We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

To declare window tint or to not declare window tint?

Obviously more to it than the face value question because if I go out now, get the windows tinted then the answer is just yes, it's not even a question.

Mother bought a new to her car. A 2007 Ford Focus 1.6 Titanium.
The rear 3 windows were tinted when she bought it. I wondered if this was factory although wasn't sure.
Have seen a few of these around since & they all were also tinted (same shame, also 1.6, also Titanium trim).

But then I saw one last week that wasn't & it made me wonder whether it's just coincidence everyone getting theirs tinted, or whether it was maybe an optional extra on this trim.

So bearing in mind they say ignorance is not an excuse - would you contact the insurance company in this situation & say the rear 3 windows are tinted or not? Car is already insured, not that that makes a difference I'm just saying.
Just no idea whether it came like that from factory or not.


Also not sure on the degree of the tint either. I know it's not 5% as I have that myself on my sunstrip and it's not that dark. I also think it's lighter than 20% as I'm pretty sure it was 20% I had on the rears of my last car & it's also lighter than that - but it's certainly darker than 'usual' and darker than the front.
«13

Comments

  • Sandtree
    Sandtree Posts: 10,628 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    So bearing in mind they say ignorance is not an excuse - would you contact the insurance company in this situation & say the rear 3 windows are tinted or not? Car is already insured, not that that makes a difference I'm just saying.
    Just no idea whether it came like that from factory or not.
    Actually the FOS does say that ignorance can be an excuse, you are supposed to be answering questions to the best of your ability and sometimes you may not know if something was done post production or not if you buy the car secondhand and aren't provided with the original sales documentation. 

    https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN6011656.pdf

    The above is a good example where the FOS believes a reasonable person should have been able to identify that some of the items were obviously after market modifications but that others weren't obvious. Thankfully for the customer the one that was causing the insurer to void the policy was deemed to be in the reasonable not to know about category and so the insurance was reinstated. 
  • diystarter7
    diystarter7 Posts: 5,202 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 20 June 2022 at 1:34PM
    Every Titanium Focus/Fiesta I've seen appears to have tinted windows as I was going to buy a Fiesta years ago it did as well.

    You can't usually put extra tints on the front screen, drivers and passengers' sides as I read somewhere that factor tints on these windows are close or on the limit. I've seen fools with tints on the aforementioned and cops rarely stop them 
  • jon81uk
    jon81uk Posts: 3,867 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    We had a Fiesta Titanium in 2014ish and that tinted back windows as standard on that model.
  • NBLondon
    NBLondon Posts: 5,646 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    IIRC it's a deletable option.   The tint is on the rear windows to protect children in the back seat from heat, apparently.
    I need to think of something new here...
  • Thanks

    It sounds like it's an optional extra on this trim level then. I actually see more Titaniums with it than not. Actually the more I think about it, the one I saw last week was the only one I can remember seeing without tints. Perhaps they hated tints & had the factory ones removed, who knows.

    The chances of all these Titanium owners all deciding to go out one day to get tints put in place vs the chances of all these Titanium owners having cars with tints that came from factory - I'll let my mother know that personally as things seem to stand I wouldn't bother telling them in this case, but it's up to her.
  • Bigphil1474
    Bigphil1474 Posts: 3,058 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I had a Titanium Fiesta 09 plate - rear screen and rear passenger windows were all tinted. It also had an interior mirror that dimmed the reflection down at night. Didn't even think to say anything to insurers. The guy I got it from bought it from new and said it just came like that. 
    The rules on the amount of light only apply to the windscreen and front side windows.

  • The rules on the amount of light only apply to the windscreen and front side windows.
    I never said otherwise as I know the law on front tints. It was diystarter7 who started talking about front tints :)

    Thanks though.


  • diystarter7
    diystarter7 Posts: 5,202 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    You can often tell if it is a factory tint as no bubbles whatsoever and looks classy. All Titaniums as far as I can recall have tints to rear window and rear doors.

    If you are worried, search on the web re car specs for that year.
    If you are still unsure, then tell the insurance people, job done and no worries.
  • Bigphil1474
    Bigphil1474 Posts: 3,058 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper

    The rules on the amount of light only apply to the windscreen and front side windows.
    I never said otherwise as I know the law on front tints. It was diystarter7 who started talking about front tints :)

    Thanks though.


    Sorry, I appreciate you didn't say otherwise. I guess I was trying to say that the insurers would possibly only care if the front windows were tinted as there's potentially an issue with that, rather than the standard rear window tints. 
  • diystarter7
    diystarter7 Posts: 5,202 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper

    The rules on the amount of light only apply to the windscreen and front side windows.
    I never said otherwise as I know the law on front tints. It was diystarter7 who started talking about front tints :)

    Thanks though.


    Sorry, I appreciate you didn't say otherwise. I guess I was trying to say that the insurers would possibly only care if the front windows were tinted as there's potentially an issue with that, rather than the standard rear window tints. 
    That is true but when they ask re "modifications" if in doubt, discuss as more often than not they may make a note of it or note but no premium increase I guess not for tines even after market ones on the rear and back.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 240.7K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.6K Life & Family
  • 253.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.