What else can go wrong with a window tinting?

So I bought a 2009 cpo 535 and may I say I couldn't be happier with the sweetest ride ever. I wanted to polish it up a bit with tinting the windows. I shopped around for the best price and lifetime warranty. Going rate in my area was $220, but I found a place for $185 and same lifetime warranty. After the job was done I found that their solution dripped and basically bleached the leather on each of the doors. Needless to say I was furious, but they managed to clean it off. It looked fine upon inspection, but I took it home and found that there was damage to the rear left door. See pics. They have agreed to refund the entire price, but I'm still left with a damaged door. Any tips on how I can fix this myself (the wood panel only)? The leather seems unfixable unless I replace the entire door. Any off the cuff guesses as to how much it would cost to take to the dealer to fix? Any better suggestions?

One more pic.

Guy buys a BMW but can't muster an extra $35 to get a proper tint from a reputable shop.
Do you live in an apartment complex too?

seriously WTF is it with people who buy these cars but cut corners on cost? They don't want to put premium fuel in the car. Look for discount this and that...
But hey, you got a free tint at the end of the day so I guess that's the ultimate cost saver!

Originally Posted by Vandalay

Guy buys a BMW but can't muster an extra $35 to get a proper tint from a reputable shop.
Do you live in an apartment complex too?

seriously WTF is it with people who buy these cars but cut corners on cost? They don't want to put premium fuel in the car. Look for discount this and that...
But hey, you got a free tint at the end of the day so I guess that's the ultimate cost saver!

Someone needs a hug

Originally Posted by Vandalay

Guy buys a BMW but can't muster an extra $35 to get a proper tint from a reputable shop.
Do you live in an apartment complex too?

seriously WTF is it with people who buy these cars but cut corners on cost? They don't want to put premium fuel in the car. Look for discount this and that...
But hey, you got a free tint at the end of the day so I guess that's the ultimate cost saver!

Vandalay, who pissed in your Cheerios? Dont be a such an a-hole 13 posts into your forum life....

To the OP, regardless of the "free tint" job I would be talking to the manager of the shop to have them cover the expense of a new door panel... that was a serious bootleg job. When they realized they couldnt remove the panel they should have called you to say so... Prior to having my car tinted I looked around for a BMW "specialty shop" for tinting and actually found one by using this forum. They did a great job and knew my car inside and out. For you, hindsight...

Originally Posted by Vandalay

Do you live in an apartment complex too?

What's wrong with this?
I had my first Bimmer living in an apartment.
Now I have two and live in a 5 bedroom house!!

On the account of what else could go wrong. If you have tint above the AS1 line on the front windshield it can cause the mirrors to dim and remain so all the time. There are threads about it happening to many. It happened to my X, and I didn't do it to the five so I'm not positive it will happen. Just something to look out for.
Good luck.

I did mine all around tint + rear light markers for 80$
the solution you are talking about should not damage the leather, as far as I know it goes away after some time, because they use water and soap.
They should not have touched the door wood trim at the 1st place, otherwise try to clip it back in or glue it or make them pay for it.

Originally Posted by boramkiv

What's wrong with this?
I had my first Bimmer living in an apartment.
Now I have two and live in a 5 bedroom house!!

I have one and in my apt complex I see people also have a slew of 3 series, 1 M3, few X5's,one X6. I park next to a 550i all the time. Nothing wrong with living in an apt and owning a BMW.

Good to see there is such a supportive BMW forum community. Seriously, what good does your post do? Thanks for the invaluable feedback.

That looks like someone tried to pry the trim off with a screwdriver and damaged the leather as well. Is there a chance that you didn't notice it before you bought the car? I can't see any logicial reason a tint shop would try to do this. I think the only repair that you aren't going to notice is if the door panel gets replaced. Easy enough job but I don't have a clue how much one would cost.

That totally blows!!! I agree with Jaycal3 i would make them make good on it!!!

Let us know how this turns out!!

Originally Posted by Ggramirez

So I bought a 2009 cpo 535 and may I say I couldn't be happier with the sweetest ride ever. I wanted to polish it up a bit with tinting the windows. I shopped around for the best price and lifetime warranty. Going rate in my area was $220, but I found a place for $185 and same lifetime warranty. After the job was done I found that their solution dripped and basically bleached the leather on each of the doors. Needless to say I was furious, but they managed to clean it off. It looked fine upon inspection, but I took it home and found that there was damage to the rear left door. See pics. They have agreed to refund the entire price, but I'm still left with a damaged door. Any tips on how I can fix this myself (the wood panel only)? The leather seems unfixable unless I replace the entire door. Any off the cuff guesses as to how much it would cost to take to the dealer to fix? Any better suggestions?

The first thing you need to know is that very few E60's (or BMW's in general) have leather covered door panels. They are almost always vinyl. A good interior trim shop should be able to repair it like new. The door trim panel covering is available from BMW for about $700.00 for vinyl or about $800.00 if it turns out to be leather. There is some skill involved in this replacement procedure, so you will still probably need a trim shop.

That said, if it were I, my opinion would be have it repaired. Just don't go to the guy with the cheapest price this time!