It might be tempting to tint your car windows by using a DIY kit, but the benefits of hiring an auto tinting pro outweigh any savings. Tinting your car’s windows is a great way to reduce glare and heat as well as enhance privacy. Consumers typically have two options for tinting their cars windows: Do it themselves with a DIY window-tinting kit or hire a professional. Although a DIY window tint is generally less costly, it definitely pays dividends to invest in professional installation.

Familiarity with local tinting regulations

Because dark windows are a safety concern for law enforcement officers when they’re making a traffic stop, many cities and states have specific limits on how dark you can tint your windows. Most professional window tinting companies make it their business to say up to date on window tint regulations. While some shops may provide darker-than-legal tint, most shops make sure their customers stay on the right side of the law. DIY kits can’t claim such an assurance.

How to tint car windows

Unless you’re purchasing a more expensive professional-grade tint kit, you’ll likely find the film in a DIY window tint kit is flimsy and temperamental when compared to the higher quality materials a window tinting pro would use. For a first-timer, window film in general is hard to work with; a slight breeze or wind can cause creases or crinkles, and some may find it hard to keep dust or other debris from sticking to the film.

An experienced professional will use a higher grade film and ensure that it’s applied without creases, crinkles, air bubbles or debris.

Do it right the first time

Even if you successfully apply window tint film to your vehicle’s windows, you may not do so perfectly. So try again, right? Not quite. Removing window film is much more difficult than applying it, due in part to the sticky adhesive used to apply it to the auto glass.

Have your car tinting guaranteed

If a professional window tinting company does a bad job, car owners can always demand re-tinting or they can try to get their money back. If and when you make a mistake while tinting you own windows, however, you probably won’t be able redo the tinting without buying another kit. Once window tinting film has been applied to a window, it cannot be taken off and simply returned to the store.

How much does it cost to tint car windows?

DIY kits are most frequently used as a way of saving money. However, low-grade window tinting film does not always provide good results for the car. For example, one of the main reasons car owners are interested in window tinting is that they want to protect their car’s interior from fading and cracking. Cheap or low-quality window tinting, though, does not always provide this protection.

At best, car owners may get a little extra shade inside their cars, but they will not be able to protect their car over the long run from the harmful effects of the sun. For this reason, it makes sense to invest a little bit more money into a mid-grade or high-grade window tint installed by a professional.

The cost to tint all of a car’s windows can range in price from $120 for a small car up to $380 for large vans.

Lim’s Auto Body is a full service auto body and mechanical repair shop locally owned and operated in Largo, Florida. For more information, go to our web site www.limsautobody.com or call (727) 422-3232.

Ever wonder if your brakes are experiencing a problem? Fortunately, your car or truck usually gives you some clear signals that your brakes are due. Sometimes they’re harmless noises that don’t require repairs or have simple fixes. Other times not.

Your brakes are one of the most important safety components in your vehicle. So if you notice any of the following common warning signs of brake issues, it’s time to get a professional to check your car, truck or SUV pronto. You’ll drive safer and head off more expensive damage.

1. Brake Light On

When one of the red or yellow brake indicators on your dashboard lights up it may mean you’re just due for an inspection. It could also be your vehicle’s smart electronics alerting you to a problem. An engaged parking brake could also cause the light to go on. Be sure it’s fully released to confirm that’s not the issue. (And read up on what all your dashboard brake lights mean.)

2. Squealing, Squeaking or Grinding Noises

Hearing a Metallic Squeal While You’re in Motion?

If you start hearing a high-pitched noise that stops when you apply the brakes that’s likely the sound of the brake pad wear indicators. They’re made of steel so they make this sound when they start contacting the rotor.

They’re letting you know that your pads are worn out and need to be replaced before you get rotor damage, which can be an expensive fix.

Grinding Sound When Brakes Are Applied?

Grinding that you also feel in the pedal could mean a number of things. There could just be some gravel or a rock caught in the caliper unit, easily remedied.

But you may have gone too long without brake servicing. The brake pads may be worn through, and you’re hearing metal on metal that could be creating grooves in the brake rotor. Not good.

Grinding could also be an indicator of lack of lubrication in vehicles with rear drum brakes. The brake shoe (the component that presses on the rotor to slow the vehicle) could be scraping on metal contact points like the backing plate, due to rust.

Drum brake with brake shoe

If you hear any of these sounds, get your brakes looked at right away to head off more expensive problems.

3. Wobbling, Vibration or Scraping When Braking

Shaking in the steering wheel or vibration when you apply the brakes may be the result of an uneven rotor.

Brake rotors are big discs that sit inside of the wheels. When you hit the brake pedal, the brake pads hug the rotors, slowing them and your vehicle. You want rotors to be smooth and completely even in thickness.

Major disc brake system parts

Over time and thousands of wheel revolutions, it’s normal for the rotor surface to get slight variations. Rust can also sometimes develop. During brake servicing, the face of the rotor is often trued (smoothed and evened out) to correct these flaws.

This work has to be done exactly to your vehicle’s specifications. The tiniest differences in disc thickness — we’re talking thousandths of an inch, about three sheets of paper in width — can cause a wobbly feeling when you brake.

An uneven rotor surface may also cause the rotor to hit one of the brake pads as it spins, causing some of the pad material to transfer onto the rotor in that spot. Then you’ll feel shaking when braking, as the pad hits that bump in the rotor.

Another possible cause of rough braking is the brake caliper not releasing properly. The job of a brake caliper is to squeeze the brake pads against your brake rotors, which slows your vehicle down. It’s the motion of the piston inside the caliper unit that causes this contact.

Due to wear from heat or road debris, the piston can get sticky. It may not retract the pads back into the full “off” position when you let up on the brake pedal.

A fourth cause of bumpy braking could be damage to your brake components from improper wheel lug nut installation. (The lug nuts are the big bolts that clamp your tire and wheel onto the hub of your car.)

Tire technician installing wheel lug nuts

Any time tires are removed, it’s crucial for the lug nuts to be put back on in the right order, evenly, at just the right tightness (torque). It has to be done in a star pattern, with just the right pressure. If not, you’ll get uneven, premature rotor wear and be back for service sooner rather than later.

4. Leaking Fluid

If you’re experiencing a soft brake pedal, have a service technician look for fluid leaking from the master cylinder or elsewhere in the brake system.

The master cylinder is the unit that creates the power for your brakes. It has a reservoir like the one for your wiper fluid that contains brake fluid.

How disc brakes work

When you apply the brakes, this fluid is pushed through thin piping, creating hydraulic pressure. If fluid is leaking from this system, there may not be enough power to force the brake pads to clamp hard to the rotors.

5. Spongy or Soft Brake Pedal

If you notice a difference in the resistance in the brake pedal — it feels “softer,” or sinks all the way to the floor mat when you press on it — it’s a sign you need immediate service. There could be air or moisture in the braking system or a problem with the master cylinder. Generally, in autos with power brakes the pedal should stop 1 to 1 ½ inches from the floor. If you have manual brakes, the pedal should stop more than 3 inches from the floor.

6. Car Pulling to One Side When Braking

This could be caused by a brake hose gone bad or a caliper problem. One brake caliper may be applying more or all the pressure during braking, resulting in unbalanced stopping.

7. Burning Smell While Driving

A sharp, chemical odor after repeated hard braking on steep roads is a sign of overheated brakes or clutch. Pull over immediately in a safe place, check your parking brake to make sure it’s fully released and allow the brakes to cool. If you don’t, you risk heating up the brake fluid to boiling, which can cause brake failure.

If there’s any smoke coming from a wheel, it may be a stuck brake caliper and possibly unsafe to continue driving on without repairs.

8. Bouncing Up and Down When You Stop Short

If your vehicle rocks or bounces with sharp braking, it’s probably not a brake problem at all. Your shock absorbers may need to be replaced.

Not every brake noise or symptom is going to cost you. It could be a harmless squeak from certain types of material in brake pads. There may be dust or moisture somewhere in the braking system that isn’t causing damage. You may just need to add new brake fluid.

But you need to be sure.

Brake parts wear out over time. Self-diagnosing symptoms or delaying brake servicing could put you and your passengers at unnecessary risk. And like with a lot of automotive issues, if there is a problem, the longer you put it off the more you risk big repair bills.

Lim’s Auto Body is a full service auto body and mechanical repair shop locally owned and operated in Largo, Florida. For more information, go to our web site www.limsautobody.com or call (727) 422-3232.