Why you shouldn’t let dealerships tint & PPF your car
It seems very convenient, if not sensible to have your car tinted or protected with paint protection film before you pick up your brand new car from the dealership.
As an ex-car salesman & finance manager for some of the top dealerships in our area, I’m going to let you in on a secret.
Dealerships tend to sublet tint and PPF out to the cheapest place they can find, whether that be an in-house worker being paid as little as possible, or a local tint shop using the cheapest material possible in order to make some money with their dealership friends.
They don’t care about how long the film lasts, or the output of these services, just that they can make more money, or reduce the amount of money they need to discount on the vehicle sale in order to “make a buck”.
This is dangerous for the average consumer for a few reasons.
1. Dealership prices for tint are at a minimum 50% higher than if you were to independently have your car tinted at a reputable shop in your area. This is usually included in the finance of your new vehicle which will cost you significantly more than if you were to pay out of pocket.
2. The quality of film and installation can be lesser than average if you were to go to an independent window tint & PPF shop.
3. Low quality window tint and paint protection film will fail more often and sooner than high-quality material and installation. (This will cost more to have removed & replaced)
So yes, it seems convenient when a dealership offers to include Window Tint & PPF in your vehicle purchase, however it can be a risk that is just simply not worth it.
Dealerships are known for “throwing in” tint at no cost to close a deal, this is often shown as $699 but included for free if you sign the deal “right now”.
The truth is they don’t want to reduce the price of their vehicle to hold onto profit, so they look towards offering something for free that has a high perceived value, and a low cost to include in the deal.
To compare, our lowest SUV price of this year (2023) is only $249 + tax. You would be better to negotiate a $699 discount on your vehicle sale price, rather than to include the tint at no cost.
We specifically don’t work with dealerships for this reason, we believe in offering transparent pricing, uncanny value, and offering more to our customers - for less.
Dealerships often have limitations to what they will offer you for window tint and paint protection film, not to mention their ceramic coating is usually only good for a month before its worn out its welcome.
Dealerships must stay within legal guidelines for window tint, so if you wanted a darker shade of tint on your vehicle - too bad! (So much for customizing the vehicle you just paid $30k for)
Another thing to note is how excessive their paint protection film pricing is, for Privacy Tint we look at each vehicle specifically to ensure you’re getting the coverage you want to protect your vehicle at a more than fair price.
For example, we offer full front end paint protection film on Tesla Model 3’s (hood, fenders, front bumper, mirrors) for only $1799 + tax, where as a dealership may charge $3999 + tax for this same service (with lesser coverage and quality).
Save your money & protect your vehicle with Privacy Tint’s transparent and fair valued pricing.
If you work at a dealership and are upset that we’re telling the world your secrets, do better and you’d have nothing to worry about.
Sincerely,
Privacy Tint
