Scratched tint job...advice on fair resolution?

I recently had my 2012 PiP tinted (3M's CM30--very nice!) . Although most of the tint job was done well, the installer carelessly scratched the outside rear window. Although tinting film is obviously applied on the inside of windows, many tinters apparently make a "rough cut" of the film first on the outside of the window, cutting the film generally to shape/size before installing on the inside. While some tinters apparently use a protective layer between the film and the glass to prevent scratching like this, many don't, (I gleaned all this from info on tintdude.com) and I guess it's an issue of the skill of the installer using the right amount of pressure, using a clean blade, etc.

In any case, I have about a 14" scratch down the left side of the rear window. The scratch continues around the bottom left (driver side) corner along the bottom edge for another 3-4". And there is another short (2") scratch on the opposite side of the window (passenger side).



The scratches are deep enough to be clearly visible--particularly since that rear windshield glass is tempered so the scratches show up as white/light against the dark tempering. Some are light enough that you cannot feel them very well with the finger. Other portions--like the section near my finger in the photo--are deep enough to clearly feel them as you run your fingernail across the glass.

The tinter is 3 hours away (he was the closest tint shop carrying higher-quality films like CM30). He insists these "small scratches" can be easily fixed with a "special buffing mix" and technique he learned from a "glass guy" friend of his. He offered to do this "repair" work, but that's a 6-8 hour round trip for me including gas (although not much with PiP!), time, hassle, etc.

I had my local SafeLite Auto Glass take a look at it this morning. They said the scratches were "there to stay" and that there was nothing you could really do to "repair" them (because of the tempered glass), although he said there might be buffing/coloring techniques that could "hide" them somewhat. That was not work they did, however. Replacing the whole rear windshield would run about $600.

So the question is how to settle this in a way that is fair to me and the tinter. I paid the tinter $500 for tinting all windows but the front windshield (this $500 also included CM30 and for ClearBra applied to the front 15" of the hood and 2 rearview mirrors, as well as a 15% discount overall for getting the clearbra/tint together). Replacing the windshield seems excessive to me (I didn't even notice the scratches for several days until I was washing the car), but I'm also not inclined to just settle for his "special buffing mix" and hope that works on a brand new car that was damaged because of carelessness/incompetence...

What would you do?

 

I did pay with my credit card and I've disputed the charge...I e-mailed him and didn't hear back for a week so I assumed he was just dodging the problem; he says he was out of town for a family emergency...he did get back to me fairly quickly once the credit card company called his shop... He seems genuine, but I'm more concerned about his competence than his genuineness at this point. I told the credit card folks I would try to work out some kind of resolution before moving forward further with the full chargeback.

I see what you're saying as far as driving back, but unless we can agree on some figure as a "refund" for the damage and "call it good" with that, I don't see how I avoid making the drive again since he has to re-do the tint once the window is replaced. Or I'm tracking down 3rd parties to do both the window replacement (I don't trust him to do it) and then another tint. I can get the window replaced locally, but I'd be making that drive (or further) for the re-tinting since no one offers the better 3M films around here

 

Well...this car is going to get scratched and dinged in the future (I live in a rural area on a gravel road), so unless the scratch might somehow weaken the glass it seems excessive to switch out the whole windshield and get re-tinted (which will take more than a day of travel and my time to do it). But I don't feel it's right to just ignore it either...'seems we should be able on something between $0 and $500/$600 as some kind of reimbursement for my "loss"/damage... ?

 

I think this sounds pretty reasonable to me, particularly offering him the last 2 options since they resolve the issue right now and then I'm done with it. It doesn't "stiff him" for all the work done and does give him an option as far as whether he wants to go with an insurance claim or not, etc.