I bought my 03Z in November of 2006. In Texas we are required to have our car inspected each year. Well, I went to get it inspected and failed because my tint is at 10% (legal in TX is 20%).

The tint was already on the car when I bought it and nothing was said to me about it being 10%. They sold me a car that would not pass inspection. Is this legal? What are my options here?

 

Take the car to the service station with the windows down that is what I always do, or you could try another shop.............

 

Are you sure 20% is legal?

I think 35% is the darkest you can go in the front windows. The rears can be whatever.

Whenever I get my car inspected, I just drive up to the guy's shop with my windows down. Throughout the inspection, he never rolls them up to check.

 

yeah the guy at kwik car and a guy i know who is a service mgr at a dealership told me 20% is legal.

 

Google is your friend - Texas passenger cars go by one set of laws and and Multi Purpose Vehicles by another. They are summarized as follows ....

Cars (Passenger Cars)

This law restricts the amount of window film darkness on all side windows combined with any existing tint already in the glass to no darker than a number total of 25%LT (LT = light transmission). If the car has 2 outside door mirrors (one on each side) it allows any darkness on the rear wind shield. If the car has only 1 outside mirror the car is only allowed a total of 25%LT on all windows including the rear wind shield. It does allow front windshields to be tinted measured down from the top of the windshield 5 inches or to the AS1 line which ever measurement comes first (most cars have this AS1 line & some don't). Total of 25%LT allowed here as well. 1987 and older are not excluded from this law any more.

M.P.V. (Multi Purpose Vehicles)

( M.P.V. ) Multi Purpose Vehicle laws restrict the amount of window film darkness on the front doors only combined with any existing tint already in the glass to no darker than a number total of 25%LT (LT = light transmission). If the M.P.V. has 2 outside door mirrors (one on each side) it allows any darkness on rest of the rear windows (behind the front doors). If the M.P.V. has only 1 outside mirror the M.P.V. is only allowed a total of 25%LT on all windows combined with any existing tint already in the glass. No part of front windshields are not allowed to be tinted at all in both cases. It does allow front windshields to be tinted measured down from the top of the windshield 5 inches or to the AS1 line which ever measurement comes first (most M.P.V.s have this AS1 line & some don't). Total of 25%LT allowed here as well. 1987 and older are not excluded from this law any more.

The dealer is going to claim that you put the tint on after they sold you the car, or that there was no warranty covering the ability of the car to pass inspection, or that ....

 

good info...I just took those guys at their word (first mistake) So regardless, I still don't pass and the dealer sold me a car that wouldn't pass inspection. does anyone know the laws about this?

 

It is not like this is a mechanical issue...

Get a razor and some goof off and take the tint off - you will pass your inspection.

Then go to a tint shop and get legal film put on. You bought a used car, I imagine that it is sold "as is", I would just be happy that the problem is only the tint.

 

+1

 

Did you buy a vehicle that had recently passed a recent state inspection? Do you have a copy of that inspection?

 

In TX we have to display a sticker at all times on the windshield that says we have passed inspection and when a new inspection is required. Yes, the car had that on it when I bought it. By the date of the sticker it had been inspected 3 months before I got it.

 

I think that you have little recourse but to take car of it yourself. I assume that you were sold the Z with no guarantee that it would pass inspection.

 

Similar story here. Bought Z with tint from Nissan dealer. My dad was driving it downtown, an he got a $100 ticket for tint. Long story short, dealership offered to either pay ticket, or remove tint for free.