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Windows tinted....slight problem...

3K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  inxsary 
#1 ·
If this is too OT for this forum, mods please move to a more appropriate place! :)

This weekend I got the windows on my new 2012 SE hatch tinted. An associate of mine did it, as she runs a small at-home tinting business. She had previously tinted my husband's 2008 Focus sedan and did a great job. She is putting herself through EMT/Fire school and I like to send business her way. She also gave me a discount on both jobs.

Anyway, the tint job was almost complete and everything was looking excellent when she somehow got black paint (from a touch-up paint pen) on my light grey headliner, near the passenger side sun visor. It's a spot about 1/2" long and 1/4" wide, not very big. You don't really notice it from the driver's side but you definitely see it from the passenger seat.

We tried to get it out using everything available to us at the time- kaboom, hydrogen peroxide, acetone, rubbing alcohol, graffiti remover, laundry detergent, tuff stuff, etc. It faded a little, but it's still there.

While I'm a little upset at it (if this is the biggest problem of my week, then my life is pretty swell)...I mean, the car has less than 3000 miles on it and now I've got a paint splotch on my interior.... my friend is aghast. She apologized over and over, did not charge me for the tint job, and won't even take money for the materials, which I offered. She now says she owes me for a headliner.....

....which according to the fordparts.com site is going to run around $800-900 just for the headliner, never mind the labor.

I really can't do that to her. She doesn't have the $$ to pay for something like that. On the other hand, she did make a mistake in the course of business.

So, what would you all do in my situation?

My options seem to be:
1. Let her pay for a new headliner and installation.
2. Do nothing, put something over the mark (a button or pin?) and take the free tint job as compensation.
3. Ease my conscience and pay for the materials and live with the mark.

Let me know what you all think.

Thanks!
-Karen
 
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#3 ·
This

Start looking for headliners from a wreck if it really bothers.

I had an aftermarket moonroof put in my 95 Tbird. As I am a incorrigible tinkerer, I wanted to wire a LED into the rocker switch to light up at night. I did that, but in the process put an X-Acto knife slice in the headliner[facepalm]

I got used to it for the next 3 years I owned that car...
 
#7 ·
I had a similar experience. My daughter's Accord needed a new water pump and timing belt replacement. This is a major repair ($$$$) on her car. I saved around $200-300 by having someone do it as a side job. There were a few things that were damaged when the car was worked on. Some scuff marks, front lip damaged, a few marks on some fresh paint. I could have demanded he fix them, but I just paid him off and let the other stuff go. It'll cost me some time and money, I can live with it.
 
#9 ·
Was the accord new?
I think the difficulty I'm having is that this is a brand new car with less than 3000 miles on it and I've been keeping it immaculate. If my car was 5 years old and this happened, I'd probably just shrug it off.

Also, if this was a storefront kind of place, I'd have them replace the headliner in a second. But it being a friend has complicated the matter.

-K
 
#10 ·
One of the best quotes from Jerry Maguire is "It's not show friends, it's show business"

Sometimes you get what you pay for. Pay a friend, get friend work at friend rate. Pay a professional, get professional work at a professional rate.

Sorry you got a paint mark. You can either save the friend or the interior, but I doubt you'll get both.
 
#14 ·
THought I would pop in and give an update.

Since this was a friend who did the work (who owns and operates a licensed/insured tinting business) for cheap, I wanted to go about this problem in a fair way.

Over time I used a mixture of bleach and water on the spot and it faded greatly without bleaching the headliner. I would dab a little on the spot with a paintbrush, wait a minute, and blot it dry. I would do it again the next day, for about a week.

There is still a light spot where the paint was but i don't even notice it now when I glance in that direction.

-Karen
 
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