Had a really bad car-related week. Basically lost at least $725 in car-related work.
Here's what happened:
1) Clear Bra. I bought a clear bra kit that was cut using one of the best film and software patterns on the market. Brought this kit to an old HS classmate of mine, who used to be an installer for his body shop. He did the installation and did a horrific job on the bumper; the bumper has a few wrinkles and 15-20 air bubbles that have not gone away after a week. His resolution is to poke tiny holes in the air bubbles. Cost of the film and labor together was $487. Now I'm looking at paying a reputable shop at least $65 to strip off the old film plus another $750 to redo the film.
2) Window Tint. I bought a pre-cut window tint set off a website that contained the high-quality Llumar Ceramic films. I found a tinter through the local Audi dealership. The work that the tinter did for both the dealership and my co-worker looked decent, so I felt comfortable going with him despite the rather low price and the no warranty (since I was bringing my own film).
With my luck, two things happened. On the front windows he installed, the driver's side front roll-up has 5-6 lint bubbles. The passenger side developed a 4" long moisture mark and also has a few lint bubbles. Worst of all, the windshield has 15-20 small air/lint bubbles and this is somewhat of a safety issue. No warranty of course, since I supplied my own film. Also, the first roll of the film I bought for the back windows could not be installed since my friend and I damaged it while rolling it up-- so I ordered a second roll, planning to have the installer install it for me at a later date. Now I'm stuck with a roll of ceramic film that I have no use for.
Cost of this incident? $150 for the initial order of film, $40 for the second roll of film I ordered. $240. That doesn't count the $110 that I will need to pay a good shop to strip the tint off the windshield and front windows and the $350 I'll need to pay them to retint.
How was your week?
Here's what happened:
1) Clear Bra. I bought a clear bra kit that was cut using one of the best film and software patterns on the market. Brought this kit to an old HS classmate of mine, who used to be an installer for his body shop. He did the installation and did a horrific job on the bumper; the bumper has a few wrinkles and 15-20 air bubbles that have not gone away after a week. His resolution is to poke tiny holes in the air bubbles. Cost of the film and labor together was $487. Now I'm looking at paying a reputable shop at least $65 to strip off the old film plus another $750 to redo the film.
2) Window Tint. I bought a pre-cut window tint set off a website that contained the high-quality Llumar Ceramic films. I found a tinter through the local Audi dealership. The work that the tinter did for both the dealership and my co-worker looked decent, so I felt comfortable going with him despite the rather low price and the no warranty (since I was bringing my own film).
With my luck, two things happened. On the front windows he installed, the driver's side front roll-up has 5-6 lint bubbles. The passenger side developed a 4" long moisture mark and also has a few lint bubbles. Worst of all, the windshield has 15-20 small air/lint bubbles and this is somewhat of a safety issue. No warranty of course, since I supplied my own film. Also, the first roll of the film I bought for the back windows could not be installed since my friend and I damaged it while rolling it up-- so I ordered a second roll, planning to have the installer install it for me at a later date. Now I'm stuck with a roll of ceramic film that I have no use for.
Cost of this incident? $150 for the initial order of film, $40 for the second roll of film I ordered. $240. That doesn't count the $110 that I will need to pay a good shop to strip the tint off the windshield and front windows and the $350 I'll need to pay them to retint.
How was your week?
