[bhmax16]

Hey guys, back in July I had my BMW tinted with 35% Suntek Carbon tint, and am due for a state inspection this month. I just stopped at Brookside Auto here in Westfield, MA and they wouldn't pass it because the tint metered at 30% (obviously the factory window must have been tinted slightly). I was surprised because they're usually pretty lenient, and 5% doesn't seem like much when most meteres have a +/- 2% accuracy. I even had the invoice on me indicating I purchased 35%, but he said he had to go by the meter.

I'm lucky that I don't have a big R sticker since they were able to abort the inspection from the system, so I left as if they never even looked at it. I'm just wondering if any of you guys in Western Mass know of a place that would pass me. I really hate this commie state. Thanks!

[dwells]

Let me know if you find one. In the meantime, you can try lowering your windows and pulling the fuse and getting an inspection - tell them the motors are burnt out or you have an electrical issue. They can't fail you for that. They can't check the rear windows since they don't move and tint meters need the edge of the window window to stick into a thin slot in the middle of the meter.

[NH335i]

Could be worse.
You could get pulled over atleast twice a week just for having any tint at all.
Southern NH hates it haha

[dwells]

Originally Posted by NH335i

Could be worse.
You could get pulled over atleast twice a week just for having any tint at all.
Southern NH hates it haha

You'd think the "Live Free or Die" state would be against the idea of being a nanny-state and preventing people from tinting their windows...

[NH335i]

You would think.

They pull me over for that more than the no front plate.

[bhmax16]

Originally Posted by dwells

Let me know if you find one. In the meantime, you can try lowering your windows and pulling the fuse and getting an inspection - tell them the motors are burnt out or you have an electrical issue. They can't fail you for that. They can't check the rear windows since they don't move and tint meters need the edge of the window window to stick into a thin slot in the middle of the meter.

I used to work as a mechanic so I called up a few of my old mechanic buddies. One knew a guy at a garage that passed it no problem. He said they typically don't check tint over there anyway so I just rolled in with the windows down and had no issues. (Edited this post to eliminate the shop name. Send me a PM if you want it)

Originally Posted by NH335i

Could be worse.
You could get pulled over atleast twice a week just for having any tint at all.
Southern NH hates it haha .

That's ridiculous...I always viewed NH as being great compared to Mass, especially with our atrocious gun laws and such (one of the reasons I'm looking to move out of Mass, because I'm tired of the state trying to turn me into a criminal simply because I LEGALLY own firearms). The issue with my state inspection was just the icing on the cake. Regarding my tint, it does indeed meter at 30%, but I doubt I'll ever be hassled by the cops since I doubt any could tell the difference between 30% and 35% to the point where it would warrant them pulling me over (I'd likely have to be doing something else stupid). And if it came to that...I have a friend who is a statey

[dwells]

Originally Posted by bhmax16

I used to work as a mechanic so I called up a few of my old mechanic buddies. One knew a guy at a place and they passed it no problem. He said they typically don't check tint over there anyway so I just rolled in with the windows down and had no issues.

Might want to remove the name/location of the shop from a public post - it's not unheard of states using the internet to crack down on lenient shops.

Thanks for the tip though. My car technically doesn't meet all the rules (tint's fine though) so I'll keep your shop in mind if mine ever gives me problems.

[bhmax16]

Originally Posted by dwells

Might want to remove the name/location of the shop from a public post - it's not unheard of states using the internet to crack down on lenient shops.

Thanks for the tip though. My car technically doesn't meet all the rules (tint's fine though) so I'll keep your shop in mind if mine ever gives me problems.

Edited to remove the shop name. Yes my car meets all rules, the tint is the only thing that is borderline. I've gotten away with blatantly illegal things on other vehicles so I was surprised that I originally got hassled about this. Happy that all is well now