint of tint on your front windows, they are illegal. I know it's not the most accurate way to checking this but this came from a professional tinting personnel.

He said that cos I was going have my front tinted to the legal limit, he turned round and said i won't be able to see the tint so there's no point of doing them.

I'd say remove them - just in case bud.

[Evostance]

Umm, that isn't the case. Not sure why you were told that.

The legal limits are:

Rear Windscreen, Rear passenger windows: No Limit
Front Windscreen, Right and Left windows: 30% tint, must allow 70% of light through.

Therefore tints are visible. Also, one of my friends who is a part-time policeman said that he reckons they are 'Borderline legal' other people think they are fine and others aren't so such.

I need to go somewhere that has a lightmeter and will do it for me

[unabashed]

if you declared the tints to the insurer then why are you worried about the insurance inspector seeing them? :scratch:

There is always a big dispute about the legality of front window tints, I've been told by numerous people (including a full-time policeman) that the fronts cannot be tinted at all and if they are, they cannot be tinted so that the tint is visable.

But I have also heard the argument that if they let through 70% light then it's ok, I think the 70% thing is actually what the law used to be - may be wrong though!

[NyseriA]

There's lots of confusion over the law, but iirc it must be 70% VLT on the fronts and 75% VLT on the windscreen. This a "light smoke" and a lot of factory fit windows are already near to that limit. What I have seen in the past when out with traffic cops is that people have put 70% tints on, rather than 30% tints. Also, they have put on 30% tints without realising that the window was not 100% clear to start with.

Personally, I think cars actually look better with the same tint all-round. As for testing them, police use the "tintman" equipment, surely a local garage that supplies tints should have one?

[t100ypr]

touch wood, i have had my car nearly 3 years and the windows were tinted when purchased i think they are smoke, and i have never had the police say anything about them. funny thing is a traffic cop had the car before me as he traded it in at my old work