Legal Alternatives to Sun Film

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by aseem

The thing that is scary is not about getting caught or getting fined. The thing is that if god forbid you meat an accident, than in preceding cases the fact that you were driving a car with illegal sun films will come back to haunt you. Therefore I suggest please follow the law to the "T".

Very sensible advice, that. I don't think this angle has been pointed out on this thread thus far.

[RohanDheman]

Originally Posted by aseem

The thing that is scary is not about getting caught or getting fined. The thing is that if god forbid you meat an accident, than in preceding cases the fact that you were driving a car with illegal sun films will come back to haunt you. Therefore I suggest please follow the law to the "T".

Dear Aseem

I appreciate the concern that you have raised. But however please do note that these are absolutely clear films that do not impair vision at all. Do look at the pics that i posted a few posts back. They are far far better than those stick on net like things that most people in Delhi are using which hinder visibility like no one's business.

Although our cars come with tampered glass, do remember that in the event of an accident, the films actually help a great deal in preventing the broken glass from flying inside the car.

I am a lawyer by profession and firmly believe in following the law- including maintaining the speed limits- however i do feel that in the unfortunate event of the car meeting with an accident, the films should not be a cause of much concern.

Once again, i do appreciate the concern and the point raised by you.

P.S. I have read the Supreme Court judgment and i know this is blatantly illegal and my being a lawyer doesn't help me in any case. I can't take the heat at all and develop a bad rash. This is why i have the film for some protection. I know its illegal but as on date, i have no other option as the film does help.

Rohan

[mikem]

Originally Posted by racer_m

Wow, the matt wrapping on the Storme look cool!
Add to it these good looking shades, and the ride becomes hot.

I guess the high price is just initial hoopla behind the fact that its not commonly available.
else these would not be worth more than 50 bucks a piece when it becomes widely available

For some of us even this price may seem worth it for the shades. Just look at what Mercedes quoted me for the E-Class manual sunshade on the Rear Right Window.

ROLLER BLIND 01239 Rs. 44600 + Labour Rs. 2553. A really GRAND Total of Rs. 47153.

This is for a manual roller sunshade, not the motorised one on the rear windshield.

For this much I could buy a low end GUCCI handbag, rip it up and make a cute little curtain for that seat.. Will have much more appeal..

[RohanDheman]

Originally Posted by mikem

For some of us even this price may seem worth it for the shades. Just look at what Mercedes quoted me for the E-Class manual sunshade on the Rear Right Window.

ROLLER BLIND 01239 Rs. 44600 + Labour Rs. 2553. A really GRAND Total of Rs. 47153.

This is for a manual roller sunshade, not the motorised one on the rear windshield.

For this much I could buy a low end GUCCI handbag, rip it up and make a cute little curtain for that seat.. Will have much more appeal..

But thats the not the same as the stick on ones or even the magnetic ones I belive. Its a part of the rear door assembly and fits snug in the door pads. It is ridiculously priced no doubt, but its not fair to compare the two.

But the Gucci idea doesnt seem too bad! although one MUST NEVER mention to the ladies what we intend to do with their handbags!

Cheers
Rohan

[Sisu]

Originally Posted by mkaysaw

After much suffering in the heat with black cars, i decided to get these custom made magnetic sun shades installed.

The shades have a profound effect on how hot the car gets while standing out in the sun. the cooling nature of the air conditioning also gets a boost.

The shades were not as expensive as 3M sun films and can be snapped on & off whenever and if-ever a cop objects...

Cost for the shades:
6 pieces for Tata Storme: 3500
4 Pieces for Toyota Camry: 2500
2 pieces (front pass & driver only) for Mercedes S Class: 1500
6 Pieces for Audi Q7: 3200

The shades leave no marks/gunk as they are magnetic and not adhesive based.
Pictures attached.

Hi,

Could you please share the details where you got these installed?

I am looking for something similar for my XUV.

Thanks in advance.

Cheeerzzz

[vinny.ganju]

This looks like a good alternative to sunfilms. Please share the details i would like to try these for my XUV too. Also few posts in this forum talk about the Llumar 90, Air 80 green how good are these? Pros Cons if any?

Some options online:

http://shopping.rediff.com/product/autofurnish-magnetic-sun-shades-for-cars--4-pcs-/12399564?pos=alsoview&rkey=305718&sc_cid=inhome_11 611315|best_deals|alsoview

http://www.climair.com/en/sonniboy.html




Thanks!

Originally Posted by Sisu

Hi,

Could you please share the details where you got these installed?

I am looking for something similar for my XUV.

Thanks in advance.

Cheeerzzz

Originally Posted by mkaysaw

After much suffering in the heat with black cars, i decided to get these custom made magnetic sun shades installed.

The shades have a profound effect on how hot the car gets while standing out in the sun. the cooling nature of the air conditioning also gets a boost.

The shades were not as expensive as 3M sun films and can be snapped on & off whenever and if-ever a cop objects...

Cost for the shades:
6 pieces for Tata Storme: 3500
4 Pieces for Toyota Camry: 2500
2 pieces (front pass & driver only) for Mercedes S Class: 1500
6 Pieces for Audi Q7: 3200

The shades leave no marks/gunk as they are magnetic and not adhesive based.
Pictures attached.

[patil]

Hi Guys,
I need a complete set of magnetic sun shades for my grand vitara but my online search for the same did not yield me any results. Does anyone know where can I get them or can anyone suggest me if anyone will make custom fit ones for the Grand Vitara. With the plain transparent glasses on my car I am facing great difficulty and I am left with no other options. Kindly help and suggest.

[Shiwik]

I am on the look out for decent sunfilms for my Aria. I am looking at something light enough that i dont get pulled over. I spoke to 3M and the CR70 grade costs about 26.5K (front included)

I was talking to a gentleman at reliance auto and he showed me a product call SunMild. The entire car (front included) he quoted 8K and finally came down to about 6K. Apprantly this offers 99% UV protection and 35% heat rejection. I have not heard of this product nor am I able to find some sensible material on the net to read up. Anyone heard of this product, any views/reviews?

[rjalihal]

Hello all,

This is a bit off topic but just wanted to share. So after, more than 1 year of the no tint windows rule being passed and me still running one of my cars with tints, my luck finally ran out last weekend when I was stopped just after Hosur town (in TN) on my way back to Bangalore. I have never had issues in Bangalore, in Coorg, in Mysore, Ooty either. The tints that car has is a 35% VLT. The cops where I live and where I work don't seem to mind that, although once, while waiting at a signal light an inspector casually walked up to me and asked me whether the glass came with the tint. He didn't bother much as I generally connect with them really well. But in Hosur, after getting stopped, the inspector was quite harsh. Not knowing the local language, Tamil, I was at a loss. He gave me 3 options: 1) Get booked, come to the police station, pay fine, Rs 300 and someone will assist in removing the tints and you go. 2) Remove the tints on spot yourself and proceed. No fine.
3) Pay Rs 500 and proceed.

Now, what I did is immaterial for now, but what is important is that the inspector said that this is how they deal with illegal tints. He argued stating that my tints were less than 10%LT. He also stated that if I was at at least 30%LT, he would have considered. I challenged him to use a device to check my LT and see for himself it was 35%. He didn't budge. He then said if I insisted on that I had to leave the car behind and he will arrange for such a device within 24 hours. That is what I chose. I then asked him where I can park my car so that he can arrange the necessary and I shall book a hotel in the vicinity. Upon hearing this, he was astonished. I got aggressive only because he said they would consider minimum 30% LT, and I was at 35%, so I knew he dug his own grave.

He then consulted with his equally bewildered sub ordinates, made a radio call, gave my plate # and asked me to wait. I did so patiently. After 15 minutes, he comes back to me and urges me to pay the Rs 500 fine and proceed. I reject, although I am in the wrong, I am holding him to what he said, which is they consider 30% VLT. That is my tiny window of opportunity. So he now changes his mind and orders me to now rip out the tints myself if I want to go. I oblige. I take my own sweet time in trying to find the opening of the tint on the rear right side window. After 30 minutes, all I have achieved is a small opening on the top right corner. The inspector gets bugged, assigns a constable and leaves (guess his shift was over). The constable then wants to make a deal with me. He says pay Rs 100 and go, it will do all a favor. I reject. After 30 more minutes, I now have a slightly larger opening in the rear window. Upon seeing this, the constable radios the station and gets the approval to let me off with a warning.

I lost. Because now, I need to change the entire tint on the rear right window because it has a small opening at the corner. But still I won because the cop himself did not know how to judge tints. So I still get to keep the vast majority of it. That is not the point here. What I am trying to say is that they need to have a clear defined law and abide by it. He wanted money by the looks of it, to which I did not oblige. If I am wrong, tell me I am wrong. Insist on it. I would have happily coughed up the fine to have someone remove my tints. He gave a chance and I took it. Now, it is not in everyone's interest that this should happen to them, but the chance card got played with me. So now, what have I done? Some may say I was wrong because I should have not been driving a car with those tints in the first place. However, upon getting stopped, the cop should have known better to do his job, and not giving me that window of opportunity which I took and got away. Because of that, he lost his official collection and I now need to re-install my tint on that window. It was a lose-lose situation. But still, keeping my head strong I won this weird battle!

Looking forward?: I plan to reduce my tints to the 70% VLT in the near future.

Just thought that I will share my experience with you folks.

Cheers!
-Rohan

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by rjalihal

What I am trying to say is that they need to have a clear defined law and abide by it.

There is a clear defined law, which says no window films are allowed. Now abiding by it is a different story altogether. We know how the cops in our country are.

I'm surprised you have managed this long with 35% tints. And I thought Bangalore was the most strict about this. BTW I'm using 70%, some Llumar Diamond series, its almost impossible for most to make out there is a tint, and it cuts out a fair amount of heat (no burning sensation on any exposed skin).

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by rjalihal

But still, keeping my head strong I won this weird battle!

A good example of a pyrrhic victory.

[Raghav_K]

Originally Posted by Shiwik

I am on the look out for decent sunfilms for my Aria. I am looking at something light enough that i dont get pulled over. I spoke to 3M and the CR70 grade costs about 26.5K (front included)

You could go for CR70 in front and RE70 for sides and rear, would cost you around 13K.

[gsurya]

Originally Posted by Raghav_K

You could go for CR70 in front and RE70 for sides and rear, would cost you around 13K.

I got complete front/rear/windows CR70 for my Tata Zest, total 19.5K. Has slight visible tint, can be spotted by the police if they are sharp.

[rjalihal]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

There is a clear defined law, which says no window films are allowed. Now abiding by it is a different story altogether. We know how the cops in our country are.

I'm surprised you have managed this long with 35% tints. And I thought Bangalore was the most strict about this. BTW I'm using 70%, some Llumar Diamond series, its almost impossible for most to make out there is a tint, and it cuts out a fair amount of heat (no burning sensation on any exposed skin).

Originally Posted by Sawyer

A good example of a pyrrhic victory.

@ Akshay: Yes I am aware of the law. I was just trying to push my luck which appears to have worked in Bangalore. Its not that I hide and drive, i commute to work at 7am and my return journey begins from MG Road at 5:30pm. The cops simply don't seem to bother about cars with tints. They always have cops at the MG Road - Brigade Road junction and even they turn a blind eye. Guess they have better offenders to pull over.I will take your advice and consider the 70% tints.

@ Sawyer: Pyrhic is a bit too extreme considering that I got to keep the majority of assets in place. But still, I shall now contemplate on switching to a more acceptable tint level. Especially now that I plan to drive to Vizag in November!

Thank you gentlemen for your inputs.

Cheers!
-Rohan

[Ricci]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

There is a clear defined law, which says no window films are allowed. Now abiding by it is a different story altogether. We know how the cops in our country are.

OT - Wait a minute. This entire fiasco is based on a Supreme court verdict, is it not? That the SC declared that 4 wheelers not be permitted to use tinted film on windows ?

Correct me if I'm wrong - and I believe I'm very much in the right, that the courts are only authorized to interpret the law when the need arises - as in to settle a dispute by interpreting what the written law is meant to guide, but cannot make/pass laws on its own, that is the job for the legislative assembly.

So when the existing motor vehicle laws permit tints with 70% VLT front and 50% on the rest, how is the SC's verdict to disallow tints altogether, even legal ?